Is There a Deliberation Divide?

Russell Stockard
California Lutheran University

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     Last modified: May 20, 2005

Abstract
The paper examines whether some communities or groups are under-represented in online deliberation. Of particular interest are African American, Latinos, and other segments often on the wrong side of various "divides." A simple quantitative analysis of the presence or paucity of these communities is not the sole objective of the study, but rather the intentional commitment by institutions such as Public Agenda Foundation to build in safeguards and features to attract and retain under-represented communities. In other words, is community-building facilitated by these organizations? At the same time, is online deliberation by communities of color taking place in different parts of the Internet or below the radar. For example, what is the role of blogs and social networking for such communities? In addition, what about chat rooms, email, instant messaging, and listservs?

Finally, what about diasporic communities? If they are transnational, how committed are they to U.S. issues? Do they focus on issues “back home” instead? An example of such groups is the comunity of Haitian immigrants and Haitian Americans.