The Citizen Roundtable on Politics and Democracy

Sponsored by the Center for Communication & Civic Engagement (CCCE)

The CCCE’s Citizen Roundtable on Politics and Democracy Series showcases the university’s top talent and prominent visiting speakers through its annual series of intimate and engaging presentations. Following presentations by experts in their field, community members in groups of 20 to 30 participate in active discussions with lecturer and with one another. Previous roundtables have included the problem of press dependence on the government, the impact of fundamentalist religion on contemporary politics, the privatization of public space, the transformation of US foreign policy, privacy and the internet, the Motherhood Manifesto, and the US economy and its effects upon society.

The first Citizen Roundtable took place three years ago when Professor Lance Bennett presented an analysis of the US political process and the upcoming 2004 election to a group of community members and UW alumni at the request of Dick Wesley. The event generated interest in an ongoing Citizen Roundtable. Approximately five events have been scheduled annually since the initial forum. The growing list of community members and UW alumni who have participated indicates the vitality of citizen interest in contemporary issues and the talent that UW faculty and community experts bring to those topics.

Since Roundtable topics are worth thinking about after the evening is over, we have created the Citizen Roundtable Blog for members of the community to continue the conversation or to catch up on discussions that they have missed. You can visit the blog and comment on its issues here.

We invite you to join the Citizen Roundtable.

For more information, please contact Dick Wesley (wesleyr@u.washington.edu).