Town Hall Meetings and the Death of Deliberation /
Jonathan Beecher Field.
- 1 online resource (88 pages).
- Forerunners: Ideas First .
- Book collections on Project MUSE. .
Cover; Half Title Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; Introduction: This Is What Looks like Democracy; Town Meeting as Democratic Ideal; Town Hall Meeting as Debate Format; Town Hall Meeting as Constituent Service; Town Hall Meeting as Campus Spectacle; Town Hall Meeting as Corporate Event; The Future of the Town Hall Meeting; Conclusion; Acknowledgments
Open Access
Jonathan Beecher Field tracks the permutations of the town hall meeting from its original context as a form of democratic community governance in New England into a format for presidential debates and a staple of corporate governance. In its contemporary iteration, the town hall meeting models the aesthetic of the former but replaces actual democratic deliberation with a spectacle that involves no immediate electoral stakes or functions as a glorified press conference. Urgently, Field notes that though this evolution might be apparent, evidence suggests many US citizens don't care to differentiate.
9781452963051
Public meetings. Local government. Democracy. Campaign debates. Forums (Discussion and debate) POLITICAL SCIENCE--American Government--Local. Forums (Discussions et debats)--États-Unis. Élections--Debats--États-Unis. Administration locale--Histoire.--États-Unis Reunions publiques--Histoire.--États-Unis Forums (Discussion and debate)--United States. Campaign debates--United States. Democracy. Local government--History.--United States Public meetings--History.--United States