Conversation as Political Education

By constructing and analyzing a dialogue about dialogue among Plato, Mill, and Oakeshott, this paper considers conversation in the liberal arts and political theory classrooms as a form of political education that prepares students for the responsibilities of citizenship. An education in and through conversation can cultivate a disposition that is willing and able to engage with others. With less at stake in the classroom, the skills that are necessary for politics—the frankness, good will (and self-control), knowledge, listening, and respect for particularity—can be developed and practiced. This paper advocates a respect for particularity in conversation over an optimism regarding progress toward truth, arguing that our contemporary polarized politics needs conversation that respects difference now more than ever.