Talking Politics Resources | Commonweal Institute

Talking Politics with People Unlike Ourselves – Articles, Press Coverage, Tips

Responding to Nonvoters - Common Excuses Why People Don’t Vote

Articles, press coverage, and videos about Talking Politics

Talk Politics with People Unlike Yourself- Get Them to vote Your Way - Moving fence sitters

Framing, Language, Memes, and Narrative

Center for Narrative Studies offers workshops and trains narrative practitioners. Their thought-provoking approach is applicable to the narratives of politics and elections.

Frameshop is Jeffrey Feldman’s blog. As a cultural anthropologist, he often discusses culture, framing, and related topics.

Frameworks Institute uses Strategic Frame AnalysisTM, a proprietary multi-disciplinary research approach, to evaluate the effects of various frame elements on support for social policies. Their website is a treasure trove of information about applications of frame analysis.

The Metaphor Project – This site, maintained by Susan Strong, has information about American cultural themes; specific metaphors that Americans use in speech and thought, and how to apply them in political contexts; and information about frames and framing.

smartMeme Strategy & Training Project is a nonprofit collective of trainers and consultants who apply meme theory and a narrative analysis of power to strengthen progressive social change efforts. Their website is informative.

There are numerous websites about narrative and storytelling. One of the leading proponents of storytelling in business, whose lessons are applicable in other contexts as well, is Steve Denning. One of his books, The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations, can be read online.

Social Networks

Orgnet is distinctive among consulting firms in the work it does in the political and social change arena. Sample their case studies showing how network mapping techniques can be used for understanding terrorist networks, investigating criminal behaviors, understanding the reading patterns of political partisans. Valdis Krebs’ article, “It’s the Conversations, Stupid! The Link between Social Interaction and Political Choice” is worth reading.