The Communicative Ethics of Racial Identity in Dialogue

This paper explores the role of narratives about racial identity in constituting ethical performances in dialogue. SpeciBically, a dialogic communication ethics is described and placed in the context of intergroup dialogue (IGD) and communication approaches to dialogue. Then the focus turns to how these ethical frames and models for conducting dialogue functioned in a large-scale campus dialogue on race and whiteness. The paper addresses the ways identities were constructed and deployed in the dialogues by examining how dialogue topics are framed and discussed by facilitators and participants. This discussion of intention and outcome raises theoretical and practical questions in order to facilitate further conversations about identity and ethics in a controversially “Post-racial” era. Finally, the paper looks at how communication ethics and dialogue might work to address the discursive power of social group identities in pedagogical discussions of civility, inclusion, merit or a “good” life.