How can universities cultivate students’ capacity to learn across political divides? While many universities affirm the importance of open exchange between people who hold different views, it is unclear whether, what, and how students learn through such conversations. This article draws on observations of a deliberative dialogue between college students who cast a presidential vote for Trump or Clinton as well as on interviews with those students to identify what and how they learn through the conversation as well as what supports that learning. Recent political theorists have argued for including diverse forms of speech in order to expand what deliberation can accomplish. This inquiry suggests, first, that diversifying speech within deliberation can also strengthen traditional forms of deliberative learning (such as the willingness to listen to each others’ reasons). Moreover, deliberative speech as it has been traditionally conceived can also accomplish some of what theorists hope alternative speech forms could cultivate, such as shifting relationships between interlocuters. Finally and most simply, the study shows that it is possible for students to learn from politically diverse peers even during a one-time event that occurs outside of the classroom. Three forms of content learning were identified: learning that is ‘hermeneutic’ deepened students’ understanding of other people; ‘deliberative’ learning increased understanding of political issues and views; and ‘process’ learning honed students’ capacity for these conversations. Learning also varied in quality: it was ‘additive’ when students added to their existing framework of knowledge or entailed ‘new insight’ when students shifted in their relationship to a person or idea. These forms of learning are interdependent and provide important support for each other. In particular, universities may enhance students’ capacity for hermeneutic and deliberative learning by intentionally combining elements of both in academic settings.

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只是说说而已？跨越大学校园的政治分歧学习

大学如何培养学生跨越政治分歧的学习能力？虽然许多大学肯定持有不同观点的人之间公开交流的重要性，但尚不清楚学生是否、什么以及如何通过这种对话学习。本文借鉴了对特朗普或克林顿总统投票的大学生之间协商对话的观察，以及对这些学生的采访，以确定他们通过对话学到了什么和如何学习，以及什么支持这种学习。最近的政治理论家主张包括多种形式的言论，以扩大商议的范围。这项调查表明，首先，商议中的多元化演讲也可以加强传统形式的商议学习（例如愿意倾听彼此的理由）。此外，传统上所设想的商议演讲也可以实现一些理论家希望替代演讲形式能够培养的东西，例如改变对话者之间的关系。最后，也是最简单的一点，该研究表明，即使在课堂外发生的一次性事件中，学生也有可能向政治不同的同龄人学习。确定了三种内容学习形式：“解释性”学习加深了学生对他人的理解；“协商”学习增加了对政治问题和观点的理解；和“过程”学习磨练了学生进行这些对话的能力。学习的质量也参差不齐：当学生增加现有知识框架时，它是“附加的”，或者当学生改变与某个人或某个想法的关系时带来“新的洞察力”。这些学习形式相互依存，相互提供重要支持。尤其是，大学可以通过在学术环境中有意结合两者的元素来提高学生的解释性学习和审议性学习的能力。