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Welcome to our virtual Public Square, a place where ideas are shared, discussed, and tested. The name harkens back to colonial America—to village squares echoing with the sounds of popular debate and to the feisty pamphlets and upstart newspapers where productive conversation and argumentation thrived and heralded the rise of a new, confident nation built on ideas and imagination.

Past Public Squares

What is the History of the Public Square?

The concept of the public square has a long and rich history, tracing its roots back to ancient ...
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“Beyond the Public Square: Imagining Digital Democracy”

The Yale Law Journal article “Beyond the Public Square: Imagining Digital Democracy” considers the public square’s modern form and how ...
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What is Civil Discourse?

Civil discourse is not simply polite conversation, though courtesy and respect are crucial to it. Civil discourse goes ...
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