Articles & Chapters

All articles and chapters, as well as reviews and other essays, can be downloaded at Academia.edu.

Journal Articles


Shaffer, T. J., & Procter, D. (2021). Learning to Become a Civic Professional: Using Deliberation in Community Engagement. Higher Education Exchange, 2021(1), 64-74.


Shaffer, T. J., & Drury, S. A. M. (2021). Democracy’s Challenge Calls for Communication’s Response. Communication Education, 70(4), 447-450. doi:10.1080/03634523.2021.1958243

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2019). “Democratic Professionals in Polarized Civic Life: The Challenge of Cultivating Civil Discourse in Community Development,” Community Development.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2019) "Beyond the Myth of the Town Meeting: Discursive Engagement as Governance," Journal of Public Deliberation: Vol. 15(2): Article 10.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2019). “Democracy in the Air: Radio as a Complement to Face-to-Face Discussion in the New Deal." Accepted for publication in Journal of Radio & Audio Media 26(1): 21-34.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2018). “Authoritarianism and Deliberative Democracy: Responding to Our Current Political Times and Contexts,” Journal of Public Deliberation 14(2): Article 1.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2017). “Democracy as Group Discussion and Collective Action: Facts, Values, and Strategies in Canadian and American Rural Landscapes,” The Good Society 26, no. 2-3 (2017): 255-73.

Shaffer, T. J. (2017). "Supporting the 'Archstone of Democracy': Cooperative Extension's Experiment with Deliberative Group Discussion," Journal of Extension, 55(5), Article 5FEA1.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2017). “The Politics of Knowledge: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Justice in Higher Education,” eJournal of Public Affairs, 6(1): 11-42.

Kniffin, Lori, Timothy J. Shaffer, & Mary Tolar. (2016). "Winding pathways to engagement: Creating a front door," Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 23(1): 91-95.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2016). “Teaching Deliberative Democracy Deliberatively,” eJournal of Public Affairs 5(2): 92-114.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2014). “Deliberation In and Through Higher Education,” Journal of Public Deliberation 10(1): Article 10.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2013). “What Should You and I Do? Lessons for Civic Studies from Deliberative Politics in the New Deal.” The Good Society 22(2): 137-150.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2008). “A (Not So) Secret Son of Francis: Thomas Merton’s Franciscan Lens for Seeing Heaven and Earth.” The Merton Annual 21: 67-90.

Shaffer, T. J. (2007). "Thomas Merton’s Franciscan Spirituality." The Cord 57(1): 63-81.

Book Chapters


Shaffer, Timothy J. (book under review). “Learning Together: Civic Competency, Deliberative Dialogue, and Education.” In Rebecca Townsend and Anna Przybylska InDialogue: Citizens, Local Government, and Communication Technology (Working Title).


Bryer, T. A., & Shaffer, T. J. (forthcoming). The History of Efforts to “Create Good Citizens” through Higher Education. In T. A. Bryer, T. J. Shaffer, & J. R. I. Unger (Eds.), Teaching Public Affairs Students to Serve With the People: Findings and Reflections from Diverse Course Designs. New York: Routledge.


Shaffer, T. J., & Bryer, T. A. (forthcoming). Current Debates on the Role of Higher Education in a Democratic Society. In T. A. Bryer, T. J. Shaffer, & J. R. I. Unger (Eds.), Teaching Public Affairs Students to Serve With the People: Findings and Reflections from Diverse Course Designs. New York: Routledge.


Shaffer, T. J., & Smith, M. D., Jr. (forthcoming). Early Chapters of Extension: Land Grants, Segregation, and the Development of Cooperative Programming. In N. I. Fields & T. J. Shaffer (Eds.), Striving for Grassroots Engagement: Community Education, Social Justice, Cultural Competence, and the Role of Cooperative Extension. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press.

Shaffer, T. J., & Fields, N. I. (forthcoming). Conclusion: Where We Go from Here. In N. I. Fields & T. J. Shaffer (Eds.), Striving for Grassroots Engagement: Community Education, Social Justice, Cultural Competence, and the Role of Cooperative Extension. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press.

Fields, N. I., & Shaffer, T. J. (forthcoming). Introduction. In N. I. Fields & T. J. Shaffer (Eds.), Striving for Grassroots Engagement: Community Education, Social Justice, Cultural Competence, and the Role of Cooperative Extension. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (forthcoming). “Public Relations(hips) Through Public Engagement: Approaching Public Administration as Civic Professionals.” In M. Lee, G. Neeley, & K. Stewart (Eds.), The Practice of Government Public Relations (3rd ed.). New York: CRC Press.

Boatright, Robert G. and Timothy J. Shaffer (2020). “Civility and Incivility in the 2016 Presidential Debates.” In R.G. Boatright (Eds.), Civility in the 2018 U. S. Senate Debates: Essays on U. S. Senate Debates in Arizona, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin. Tucson, AZ: National Institute for Civic Discourse.

Longo, Nicholas V. and Timothy J. Shaffer (2019). “Discussing Democracy: Learning to Talk Together.” In Nicholas V. Longo and Timothy J. Shaffer (Eds). Creating Space for Democracy: A Primer on Dialogue and Deliberation in Higher Education, (13-38). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishers.

Longo, Nicholas V. and Timothy J. Shaffer (2019). “Dialogue and Deliberation in Higher Education.” In Nicholas V. Longo and Timothy J. Shaffer (Eds). Creating Space for Democracy: A Primer on Dialogue and Deliberation in Higher Education, (1-11). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishers.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2019). “Education Through a Deliberative Lens.” In Olexander Kopylenko and Yaroslav Pylynskyi (Eds). Decentralization. Deliberation. Democracy.: Our Power in Diversity, (36-55). Kiev, Ukraine: The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Legislation Institute.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2019). “Enabling Civil Discourse: Creating Civic Space and Resources for Democratic Discussion” in Robert G. Boatright, Timothy J. Shaffer, Sarah Sobieraj, and Dannagal Goldthwaite Young (Eds). A Crisis of Civility? Political Discourse and Its Discontents. New York: Routledge.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2018). “A Historical Note: Farmer Discussion Groups, Citizen-Centered Politics, and Cooperative Extension.” In Scott J. Peters, Theodore R. Alter, and Timothy J. Shaffer (Eds). Jumping into Civic Life: Stories of Public Work from Extension Professionals, (191-212). Dayton, OH: Kettering Foundation Press.

Peters, Scott J., Theodore R. Alter, and Timothy J. Shaffer (2018). “Introduction: Making Democracy Work as It Should.” In Scott J. Peters, Theodore R. Alter, and Timothy J. Shaffer (Eds). Jumping into Civic Life: Stories of Public Work from Extension Professionals, (13-36). Dayton, OH: Kettering Foundation Press.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2018). “Thinking Beyond Food and Fiber: Public Dialogue and Deliberation in the New Deal Department of Agriculture.” In Hoflund, A. Bryce, J. Jones, and Michelle C. Pautz (Eds). The Intersection of Food and Public Health: Current Policy Challenges and Solutions, (307-326). New York: Routledge.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2017). “(Striving for) Democracy in Small Groups: Engaging Politics in a Communication Studies Course.” In I. Marin and R. Minor (Eds). Beyond Politics as Usual: College Students and Politics, (56-77). Dayton, OH: Kettering Foundation Press.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2017). “Democracy and Education: Historical Roots of Deliberative Pedagogy.” In Shaffer, T. J., N. V. Longo, I. Manosevitch, and M. S. Thomas (Eds.) Deliberative Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning for Democratic Engagement, (pp. 21-36). East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.

Longo, Nicholas V., Idit Manosevitch, and Timothy J. Shaffer (2017). “Introduction.” In Shaffer, T. J., N. V. Longo, I. Manosevitch, and M. S. Thomas (Eds.) Deliberative Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning for Democratic Engagement, (pp. xix-xxxv). East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.

Shaffer, Timothy J., Patrick Green, Barbara Harrison, and Jessica Reading (2016). “New Public Scholars.” In Post, M., E. Ward, N. V. Longo, and J. Saltmarsh (Eds.), Beyond Teaching and Learning: Voices of the Next Generation of Engagement, (pp. 141-155). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2012). “Environmental Leadership and Deliberative Democracy: The Challenges and Promise of Engagement.” In Rigling Gallagher, D., N. Christensen, and P. Andrews, Environmental Leadership: A Reference Handbook. Vol. 1 (pp. 229-236). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Shaffer, Timothy J. (2012). “The Land Grant System and Graduate Education: Reclaiming a Narrative of Engagement.” In Gilvin, A., G. M. Roberts, and C. Martin (Eds.), Collaborative Futures: Critical Reflections on Publicly Active Graduate Education (pp. 49-74). Syracuse, NY: The Graduate School Press of Syracuse University.

Karnes, Margaret K., Timothy J. Shaffer, and Richard K. Ghere (2011). “The Challenges of Accountability for International Nongovernmental and Civil Society Organizations.” In Dubnik, M. and H. G. Frederickson (Eds.), Accountable Governance: Promises and Problems (pp. 180-196). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.