David J Kahane, PhD (Cambridge), MA (McGill), BA (Concordia)

Area of Study / Keywords

Systems change anarchism prefigurative politics

About

David Kahane is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Alberta in Canada. His research and teaching focus on systems change, systemic design, public participation, power, and how these fit together in theory and practice. He is a national 3M teaching fellow, a permaculture gardener, and father to young Solomon.

He is not taking on new graduate supervisions given his recent retirement.

Research

David Kahane's research deals with theories and practices of democratic dialogue and deliberation, with particular focus on understanding the impact (or lack of impact) of innovative citizen participation processes given the complex systems in which they intervene. His publications include two edited volumes, Deliberative Democracy in Theory and Practice and Dispute Resolution in Aboriginal Contexts: Land Claims, Treaties, and Self-Government Agreements; and chapters and articles like “Climate change, social change, and systems change: Lessons from Alberta Climate Dialogue" and "Linking climate change, systems change, and care in the university classroom."

From 2010-2016 he was Principal Investigator and Project Director of Alberta Climate Dialogue (ABCD), a $1 million SSHRC-funded community-university research partnership that convened citizens in Alberta to deliberate on climate change policy, and learned from careful evaluation of these processes and their outcomes. 

Teaching

He has won two national teaching awards (the 3M Teaching Fellowship and the Alan Blizzard Award for Collaborative Projects that Improve Student Learning) as well as the Rutherford Award for Undergraduate Teaching, the Award for Excellence in Graduate Supervision, the Teaching Unit Award, and the Faculty of Arts Undergraduate Teaching Award. His teaching publications include “Mindfulness and Presence in Teaching and Learning” and “Learning about Obligation, Compassion, and Global Justice: the Place of Contemplative Pedagogy.”

David has recently retired and is not taking on new graduate supervisions.