Community Matters: Challenges to Civic Engagement in the 21st Century

by Verna V. Gehring (Editor), William A. Galston The Brookings Institution (Foreword by)

Overview

Civic matters affect all members of a community and are thus of potential concern to all. In Community Matters: Challenges to Civic Engagement in the 21st Century, six distinguished scholars address three perennial challenges of civic life: the making of a citizen, how citizens are to agree (and disagree), and how to define the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. The thought-provoking essays in this volume discuss integral civic concerns such as: how can we improve civic education? How do we address controversy within our communities? What are the responsibilities of a citizen? Should the national draft be re-instated in the U.S? These essays will encourage students, academics, and interested citizens outside the academy to go farther and dig deeper into these vital issues.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742574458
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	08/11/2005
Series:	Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	275 KB

About the Author

Verna V. Gehring is editor at the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at the School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland, and editor of Philosophy&Public Policy Quarterly.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 I. The Challenge of Civic Education
Chapter 2 Solving the Civic Achievement Gap in De Facto Segregated Schools
Chapter 3 Civic Education and Political Participation
Chapter 4 II. The Challenge of Civic Debate
Chapter 5 State Symbals and Multiculturalism
Chapter 6 Lessons from the Brooklyn Museum Controversy
Chapter 7 III. Service in Deed?: Civic Engagement and the Prospect of Mandatory Military Service
Chapter 8 A Sketch of Some Arguments for Conscription
Chapter 9 Conscription—No
Chapter 10 Conscription: Between the Horns

Editorial Reviews

Community Matters makes a substantial contribution to our understanding of key issues in civic education, multicultural conflict, and national service. It is a must read for those engaged in debates on civic renewal in the U.S. I recommend it highly.

Carmen Sirianni

Community Matters makes an extremely helpful contribution to a pressing issue for the country: How do we stop the hollowing out of our own democracy and rebuild a culture of healthy civic participation? This collection of essays is a nice civic sampler – aiding us with sound analysis, thoughtful insights and good advice.

David Skaggs