Everyday Politics: Reconnecting Citizens and Public Life

Everyday Politics: Reconnecting Citizens and Public Life

by Harry C. Boyte
Everyday Politics: Reconnecting Citizens and Public Life

Everyday Politics: Reconnecting Citizens and Public Life

by Harry C. Boyte

Paperback

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Overview

Increasingly a spectator sport, electoral politics have become bitterly polarized by professional consultants and lobbyists and have been boiled down to the distributive mantra of "who gets what." In Everyday Politics, Harry Boyte transcends partisan politics to offer an alternative. He demonstrates how community-rooted activities reconnect citizens to engaged, responsible public life, and not just on election day but throughout the year. Boyte demonstrates that this type of activism has a rich history and strong philosophical foundation. It rests on the stubborn faith that the talents and insights of ordinary citizens—from nursery school to nursing home—are crucial elements in public life.

Drawing on concrete examples of successful public work projects accomplished by diverse groups of people across the nation, Boyte demonstrates how citizens can master essential political skills, such as understanding issues in public terms, mapping complex issues of institutional power to create alliances, raising funds, communicating, and negotiating across lines of difference. He describes how these skills can be used to address the larger challenges of our time, thereby advancing a renewed vision of democratic society and freedom in the twenty-first century.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780812219319
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
Publication date: 05/12/2005
Pages: 264
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 9.21(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Harry C. Boyte is founder and codirector of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the University of Minnesota and Senior Fellow at the Humphrey Institute. He is the author of many books, including The Backyard Revolution and, with Sara Evans, Free Spaces.

Table of Contents

Preface. Developing a Theory and Practice of Everyday Politics

Chapter 1. The Stirrings of a New Politics
Chapter 2. Populisms
Chapter 3. The Growth of Everyday Politics
Chapter 4. Citizenship as Public Work
Chapter 5. Citizen Education as a Craft, not a Program
Chapter 6. The Jane Addams School for Democracy
Chapter 7. Professions as Public Work
Chapter 8. Architects of Democracy
Chapter 9. Spreading Everyday Politics
Chapter 10. The Commonwealth of Freedom

Notes
Index
Acknowledgments

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