Community Matters

Challenges to Civic Engagement in the 21st Century

Foreword by William A. Galston Edited by Verna V. Gehring

Not available to order

Publication date:

11 August 2005

Length of book:

112 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780742574458

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.

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

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....