Beyond the War Metaphor: The Work of Democracy

In this study for the Kettering Foundation, Harry Boyte begins with a discussion of With the People by David Mathews, highlighting that report's call for "a shift in relationship between government and citizens from regulation and service delivery to collaboration in the work of democracy." Boyte agrees that this work of democracy "needs a We, the People alternative and a view of government that supports it." But the framing by politicians and the media of every crisis or political disagreement as war "targets enemies and shuts down deliberation in which publics weigh trade-offs. It marginalizes vulnerable communities and disenfranchises the people at large." This study describes the metaphor of war, the way it has spread across society, and how it in- fuses conventional politics of left and right. And it offers stories of democracy based on deliberative public work, work by the people, work for public purposes, and work in public, visible and valued. Many show the ties between the Black freedom struggle and democracy's advance. They illustrate government with the people

Community Service and Civic Education

Community service, widely touted as the cure for young people\u27s political apathy, in fact teaches little about the arts of participation in public life. To reengage students in public affairs requires redefining politics to include, in addition to electoral activity, ongoing citizen involvement in solving public problems. It requires a conceptual framework that distinguishes between public life and private life. And it calls for a pedagogical strategy that puts the design and ownership of problem-solving projects into the hands of young people

Citizenship Education and the Public World

We need a conception of citizenship that is active, engaged and adequate to the challenges of our complicated world. Citizens develop, they do not emerge full blown; and their capacities are cultivated only through tough, challenging, serious practical and theoretical education in what Benjamin Barber has well termed the democratic arts. Barber and I agree on the importance of a strong conception of citizenship; on the centrality of civic education to any honest rendering of education in a purported democracy; and on the significant challenge such a view of civic education presents to customary ways of conceiving citizenship, education, and service. Moreover, I greatly appreciate the leadership that Benjamin Barber and Rutgers University have provided in renewing collegiate interest in civic education

Reinventing citizenship as public work

The fate of democracy is inextricably tied to the work of educators, as well as to the meaning of citizenship and the practices of civic education. If we are to create a citizen-centered democracy—with citizens capable of tackling the mounting challenges of our time—we must revisit conventional ideas. We will have to reinvent citizenship as public work, for the sake of ourselves as educators, as well as for our students and for the democracy itself

Civic Agency and the Cult of the Expert

Reviews dominant models of thought that value disciplinary knowledge over the civic and moral authority of non-academic, community-based knowledge. Calls for developing people's and communities' capacities to organize, solve problems, and sustain agency

Turning on youth to politics; beyond community service

Studies by the Times Mirror Center ( The Age of Indifference ) and others purport to reveal that today\u27s teenagers and young adults view politics with nearly universal hatred and express apathy toward public affairs generally. A little more probing uncovers a more complex set of attitudes. Allan Moyle\u27s film Pump Up the Volume, based in part on workshops with teenagers in New York, reveals a generation not so much apathetic as disgusted with adult hypocrisy, furious at adults\u27 apparent inaction on mounting social problems, cynical about 1960s-style protest and uncertain about what else there is to do. But it is clear enough that civics classes, weekend senior trips to Washington and simple exhortations to be good citizens -the stuff of political education for earlier generations-are not going to do much to interest young people in the political world

Off the Playground of Civil Society: Freeing Democracy\u27s Powers for the 21st Century

Civil society is now the defining map of our civic life. Embedded in its framework are assumptions about the activity of the citizen and the meaning of democracy. The idea of civil society today vividly illustrates the power of framing concepts to structure resources and define political themes. Major foundations have divisions of civil society that allocate hundreds of millions of dollars to volunteer activity. Government agencies give time off to their employees so that they can do citizenship. Presidents gathered last year at the Summit on Volunteerism to praise the idea. Meanwhile, a coalition organized by end of work theorist Jeremy Rifkin has signed up educational organizations, teachers unions, and philanthropic groups to advocate, for community service as citizenship, and civil society as the site of active democracy

The Work of Citizenship and the Problem of Service-Learning

The debates about service learning are not merely internecine squabbles between educators over methods and manners of out-of-class instruction. Or at least they don\u27t have to be. For they reflect and are implicated in broader debates about community service and civic education more generally, as well as about citizenship, public policy, and even our understandings of American democracy and history. Take a couple of snapshots of these broader debates, now and then

Wingspread Declaration on Renewing the Civic Mission of the American Research University

Civic engagement is essential to a democratic society, but far too many Americans have withdrawn from participation in public affairs. Higher education can contribute to civic engagement, but most research universities do not perceive themselves as part of the problem or of its solution. Whereas universities were once centrally concerned with education for democracy and knowledge for society, today\u27s institutions have often drifted away from their civic mission