Lexington Books
Pages: 174
•
Trim: 6¼ x 9¼
978-0-7391-7056-4 • Hardback • November 2012 • $120.00 • (£92.00)
978-0-7391-7057-1 • Paperback • November 2012 • $57.99 • (£45.00)
978-0-7391-7058-8 • eBook • November 2012 • $55.00 • (£42.00)
Elizabeth Kaufer Busch is associate professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University and founder and co-director of the Center for American Studies (CAS).
Jonathan W. White is assistant professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University.
Introduction
Elizabeth Kaufer Busch and Jonathan W. White
Part I: Foundations of Civic and Liberal Education
Chapter 1: The Inspiring Idea of the Common School
E. D. Hirsch
Chapter 2: Memory and Sacrifice in the Formation of Civic Consciousness
Wilfred M. McClay
Chapter 3: Polishing Barbarous Mores: Montesquieu on Liberalism and Civic Education
Andrea Radasanu
Part II: The Changing Landscape of American Civic Life
Chapter 4: American Amnesia
Bruce Cole
Chapter 5: The Peer Bubble
Mark Bauerlein
Chapter 6: Voter Beware: Responsible Voting in an Age of Political Marketing
Jeff Bergner and Lisa Spiller
Part III: On the Ends of Liberal Education
Chapter 7: Majoring in Servitude: The Liberal Arts and the Formation of Citizens
Jonathan Yonan
Chapter 8: Education To What End—Vocation or Virtue?
Peter A. Benoliel
Chapter 9: “Reflection and Choice”: The Liberal Arts and the Foundation of the American Experiment
John Agresto
Afterword: The Impoverishment of American Culture
Dana Gioia
This superb collection of essays explores the topic of civic education in its broadest light. These issues are treated by a range of impressive authors from different fields possessing different life experiences. The result is a fresh set of analyses in which there is a healthy divergence of views, but in which the greatest benefit is the opening of new and thought-provoking perspectives. Great credit goes to the two editors, Elizabeth Kaufer Busch and Jonathan W. White, for this timely contribution to promoting better understanding of one of the most important problems facing American education today.
— James W. Ceaser, University of Virginia
The American national project will be nourished to the degree that parents, educators, politicians and philanthropists recognize the issues addressed in this book. With creativity and expertise, the contributors demonstrate how civic education is central to America's longevity and quality of life--even as our educational establishment often ignores or denigrates it. Crucially, these pages highlight how such education would nurture not only the collective soul of the American nation, but the individual soul of any American.
— David Feith, Wall Street Journal; editor, Teaching America: The Case for Civic Education
This engaging volume tackles difficult questions about what it means to be a citizen and how we can foster democratic citizenship. The depth and breadth of the volume, from founding fathers to Facebook, provides a unique blend of history and recent trends, making it a compelling read for scholars across disciplines and a great resource for courses engaging these crucial issues.
— Josipa Roksa, University of Virginia