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This volume explores how colleges and universities can respond to divisive political environments by carefully and intentionally cultivating students' civic learning and democratic flourishing.
Structured in five cohesive sections, each chapter offers adaptable frameworks, promising practices, and tangible strategies for building positive momentum toward civic-minded student learning in higher education. Chapters explore how dialogue inside and outside the classroom, community involvement, and student agency can shape inclusive, engaged campus environments that directly support students' civic learning and development. Together, the text presents a comprehensive approach that acknowledges the interconnected challenges faced by students, faculty, and staff and demonstrates how higher education institutions can foster environments that not only educate but also renew their promise to cultivate democratically informed and socially responsible citizens.
List of contents
1. Introduction: Higher Education in Polarized Times
Part I: Foundations for Civic-Minded Learning in Higher Education 2. Dialogue and Democratic Flourishing: Creating the Conditions for Student Learning in a Polarized Time 3. Fostering Civic Responsibility: The Role of Community Engagement in Higher Education 4. Civic and Democratic Learning Across the College Curriculum and Co-Curriculum 5. From Preparation to Renewal: A Multiphase Approach to Democratic Engagement in the First-Year and Beyond
Part II: Dialogue and Democratic Education 6. Engaging with the Moral Complexities of Classroom Conversations 7. Trauma-Informed Approaches to Engaging in Difficult Dialogues 8. #USvsHate: Supporting Anti-Hate Learning and Public Messaging on Campus
Part III: Community Engagement as Civic Education 9. Leveraging Institutional Definitions: Community Engagement for Student Learning 10. Democratically Engaged Partnerships as Microcosms of and Catalysts for Democratic Civic Learning 11. Civic Engagement as Democratic Learning: Supporting Ethical Community Engagement for Undergraduates via Curricular Guidance and Long-term Partnerships 12. Nurturing Civic Consciousness: Developing a Scaffolded Community Engagement Program at a Rural Liberal Arts College
Part IV: Finding Civic Engagement Inroads on Campus 13. Naming a Civic Champion: Lessons in Leading Campus-Wide Student Civic and Voter Empowerment 14. The Role of Student Leadership Development in Democratic Learning 15. The Power and Complexity of Students' Service on Higher Education Governing Boards
Part V: Democracy in Flux: Contemporary Issues and Possibilities 16. Countering Anti-DEI and Anti-CRT Laws in Academic Environments 17. Echoes of Empowerment: The Impact of HBCUs' Historical Legacy on the Political Socialization of Black Youth Voters in Florida 18. Picket Line Pedagogy: Democratic Learning at Work in Graduate Student Labor Movements 19. "Fighting for my Life": Southern LGBTQ+ College Students' Motivations for Activist-Minded Civic Engagement 20. Conclusion-Reawakening Democratic Education
About the author
Maximilian T. Schuster is Associate Professor of Higher Education and Associate Chair of the Department of Educational Foundations, Organizations, and Policy at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education, USA.
