Experience and (Civic) Education

Berger, Ben

doi:10.1017/s1049096514001620

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 5 publications

(5 reference statements)

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“…The fact remains that disengagement was a significant part of what universities "did". Berger, who has written extensively about engagement in a number of contexts (Berger 2011(Berger , 2015 ends up defending engagement, but it is a disengaged kind of engagement that still reinforces the disconnected way in which the University used to see itself.…”

Section: John Rawls Religion and Public Reason And The "In Between" S...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Between Public Justification and Civil Religion: Shared Values in a Divided Time

2023

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Civil religion as formulated in Robert Bellah’s seminal 1967 article, recalling Rousseau’s Social Contract, has recently been proposed to build shared values and bridge deep partisan divides. A competing approach to shared values, based on public reason, relies on overlapping consensus in the works of John Rawls. In this paper, we present an in-between strategy that recognizes the insuperable empirical and normative problems of civil religion while using university civic engagement programs to bring about a public square in which religious reasons are found alongside neutral ones, ultimately for the sake of public justification. Having documented recent polarization trends, we consider the last major attempt to defend civil religion from the perspective of democratic solidarity, Phil Gorski’s American Covenant, but believe it falls short: based on sociological work and Augustinian insights, we show the risk of domination that Gorski’s strategy still entails, not least because of the definitional indeterminacy of civil religion and its overlap with religious nationalism. Paradoxically, a late Rawlsian approach that allows for the initial use of religious reasons, with a generosity proviso of necessary translation into public reason at some point, can lead to a public square with more religious arguments than one theorized explicitly from the perspective of civil religion. This is especially important because, given the discussed polarization trends, universities have taken on an increasingly important civic engagement role even as some still rely on a civil religion approach. We insist on public justification in university civic engagement, and for the sake of doing so take as a starting point Ben Berger’s work in favoring civil engagement, which we define as combining moral, political, and social rather than exclusively political commitments. In proposing a novel university shared values mechanism, intended to expose learners to a maximum diversity of opinions and lived experiences, we offer a fresh approach to building trust in cohorts that increases the likelihood of true dialogue across difference.

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Section: John Rawls Religion and Public Reason And The "In Between" S...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Between Public Justification and Civil Religion: Shared Values in a Divided Time

2023

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“…Experiential learning transcends abstract knowledge and leads to meaningful participation in real-world political activities, thereby enhancing the potential for both immediate value to students and contribution to society. Engagement in political processes with real outcomes is important: individuals learn best when their emotions are involved in their experiences and when connections are cemented via repeated exposure (Berger 2015).…”

Section: -Student Observer Of Polling Places Election Day 2016mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The project gave students opportunities to gain a better understanding of the research process, to interact with local communities, and to connect observable political phenomena with the production of original data to better understand voting experiences. “Any class that involves field work…or direct engagement with the world outside the campus can engage students’ imaginations, creativity, energy, and even emotions in ways that make learning expand and endure” (Berger 2015).…”

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confidence: 99%

Pedagogical Value of Polling-Place Observation by Students

Mann

Alberda

Birkhead

et al. 2018

APSC

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Good education requires student experiences that deliver lessons about practice as well as theory and that encourage students to work for the public good—especially in the operation of democratic institutions (Dewey 1923; Dewy 1938). We report on an evaluation of the pedagogical value of a research project involving 23 colleges and universities across the country. Faculty trained and supervised students who observed polling places in the 2016 General Election. Our findings indicate that this was a valuable learning experience in both the short and long terms. Students found their experiences to be valuable and reported learning generally and specifically related to course material. Postelection, they also felt more knowledgeable about election science topics, voting behavior, and research methods. Students reported interest in participating in similar research in the future, would recommend other students to do so, and expressed interest in more learning and research about the topics central to their experience. Our results suggest that participants appreciated the importance of elections and their study. Collectively, the participating students are engaged and efficacious—essential qualities of citizens in a democracy.

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“…Accordingly, American Political Science Association (APSA) presidents Elinor Ostrom (1996), Robert Putnam (2003), Rogers Smith (2020), John Ishiyama (et al 2021), andJanet Box-Steffensmeier (2022) have argued that political science education should advance student knowledge and improve civic abilities. Fortunately, research and civic engagement can work together (Berger 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, virtually every case of CER relies on preexisting community partnerships (Berger 2015; Sydnor, Commins, and Reyna 2021). Developing new partnerships requires substantial time and energy beyond what most instructors and potential community partners can give.…”

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confidence: 99%

Integrating Classroom and Community with Undergraduate Civically Engaged Research

Schmitt

Mehlhaff

Ommundsen

2023

APSC

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In addition to interest in undergraduate research, political science increasingly recognizes the value of civically engaged research for various educational, professional, and civic outcomes. With limited time and steep tradeoffs, instructors must find ways to cleverly combine undergraduate research experiences with the broader normative civic-education responsibilities of political science and higher education. This article presents a course design that allows instructors to leverage their classroom for both civic education and undergraduate research without the need for previously developed community partnerships that are common to most engaged research and learning. Our approach brings together undergraduate research and community engagement through course design.

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Experience and (Civic) Education

Cited by 5 publications

References 5 publications

Between Public Justification and Civil Religion: Shared Values in a Divided Time

Between Public Justification and Civil Religion: Shared Values in a Divided Time

Pedagogical Value of Polling-Place Observation by Students

Integrating Classroom and Community with Undergraduate Civically Engaged Research

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