Civic Education and the Future of American Citizenship

The Founders of this nation believed that the government they were creating required a civically educated populace. Such an education aimed to cultivate enlightened, informed, and vigilant citizens who could perpetuate and improve the nation. Unfortunately, America’s contemporary youth seem to lack adequate opportunities, if not also the ability or will, to critically examine the foundations of this nation. An even larger problem is an increasing ambivalence toward education in general. Stepping into this void is a diverse group of educators, intellectuals, and businesspeople, brought together in Civic Education and the Future of American Citizenship to grapple with the issue of civic illiteracy and its consequences. The essays, edited by Elizabeth Kaufer Busch and Jonathan W. White, force us to not only reexamine the goals of civic education in America but also those of liberal education more broadly.

“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

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.

The Founders of this nation believed that the government they were creating required a civically educated populace. Such an education aimed to cultivate enlightened, informed, and vigilant citizens who could perpetuate and improve the nation. Unfortunately, America's contemporary youth seem to lack adequate opportunities, if not also the ability or will, to critically examine the foundations of this nation. An even larger problem is an increasing ambivalence toward education in general. Stepping into this void is a diverse group of educators, intellectuals, and businesspeople, brought together in Civic Education and the Future of American Citizenship to grapple with the issue of civic illiteracy and its consequences. The essays, edited by Elizabeth Kaufer Busch and Jonathan W. White, force us to not only reexamine the goals of civic education in America but also those of liberal education more broadly.

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