Call for Submissions: Quick Hits for Civic Engagement

Posted by on January 28, 2005

[posted from Higher Ed Service-Learning listserv]

Call for Submissions for Quick Hits for Civic Engagement

Indiana University (IU) Press is publishing a fourth edition of the successful ?Quick Hits? series. The latest volume will focus on civic engagement, providing a rationale for making civic engagement an intentional component of the curriculum as well as offering successful models of curriculum-based civic engagement activities from faculty across the disciplines. Jim Perry, director of the Indiana University American Democracy Project, and Steven Jones, coordinator of the Office of Service Learning at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, are editing the volume.

Civic engagement is a timely theme for the ?Quick Hits? series. Colleges and universities are reassessing their roles in preparing future citizens for engagement in civic and political life. Leading associations of colleges and universities are independently pursuing efforts to enhance the attention their member organizations give to civic engagement.

The civic engagement movement is driven by social developments of sweeping importance. The 2004 presidential election has sparked an increased interest in political issues from college-aged students. Many public and private colleges and universities have recommitted themselves to their civic engagement missions. Regional accrediting bodies, such as the North Central Association (NCA), have made institutional service and engagement core criteria for the accreditation of institutions of higher education. The service-learning movement in higher education continues to grow, with many institutions institutionalizing service learning through dedicated service-learning offices and service-learning requirements. Professional associations are identifying civic as well as technical competencies in their professional standards.

Despite these trends, some faculty are likely to see civic engagement as the work of only a few academic units or as an inherent by-product of a college education?they do not see a need to intentionally integrate education for civic engagement into their teaching. Research indicates, however, that where teaching and learning activities are not intentionally linked to learning objectives, the learning we want for our students is unlikely to occur.

This volume will provide a rationale for educating students for civic engagement and will include concise, helpful advice and models from successful college teachers on incorporating civic engagement activities into courses. We plan to organize this volume along the lines of previous ?Quick Hits? volumes (Indiana University Press, 1994, 1998, 2004), with brief articles linked to specific civic engagement topics. We are interested in receiving submissions of up to 1,200 words related to the following chapter themes:

* Tips for first-timers?This chapter will incorporate narratives that describe instructors? first approaches to civic engagement.
* Identifying civic engagement goals and objectives?This chapter will address the issue of identifying appropriate civic engagement goals and objectives.
* Classroom activities?This chapter will focus on classroom techniques that engage students in the development of civic engagement outcomes.
* Service-learning and civic engagement?Because service-learning has the potential of engaging students in contemporary social and political issues outside of the classroom, we anticipate having a separate chapter of examples of service-learning courses that are explicitly linked to achieving civic engagement outcomes.
* Assessing student learning?This chapter will address questions related to how you assess student civic engagement.
* Departmental approaches to civic engagement?This chapter will provide examples not of individual faculty work, but of the collective work of faculty through their academic departments, exploring the notion of the ?engaged department.?
* Civic engagement through research?This chapter will include descriptions of participatory action research and other forms of community-based research as examples of how can we use the research process to enhance civic engagement.
* Overcoming barriers to civic engagement?This chapter will address a range of barriers, giving particular attention to how civic engagement relates to ?non-traditional? disciplines, e.g., engineering, science and technology, by providing examples of courses that integrate civic engagement activities from those disciplines.

If you are interested in contributing to this volume, please send a prospectus to either James Perry or Steven Jones (contact information below) no later than March 1, 2005. Your prospectus should identify which of the above themes you will address and briefly describe your course(s) and how civic engagement is integrated into that course. The editors are willing to work with prospective authors in shaping ideas and providing feedback about drafts. The timetable for completion of the book is:

* March 1, 2005?editor review of ideas and prospectuses;
* May 1?submission of draft contributions for editorial review;
* May 15?feedback from editors on draft submissions;
* June 15?submission of final drafts;
* July 1, 2005?submission of completed manuscript to Indiana University Press.

Feel free to contact the editors by email (perry@iupui.edu; jonessg@iupui.edu). Their detailed contact information appears below.

James L. Perry
Chancellor’s Professor
Director, Indiana University American Democracy Project
Senior Scholar, IUPUI Center for Service and Learning
School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
801 W. Michigan Street, BS 4078
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
Phone: 317-274-1078
Cell: 317-281-8269
Fax: 317-274-5153
perry@iupui.edu
http://php.spea.iupui.edu/perry
http://www.spea.iupui.edu

Dr. Steven Jones
Coordinator, Office of Service Learning
Center for Service and Learning
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
815 W. Michigan St., UC 3118
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5164
317-278-2539 (office)
317-278-7683 (fax)
317-640-2996 (cell)
jonessg@iupui.edu
http://csl.iupui.edu