Civic Learning in the Major by Design

Posted by Association of American Colleges and Universities on February 12, 2018

Peer Review, Fall 2017

Vol. 19, No. 4

Educating students to be responsible, informed, and engaged citizens in their workplaces and the larger community should be an expected goal for every major. Supported by a grant from the Endeavor Foundation, this issue of Peer Review highlights different departmental and disciplinary designs that incorporate learning for civic and social responsibility into the requirements and pedagogy of a student’s major. Instead of civic-free zones, majors can provide space for educating for democratic engagement while deepening disciplinary learning.

From the Editor
Shelley Johnson Carey, Association of American Colleges and Universities

Analysis

Departmental Designs for Civic Impact
Caryn McTighe Musil, AAC&U

Practice

Civic Learning for All Students
Margaret M. Mulrooney, Melody K. Eaton, and Lisa E. McGuire, all of James Madison University

Community Engagement through an Environmental Studies Lens
Jane T. Costlow, Bates College

Literature and Social Justice
Seth Moglen, Dawn Keetley, and Kate Crassons, all of Lehigh University

A Civic-Rich Framework for Liberal Education
Cindy Koenig Richards, Willamette University

Civic Engagement in and out of the Sociology Classroom
Jon Shefner, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Creating a Civic Lens in African American Studies
Dexter B. Gordon, Grace Livingston, Renee Simms, all of University of Puget Sound

Civic-Centered Chemistry and Biochemistry
Cynthia Maguire, Nasrin Mirsaleh-Kohan, and Richard D. Sheardy, all of Texas Woman’s University

Civic Learning in Interdisciplinary Majors
Nicholas Longo, Providence College, and Monica Fitzgerald and Shawny Anderson, both of Saint Mary’s College of California

Reality Check

The Next “Evolution” of Civic Learning
Tania D. Mitchell, University of Minnesota

SUPPLEMENTAL CONTENT
Twelve Additional Case Studies

Peer Review provides a quarterly briefing on emerging trends and key debates in undergraduate education. Each issue is focused on a specific topic, provides comprehensive analysis, and features campus perspectives.