Civic engagement can be defined as engaging in any volunteer or community minded group. Here we will emphasize the role of civic groups in the political and advocacy realm. Volunteering oversees or localized groups that focus solely on social justice without policy implications are not included. These organizations certainly should exist but do not always […]
Filed under: fostering identity on May 26th, 2008 | No Comments »
The cultural national identity argument claims that Americans are united by an inherited Anglo protestant culture (Huntington, 2004). Cultural proponents do not deny that Americans share a commitment to certain principles, “liberty, equality, democracy, individualism, human rights, the rule of the law, and private property” (Huntington, 2004, 59). For Huntington, the American creed was not […]
Filed under: fostering identity on May 25th, 2008 | No Comments »
How to foster a sense of shared identity or ideals is difficult to answer when Americans, and “potential Americans” appear, act and think differently because they are from, or choose to identify with, different countries with different social practices and ideals. Schlesinger (1998), Putnam (2007), and others argue that a “cult of ethnicity” is set […]
Filed under: fostering identity, social justice on May 24th, 2008 | No Comments »
For the next few days I’ll post the paper for my American Political Culture and National Identity course. Although the natural environment isn’t mentioned, I think the ideas about fostering identity and desire will be needed when thinking about how to create a desire for a positive future environment among youth.
The paper has changed since […]
Filed under: fostering identity, social justice on May 23rd, 2008 | No Comments »
This is a paper proposal slightly off topic for this blog, but, the idea of civic engagement and youth participation is increasingly central to bringing environmental justice to the forefront of American minds.
The authors and discussion topics so far approached in this course have centered on how we define American national identity and […]
Filed under: fostering identity, observations and opinions, social justice on May 16th, 2008 | No Comments »
