Citizenship Under Siege: Events & Resources

Clashes Over Citizenship: Webinar Series on Promoting Listening, Learning, and Engagement

This page offers some beginning steps in three areas: online civic engagement strategies in the time of COVID-19; anti-racism resources; and ways to assess student’s civic learning.


    Clashes Over Citizenship: Webinar Series on Promoting Listening, Learning, and Engagement

    The US Constitution’s preamble speaks of “We the People”—but who is considered part of that sacred circle, and how has this group varied over time? When national identity is hotly contested, what does it mean to experience citizenship as partial, denied, or fully acknowledged? How can the humanities illuminate differing narratives and open up space for understanding, connections, and shared visions of the future?

    The American Association of Colleges and Universities and The Democracy Commitment invite faculty, staff, students, and campus community partners to join in one or all of three FREE webinars. These events are designed to expand campus expertise on how to hold constructive conversations about contentious issues and how to institute practices in and out of the classroom that foster engagement across differences.

    A Three-Part Series

    3:00–4:00 p.m. Eastern Time

    From Fractious Differences to Engaged Dialogues

    October 13, 2016
    How can texts and techniques from the humanities disrupt unexamined positions, put human faces to abstract ideas, and help open up spaces where dialogue and consensus might emerge on historic and contemporary questions about citizenship and who deserves it? What models exist for training dialogue facilitators who can help encourage listening and perspective taking across seemingly intractable positions?

    Presenters:

    • Verdis Robinson, Interim National Manager, The Democracy Commitment
    • Caryn McTighe Musil, Senior Director of Civic Learning and Democracy Initiatives, American Association of Colleges and Universities
    • John Soltes, Communication Department, County College of Morris
    • Jason Zelesky, Dean of Students, Mount Wachusett Community College

    Resources:

    John Soltes has provided links to lectures and resources from the Legacy Project as examples of addressing engaging issues with the campus and local community.

    Jason Zelesky has shared a link to the article “The Art of Dialogue” to preface his examples of training dialogue facilitators and supporting dialogue facilitators on campus in and in the community.

    History Association. 2009. Principles for Oral History and Best Practices for Oral History. http://www.oralhistory.org/about/principles-and-practices/

    Douglass, “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro,” 1950.Philip S. Foner, editor, The Life and Writing of Frederick Douglass, Volume II, Pre-Civil War Decade 1850-1860. International Publishers Co., Inc.: New York.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927.html

    Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. 2013. The Heart of the Matter: The Humanities and social Sciences for a Vibrant, Competitive, and Secure Nation. American Academy of Arts and Sciences: Cambridge, MA. http://www.humanitiescommission.org/_pdf/hss_report.pdf

    Martha Nussbaum. October 17, 2010. “Cultivating the Imagination.” The New York Times.
    http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/10/17/do-colleges-need-french-departments/cultivating-the-imagination

    “Managing Hot Moments in the Classroom,” by Lee Warren at the Derek Bok Center at Harvard University: http://bokcenter.harvard.edu/managing-hot-moments-classroom

    The webinar recording and the documentation of the webinar chats are available online. Here are the links:

    ​​Income Inequality and the Cost of Citizenship

    October 27, 2016
    When economic disparities—often intertwined with ethnic, racial, and religious differences—impose real limitations on public participation, how can the humanities provide insights into the historic and persistent reality of differential access to full citizenship rights? Learn how several campuses have engaged their students and communities in examining this issue.

    Presenters:

    • Jill A. Schennum, Chair, Anthropology, Social Sciences, and Economics, County College of Morris
    • Steve Davis, History Department, Lone Star College Kingwood
    • Fagan Forhan, Assistant Dean of K-12 Partnerships and Civic Engagement, Mount Wachusett Community College
    • Seth Howard, Assistant Director, Center for Civic Engagement, Lone Star College

    Hosts:

    • Verdis Robinson, Interim National Manager, The Democracy Commitment
    • Caryn McTighe Musil, Senior Director of Civic Learning and Democracy Initiatives, American Association of Colleges and Universities

    Resources:

    The webinar recording and the documentation of the webinar chats are available online. Here are the links:

    I Want My Country Back: Immigration, Race, and Citizenship

    November 3, 2016
    In the midst of sometimes-dramatic demographic and cultural shifts, how have the humanities served to illuminate felt experiences, historical contexts, and ethical issues as the rich mosaic of people in the United States fluctuates? What approaches, courses, and public events lead to shared ends rather than perpetual conflict or feelings of displacement?

    Presenters:

    • David Kalivas, World History and Director of the Commonwealth Honors Program, Middlesex Community College
    • Helen-Margaret Nasser, Associate Director of the Honors Program, Kingsborough Community College
    • Dona Cady, Dean, Global Education, Middlesex Community College
    • Matthew Olson, Dean, Humanities and Social Sciences, Middlesex Community College
    • G. David Price, History Department, Santa Fe College

    Hosts:

    • Verdis Robinson, Interim National Manager, The Democracy Commitment
    • Caryn McTighe Musil, Senior Director of Civic Learning and Democracy Initiatives, American Association of Colleges and Universities

    Resources:

    These resources have been provided by Middlesex Community College and serve as background information on the immigration history in Lowell, MA.

    The webinar recording and the documentation of the webinar chats are available online. Here are the links:

    Follow the link for Citizenship Under Siege for more information about the project.

    For more information, please email:

    Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and hosted by the American Association of Colleges and Universities & The Democracy Commitment.

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    Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations ndowment for the expressed in these webinars do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.