This essay draws from a study conducted as part of graduate thesis work at George Mason University. The thesis examined the purpose of human rights education and critical media literacy, and the international inducements to include these subjects in the national education systems of United Nations (UN) member states. It compared the United States…

With over 1 in 5 Canadians identifying as an immigrant, Canada has been proud to call itself a nation of immigrants with a commitment to supporting refugees, from accepting thousands of Vietnamese refugees in the 1970s to Syrians fleeing civil war in 2015. In 2017, 44,000 refugees came as government-sponsored or privately sponsored refugees,…

The paper "American democracy is distress: The failure of social education" presents several "symptoms of democracy's dysfunction in the United States". These include the extreme reliance on campaign contributions, giving the donors--economic elites and groups representing business, frequently operating at a transnational…

As a postsecondary educator with most of my experience teaching in colleges, but with some also in undergraduate and postgraduate studies both in Canada and the United States, I have been teaching politics and government for close to fifty years. That time has been spent not only undertaking empirical analyses of political behaviour and the…

Postsecondary teacher, Howard Doughty, has been teaching politics and government for close to fifty years. That time has been spent not only working with the empirical analysis of political behaviour and the normative analysis of political theory, but also in the practical activity of promoting understanding of what is frequently called civic…

This short paper is a response to Nel Noddings's article on schooling for democracy. Whilst agreeing with the basic premises of Noddings's argument, it questions the possibility of parity between academic and vocational tracks given the inequitable social and educational contexts the two types of learning would have to coexist within. Drawing on…

There are several fundamental requirements for democratic government. First, there must be free and fair elections to elect leaders. Second, there must be freedom to express a wide range of views and positions, including criticisms of incumbent leaders. And third, the public discourse about elections and public policy issues must be conducted in a…

In this essay, a high school senior reflects on her educational experience as a journey beginning with her difficult decision to stay at Francis W. Parker School for high school and ending with her current search for a college where she can continue to explore the nature of education. Her narrative focuses on her experience in an elective course…

In April 2010, Arizona passed the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, commonly known as Senate Bill (SB) 1070. The bill provides for the following: (1) that law enforcement officials may inquire about a person's citizenship status if they have been stopped, detained, or arrested for some other reason and provided that the…

In this essay, the author examines how two groups of undergraduates, from Australia and the United States, negotiate their national and global identities in the context of studying abroad. In doing so the author demonstrates the nuances of "global citizenship" as it is actually experienced. Drawing on Craig Calhoun's (2002) scholarship…

Current figurations of the "immigration problem" in the United States challenge our understanding of the rhetoricity of contemporary bordering practices. The public discourse of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps serves to chart the alienization of undocumented migrants and the enactment of alien abjection on the U.S.-Mexico border.…

In the current period of international migration there is no consensus among analysts regarding the relationship between immigrant transnationalism and civic engagement in the United States. Focusing mainly on the transnational behaviors of Latin American migrants, three views predominate: critics argue that immigrant transnationalism hinders…

The future of the American experiment, and the life of the democratic republic that is the United States, is at risk. American citizens have endangered the republic by failing to educate new generations of citizens about civic responsibility. As early as the nineteenth century, the tension between individualism and American republican principles…

After their dismal performance in election 2008, conservatives are taking stock. As they examine the causes that have driven them into the political wilderness and as they explore paths out, they should also take heart. After all, election 2008 shows that America's constitutional order is working as designed. Indeed, while sorting out their errors…

The extent to which people abhor or admire patriotism in the schools depends on how it is taught. If educators teach it narrowly as jingoistic, uncritical self-praise of the nation, then such instruction is wrong. It would be indoctrination rather than education. If, however, they teach civic education and define patriotism as a respectful…