Civic Engagement, Justice, and the Law in a National and International Context
A special issue of Laws (ISSN 2075-471X).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (12 January 2024) | Viewed by 17343
Special Issue Editors
Interests: republicanism; Hobbes & Spinoza; American political thought; judicial review; constitutional populism; political philosophy; critical theory; political theology; Augustine & ideology; civic engagement
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The public role of universities is several centuries old. However, it was President Truman’s official legal recommendations for democratic citizenship that contributed to the burgeoning “civic engagement” movement that attracted national attention in the 1980s and 1990s, and that continues to structure university investments, strategic plans, as well as curriculum and assessment designs, through today. This raises a host of intersecting questions about power, justice, and the law.
First, to what end or purpose (moral, ethical, or natural law) is higher education promoting student engagement? Does and/or can the law require or incentivize different civic engagement programs to consider global or national citizenship, social justice, informed patriotism, or other goals? We acknowledge a need for sensitivity to the diversity of existing institutions, ranging from public to private to denominational colleges and universities.
Second, and related to these broader questions, especially at public universities, who is to decide? What are the legal guidelines around gatekeepers at different institutions which structure institutes and civic engagement programs, whether with respect to selecting the mission of a citizenship-related center, or deciding on equitable choices of invited speakers? And to what extent, legally, do these centers and/or civic engagement programs need to see the public or affected communities as stakeholders?
These are all themes in which power, justice, and the law overlap.
In terms of even more specific legal questions that apply, especially at public universities in the United States and around the world:
- What are relevant legal and regulatory guidelines if an interested party is designing a new civic engagement center at a public, private, or denominational school (that accepts or does not accept federal funds)?
- How is student activism both a challenge and an opportunity for genuine dialogue across different spheres, and what are the contemporary legal ramifications of potentially productive disruptions on campus? As we show, it is currently legal in the US for universities that accept federal funds to severely limit the free expression, protest, and assembly rights of students. Legally speaking—how is it possible to change this unfortunate reality?
- At non-profit universities, what are the legal issues to consider in order to ensure a diversity of viewpoints among invited speakers so as not to lose tax-exempt status?
- Many consider Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which is currently illegal on public university campuses in several American states, to represent a robust form of civic engagement. Where has DEI been legally prohibited? What are diversity, equity, and inclusion possibilities that remain in place, and what are multiple ways, while upholding the law, to still pursue a dynamic civic engagement framework?
Dr. Bolek Kabala
Dr. Casey D. Thompson
Guest Editors
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