Professional Documents
Culture Documents
American Educational Research Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend
access to Review of Educational Research.
http://www.jstor.org
Review of EducationalResearch
Winter2006, Vol. 76, No. 4, pp. 653-690
Jason Harnish
Senn High School Achievement Academy
Meaningsof "citizenship,"a conceptthat has informedteachingpractices
since nation-statesfirst institutionalized
schooling,are shapedover timeand
throughculturalstruggles.Thisarticlepresentsa conceptualframeworkfor
thediscoursesthatcurrentlyconstructthemeaningsof citizenshipin contemporary Westerncultures,particularlythe United States. Using discourse
analysis,theauthorsexaminetextsrelatedto citizenshipand citizenshipeducationfrom 1990 through2003, identifyingseven distinctbut overlapping
frameworksthatascribemeaningto citizenship.The "civicrepublican"and
"liberal"frameworksare the most influentialin shapingcurrentcitizenship
education;five othersare the mostactive in contestingthe terrainof citizenshippractices in livedpolitical arenas. The "transnational"and "critical"
discourseshave yet to significantlychallenge the dominantdiscoursesthat
shapecitizenshipeducationinschools.Thisarticlequestionstheviewofpolitical life in Westerndemocraciesthatis promotedby thedominantdiscourses
of citizenshipin K-12 schooling.
KEYWORDS:
citizenship, citizenship education, democraticeducation,patriotism.
Whatdoes it mean to be a "citizen"?The termhas a complex and evolving history.We begin with a simple yet comprehensivedefinition:Citizenshipin a democracy (a) gives membershipstatusto individualswithin a political unit; (b) confers
an identity on individuals;(c) constitutes a set of values, usually interpretedas a
commitmentto the common good of a particularpolitical unit; (d) involves practicing a degree of participationin the process of political life; and (e) implies gaining and using knowledge and understandingof laws, documents, structures,and
processes of governance(Enslin, 2000). Citizenship,at least theoretically,confers
membership,identity, values, and rights of participationand assumes a body of
common political knowledge.
In his classic essay "Citizenshipand Social Class" (1950/1998), British sociologist T. H. Marshalltracedthe expansion of citizenship in his society over three
centuries. Civil citizenship-or individual rights to speech, faith, and propertyemergedas a force in 18th-centuryEngland,when capitalistpolitical systems instituted the protectionof property,equality before the law, and civil liberties (Katz,
2001). Political citizenship, or the "rightto participatein the exercise of political
power, as a memberof a body invested with political authorityor as an elector of
the membersof such a body"(Marshall,p. 94), developedin the 19thcentury,when
the franchise was granted first to middle-class and later to working-class men.'
653
Discoursesof Citizenship
Contemporary
able tools for critically analyzingthe meanings of the varied and often competing
agendas and intereststhat shape texts on citizenship. We reviewed selected contemporarytheoreticaland more applied (curricular)texts focusing on citizenship
or citizenship education, identifying through this review a numberof discourses
that shape the ways we talk, think, and teach aboutcitizenship. Citizenship texts,
like all other texts, are shapedby political interestsand particularvisions of what
democracyand the nation-stateshould be; discourse analysis allows us to understandhow these interestsareexpressingand shapingmeaningsof civic life and citizenship education.
Discourses arenot composed of randomlychosen words and statements;rather,
each discourseis a productof historicaland social circumstancesthat provide the
discursivepractices-terminology, values,rhetoricalstyles,habits,andtruths-that
constructit (see Cherryholmes,1988, pp. 2-3). Discourse is the primaryway that
ideology is produced,reproduced,andcirculated;ideologies, by contrast,arebelief
systems that help people to understandand act in the world. "Ideologies are the
frameworksof thinkingandcalculationaboutthe world-the 'ideas' thatpeople use
to figure out how the social world works, what their place is in it, and what they
ought to do" (Hall, 1986, p. 97). Ideologies are constructedand circulatedthrough
discourse. "Ways of talking [speaking, writing] produce and reproduceways of
thinking, and ways of thinking can be manipulatedvia choices about grammar,
style, wording, and every other aspect of language" (Johnstone,2002, p. 45). A
speech, article, or curriculumarticulatinga position regardingcivic membership,
identity, values, participation,and knowledge constitutes an expression of belief
aboutcitizenship.Such expressions,by the very languageandways of thinkingthey
employ, constructmeaningsof citizenship,privileging some meaningsover others
by means of choices of language, logic, or rhetoric.Thus "decidingwhat to call
somethingcan constitutea claim aboutit" (p. 48). These choices and claims lead to
the assertion,production,reproduction,and contestationof certainmeanings and
truthsof citizenship.
We focused this review on scholarlyand curricularEnglish-languagetexts and
authorswhose works were publishedfrom 1990 through2003. We furtherchose
works in which citizenship or citizenship education was the primaryfocus. This
time periodwas selected not only becauseit included9/11 and its aftermathbut also
because it includedthe last decade of the 20th century,in which a large numberof
theoreticalandspeculativewritingswere generatedon the natureof democraticlife.
In the field of political theory alone, Kymlicka and Norman (1994, p. 352) documentedthe "explosionof interestin the concept of citizenship,"an interestthathas
spread through many academic fields, including education. The texts that we
reviewedincludedmultipledisciplines,ideologicalperspectives,andinterestgroups.
We randomlyselected texts from the fields of education,social studies education,
philosophy, and political theoryin which citizenship or citizenship educationwas
the centraltopic, drawingfrom academicjournalsand scholarlybooks in those disciplines. We sampled essays and curriculumfrom a wide array of educational
groups to reflect the ideological diversity of citizenship ideals and programs.To
get a sense of the states' uniqueinterestsin and meaningsof citizenshipeducation,
we also reviewed civic standardsfrom the states of New Jersey, California, and
Ohio. New Jersey was chosen because it is one of a minorityof states that do not
yet use any standardizedtests in civics. California was chosen for the size and
655
KnightAbowitz&Harnish
diversityof its population.Ohio was selected as a staterepresentinga close alignmentwith the nationalstandards,accreditation,andstandardizedtestingmovements.
We also reviewed documentsfrom privatefoundations,teachers'unions,independent nonprofits,and professional organizationsthat developed curriculumor
specificeducationalpositionsfor citizenshipeducation.We sampledmaterialsfrom
the curriculumstandardsof the National Council for the Social Studies (1994);
Down the Street,Around the World:A StarterKitfor Global Awareness (2003),
publishedby the AmericanFederationof Teachers;the Centerfor Civic Education's
"Wethe People"curriculum(1995); the Youth LeadershipInitiativeat the University of Virginia Centerfor Politics (2003); the Veteransof Foreign WarsCitizenship EducationProgram(2003); the Thomas B. FordhamFoundation'sSeptember
11th: WhatOurChildrenNeed to Know(2002); "ThinkingAboutthe War"(2002),
from RethinkingSchools Online; a reportfrom the CarnegieCorporationof New
York and CIRCLE(Centerfor Informationand Researchon Civic Learningand
Engagement)entitled The Civic Mission of Schools (2003); the KetteringFoundation's NationalIssues Forums(2003); the Public Achievementprojectof the Center for Democracy and Citizenship(2002); and Civics Report Card to the Nation
(1999), fromthe NationalAssessmentof EducationalProgress(NAEP).In sum,our
review focused on theoreticaltexts as well as texts that specifically prescribedthe
types of knowledge and learningactivities that constitute"good"citizenshipeducation and curriculathatpurportto instructstudentsin such notions.
A textual analysis was conducted on these works, with a particularfocus on
the following aspects of each text: (a) the claims and evidence forwardedby the
author(s); (b) the rhetorical choices (vocabulary, slogans, style) made by the
author(s);(c) the moraland political values advocatedby the text; and (d) the context from which, or in which, the text was produced.Thus we examinedeach text
by asking: Whatis the authoradvocating,and whatare the terms/expressionsused
to identifypolitical membership,identity, values, participation, and knowledge?
Whatkindsof moral, civic, and/or educationalvalues does the authordefend?
Afterworkingthroughthe analysis,we identifiedpatternsin how citizenshipwas
conceptualized,patternsthatcould be seen in shifts in the languageused to describe
citizenship,differencesin claims aboutwhatcitizenshipmeansor shouldmean,and
differencesin the values attributedto "goodcitizenship."While these distinctideals
were more specificallynamed and clearly delineatedin the scholarlytexts thatwe
reviewed,3we saw them emergingwithin the appliedand curriculartexts, too. The
patternseventuallybecame identifiedas distinctcitizenshipdiscourses.Seven citizenship discoursesemerged throughthe research.We review the two dominating
discourses--civic republicanand liberal-first. Subsequently,we discuss the discoursesthatwe collected underthe name "critical,"becausethey challengethe twin
pillarsof civic republicanandliberaldiscoursein oursociety. The criticaldiscourses
reviewedhereincludefeminist,reconstructionist,cultural,queer,andtransnational.
In this review, we describe broadcharacteristicsof each discourse4and how each
discourseis actualizedor expressedin school curriculum.We analyzethe multiple,
shifting meanings of citizenship and citizenship education in the contemporary
United States, providingeducatorswith a guide to the diverse ideological orientations thatare shapingour thinkingaboutcivic life and political participation.
We draw two broad conclusions from this review. We found a distinct dominance of the Enlightenment-inspirednotions of citizenship over the more critical
656
Discoursesof Citizenship
Contemporary
discourses thathave recentlyemerged.The civic republicanand liberaldiscourses
continue to define and powerfully shape how U.S. society understandscitizenship
and the ways in which the society's institutions,such as schools, therebyshape citizens. Yet we also discoveredmanypowerfulchallengesto these dominantnotions
of citizenship and civic life. In the past hundredyears, social, political, and economic movementshave inspirednew forms andideals of citizenshipand areinvigoratingold forms.The feminist,cultural,queer,andreconstructionistdiscoursesof
citizenshiphave developed or retainedvigor as a result of the unfulfilledpromises
of the civic republicanand liberal discourses, shapingnew forms of civic agency,
identity,and membership.These more criticaldiscourseshave also cross-fertilized
with the ancient ideals of cosmopolitanism and transnationalism,leading to new
meanings and forms of citizenshippracticeand education.Criticalandcosmopolitan discourses that gained significantgroundin the 20th centuryrepresentimportant challenges to these dominantways of thinking.Still, the challenge is far more
potent in scholarlyliteratureand in political life than in the mainstreamcurricular
texts that we reviewed. This exclusion from curriculartexts is explained, in part,
by the fundamentalcritiquesand controversialquestionsthat they raise about traditionalmeaningsof citizenshipand of the nation-stateitself. Criticaland transnational discourses of citizenship raise basic questions about identity (who we are
as citizens), membership(who belongs, and the location of the boundaries),and
agency (how we might best enact citizenship)-questions debatedin political life
acrossthe globe by scholarsandactivists,political thinkersandneighborhoodorganizers. However, the critical and transnationalcivic reconstructionsare marginalized in the curriculartexts that define the standardsand prominentmeanings of
citizenshiptaughtin schools. The diminutionof these discoursesin the taughtcurriculummeans thatmuch of our schooling in citizenshipfails to reflectthe continual strugglesof democraticpolitics. In short,the lived curriculaof citizenship and
the lively debates among activists, scholars, and thinkersis ideologically diverse
and suggests multipleforms of democraticengagement,while the currentformal,
taughtcurriculumof citizenshipproducesa relativelynarrowscope andset of meanings for what citizenship is and can be. This difference suggests that, ratherthan
blaming democraticdisengagementon the apatheticchoices of young people, we
should perhapsbe looking at how we reduce, confine, diminish, and deplete citizenship meaningsin our formaland taughtcurriculum.
Discourses of Civic Republican Citizenship: Strong Political Community
The civic republicandiscoursehabituallyexpresses the values of love and service to one's political community (local, state, and national);its views on civic
membershipin the politicalcommunityarecharacterizedby an exclusivity not seen
in othercitizenshipdiscourses.Civic republicandiscussions highlightthe need for
better civic literacy and the importanceof a centralbody of civic knowledge for
good citizenship.Civic republicanswish to promotea civic identity among young
people characterizedby commitmentto the politicalcommunity,respectfor its symbols, andactive participationin its common good. Cooperativeparticipationin progovernment activities (voting, involvement with political parties, and civic
activities) is stressedin civic republicantexts. The prominenceof this discourse is
seen throughoutthe texts thatwe examinedbut was particularlyevident in the state
documents on civics standardsand the citizenship materialsof some of the more
657
Discoursesof Citizenship
Contemporary
Oldham(1998) observes, civic republicandiscourselargely maintainsthe benefits
of exclusivity.6All discoursesof citizenship must define boundaries(of membership, of benefits, of rights, of duties), but the civic republicandiscoursedraws the
sharpestlines of inclusionandexclusion in its expressionsof politicalmembership.
"Inchoosing an identityfor ourselves, we recognize both who our fellow citizens
are, and those who are not membersof our community,and thus who arepotential
enemies"(p. 81). Oldhamstatesthatthis idea of exclusive membership,which lies
at the heartof the civic republicantradition,gives priorityto political and national
communityover universalistor humanistethics. For example,particularlyin times
of war or economic threat,the needs of nation supersedeglobal or cosmopolitan
ethics-recall the nationalistrhetoricthat introducedA Nation at Risk (National
Commissionon Excellence in Education,1983) underthe threatof a strongJapanese economy. Similarly, after 9/11, Lynne Cheney (2002) stated that "the most
importantcivics lessons for American children are found in American history."
Civics, it is implied here, does not involve a study of world historyexcept as a secondary matter-students primarilyneed to know about the difficult accomplishments of startingand maintainingour democraticU.S. society.
Texts in this discourse,stressingthe importanceof conservingand maintaining
U.S. democraticideals andtraditions,emphasizethe importanceof learningfacts and
informationaboutdemocracy'shistoryand institutions.Many of the texts bemoan
the diminishedcivics offeringsin high schools and the diminishedscores thatU.S.
students receive in tests on civic knowledge as comparedwith studentsin other
nations (Quigley, 2003; Lutkus,Weiss, Campbell, Mazzeo, & Lazer, 1999). The
civic republicandiscoursestronglyvalues civic knowledge, sometimescalled civic
literacy(Milner,2002), as an essentialcomponentof citizenship.Civic educationhas
to do with students'gaining sufficientcivic knowledge, as well as the virtues and
skills needed to engage successfully in the process of democracy (Butts, 1988;
Milner, 2002; Nie, Junn, & Stehlik-Barry,1996). Such civic knowledge, in civic
republicandiscourse, focuses on Americanhistory, institutions,and seminal texts
(the Constitution,the Bill of Rights, etc.), reserving a far smaller place for more
humanistic,international,and critical content and pedagogy. Civic knowledge in
civic republicandiscoursealso includesan understandingof andloyalty to national
symbols and icons, such as the flag (Veteransof ForeignWars, 2003). In New Jersey, the firstgoal suggestedfor social studiesinstructionis "transmissionof ourcultural and intellectual heritage";the sense of the importance of transmittingthe
heritageof U.S. democracyis quitepowerfulin many curriculaandtexts thatshape
classroomteaching (New JerseyStateDepartmentof Education,1996).
The civic virtues of central concern are self-sacrifice, patriotism,loyalty, and
respect. The civic skills are those enabling citizens to engage in productive dialogue around public problems, building consensus and working cooperatively.
These virtues and skills are well articulatedin the focus on communityservice in
the civic republicandiscourse. While several citizenship discourses use ideas of
community service, the civic republicandiscourse specifically uses service as a
way to help studentsform a sense of duty to other citizens and to forge a sense of
commitment to community and nation (Zaff, 2003). Damon stresses the significance of this kind of developed civic identity, defined as "an allegiance to a systematic set of moral and political beliefs, a personal ideology of sorts, to which a
young personforges a commitment.The emotional and moralconcomitantsto the
659
beliefs are a devotion to one's communityanda sense of responsibilityto the society at large"(2001, p. 127).
Damon's concern is not with communalidentityas it forms in ethnic, racial,or
otherculturalgroups;indeed, some civic republicanshave waged sharpcritiquesof
s emphasison such bonds, accusingthem of having a balkanizing
multiculturalism'
influenceon our society (Schlesinger, 1991;Ravitch, 1993). The push for requiring
recitationof the Pledge of Allegiance in classroomsacross the United Statesafter
9/11 reflects this interestin assertingcitizenshipprimarilyas it is associatedwith
unityandloyalty to the nation-state(Piscatelli,2003). As ChesterFinn (2001) noted
one monthafter9/11, "Kidsare pledging allegiancein Pennsylvania,singing 'God
Bless the U.S.A.' in Arkansas,wearingred, white andblue to school (for a 'Patriotism Day' assembly) in Maryland.And much more."And, as the Californiastate
social studies standardsfor first gradersreflect,knowing the "symbols,icons, and
traditionsof the United States that provide continuity and a sense of community
across time" includes practices such as reciting the Pledge and singing patriotic
songs (CaliforniaState Departmentof Education,1998). As a result of these particularvalues and their emphasis on communalunity, this discourse infrequently
addressesthe civic tensions and conflicts that spring from racial, ethnic, class, or
genderdivisions and hierarchies.
State civics standardsstronglyreflectthe rhetoricand agendaspresentedin the
civic republicandiscourse.In Ohio, as in most states,the civics standardsarelocated
within the social studies standards(see Tolo, 1999). These standardsgive priority
to communalvalues, civic participation,and the history of Americandemocracy.
They stipulatethat,by the end of Grade5, Ohio studentsshouldbe able to "explain
how citizens take partin civic life in orderto promotethe common good" (Ohio
State Departmentof Education,2003, p. 38). By Grade 8 they should be able to
"identifyhistoricaloriginsthatinfluencedtherightsU.S. citizenshave today"(p. 38).
By Grade12, studentsareto "explainhow individualrightsarerelative,not absolute,
anddescribethe balancebetweenindividualrights,the rightsof others,andthecommon good" (p. 39).
Participationis definedby civic republicantexts as prosocial,with an emphasis
on personalresponsibilityand the common good. The Grade 11 content standards
for Ohio offer a list of ways thatwe can exercise personalresponsibilityandactive
participationin a democracy:"Behavingin a civil manner,being fiscally responsible, acceptingresponsibilityfor the consequenceof one's actions, practicingcivil
discourse, becoming informed on public issues, voting, taking action on public
issues, providingpublic service, servingon juries"(Ohio StateDepartmentof Education,p. 97). This list heavily emphasizesparticipationmodes thatarecooperative
and supportiveof the state, emphasizingconventionalways to supportthe existing
governmentaland community institutions.The duty of citizenship most heavily
emphasizedin civic republicantexts on educationis voting: Many curricularideas
exist for engaging studentsin and educatingthem aboutvoting (Youth Leadership
Initiative,2003), anda strongemphasison voting is foundin many statecitizenship
standards.An emphasison civic responsibilities,duties,andserviceto othersunderscores the goals of workingtowardthe common good.
In civic republicandiscourse, "responsibility"is often set up against "rights."
Following the communitarian critique of liberalism in the 1980s and 1990s
(MacIntyre, 1981; Sandel, 1982), the civic republicandiscourse has put renewed
660
Discoursesof Citizenship
Contemporary
emphasison the responsibilitiesincumbentupon democraticcitizens if our political communityis to reproduceitself and thrive. Among civic republicans,there is
some agreementthatour rightsare worthlesswithoutthe strongpresenceof values
that underscorecivic responsibilities, and that younger generations erroneously
understanddemocracyto be an exercise of rightsratherthana structurethatequally
obligates them to certainduties. Thus the emphasis on loyalty, civic literacy, and
service to government,community,and countryis intendedto promotethe desire
andthe abilityto carryout one's civic responsibilities.Ourdemocracy,accordingto
the civic republicandiscourse,is brokenbecause of growing cynicism, apathy,and
a selfish focus on individualrightsover collective responsibilities.
The heroic response to 9/11 and its aftermathgave civic republicanshope that
Americacould renew its communalties. The civic republicandiscoursehas been in
high profilesince 9/11, which is unsurprising,given the nationalisttone thathistorically has made this discourseripe for wartimerhetoric.In the wake of 9/11, civic
republicanvoices launchedscathingcritiquesof public schooling that were illustrative of their agenda for citizenship education. Criticizing the public schools'
responseto the events and aftermathof 9/11,7 Finn (2002) wrote that "thecurricularandpedagogicaladvicethatmanyof the [education]profession'scountlessorganizations[gave] ... was long on multiculturalism,feelings, relativismandtolerance
but shorton history,civics andpatriotism"(p. 4). In September11: WhatOurChildrenNeed to Know,publishedby the ThomasB. FordhamFoundation,Rotherham
(2002) states: "[W]hileit is importantfor schools to teach abouttolerancefor different people within this country and aroundthe world, we do studentsand ourselves a disserviceby equatingtolerancewith a relativistexaminationof September
11th"(p. 34). Rotherhamandotherscholarswhose workappearedin this editedcollection believe that teachers, parents, and the media should teach young people
aboutthe ideals and institutionsthatmake America special and unique-not without flaws, but with a strong,appreciativefocus on the historicalandideological traditions of Americandemocracythatstudentsshould cherish.Renewing the Pledge
of Allegiance in schools, findingways to help studentsserve theircommunities,and
using curriculathat transmitthe U.S. heritageare all populardiscursive practices
used in the civic republicandiscourseon citizenship.
Discourses of Liberal Citizenship
Another powerful discursive force in shaping contemporarymeanings of citizenship is liberalism, a discourse of individual liberty. It prioritizesthe rights of
individualsto form, revise, and pursuetheirown definitionof the good life, within
certainconstraintsthatareimposed to promoterespectfor and considerationof the
rights of others. Fromthe conceptionof individualrights comes a focus on equality, or the ability of all people-especially those in historically marginalizedand
oppressed groups-to fully exercise their freedoms in society. From a historical
emphasis on individual freedom and equality have emerged two predominant
threadswithin liberal citizenshipdiscourses.The first, neoliberalism,will be only
briefly introducedhere, as it has not yet emerged as an explicit discourse of citizenship.Politicalliberalism,the moreprominentliberaldiscourseinfluencingideas
aboutcitizenshipeducation,will be the centralfocus.
Neoliberal discourse, a combinationof marketliberal ideology and aggressive
individualism,is very influentialin Americancultureand schooling. Neoliberalism
661
KnightAbowitz&Harnish
merges the capitalistand democraticspheres, as Wells, Slayton, and Scott (2002)
describe:"A careful study of the dominantdiscourse of democracyin the United
States, especially in the last decade, demonstratesthat the democracyversus markets dichotomy is misleading, as political leaders ... have continuallypromoted
democracyfor markets"(p. 341). Under neoliberal logic, the liberty enjoyed by
democraticcitizens is the same freedom thathas helped free-marketcapitalismto
flourish;democraticcitizenshiptakes on an instrumentalturndesignedto servethe
growthof capitalisticmarkets.8While the neoliberaldiscoursein educationis very
powerful,9educatorsrarelytakeup the neoliberaldiscourseas an explicit discourse
of citizenship; and most political and educational theorists also largely reject
neoliberalismas a civic discourse,in partbecauseits model of homoeconomicusthe humanbeing as an essentially economic animal-reflects an individualismso
severe as to be incompatiblewith the civic ideals long associatedwith democratic
public life andcommon schooling.The effects of this influenceon citizenshipeducationarenot analyzedhere,but a growingnumberof theoristsandeducatorsargue
thatthe pursuitof rationalself-interestthatis the essence of capitalismemphasizes
individualfreedom at the expense of the egalitarian,communal,and public ideals
of democraticlife (see Barber,1999).
Political liberalism is a pervasive discourse shaping meanings of citizenship,
seen especially in key professionalliteratureof the social studies (including that
for classroom use) and in the literatureof nonprofitgroups such as the Centerfor
Civic Education.In this discourse, national identity is constructedaround"thinner"conceptions of a political communitythan are articulatedin civic republican
texts. In this discourse many texts give explicit recognition and valuationto the
fact of civic pluralism.The "thinner"conceptions of liberal citizenshipreflectthe
belief that there is less relative social agreementon values, chosen identities,and
forms of democraticparticipationthanis assumedby the civic republicandiscourse
(McLaughlin,1992; Strike, 1994). Whereascivic republicandiscourse values the
common good of political communities,political liberalismenvisions a morelimited political arena,with greaterfocus on proceduresthatwould ensurefair, inclusive deliberationaboutgovernanceandpolicy (Gutmann,2000). "Thin"refers"not
to the insignificance of values" such as tolerance, freedom, and equality, but to
"theirindependencefrom substantial,particularframeworksof belief and value"
(McLaughlin,1992, p. 240).
"Theembodimentof the moralpersonin the liberaldemocraticsociety is the citizen who is free, self-originating, and responsible in exercising rights and dischargingduties"(Shafir, 1998, p. 8). One of the most prominentand most debated
values associatedwith politicalliberaldiscoursesof citizenshipis autonomy.Since
the historical origins of liberalism itself are found in the rejection of structures
of governance, authority, and control-monarchies, feudal economies, and the
Catholic Church,among otherinstitutions-liberal discourses are concernedwith
the primacyof individualliberty."Liberalsbelieve that persons meritrespectand
that consequently they should be free to choose their own ideals or live without
ideals"(Macedo, 1990, pp. 215-216). This does not mean thatcitizenshipis understood as a nonjudgmentalenterprisein which studentsbelieve anythingthey wish,
for any reasonthey wish. Rather,"we wantchildrento learnthattherearebetterand
worse ways of using their freedom ... [and that] no one educational authority
should totally dominate."Liberalswant studentsto think critically, to be able to
662
Discoursesof Citizenship
Contemporary
detectconflictsbetween "ourinclusive politicalideals and ... theirparticularmoral
and religious convictions" (Macedo, 2000, p. 238). Political liberalismenvisions
citizenshipthattakes a certaincriticalattitudetowardall authority,consistentwith
its focus on liberty (Kymlicka, 1999b). As Callan (1997) also points out, the moral
authorityof the family and home cultureis put into perspective as one source of
truthamong many in a diverse society.' In political liberaldiscourses,citizenship
requiresan identitythatis neitherautonomousnor necessarily separatefrom one's
familial or religious beliefs, but that develops on the basis of the values and skills
necessaryto criticallyconsiderthose and otherbeliefs. The abilityto reason,therefore, is highly valued in political liberal discourses of citizenship. In the NAEP
reportCivicsReportCardto theNation (1999), for example, more than22,000 students were assessed accordingto three measuresof citizenship:civic knowledge,
intellectualskills, and civic dispositions. The intellectual skills were describedas
abilitiesto identify anddescribe,explain andanalyze, andevaluateandtake/defend
a position. These skills typically are understoodas reasoningabilities.
Freedomfrom the tyrannyof authorityis one of two primaryvalues in this discourse. The otherinvolves the deliberativevalues of discussion,disagreement,and
consensusbuilding-all viewed as essential to democraticsocieties. Taylor(1995)
highlightsthe two sides of politicalliberalcitizenship-citizens as entitledto rights
and equal treatment,and citizens as participantsin self-rule. Both are a focus for
manypoliticalliberals,especially those withinthe theoreticalcircles of deliberative
democratictheory (Benhabib, 1992; Habermas,1996; Cohen, 1996; Gutmann&
Thompson, 1996; Enslin, Pendlebury,& Tjiattas,2001). Deliberative democrats
seek forumswhere all citizens can deliberatepublic problemsby providingreasons
thatarecompellingto others-not by simplyassertingtheirown truthclaims, which
may or may not be sharedby others-and where citizens are treatedas equal participantsin the deliberation.Deliberativedemocratictheoryhas been a strongpresence in the political liberal discourses of citizenship since the 1990s, and its
influenceis seen in citizenshipeducationdiscourses and practicesrelatedto civility. Reasoningpersonshave values associatedwith civility-the ability anddisposition to listen to views that are not one's own, the cognitive skills to evaluateand
measurethe claims and truthsof diverse others, and the ability to reach collective
policy decisions that are acceptable to all participants (Rawls, 1993). Among
Galston's (1991) list of liberal civic virtues are independence,open-mindedness,
the capacity to discern and respect the rights of others, the ability to evaluate the
performanceof those in office, and willingness to engage in public discourse.
Parker'sTeachingDemocracyoffers a centralargumentfor schools in which "competent public talk-deliberation aboutcommon problems-is fostered"(italics in
original).Parkerurges educatorsto "expect,teach andmodel, competent,inclusive
deliberation"(2003, p. 78; see also Mathews, 1996). The KetteringFoundation's
National Issues ForumsInstitute,which organizes forums on public policy issues
for schools, groups, and communities,is "rootedin the simple notion that people
need to come togetherto reason and talk-to deliberateaboutcommon problems"
(National Issues Forums Institute,2003). In like manner,the introductionto the
curriculumstandardsof the National Council for the Social Studies states that
"social studies should help public discourse to be more enlightenedbecause students possess the knowledge, intellectual skills, and attitudesnecessary to confront, discuss, and consideraction on such issues. Social studies teachershave the
663
KnightAbowitz&Harnish
duty to help studentsexplore a varietyof positionsin a thorough,fair-mindedmanner"(NationalCouncil for the Social Studies, 1994, p. 10).
Many within the political liberal discourse recognize the "need to perpetuate
fidelity to liberal democraticinstitutions and values from one generationto the
next,"which requiressome sharedcivic and educationalaims (Callan, 1997, p. 9).
Gutmann(1987) refers to democraticeducationas conscious social reproduction,
an effortto reproducestructures,norms,andvalues thatareessentialto democratic
governance in each generation.Rawlsian political liberalism requiresthat "children's educationinclude such things as knowledge of theirconstitutionalandcivic
rights,"but like many liberals,Rawls recognizes the cooperativedispositionsand
sharedaims of citizens in a democracy(1993, p. 39). Liberaltexts typicallyattempt
to balanceeducationfor responsibility,obligation,and cooperationwith education
promoting individual and group rights. Landau (2002) advocates this balance
against the sometimes singularfocus on responsibilities in civic republicandiscourse. She states that, "ratherthan valuing the educationalexperiencethatwould
presentitself in teachingstudentsabouttheirrightsandthenhelpingthem to understandthatevery right carrieswith it an equally importantresponsibility,most educators simply want to teach students that they have to be responsible."Landau
presentsa political liberal value system as she condemns the practiceof "training
studentsto obey ratherthanto make appropriatedecisions [which] has little to do
with democraticthinking"(p. 2). Citizenshipeducationis often articulatedin political liberaldiscourseas being aboutdemocraticrights and aboutthe skills anddispositionsof cooperation,deliberation,anddecision making.Democraticschooling
practitioners(Angell, 1991; Wood, 1992; Mosher, Kenny, & Garrod,1994) advocate a political liberalframeworkof rights, deliberation,and shareddecision making as a school governance model. "Schools can provide students with the
opportunityto participatein a hands-on political process. This means making
schools democratic"(Howard& Kenny, 1992, p. 211). Among the six promising
approachesto civic educationdescribedin The CivicMission of Schools (Carnegie
Corporationof New York& CIRCLE,2003), aretwo thatecho the emphasison student participationas a fundamentalnormativeaspect of civic identity:Schools are
to "encouragestudentparticipationin school governance"and"encouragestudents'
participationin simulations of democraticprocesses and procedures"(p. 6). The
value andpracticeof encouragingstudents'involvementandengagementin school
andcommunitygovernancearepartof the liberaldiscoursebutalso reflectanunderstandingof citizenshipthatis sharedby the criticaldiscoursesof citizenshipthatwe
will discuss later.
A significantfocus in political liberal discourses is on learningthe values and
skills necessaryto take partin a culturallydiverse public life."IIn a multicultural
nationof immigrants,schools perenniallycreateandrecreatecitizensandthenation.
Politicalliberaldiscoursesof citizenshipsee the public school as occupyingan irreplaceable role in the formationof democraticcitizens. Feinberg(1998) views the
common school as having a "public-formingrole [which includes] the idea of
enablingculturallydifferentformationswithinthe same nationto flourish"(p. 10).
He identifiesculturalrespectand culturalengagementas requiredskills andunderstandingsfor a "multiculturalcitizen,"andculturalcompetenceandculturalunderstanding as requiredcognitive skills for such a citizen (pp. 212-216). Feinberg
acknowledgesthat"toencouragemultiplevoices andbeliefs involves a highlycom664
ContemporaryDiscourses of Citizenship
plex set of understandingsthat includes knowledge about people and the various
ways in which they hold beliefs" (p. 221). For political liberals, this is partof the
essentialknowledge thatcitizens of the United States need to acquirein schools.
Normative values relating to respect and tolerance, as well as cognitive and
social skills relatedto engagement,areemphasizedin the political liberalresponses
to 9/11. In the October2001 issue of Social Education,the journalof the National
Council for the Social Studies, two articles addressedissues of prejudiceagainst
Muslim Americansand promotedunderstandingof and tolerancetowardthe Arab
American community in the United States (Alavi, 2001; Seikaly, 2001). In the
wake of 9/11, these values were emphasizedin the push for greaterunderstanding
of Islam in general and of Muslim Americansin particular.
The civic knowledge needed to advance respect and engagement is not only
knowledge of the culturaldiversity in contemporaryAmerica but knowledge of
Americanhistoryandgovernment(CarnegieCorporationof New York & CIRCLE,
2003; Boyer, 1990), used to understandand critically assess the currentsocial and
politicalcontext. Substantiveknowledge aboutAmericangovernment,history,and
politics, especially with a focus on individual freedom and our multicultural
nationalhistory,is stressed.The Grade 10 social studies contentstandardsin Ohio
include the study of civil disobedienceand periodsin historyin which some rights
were restrictedby the government,such as the McCarthyera and the Red Scare of
the 1950s (Ohio StateDepartmentof Education,2003, p. 92). In California,students
learn aboutU.S. symbols, icons, and traditionsas early as Grade 1 (History/Social
Science Standard1.3, p. 6) and about the forms of diversity in their communities,
including"thehistoricalrole of religionandreligiousdiversity"in the UnitedStates,
in Grade 12 (CaliforniaState Board of Education, 1998, p. 63). But the focus on
civic knowledgetypicallyis statedwithinthe politicalliberaldiscoursein ways that
emphasize the linking of this knowledge with communicative and deliberative
skills. Boyer (1990) says that "civic educationis concerned,first, with communication.... Citizenshiptraining... means teaching studentsto think critically,listen with discernment,and communicate with power and precision" (p. 5). The
November/December 2001 issue of Social Education focuses on educational
responses to war, and heavy emphasisis placed on deliberationand criticalthinking. "Teachersneed to encouragediscussion and debate,"urges Singleton (2001).
A furtherpush for criticalthinkingis found in an articleon media literacy skills in
which the authorarguesthat studentsneed to learn to question and analyze media
messages regardingterrorismand war (Hobbs, 2001). Unlike the more nationalistic, loyalistresponsesfoundin the civic republicandiscourseafter9/11 andthe invasion of Iraq,the political liberaldiscourseincludedan arrayof responsesthaturged
discussion and debateaboutgovernmentalpolicies and actions.
Manywithinthe liberaldiscoursehave wonderedhow a pluralisticnationavoids
the centrifugalforces of diversity.Callan (1997) acknowledges that "theproblem
with stabilitythatpluralismcreatesfor the well-orderedsociety has to do with the
fragilityof any reconciliationbetween the good of citizens and the political virtue
they must evince if the justice of the basic structure[of a democraticstate] is to
endure"(p. 96). It is fearedthatthe bondsbuiltthroughdeliberationanddebatewill
be weakin a diversesociety. In such cases, how shouldcitizenshipeducationin public schools help to foster nationalloyalty and love of nation without endangering
the fundamentalliberal commitment of freedom? The term patriotism also has
665
engenderedsome controversyin the political liberal discourseof citizenship,particularly since 9/11 (Kazin, 2002; Sleeper, 2003). The idea of patriotismis more
contested in political liberal discourse than in civic republicandiscourse, which
views patriotismas a fundamentalvalue and disposition to be nurturedin citizenship education.Bern (2002), in an essay posted after9/11 on the AmericanFederation of Teachers website, argues for a patriotismof ideas and principles,not of
bloodlines,traditions,or personalloyalties. Bern advocatesa patriotismthatinstills
loyalty to the ideas of freedom and equality,enabling studentsto see the perspectives of many nations, cultures, and ideologies, but also helping them to "make
distinctions between freedom-fightersand terrorists,based on the methods used
andthe ends thatarebeing foughtfor"(p. 6). Callan(1997) arguesfor a liberalpatriotism thatis differentfrom a "sentimentalcivic education"thatarousesandshapes
notions of civic love and blind loyalty (pp. 103-104). Patrioticpride, he offers, is
inseparablefrom "evaluativejudgments about the nation or multinationalpolity
with which one identifies,judgmentsaboutthe impressiveaccomplishmentsof its
pastor the hopefulprospectsfor its future"(p. 105). Americansentimentalityis distinct from pride in America, because the latterinvolves a reasoned evaluationof
whetherwe are achieving the ideals of freedomand equalityfor all people.
Critical Citizenships: Addressing the Gaps
and Conflicts of Enlightenment Citizenship
The discourses most persuasively shaping the ways in which we think, talk,
write, and teach aboutcitizenshiptoday are centuriesold. They germinatedin the
ancient societies of Greece and Rome and were rebornin the Western European
Enlightenmenttradition.Both civic republicanismand political liberalismprovide
rich ideological frameworksthatshould continueto shapeour languageandthinking aboutcitizenship, structuringboth our sense of civic realityand our own identities as citizens (Mills, 1997). Yet our analysis shows that, although these two
discourses dominate citizenship education in society and schools, they represent
only partof how citizenshipis actively being practicedand articulatedin today's
civic realms.We foundevidence of severalcitizenshipdiscoursesthatonly slightly
influenceK-12 curriculaor standardsbut which could representimportantinnovation in conceptualizingcitizenship. Since discourses have representedimportant
shifts andconflicts in U.S. democracyover the past severalcenturiesof democratic
life, theiromission and/orinvisibilityin the public conceptionsof citizenshipis significant.We have labeled these discourseswith the umbrellatermcritical. Critical
discoursesraise issues of membership,identity, and engagementin creative,productive ways; however, these discoursesare far more widespreadin scholarlyand
theoreticaltexts than in practical,applied curriculartexts. The relative silence of
criticallanguage,values, and practicesin curricularand taughttexts of citizenship
in schools speaks volumes about the power of dominant discourses of citizenship to shapehow presentandfuturegenerationsdo, anddo not, thinkaboutdemocraticcitizenship.
Criticaldiscourseshave in common the agendaof challengingliberaland civic
republicannotions of civic membership,civic identity,and forms of civic engagement.Attemptingto broadenanddeepenthe liberalagendasof humanfreedom,these
discoursesfocus specificallyon exclusionsbasedon gender,culture,ethnicity,nationality,race,sexuality,or socioeconomicclass. Feministdiscoursesof citizenshipraise
666
Discoursesof Citizenship
Contemporary
manyquestionsabouthow citizenshiphas been framedwithingenderedthinkingand
constructions.Cultural citizenship discourses interrogatehow ethnic, languageminority,and otherculturalgroupshave found citizenshipto be a role and identity
purchasedat a high price, as citizenshipidentitiescan requireassimilationand thus
prove inhospitableand harmfulto culturalidentitiesthat are of greatimportanceto
individualsand groups.Reconstructionistdiscourses take up progressiveand neoMarxisthistoriesto questionhow active,criticalparticipationin democraticsocieties
has been neglectedin ourconceptualizationsof citizenship.Queerdiscoursesof citizenshipuse postmodernthinkingto inquireinto citizenshipnot simply as a status,
membership,or stableidentity,but as a performanceof civic courageandrisk.
Feminist citizenship discourses are currently"challengingthe lions that guard
the canonicalliteratureon citizenship"(Jones, 1998, p. 222). Although"citizenship
has existed for nearlythreemillennia,.... with very minorexceptions, women have
had some sharein civic rightsin the most liberalstates for [only] abouta century"
(Heater,2004, p. 203). This fact suggests that citizenship is "a status invented by
men for men" (p. 203). Pateman's(1988) seminal analysis of " 'thefraternalpact'
thatunderliesliberaldemocraticthought,"andher"exposureof the genderassumptions thatshapethe citizen as male, are challenging critiques of the ways in which
women have, by definition, been included as a negative referencepoint in theories of democracyand citizenship"(Arnot,Aradijo,Deliyanni-Kouimtzis, Ivinson,
& Tom6, 2000, p. 218). Feminist citizenship discourses have questioned and
shifted the "meaningsof such concepts as rights,needs, dependency,entitlements
and democraticparticipation.Equally,they have sought strategictransformationof
the relationsof power which configurethe termsof inclusion and exclusion in the
polity" (Kenway & Langmead,2000, p. 313).
A key referencepoint in this discourseis the public/privatedivide thatpervades
much political thinking in the Western world (Elshtain, 1981). "Beginning with
Aristotle, influentialpolitical theoristsarguedthat women's reproductivefunction
destinedthem for the private(domestic) sphere,"while their (initiallyWhite, property-owning)male counterpartsparticipatedin publiclife (Smith, 1999, p. 141). The
public, in muchpolitical theorizingin the West, is idealized as a universalspace for
all, wherethe mindrules with rationalityandlogical thought;the privateis a sphere
of body, emotion, and the particularityof relationships.Feminist discoursesquestion whetherdemocraticcitizenshipis itself such a gendered,patriarchalconcept as
to requirea completetransformation
to live up to its inclusive ideals (p. 141;Assiter,
1999). "Feminist campaigns to break down the gendering of public and private
spheres,or indeed to achieve equalityfor women in the public sphere,strikeat the
heartof a gendereddiscourseof westernEuropeannotions of democracy"(Arnot,
1997, p. 279). Equalityor liberalfeminism has generally arguedfor women's full
inclusion in the political sphere, objecting to women's "relativelack of access to
conventional arenasof political decision making, as well as to women's unequal
representationin leadershippositions in radicalorganizationsfor political change"
(Jones, 1998, p. 225). In liberal feminism, there is a reliance on the discourses of
political liberalism to shape argumentsfor women's agency, rights, and autonomy (Dillabough & Arnot, 2000). Much of the liberal feminist agenda in citizen
education still involves enhancing the public achievement of women and girls,
enabling them to reach their full capacities as persons, workers, and political
actors throughlegal and educationalreforms such as Title IX, affirmativeaction,
667
Discoursesof Citizenship
Contemporary
tions. In Grade 10, the state of Ohio uses the women's suffrage movement of the
late 1800s to illustratean example of civil disobedience(Ohio State Departmentof
Education,2003, p. 92); in an examinationof the social developmentsof the 1920s
in the United States, the passage of the NineteenthAmendmentand the changing
role of women in society is only one focus among many. The values articulatedin
the earlygradesfocus moreon "trustworthiness,"
"pride,""self-control,""fairness,"
and "respectfor those in authority"thanthey do on values thatmight be associated
with care and relationality(see GradeLevel Indicators,Ohio State Departmentof
Education,p. 87). For centuries,educationpreparedmales and females for life in
differentspheres(DouglasFranzosa,1988). Althoughthis is no longerthe case, separationof the public and privatespheres seems to be alive and well in citizenship
educationdiscourses.GiarelliandGiarelli(1996) arguethatto breakfree of the constructionof citizenshipeducationas educationfor public life, we must see education as "theparadigmaticmode of socially established,cooperativehumanactivity
throughwhich we attemptsystematicallyto extend all varieties of humanpowers
and excellences, and [we must see] thatthese powers and excellences do not come
neatly packagedin gender-drivencategoriesof public and private,productiveand
reproductive"(pp. 33-34).
Discoursesof culturalcitizenshipemerge fromcritiquesarguingthatcitizenship
has been ethnically and otherwise culturallynormedand thus is overly assimilationist. Collective forms of agency-political actions conductedthroughcultural
group formations and alliances-are valued within cultural citizenship texts
(Flores & Benmajor,1997). Thus "culturalcitizenshiprefers to the right to be different (in terms of race, ethnicity,or native language)with respect to the normsof
the dominantnationalcommunity,withoutcompromisingone's rightto belong, in
the sense of participatingin the nation-state'sdemocraticprocesses" (Rosaldo &
Flores, 1997, p. 57). As McLaren(1999) charges,"proceduralliberaldemocracyis
to some extent a prophylaxisto liberation"(p. 19). Signalinglinks to neo-Marxism,
to liberalmulticulturaleducationaltheories,andto culturalstudies,the term "liberation"is a prominentsignifierin this discourse."Wehave affirmeduniversalrights,
but for most of ourhistory,we have definedwho was entitledto those rightsin racial
terms"(Foner, 2003). In this discourse, citizenshipis posed as a problem,a category in which culturaldifferenceis erased:"Proceduralliberalismis officially proclaimed to be difference-neutraland universal but is predicated upon group
membershipin which the White, heterosexualAnglo male of propertyis the prime
signifier"(Spinner,1984, p. 113). Spinnerclaims that"liberalcitizenshiphas failed
Black Americans,not completely, perhapsnot irrevocably,but mostly" (p. 113).
Spinnergoes on to arguethat because liberal theory is based on individualrights
andindividualactions,it is ill-positionedto deal with the needs andproblemsof culturalgroups.
RenatoRosaldois creditedwith firstuse of the term"culturalcitizenship,"which
"namesa rangeof social practiceswhich, takentogether,claim and establisha distinct social space for Latinosin this country"(Flores& Benmajor,1997, p. 1). "Differenceis seen as a resource,nota threat"-a parallelto thefeminist,reconstructionist,
andqueerdiscoursessurveyedhere."TheUnitedStateshas thrivednot becauseof its
effortsat culturalhomogenization,but despitethem.Whatis more, rejectionof differencepreventsus ... from understandingthe highly complex world in which we
reside" (p. 5.). In opposition to some of the consensus-based, unification values
669
ContemporaryDiscourses of Citizenship
KnightAbowitz&Harnish
poor, working-class,and non-Whitegroups in recent decades. "Governmentnow
respondsless to popularwill and more to narrowfinancialinterestsand influential
elites" (Kincheloe, 2001, p. 716). Like Kincheloe, many within this discourselink
the attenuationof democraticpublic life to the growing and dangerousinfluenceof
multinationalcorporationsandconsumerculture.Commentingon the "commercial
frenzy"to profitfromthe genuineheroismin responseto the events of 9/11 through
patrioticproducts,commercials,andsales pitches, Giroux(2003) remindsus "how
easily the marketconvertsnoble conceptslike public service and civic courageinto
forms of civic vacuity"(p. 26). Marketculture,Giroux(1999) warns,"threatensto
cancel out the tensionbetweenmarketvalues andthose values representativeof civil
society thatcannotbe measuredin commercialtermsbut thatarecriticalto democracy, values such as justice, freedom, equality, health, respect, and the rights of
citizens as equal and free human beings" (p. 162). Consumerism leads people
"increasinglyto see their work in instrumentalterms-as means to an end. The
accumulationof enough money for purchaseof consumerproductssupersedesproducing things of use and largervalue"(Boyte & Kari, 1996, p. 123). Public work,
Boyte argues,dependsnot on instrumentaland individualistthinkingpromotedby
consumerismbuton a democraticprocessandspirit"thatmakesthingsof valueand
importancein cooperationwith others"(p. 2). Public work, spaces, and processes
of deliberationandproblemsolving all signal the values of open, accessible,shared
democratic life of reconstructionistdiscourse. The philosophy of the Centerfor
DemocracyandCitizenshipis rootedin this progressiveidea of publicworkandhas
stories and links thattout the value of helping studentsto engage problemsin their
communities.One arm of the organizationis called Public Achievement,an internationalyouth initiativethatfocuses on citizen work(open to all, regardlessof age,
nationality,sex, religion,or income),the messiness of participatorydemocracy,and
learningby doing (Centerfor Democracyand Citizenship,2002).
To reclaim democraticinstitutionsfor the poor and marginalized,reconstructionist citizenship discourse embracescritical thinking,conflict, and controversy.
Westheimerand Kahne (2003) explicitly addressthe distinctionbetween the kind
of critical thinkingadvocatedin the political liberaldiscourse and the kind touted
by reconstructionists."Theconsensusregardingcriticalthinkinggenerallyvanishes
when the possibility arises thatstudentswill articulateconclusions thatdifferfrom
mainstreamor parentalvalues (or, in some cases, values the teacherholds thatdiffer from mainstreamvalues)" (p. 10). Educatorsin public schools often see "critical thinking"and citizenshipin a way thatwill work in the interestsof the current
hierarchyand structure.Indeed, as Kincheloe (2001) explains, in the reconstructionist discourse of citizenship, the term critical has an explicitly political frame.
"Criticaltheoryis concerned... with issues of power andjustice andthe ways that
the economy, mattersof race, class, and gender,ideologies, discourses,education,
religionandothersocial institutions,andculturaldynamicsinteractto constructthe
social systems thatconstructour consciousness"(pp. 122-123).
If state-runschooling is aboutorderand loyalty, as is exemplifiedin some civic
republicantexts, reconstructionistcitizenship is antitheticalto state-runschooling
in some of its more critical forms. This is because it is, as Kaye (2001) states,
"learninghow to connect with one's fellow citizens to confrontpower andauthority" (p. 104). Dryzek (1996) arguesthat,because democraticstatesare "lessdemocraticto the extent thatpublic policy becomes dictatedby the need to competeand
672
Discoursesof Citizenship
Contemporary
flourishin the transnationalpolitical economy"(p. 3), democraticcitizenshipneeds
to be "multidimensional... often unconventional,"and often should be waged
"againstthe state, and apart from the state"(p. 36). Reconstructionisttexts advocate fosteringcivic identitiesthatembracethe values and skills to question,rethink,
and confront, when necessary, the ways in which democraticinstitutions are not
workingon behalf of all citizens.
The civic knowledge emphasized in reconstructionistcitizenship discourse
goes beyond the "facts,"as Kincheloe (2001) argues. He articulatesthe distinction between a fact-based,supposedlyneutralcivics educationand a criticalcivics
curriculum:
Often,whenI observemiddleschool civics teacherslecturingtheirstudents
abouthow a bill becomes a law, neverreferringto lobbyistsand economic
powerwielders'rolein the process,I wonderaboutthefutureof participatory
democracy.If studentsareto learnhow poweractuallyoperatesandhow governingtakesplacein a privatizedtwenty-firstcentury,theywill haveto unlearn
the fairy-talecivics lessonsthey learnin manyschools.(p. 721)
Learningfacts, withinthis discourse,is importantonly insofaras those facts help to
promote and propel active learning aboutthe actual workings of political life. As
Parkercharacterizesthe citizenship educationdebates, "traditionalistswant more
study,progressiveswant more practice"(1996, p. 112). The progressive strainsof
reconstructionismhave successfully integratedsome active-learningpedagogies
into civics educationdiscourses. As Boyte characterizesprogressive civic education literature,it is agency and reasoning,not civic knowledge in any pure sense,
that are central:"[E]mphasizedis the development of 'public agency-people's
capacitiesto act with effect and with public spirit' " (Boyte, 1994, p. 417; quotedin
Parker,1996, p. 112).
Morecriticalreconstructionisttexts explicitlyadvocatetypes of civic knowledge
thatunmaskand derailofficial and state-sponsored"fairytales." Such knowledge
may include or focus on the more complete histories of various individuals and
social andpoliticalmovementsin the UnitedStates.In an articledescribingthe civic
disengagementof AfricanAmericanyoung people, Payne (2003) arguesthat educationfor liberationrequiresan understandingof the AfricanAmericanstrugglefor
freedom,citing the Mississippi FreedomSchools as an importanthistoricallegacy
and a role model for contemporaryefforts in citizenshipeducation,especially for
people of color. In the essay "StraightTalk With Kids About the War,"Connor
(2002) advocateshelping studentsto come to an informedposition on the war with
Iraq throughcandid discussions. "Answersto kids' questions can be much more
honest and satisfyingif justifying U.S. foreignpolicy is not the top priority.We can
begin by admittingthatwar is horribleand deadly.Details aren'tnecessary,but the
overarchingtruthis."
Patriotismin reconstructionistdiscourses is, in some senses, the antithesis of
what civic republicansmean by "love of country."To love the United States is to
"encouragedialogue, critique, dissent and social justice." It is to engage in the
messiness anddifficultyof a pluralisticdemocracythatdoes not currentlyworkwell
for all citizens. A cultureof discussion and dissent is necessary to "informpublic
citizenship and legitimate access to decent health care, housing, food, meaningful employment, child care, and childhood education programsfor all citizens."
673
(Giroux,2003, p. 25). Citizenshipeducationin thisrealmseeks to fosterthe engagement and criticism of powerful institutions,including the governmentand statesponsoredschooling itself.
Discourses of queer citizenshiphighlight and celebrateconditions of diversity
and radicaldifference.These conditionsengender"positivepossibilities in the differentiationand proliferationof contactsand experienceflowing from the diversification of social worlds which constitute the postmodernexperience" (Gilbert,
1992, p. 55). Hall (1989) asserts that each of these worlds has its "own codes of
behavior,its 'scenes' and 'economies,' and... 'pleasures'" andthatfor those who
have access to these worlds, they providespace in which to assertsome choice and
controlover everydaylife (p. 129, quotedin Gilbert,p. 55). These worldsandspaces
provide opportunitiesfor the expression and performanceof identity, especially
those identitiesthathave enjoyed few "legitimate"spaces for political expression
and agency. Queercitizenshiphighlightsthe performanceof citizenship,reframing
civic life not as a sphere in which individualsenact their beliefs but as a diverse,
open stage where people performtheirlives and social worlds.
This diversification of social worlds, the expressions and performances of
these varied social identities, and the positive possibilities within this diversity
define queer citizenship. Queer theorists and activists have contributedseveral
unique ideas to the discourses on citizenship.12 First, they propose that the public
sphere so centralto most citizenship discourses is a utopian fantasy. They therefore challenge most other citizenship theorists to rethink certain mainstream
assumptions. Second, they do not privilege rational debate over other forms of
public engagement but include performanceand play within their repertoireof
political skills.
Queer theoristsjoin feminists in troublingthe public/privatedivide that dominates social life, but they go furtherin challengingthe assumptionsmadeby theorists or policymakerswho evoke the idea of the publicdomainas one of rationality
and universality.The current"pseudopublicsphere,"accordingto Berlant(1997),
is a privatizedworld where work and family making constructa nostalgic vision
of citizenship, full of individualistic and conservative values based on a fantastical notion of "family"and "theAmericanway of life" (p. 5). In this pseudopublic
sphere, "thenotion of public life, from the professionof politician to non-familybased forms of political activism, has been made to seem ridiculousand even dangerous to the nation"(p. 5).
Public spheres,as a culturalform, "neverrequireda widespreadcultureof rational discussion,"arguesWarner(2002), but "requiredthe categoryof a public-an
essentially imaginaryfunction that allows temporallyindexed circulationamong
strangersto be capturedas a social entityandaddressedimpersonally"(p. 144).The
public is not a continuumof criticalopinion makingand debate;it is far too inhibited and commercializeda spherefor that. It is an anonymous space of discourse
"organizedby nothingotherthanthe discourseitself," and is "as much notionalas
empirical"(p. 67). A publicis betterthoughtof as "poeticworldmaking"ratherthan
a sphereof rational-criticaldialogue.We makepublicswhen we performnew ideas
throughlanguageor action(p. 114). Publicdiscourseconsists of theseperformances
and new ideas, which sometimes create worlds that can put "at risk the concrete
world."Queercitizenship'spoliticalideas, debates,andperformances-by putting
into play riskyideas thatchallengehistoricexclusions and suppressednorms-can
674
Discoursesof Citizenship
Contemporary
endangerthe currentnostalgiathatpasses for public life in the United States. "This
is its fruitfulperversity"(p. 113).
Enactingwhat Berlant(1997) calls "divacitizenship,"Anita Hill counteredthe
dominant constraints of family-values citizenship when she testified against
ClarenceThomasin an effort to show thatthe workplaceis a public space in which
women's so-called privatesexual and economic vulnerabilitiesare exposed. Diva
citizenshipexists in acts of pedagogy, risk, controversy,and strugglein responseto
emergencies-threats to human dignity, such as slavery, or sexual harassmentthat are embodied, and first experienced as personal, intimate, and private (see
Knight Abowitz & Rousmaniere,2004). Diva citizenship exists in acts of public
pedagogy aboutconditionsof oppressionor exclusion, acts thattransgressthe public/privatedivide andarehistoricallyembeddedin systemicrelationsof power.Diva
citizenshipis political action in the sphereof counterpublics,"in which it is hoped
that the poesis of scene making will be transformative,not replicative merely"
(Warner,2002, p. 122).
Queercitizenshipdiscoursesopenly and aggressivelypursuequestionsof membership.It is withinthese discoursesthatthe us/themdivide thatis so centralto most
citizenship discourses is radically challenged. Phelan (2001), using feminist discoursesalong with queertheory,takesBauman'sconceptof the "stranger"as a centralconstruct.The stranger,Phelanwrites,is "neitherus norclearlythem, not friend
andnot enemy, but a figureof ambivalencewho troublesthe borderbetween us and
them";Phelanurgesus to embracethe strangerin othersandourselves."Ratherthan
flee from strangeness,sexual strangersmay offer one anotherand othersnew ways
of questioningthe currenttight fabricof citizenshipandnationalidentity"(pp. 4-5).
Membershiprequiresmorethantoleranceof differentstrangers,Phelan suggests. It
requiresthat all personsbe recognized, not "in spite of [their]unusualor minority
characteristics,but with those characteristicsunderstoodas partof a valid possibility for the conductof life" (pp. 15-16).
"Queeringcitizenship"is a civic projectthathas a powerfulnormativedirection:
engaging in dialogue, contestation,and performanceto challenge normativestructures and discourses that keep certain "undesirable"identities at the margins.
Althoughthis discourseis invisible in the appliedandK-12 curriculartexts thatwe
examined, it is a creative theoreticaldiscourse that turnsmany of our most cherished civic ideals and utopias on their heads, serving an important,soberingfunction in a world whose language of ideas often relies too heavily on the myths and
fantasiesof an idealized democraticlife.
Discourses of Transnationalism: Beyond the Nation-State
Since 9/11, Americahas seen a resurgenceof the civic republicanvalues of patriotism, community,and loyalty to America. Paradoxically,the transnationalistdiscourse also has been revitalized. Transnationalcitizenship focuses on the local,
national,and internationalcommunities.A citizen in this discourseis one who identifies not primarilyor solely with her own nationbut also with communitiesof people and nations beyond the nation-stateboundaries.This discourse articulatesan
agenda for citizenship that simultaneously educates students for membershipin
local, national, and internationalorganizationsand civic organizations.Membership is more fluid and transcendsnationalor regionalborders.A citizen therefore
weighs political and social decisions consideringboth the local and global possible
675
ContemporaryDiscourses of Citizenship
ContemporaryDiscourses of Citizenship
ening to the vitality and importanceof transnationalcitizenship,even as U.S. lawmakershave urged a more nationalisticand parochialfocus for schools after the
9/11 terroristattacks.
Transnationalistcitizenship discourses are exceedingly flexible. In the same
ways thatthey can be used for more critical andpopulistforms of citizenship, they
can alternativelybe assimilatedwithin neoliberal goals of expanded marketsand
consumerism. In this process the political and ethical ideals of transnationalism
become subsumedby the logic of the global marketplace.In a case study of a Vancouver suburb'sconflict between Anglo-Canadianresidentsand Chinese Canadians who were recent immigrantsfrom Hong Kong, Mitchell (2001) observed that
the Chinese Canadiansformed a strong alliance for traditionalschooling (with a
focus on morality,authority,andefficiency) in oppositionto local Anglo-Canadians,
who were in favor of more individualized,creativeapproaches.Partof the lure of
traditionalschooling for these Chinese Canadianswas the belief thatit represented
the best preparationfor life in the workplace. Mitchell argued that transnational
educational narrativeswill bring greater power to economic or neoliberal discourses of citizenshipandnew scrutinyto Westernpolitical liberalcitizenship and
forms of educationin the nation-state."Formany immigrantChinese-Canadians,
the preparationof individualsto become high achievers in a global workplace is
more practicaland more attainablethan their constitutionas citizens of a particular nation-state"(p. 69). Moreover,the Asian identityof the immigrantsinterceded
in the construction of their national Canadian identity: "Precisely because of
their Asian 'otherness,' . . . the Chinese residents representthe constitutive outside of the nation;they can never participatefully or unproblematicallyas democratic citizens of the nationbecause they are always alreadylocated outside of it."
Political identities still subjectto exclusion in nation-statescan increasingly construct political and economic allegiances across national borders. Transnational
citizenship thus presses on questions of traditionalnotions of civic membership
and identity.
Conclusions
Ourreview of citizenshipeducationtexts reveals the conceptualconflicts under
way, heightenedand dramatizedby the events of 9/11 and the currentWar on Terror. Questionsof our allegiance to nation-statehave not been so pressing for generations;yet alliances and allegiances to individuals,families, culturalgroups, and
political networksacross the globe have never been so powerful, so immediately
tangible as technology now allows them to be. In our world, in the United States
in particular,civic meanings are both exceptionally weighty and exceptionally
plastic-shifting andchangingas ourtechnologies,politicalterrains,andeconomies
fluctuate.This review has drawna map of those civic meaningsto make so-called
"common-sense"notions of citizenship visible, so that we might better address
these and many otherdilemmasof contemporarycivic life. "Institutionsand social
context ... play an importantdeterminingrole in the development,maintenance,
and circulationof discourses"(Mills, 1997, p. 11). As powerful socializing institutions, schools reproducecivic republican and liberal discourses of citizenship;
together,these constructthe language,values, and normsof civic life in the United
Statestoday.These discoursesarenot necessarilythe productof reflectivethinking
about best practicesor about what sort of democraticlife we might want to have,
679
ContemporaryDiscourses of Citizenship
for
2See,for example,Bosniak(2001, p. 240, note 8). KathleenCotton's"Educating
Citizenship"is a review of articleson U.S. citizenshipeducation,mostlyfromthe discipline of social studieseducation,spanningthe 1980s and early 1990s. Cottonfinds
muchagreementin this period;we see muchmorediversityanddifferencein the articles that we reviewed, especially after the events of 9/11. David Scott and Helen
Lawson, in "CitizenshipEducation:Models and Discourses"(2001), presenta very
interestingreviewof the literaturein theformof sevencontinuathatdescribetherange
of citizenshipideals that shapethe diversityof practicesandapproachesin the field.
This reviewdoes not takea Foucaultiandiscursiveapproachandlacks anyspecificity
in termsof distincttexts, curricula,or organizationsthatarecurrentlyshapingcitizenshipdiscourses.
3For example,the civic republican,liberal,andcosmopolitandiscoursesobviously
reflectphilosophicalcategoriesthatspanmanycenturies,andthesetermsareregularly
usedin thephilosophicalliterature
on citizenship.Thefeministdiscoursesof citizenship
arealso typically"named"as suchin philosophicalandsocial studiesliterature.Simiand"queertheory"and"queer
larly,"culturalcitizenship"is a termusedin theliterature,
have
been
discussed
theorists.
citizenship"
explicitly
by
to notethateachindividualdiscourseis multivocal,orspeakingin many
4Itis important
differentvoicesandevolvingovertime,witha rangeof commonvalues,habits,andideologies encompassedwithinit at anygiventime(Quantz& KnightAbowitz,2002).
5Oneof thepointsof agreementamongmanycivic republicansis on the sociological
thesisthatAmericaof the late20thandearly21st centuriesis moredividedandhas less
consensuson moralandpoliticalvaluesthanthe Americaof the early20thcentury,as
reflectedin RobertPutnam'sfamous"BowlingAlone"article(1995) and subsequent
writings.The diminishedsocial networksof Americancivil society,as seen in declining rates of participationin bowling leagues, parent-teacherassociations,and other
neighborhood,local,andreligiousorganizations,erodewhatPutnam(2001)andothers
havecalled"socialcapital."
6JiirgenHabermas(1994) documentsthe historyof the wordnation,tracingits roots
in Romantimesto Natio,the goddessof birthandorigin.Untilthe middleof the 18th
century,andlaterin manycases,nationswerecommunitiesof peoplelinkedby heredity. "Hereditary
nationalitygave way to an acquirednationalism"aftertheFrenchRevolution,andthatformof nationalism"wasable to fosterpeople's identificationwith a
role which demandeda high degree of personalcommitment"(p. 23). This history
makesa clearconnectionbetweenthe idea of nationhoodandthe civic republicandiscourseof citizenship.
7Fora reviewof thecitizenshipeducationdebatesin thepost-9/11 period,see Casey
(2003).
describesthisneoliberalinfluenceas educationfor socialmobilityandiden8Labaree
tifies it as the prominentreasonthatmost contemporaryAmericansvalue schooling
(1997).Thisconsumer-based
approachto educationhas "ledto thereconceptualization
of educationas a purelyprivategood,"Labareenotes(p. 73).
9Therecentriseof neoliberaldiscoursein educationalpolicy andgovernanceis well
documentedby researchersanalyzingthe wave of school-businesspartnerships,
priandchoiceinitiativesthathavebeenprominentin recent
vatization,commercialization,
decadesof schoolreform(Spring,1998;Boyles, 1998;Molnar,1996).
andMaryTjiattas(2001)providea nicesummary
'0PennyEnslin,ShirleyPendlebury,
of the rangeof views amongliberalson this point.Theseauthorscharacterize
William
682
ContemporaryDiscourses of Citizenship
Galston (1995) as a "minimalist"liberal whose vision of the state's authorityto educate
citizens would not include critically examining the ideological perspectives of one's family. Amy Gutmann (1995) is characterizedby Enslin et al. as a "maximalist,"someone
who makes strong claims regardingthe necessity of individuality and autonomy as centralvalues of the liberalcitizen-even if such an identity would not be friendly to all ways
of life. The maximalist vision will conflict with the belief systems of some families and
their authorityto reproducetheir values and identities in their children.
"IAlthoughour public life consists of a variety of cultural groups and practices, liberals acknowledge an assimilative effect of citizenship-not only in language (there is
only one official language, and bilingual education is now widely outlawed) but in other
aspects of identity and values. This critique of liberalism fosters the more recent citizenship discourse of cultural citizenship, discussed later in this article.
12The mainstream political theory journals and publishing houses publish almost
nothing that fits into this discourse. For this part of the study, we deviated from our
methodology somewhat and explored the limited literatureon citizenship from the field
of cultural studies.
References
Alavi, K. (2001). At risk of prejudice: Teaching tolerance about Muslim Americans.
Social Education, 65(6), 334-348.
Angell, A. V. (1991). Democratic climates in elementary classrooms: A review of theory and research. Theory and Research in Social Education, 19(3), 241-266.
Arnot, M. (1997). Gendered citizenry: New feminist perspectives on education and citizenship. British Educational Research Journal, 23(3), 275-295.
Arnot, M., Araiijo, H., Deliyanni-Kouimtzis, K., Ivinson, G., & Tom6, A. (2000). "The
good citizen": Culturalunderstandingsof citizenship and gender amongst a new generation of teachers. In M. Leicester, C. Modgil, & S. Modgil (Eds.), Politics, education and citizenship (pp. 217-231). New York: Falmer Press.
Assiter, A. (1999). Citizenship revisited. In N. Yuval-Davis & P. Werbner (Eds.),
Women, citizenship and difference (pp. 217-231). New York: Zed Books.
Ayers, W., Hunt, J. A., & Quinn, T. (1998). Teaching for social justice. New York:
New Press.
Banks, J. A. (1990). Citizenship education for a pluralistic democratic society. The
Social Studies, 81(5), 210-214.
Banks, J. A. (2001). Citizenship education and diversity: Implications for teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 52(1), 5-16.
Barber, B. R. (1999). Clansmen, consumers, and citizens: Three takes on civil society.
In R. K. Fullinwider (Ed.), Civil society, democracy, and civic renewal (pp. 9-30).
Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Baubick, R. (1994). Transnational citizenship: Membership and rights in international
migration. Brookfield, VT: Edward Elgar.
Benhabib, S. (1992). Situating the self: Gender, community and postmodernism in contemporary ethics. New York: Routledge.
Berlant, L. (1997). The queen of America goes to Washington City: Essays on sex and
citizenship. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Bern, W. (2002). Mystic chords of memory: Cultivating America's unique form of patriotism. American Educator, 26(1). Retrieved May 23, 2003, from http://www.aft.org/
american_educator/spring2002/mystic.html
Bosniak, L. (2001). Denationalizing citizenship. In T. A. Aleinikoff & D. Klusmeyer
(Eds)., Citizenship today: Global perspectives and practices (pp. 237-252). Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
683
lic work.Philadelphia:TempleUniversityPress.
Butts, R. F. (1988). The moral imperative for American schools: "... Inflame the civic
temper . . ." American Journal of Education, 96(2), 162-194.
California State Board of Education. (1998). History-social science content standards
CaliforniaStateDepartment
of Education.
for Californiapublicschools.Sacramento:
Callan, E. (1997). Creating citizens: Political education and liberal democracy. New
York:ClarendonPress.
CarnegieCorporationof New York & CIRCLE:The Center for Informationand
Researchon Civic LearningandEngagement.(2003). Thecivic missionof schools.
New York:Authors.
Casey,L. (2003). Teachingthe lessons of 9/11. Dissent,50(1), 50-57.
Centerfor Democracyand Citizenship.(2002). Public achievement.Minneapolis,
MN:HumphreyInstituteof PublicAffairs.RetrievedOctober2002 fromhttp://www.
publicachievement.org/
95-119). Princeton,NJ:PrincetonUniversityPress.
Connor,M. A. (2002). Straighttalk with kids aboutwar.RethinkingSchoolsOnline.
Retrieved August 20, 2003, from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/war/readings/
kids] 74.shtml
Counts,G. S. (2003). Dare the school build a new social order?In K. Rousmaniere
& K. Knight Abowitz (Eds.), Readings in sociocultural foundations of education
ContemporaryDiscourses of Citizenship
education.In M.
Drennen,H. (2002). Criteriafor curriculumcontinuityin international
Hayden, J. Thompson, & G. Walker (Eds.), International education in practice:
Dimensions for national and international schools (pp. 55-65). Sterling, VA: Stylus
Publishing.
Dryzek, J. S. (1996). Democracy in capitalist times: Ideals, limits, struggles. New York:
OxfordUniversityPress.
Dunn,R. E. (2002). Growinggood citizenswith a world-centeredcurriculum.Educa-
thought.Princeton,NJ:PrincetonUniversityPress.
Elshtain,J. B. (1999). A call to civil society.Society,36(5), 11-19.
Enslin, P. (2000). Educationand democraticcitizenship:In defence of cosmopolitanism.In M. Leicester,C. Modgil,& S. Modgil (Eds.),Politics, educationand citizenship (pp. 149-150). New York: Falmer Press.
115-130.
Etzioni, A. (1993). The spirit of community: Rights, responsibilities, and the commu-
nitarianagenda.New York:CrownPublishing.
Bulletin of News and Analysis From the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, 1(20).
Retrieved November 19, 2002, from http://www.edexcellence.net/institute/gadfly/
issue.cfm?id=88&edition=#1316
Finn, C. E., Jr. (2002). Introduction. In September 11: What our children need to know
Foner, E. (2003). Race and citizenship. Socialism and Democracy Online, 34. Retrieved
November 27, 2003, from http://www.sdonline.org/33/ericjoner.html
Galston, W. A. (1991). Liberal purposes; Goods, virtues and duties in the liberal state.
Cambridge,UK: CambridgeUniversityPress.
JournalofDemocracy,
Galston,W. A. (2000).Civicsocietyandthe"artof association."
11(1), 64.
Galston, W. A. (2003). Civic knowledge, civic education, and civic engagement: A sum-
syr.edu/campbell/Civic_Virtue/CivicVirtue.htm
Giarelli,J. M., & Giarelli,E. (1996). Educatingfor public and privatelife: Beyond
the false dilemma. In J. N. Burstyn (Ed.), Educating tomorrow's valuable citizen
MD:Rowman& Littlefield.
685
New York:PalgraveMacmillan.
Glazer,N. (2001). Some problemsin acknowledgingdiversity.In D. Ravitch& J. P.
Viteritti (Eds.), Making good citizens: Education and civil society (pp. 168-186).
Princeton,NJ:PrincetonUniversityPress.
Hall, S. (1986). Signification, representation,ideology: Althusser and the poststructuralist debates. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 2(2), 91-113.
Wishart.
of politicalcommunity:Rethinkingdemocracyin
Held,D. (1999).The transformation
the contextof globalization.In I. Shapiro& C. Hacker-Cordon
(Eds.),Democracy's
edges (pp. 84-111). New York:CambridgeUniversityPress.
Hill, I. (2002). The historyof internationaleducation:An internationalbaccalaureate
perspective.In M. Hayden,J. Thompson,& G. Walker(Eds.),Internationaleducation in practice: Dimensions for national and international schools (pp. 18-29).
Sterling,VA: StylusPublishing.
Hobbs,R. (2001). Medialiteracyskills:Interpreting
tragedy.SocialEducation,65(7),
406-411.
Howard,R., & Kenny,R. (1992).Educationfordemocracy:Promotingcitizenshipand
criticalreasoningthroughschoolgovernance.In A. Garrod(Ed.),Learningfor life:
Moral education theory and practice (pp. 210-227). Westport, CT: Praeger.
Universityof MinnesotaPress.
Kaplan,M. D. G. (2003). Fly girl.New YorkTimes,EducationSupplement,A32-34.
Katz, M. B. (2001). The price of citizenship: Redefining the American welfare state.
New York:MetropolitanBooks/HenryHolt.
Kaye, H. J. (2001 ). Are we good citizens? Affairs political, literary, and academic. New
York:TeachersCollege Press.
Kazin,M. (2002). A patrioticleft. Dissent,49(4), 41-44.
Kenway,J., & Langmead,D. (2000). Cyberfeminismandcitizenship?Challengingthe
politicalimaginary.In M. Arnotand J.-A. Dillabough(Eds.), Challengingdemocracy: Internationalperspectives on gender, education, and citizenship (pp. 312-329).
New York:Routledge/Falmer.
Kincheloe, J. L. (2001). Getting beyond the facts: Teaching social studies/social sciences in the twenty-first century. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
686
ContemporaryDiscourses of Citizenship
Knight Abowitz, K., & Rousmaniere, K. (2004). MargaretHaley as diva: A case-study
of a feminist citizen-leader. In The Initiative Anthology: An Electronic Publication
AboutLeadership, Culture, & Schooling. Oxford, OH: Miami University, Department
of Educational Leadership. Retrieved November 23, 2003, from http://www.units.
muohio.edu/eduleadership/anthology/
Kymlicka, W. (1999a). Citizenship in an era of globalization: Commentary on Held.
In I. Shapiro & C. Hacker-Cordon (Eds.), Democracy's edges (pp. 112-126). New
York: Cambridge University Press.
Kymlicka, W. (1999b). Education for citizenship. In M. Halstead & T. H. McLaughlin
(Eds.), Education in morality (pp. 79-101). New York: Routledge.
Kymlicka, W., & Norman, W. (1994). Return of the citizen: A survey of recent work
on citizenship theory. Ethics, 104, 352-381.
Labaree, D. F. (1997). Public goods, private goods: The American struggle over educational goals. American Educational Research Journal, 34(1), 39-81.
Landau, B. (2002). Educating for citizenship. Education Week on the Web. Retrieved
June 17, 2004, from http://www.edweek.org/ew/newstory.cfinm
?slug=251andau.h21
Lutkus, A. D., Weiss, A. R., Campbell, J. R., Mazzeo, J., & Lazer, S. (1999). NAEP
1998 civics report card to the nation (National Assessment of Educational Progress).
Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved August 8, 2003,
from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard//pubs/main1998/2000457. asp
Macedo, S. (1990). Liberal virtues: Citizenship, virtue, and community in liberal constitutionalism. New York: Clarendon Press.
Macedo, S. (2000). Diversity and distrust: Civic education in a multicultural democracy. Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press.
MacIntyre, A. (1981). After virtue. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press.
Marshall, T. H. (1998). Citizenship and social class. In G. Shafir (Ed.), The citizenship
debates (pp. 93-111). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. (Original work
published 1950)
Martin, J. R. (1992). The schoolhome: Rethinking schools for changing families. Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press.
Mathews, D. (1996). Reviewing and previewing civics. In W. C. Parker(Ed.), Educating the democratic mind (pp. 265-286). Albany: State University of New York Press.
McLaren,P. (1999). Unthinking whiteness, rethinkingdemocracy: Criticalcitizenship in
Gringolandia. In C. Clark & J. O'Donnell (Eds.), Becoming and unbecoming white:
Owning and disowning a racial identity(pp. 10-55). Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
McLaughlin, T. H. (1992). Citizenship, diversity and education: A philosophical perspective. Journal of Moral Education, 21(3), 235-250.
McLeod, S., & Houlihan, C. (2003). Down the street, around the world: A starter kit
for global awareness. Washington, DC: American Federation of Teachers.
Mills, S. (1997). Discourse. New York: Routledge.
Milner, H. (2002). Civic literacy: How informed citizens make democracy work.
Hanover, NH: University Press of New England.
Mitchell, K. (2001). Education for democratic citizenship: Transnationalism, multiculturalism, and the limits of liberalism. Harvard Educational Review, 71 (1), 51-78.
Molnar, A. (1996). Giving kids the business: The commercialization of America's
schools. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Mosher, R., Kenny, R. A., Jr., & Garrod, A. (1994). Preparing for citizenship: Teaching youth to live democratically. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Mouffe, C. (1992). Feminism, citizenship, and radical democratic politics. In J. Butler &
J. W. Scott (Eds.), Feminists theorizethepolitical (pp. 369-384). New York:Routledge.
National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
687
in America.Chicago:Universityof ChicagoPress.
Noddings,N. (1992).Thechallengeto careinschools.New York:TeachersCollegePress.
Noddings,N. (1997).Socialstudiesandfeminism.In E. W. Ross (Ed.),Thesocialstudies curriculum:Purposes, problems, and possibilities (pp. 59-70). Albany: State Uni-
education.Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress.
Ohio State Departmentof Education. (2003). Academic content standards: K-12 social
studies. Retrieved May 16, 2003, from http://www.ode.state.oh.us/academic_
content_standards/SSContentStd/PDF/SOCIAL_STUDIES.pdf
Parker,W. C. (1996). "Advanced"ideasaboutdemocracy:Towarda pluralistconception of citizen education. Teachers College Record, 98(1), 104-125.
Parker,W. C. (2003). Teaching democracy: Unityand diversity in public life. New York:
TeachersCollegePress.
Pateman,C. (1988). Thesexualcontract.Cambridge,MA: PolityPress.
Payne, C. M. (2003). More thana symbol of freedom:Educationfor liberationand
Philadelphia:TempleUniversityPress.
In
socialcapitalandeducationalperformance.
Putnam,R. D. (2001).Community-based
D. Ravitch & J. P. Viteritti (Eds.), Making good citizens: Education and civil society
Quigley,C. (2003). Promotingcivic education.Calabasas,CA: Centerfor Civic Education. Retrieved August 21, 2003, from http://www.civiced.org/cq_wh_2003.pdf
Ravitch, D., & Viteritti, J. P. (Eds.). (2001). Making good citizens: Education and civil
ContemporaryDiscourses of Citizenship
Rosaldo, R. (1989). Cultureand truth: The remaking of social analysis. Boston: Beacon
Press.
Rosaldo,R., & Flores,W. V. (1997). Identity,conflict,and evolving Latinocommunities:Culturalcitizenshipin San Jose, California.In W. V. Flores& R. Benmajor
(Eds.), Latino cultural citizenship: Claiming identity, space, and rights (pp. 57-96).
Boston:BeaconPress.
Rotherham,A. J. (2002). An attackon who we are. In September11: Whatour children need to know (pp. 48-49). Washington,DC: ThomasB. FordhamFounda-
Press.
Sadker, M., & Sadker, D. (1994). Failing and fairness: How America's schools cheat
Sandel, M. 1982. Liberalism and the limits ofjustice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Uni-
versityPress.
IdentityandCitizenshipin Europe.
Seikaly,Z. A. (2001). At risk of prejudice:The ArabAmericancommunity.Social
Education, 65(6), 349-351.
Press.
Silvestrini,B. G. (1997). The worldwe enterwhen claimingrights:Latinosandtheir
questforculture.In W. V. Flores& R. Benmajor(Eds.),Latinoculturalcitizenship:
Claiming identity, space, and rights (pp. 39-53). Boston: Beacon Press.
Singleton,L. R. (2001). Followinga tragicevent:A necessarychallengefor civic educators. Social Education, 65(7), 413-418.
McGill-Queen'sUniversityPress.
Smith, D. E. (1995). We the people: The citizen and the Constitution. Calabasas, CA:
Spring, J. (1998). Education and the rise of the global economy. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum.
Strike,K. A. (1994). On the constructionof public speech:Pluralismandpublicreason. Educational Theory, 44(1), 1-25.
Taylor,C. (1995). Liberalpoliticsandthepublicsphere.In A. Etzioni(Ed.),New communitarian thinking: Persons, virtues, institutions and communities (pp. 183-217).
Charlottesville:
UniversityPressof Virginia.
Tolo, K. W. (Project Director). (1999). The civic education of American youth: From
state policies to school districtpractices. Calabasas, CA: Center for Civic Education.
Retrieved July 5, 2003, from http://www.civiced.org/ceay_civedpolicyreport.pdf
Torres, C. A. (1998). Democracy, education and multiculturalism:Dilemmas of citizenship in a global world. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
689
net/index.jsp
Veterans of Foreign Wars. (2003). Citizenship education program for school and youth
groups: Curriculum guide. Retrieved May 18, 2003, from http://www.vfw.org/pdf/
citizenshipcurriculumguide.pdf
Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2003, April). Teaching justice: Indoctrination, neutrality, and the needfor alternatives. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Amer-
ican EducationalResearchAssociation,Chicago.
Wilson,W. J. (1994). Citizenshipandthe inner-cityghettopoor.In B. V. Steenbergen
(Ed.), Thecondition of citizenship(pp. 49-65). ThousandOaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Wood, G. H. (1992). Schools that work: America's most innovative public education
programs.New York:Penguin.
Young,I. M. (1987). Impartialityandthe civic public:Some implicationsof feminist
critiquesof moraland politicaltheory.In S. Benhabib& D. Cornell(Eds.),Feminism as critique: On the politics of gender (pp. 57-76). Minneapolis: University of
MinnesotaPress.
Young, I. M. (1990). Justice and the politics of difference. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
UniversityPress.
Zaff, J. (2003). Engagingour youth:Promotingpositive citizenship.TheResponsive
Community, 13(3), 80-84.
Authors
KATHLEENKNIGHTABOWITZis an Associate Professorof social foundationsandphilosophy of education at Miami University, Departmentof EducationalLeadership,304
McGuffey Hall, Oxford, OH 45056; e-mail knightk2@muohio.edu.Her scholarlywork
focuses on philosophical meanings of community, the public, and citizenship as those
ideals intersectwith educationalpolicies and practice.
JASON HARNISHis a recentgraduateof EarlhamCollege's Mastersin the Artsof Teaching Programand a graduateof Miami University's School of InterdisciplinaryStudies.
In fall 2006 he began his careeras a teacherat Senn High School, 5900 NorthGlenwood
Avenue, Chicago, IL 60660; e-mail cynox@hotmail.com.
690