Civic Engagement Course

Attachment 2B

Civic Engagement Course

Proposal Form

Course Name _________________________________________________________________________________

Department ___________________________________________________________________________________

Faculty member name(s) ________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Brief course description and objectives [1] ___________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The definition of civic engagement that most closely reflects Project Pericles’ philosophy is set forth by our Advisory Board member Thomas Ehrlich in the introduction to Civic Responsibility and Higher Education:

“…civic engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes.” [2]

“…a morally and civically responsible individual recognizes himself or herself as a member of a larger social fabric and therefore considers social problems to be at least partly his or her own; such an individual is willing to see the moral and civic dimensions of issues, to make and justify informed moral and civic judgments, and to take action when appropriate.” [3]

[1] Applicants are also required to submit a one page course description. Faculty are strongly encouraged to read our recently published White Paper, “Civic Engagement in the Classroom: Strategies for Incorporating Education for Civic and Social Responsibility in the Undergraduate Curriculum,” by Ariane Liazos and Jan R. Liss. The White Paper is available at www.projectpericles.org.

The one page description must articulate how the course will qualify as a civic engagement course. The civic engagement course description must detail the course objectives and in what ways this course will incorporate issues of civic engagement. It should explain how an evaluation will measure the success of the course in meeting these objectives. If service learning is involved, the description should state the ways in which the service is linked pedagogically to the content of the course.

[2] Thomas Ehrlich, “Preface,” Civic Responsibility and Higher Education, ed. Thomas Ehrlich (Phoenix: The American Council on Education and The Oryx Press, 2000), vi.

[3] Anne Colby, Thomas Ehrlich with Elizabeth Beaumont, Jennifer Rosner, and Jason Stephens, “Introduction,” Civic Responsibility and Higher Education, ed. Thomas Ehrlich (Phoenix: The American Council on Education and The Oryx Press, 2000), xxvi.