Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    College Advising
    Serving Higher Ed
    Chronicle Festival 2025
Sign In
The Review

Don’t Retreat. Teach Citizenship.

By Michael B. Smith, Rebecca S. Nowacek, and Jeffrey L. Bernstein January 19, 2017

In 2010, the three of us edited and contributed to Citizenship Across the Curriculum, a book in which we argued for a broader conception of citizenship than is conventionally promoted and for the teaching of the attitudes and behaviors of citizenship across a wide range of academic disciplines.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

In 2010, the three of us edited and contributed to Citizenship Across the Curriculum, a book in which we argued for a broader conception of citizenship than is conventionally promoted and for the teaching of the attitudes and behaviors of citizenship across a wide range of academic disciplines.

“Educating for citizenship certainly entails helping students become more civically engaged in the traditional ways,” we wrote. “But [we] also believe that citizenship education embodies more abstract qualities: learning how to become more comfortable with ambiguity and complexity, how to disagree without being disagreeable, and, perhaps above all else, how to be more empathetic.”

We have often thought of these ideas in recent years, but never so much as in the past two months, since the election of Donald Trump.

This presidential election demonstrated a paucity of the citizenship skills and dispositions that the contributors to our book emphasize in their teaching. Crucially, the case studies in the book offer abundant evidence that it is possible to cultivate these qualities in courses across the curriculum. Here, we focus on three traits that citizenship requires:

A breadth of knowledge from across a range of disciplines. In our book, we presented examples drawn from mathematics and chemistry, among other subjects, to show how policy arguments in highly technical fields are driven by those who have substantive knowledge. Addressing climate change requires some scientific knowledge, ideally from sources better than Facebook or radio talk-show hosts. Understanding the complexities of health insurance requires expertise more substantive than details of Aunt Mildred’s latest experience with her insurance company.

There is no way, of course, that educated citizens can become experts on every subject. In those areas where we lack our own knowledge, we find experts — true experts — on whom we can rely. This is not as easy as merely listening to the loudest voice or to the voice that fits our prior beliefs. It requires reading multiple sources, triangulating among them, and reaching our best sense of the truth. In an election in which so many falsehoods were routinely propagated as truth, our obligation to be educated as well as active increases.

Empathy. During the campaign, Trump revealed a shocking lack of empathy, whether it was for Gold Star parents, women, immigrants, Muslims, or more than a few other groups. While we certainly do not draw a moral equivalence between his comments and Hillary Clinton’s comments, we should note that describing one’s opponent’s supporters as a “basket of deplorables” also reflects a breach of empathy.

Empathy, which can be loosely defined as an ability to understand the perspectives and feelings of others (especially, perhaps, those with whom we disagree or whose life experiences are radically different from our own), requires that we see the world as others see it. That can mean understanding the experience of an immigrant, seeing the obstacles faced by women, understanding the economic displacement of less-educated workers in the Rust Belt, or imagining what it must be like for a young African-American man to be pulled over by the police. We need not be persuaded by the perspectives of others, of course, but our ability to realize what they are thinking and feeling makes us better citizens.

Political participation. Citizenship is not exclusively the domain of political science and history; effective citizenship can, and should, be learned across a wide range of other academic areas as well. However, in some cases, the political world is the battlefield on which we all must engage. As we look back at a pivotal election in which we saw a decline in voter turnout, it is clear (as clichéd as it is to say) that decisions are made by those who show up.

We applaud those whose conceptions of citizenship leads them to work in soup kitchens, to tutor immigrants, or to teach children. We respect those who donate large amounts of money to charity or who found communal organizations. Those who increase tolerance, moral virtue, charity, and empathy have our utmost admiration. But all of that is no substitute for participation in politics.

ADVERTISEMENT

Elections have consequences, as the daily dose of news about the shape of the Trump administration reminds all of us. Empathy, volunteerism, and charitable contributions help solve societal problems, but so does the right set of government policies. Abstaining from politics is rarely a good thing, but it is especially dangerous when the choices become so stark and the consequences so severe.

More than ever, higher education has an obligation to provide opportunities to help our students learn about citizenship across their classes. We must help them develop their inborn capacity for empathy and caring about the other, including (and especially) those who are different from them and who face more challenges than they do. And it requires that we not only impress upon them the importance of political action but also help them develop their skills in this realm.

We all can, and should, take up the aspects of this work that best intersect with our areas of expertise and our disciplinary learning goals for students. Empathy, social engagement, intellectual rigor — these do not constitute a partisan agenda — are the means of robust engagement.

If, in the wake of this election, too many of us in higher education retreat to our campuses as redoubts in a hostile political landscape, we will be missing a great opportunity. Ed Zlotkowski sagely notes in his chapter of our book that “citizenship — on any level and in any context — cannot flourish without the skills, values, and habits of heart and mind that the academy is uniquely positioned to develop.” And without an abiding capacity for citizenship, it is doubtful that democracy can flourish. It might not even be able to survive.

Michael B. Smith is an associate professor of history and environmental studies at Ithaca College, Rebecca S. Nowacek is an associate professor of English at Marquette University, and Jeffrey L. Bernstein is a professor of political science at Eastern Michigan University.

A version of this article appeared in the January 27, 2017, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
Opinion
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Content

How Colleges Can Teach Students to Be Good Citizens
Citizen Formation Is Not Our Job

More News

Brad Wolverton
Newsroom leadership
The Chronicle of Higher Education Names Brad Wolverton as Editor
Vector illustration of large open scissors  with several workers in seats dangling by white lines
Iced Out
The Death of Shared Governance
Illustration showing money being funnelled into the top of a microscope.
'A New Era'
Higher-Ed Associations Pitch an Alternative to Trump’s Cap on Research Funding
Illustration showing classical columns of various heights, each turning into a stack of coins
Endowment funds
The Nation’s Wealthiest Small Colleges Just Won a Big Tax Exemption

From The Review

Illustration of an ocean tide shaped like Donald Trump about to wash away sandcastles shaped like a college campus.
The Review | Essay
Why Universities Are So Powerless in Their Fight Against Trump
By Jason Owen-Smith
Photo-based illustration of a closeup of a pencil meshed with a circuit bosrd
The Review | Essay
How Are Students Really Using AI?
By Derek O'Connell
John T. Scopes as he stood before the judges stand and was sentenced, July 2025.
The Review | Essay
100 Years Ago, the Scopes Monkey Trial Discovered Academic Freedom
By John K. Wilson

Upcoming Events

07-31-Turbulent-Workday_assets v2_Plain.png
Keeping Your Institution Moving Forward in Turbulent Times
Ascendium_Housing_Plain.png
What It Really Takes to Serve Students’ Basic Needs: Housing
Lead With Insight
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin