An Introduction to Democratic Engagement

In all honesty, I hesitated to use the title Democratic Engagement for this new blog, but when I went looking for a title I was so surprised to see it had not been grabbed that I could not resist appropriating it.

Why the hesitation? In part, because I am fairly new to this field and have only recently come across the distinction between civic engagement and democratic engagement, especially in writings by John Saltmarsh and Matthew Hartley. What they argue in their 2011 book "To Serve a Larger Purpose" is that while civic engagement may spur colleges and universities to launch worthy involvements in their surrounding communities, these involvements are often piecemeal, rarely inclusive of community partners, and not sufficiently focused on changing the status quo. Democratic engagement, on the other hand, seeks extensive community participation, is committed to broad diversity, and strives to address very challenging community problems, such as poverty or hunger. As they go on to say, democratic engagement also entails equal respect for what every participant contributes to knowledge creation and community building. This means that although expert or scholarly knowledge is welcome, it has no more built-in respect than the everyday experiences of community members who have a deep understanding of community issues but who may lack formal education.

Democratic engagement, in other words, insists on a full partnership between higher education and the larger community. Courses, community experiences, and long-term community projects need to be shaped by all stakeholders, that is, all of the people who have a stake in the outcome of this work. This includes college teachers and administrators, but it just as importantly involves community members who have some kind of personal interest in the public issue being investigated and about which action is being taken. Perhaps most significantly, democratic engagement obliges colleges and universities to take on issues that matter, that have the potential to make a real difference in the community's quality of life. For me, this increasingly means finding ways to reduce hunger and to alleviate poverty.

A lot of people who have organized ambitious coalitions to tackle these concerns need the help of colleges and universities. I want to be part of these efforts, both as an individual citizen and as part of Wagner College's commitment to civic renewal and democratic transformation. This blog will chronicle many of these efforts.