Our Work is Not Done: Advancing Democratic Engagement as Purpose and Product of Higher Education

Abstract

Infusing civic learning into higher education often requires negotiating among competing discourses. In this essay, we examine three such discourses in democratic theory, economic interests, and organizational culture to consider the opportunities and challenges that emerge at their nexus. Our work to advance democratic engagement as the purpose and product of higher education depends on how well, how deeply, and how courageously we can engage with each other and these discourses to meet the many demands that the mandate for civic learning now shoulders.