Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Civic and Urban Engagement

Civic Education Series: Recommended Reading List

This list of readings is organized primarily according to the topics that will be discussed during the series. Ideally, participants would read some of these prior to each session, but the sources are also meant to help provide additional information for further individual exploration of the key topics. This list is not meant to be comprehensive,  but only as a sample of sources on the various topics dealt with in the series.

Seminar Series Graphic

Readings on “Democratic Deconsolidation” and the Challenges to American Democracy

  • Applebaum, Anne. The Twilight of Democracy, New York: Doubleday, 2020.
  • Baker, John. R. Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, 2024.
  • Buckley, Frank H. American Secession: The Looming Threat of a National Breakup, New York: Encounter Press, 2020.            
  • Foa, Roberto Stefan and Yascha Mounk, “The Signs of Deconsolidation,” Journal of Democracy, 28 (January 2017), pp. 5-15.
  • Fukuyama, Francis. Liberalism and its Discontents, New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022.
  • Inglehart, Ronald F., “The Dangers of Deconsolidation: How Much Should We Worry?” Journal of Democracy, 27 (July 2016), pp. 18-23.
  • Hudson, William E., American Democracy in Peril, 9th Edition, Los Angeles, CA: CQ Press, 2021.
  • Levitsky, Steven, and Daniel Ziblatt, How Democracies Die, New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 2018.
  • Nichols, Tom, Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault from Within on Modern Democracy, New York: Oxford University Press, 2021.
  • Sharlet, Jeff. The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, New York: W.W. Norton, 2023.
  • Stanley, Jason. How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, New York: Random House, 2020.

Topic 1 (7/15): “What Does Good Citizenship Mean to You?”

  • “Being Gardeners of our Communities,” in John R. Baker, Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp. 132-133.
  • Dalton, Russell J. The Good Citizen, 3rd edition, Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press, 2021.
  • “Good Citizenship—What Does it Mean to You?” in John R. Baker, Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp. 120-121.
  • “Incivility in American Politics,” in John R. Baker, Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp. 27-29.
  • Shriver, Jr., Donald, An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness’ in Politics, New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
  • Tutu, Desmond, and Mpho Tutu, Made for Goodness and Why This Makes All the Difference, New York: HarperOne, 2011.

Topic 2 (7/29): “Confirmation Bias and Media Consumption”

Topic 3 (8/12): “The American Dream Under Stress”

  • Levitsky, Steven, and Daniel Ziblatt, How Democracies Die, New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 2018.
  • “Still Believe in the American Dream?” in Baker, John R., Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp. 20-21.
  • The American Dream is under siege | CNN Business (Online Reading)

Topic 4 (8/26): “What are America’s Values?”

  • “American Creed” video, https://www.americancreed.org/watch.
  • “Can America’s Center be Rebuilt?” in John R. Baker, Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp. 121-123.
  • Huntington, Samuel P., American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony, Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 1981, pp. 60-84.
  • Rocky, 1976, Film directed by John G. Avildsen, Distributed by United Artists.
  • “Sworn-Again, America,”  https://citizenuniversity.us/participate/sworn-again/.

Topic 5 (9/9): “Polarization, Public Perception of the Legal System, and the Legitimacy of the Rule of Law.”

  • Readings TBD

Topic 6 (9/23): “How Does Gerrymandering Undermine Democracy, and What Can We Do About It?”

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