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From breaking news to our latest podcast episode, this is the place to get any news about the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. 

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How Civics Can Remedy Higher Education’s Decline

February 13, 2024 | National Review  | By  Paul Caresse

Harvard campus

Successful experiments in civic education at public universities point the way forward for beleaguered institutions such as those in the Ivy League.

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Paul Carrese: George Washington saw what Martin Luther King Jr. saw

November 27, 2023 | Pittsburgh Post Gazette  | By  Paul Caresse

Paul C

We tend to for­get that George Wash­ing­ton was a lead­ing pro­po­nent of the civil the­ol­ogy that Mar­tin Luther King, Jr. would later in­voke in his 1963 “I Have A Dream” ad­dress to great ef­fect. It was the con­vic­tion that the true foun­da­tions for the Amer­i­can be­lief in equal nat­u­ral rights of all hu­man be­ings to life, lib­erty, and the pur­suit of hap­pi­ness lay as much, or even more, in the com­mand­ments of the God of the Bible as in the ar­gu­ments of phi­los­o­phers.

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How to Save Higher Education From Itself

February 24, 2023 | National Review | by Joe Pitts 

SCETL student Joe Pitts discusses his experience with classical liberal-arts education, and how states across the nation are cultivating the revival of American higher education, one school at a time.

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How a Center for Civic Education Became a Political Provocation

February 22, 2023 | The Chronicle of Higher Education

University of Florida.

The Hamilton Center for Classical and Civic Education, which was recently established at the University of Florida in Gainesville, draws inspiration from Arizona State University’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership.

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A New Birth of Freedom in Higher Education: Civic Institutes at Public Universities

January 24, 2023 | AEI | with Paul Carrese

Conservatives frequently bemoan the ideological monoculture on college campuses, but they too rarely propose constructive solutions. One notable exception has been Arizona State University’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership (SCETL), which is funded directly by the Arizona state legislature as a distinct academic unit.

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Arizona State University students visit Rajasthan to understand solar engineers training, Digital community school and rural health work being done

December, 2022 | First India | by First India

First India

In this article published by First India, professor Susan Carrese discusses the significance of the Encyclopédie as the encarnation the Enlightenment and the Atlantic revolutions. 

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Heterodoxy on campus - the role of universities

April 13, 2022 | Arizona Capitol Times | by Carol McNamara

SCETL Associate Director of Public Programs Carol McNamara discusses the purpose of universities today.

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"The Power of the Dog" Messages the Need for Civic Education

March 30, 2022 | Pop Matters | by Aaron Kushner

The Power of the Dog

In this article, SCETL post-doctoral fellow Aaron Kushner discusses how Thomas Savage’s novel "The Power of the Dog" and Jane Campion’s popular film adaptation depict the danger in Americans’ distrust of civic institutions.

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Federalism, Originalism, and Constitutional Amendments

November 17, 2021 | Law & Liberty | by Sean Beienburg

A New York protest in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment (ZUMA via Alamy.com)

Why change the text of a Constitution when you can simply helpfully re-interpret it away?

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The Future of Arizona Democracy

November 11, 2021 | Chamber Business News

Election policy experts examine ballot accessibility and accuracy in Arizona elections, as well as the lessons to be learned from the 2020 general election in a political environment where some Americans are expressing doubt about the administration of elections and the trustworthiness of their results.

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Slavery and the Constitution in Madisonian Perspective

November 4, 2021 | Starting Points | by Michael Zuckert

There is no need to rehearse in detail the various debates over the Founders and slavery that have roiled academic and political waters since the mid-twentieth century. 

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The Enduring Interest Podcast

November 1, 2021 | The Enduring Interest Podcast | with Michael Zuckert and Catherine Zuckert

Leo Strauss once wrote, “I own that education is in a sense the subject matter of my teaching and my research.” Yet, as Michael and Catherine Zuckert note, Strauss wrote very little directly on this subject. 

Listen here »

Opinion: Making Individuals Citizens

November 1, 2021 | Starting Points | Opinion by Coleen Sheehan

Much has changed since Washington, Madison, Hamilton, Franklin, and the Framers met in the Pennsylvania State House in the summer of 1787 to draft the Constitution of the United States. 

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Opinion: Viral video aside, ASU can have an honest and civil debate on race and social justice

October 2, 2021 | The Arizona Republic | Opinion by Paul Carrese and Carol McNamara

A recent video showing a heated argument between ASU students shows how polarizing we've become. It's also an opportunity for honest and civil talk.

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Can Civics Save America?

May 15, 2021 | The Atlantic | with Paul Carrese

Paul Carrese, a political scientist and the director of the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University, told me this “historical and civic ignorance” contributes to the polarization that is generated on social media.

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Opinion: Our democracy is ailing. Civics education has to be part of the cure.

March 2, 2021 | The Washington PostOpinion by Danielle Allen and Paul Carrese

For decades, our national educational policy has focused on achieving global competitiveness from a national security and economic standpoint. 

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Massive investment in social studies and civics education proposed to address eroding trust in democratic institutions

March 1, 2021 | The Washington Post | with Paul Carrese

Now, a diverse collection of academics, historians, teachers, school administrators and state education leaders is proposing an overhaul of the way civics and history are taught to American K-12 students.

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America Needs History and Civics Education to Promote Unity

March 1, 2021 | Wall Street Journal | with Paul Carrese

A key part of our task is to reinvigorate teaching and learning of American history and civics in our nation’s schools. A constitutional democracy requires a citizenry that has a desire to participate, and an understanding of how to do so constructively, as well as the knowledge and skills to act for the common good. 

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Radical enlightenment now?

March, 2018 | Liberty Matters | by Johnson Kent Wright

In this article published by the prestigious Liberty Matters, professor Johnson Kent Wright discusses the significance of the Encyclopédie as the encarnation the Enlightenment and the Atlantic revolutions. 

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If you couldn't make it to an event or are curious about our academic news and exciting new projects, check out our YouTube channel for all of our videos. 

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Educating for American Democracy

Educating for American Democracy (EAD) is an unprecedented effort that convened a diverse and cross-ideological group of scholars and educators to create a Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy— guidance and an inquiry framework that states, local school districts, and educators can use to transform the teaching of history and civics to meet the needs of a diverse 21st century K–12 student body.

Below you can learn more and read about the school's involvement in the project. 

Learn more about EAD.

Watch more EAD talks

Break Glass in Case of Emergency: Why Democracy Education Is Not a Drill

In the Media

Conservatives Should Give the New Civics Roadmap a Fair Chance | Paul O. Carrese & James R. Stoner Jr.

June 27, 2021 | American Greatness

Decades of the obstruction-only strategy have left Americans ignorant and polarized; it’s time for a constructive alternative.

Listen now »

Scholars Develop Road Map For Teaching Civics In A Politically Divided U.S.

June 22, 2021 | KJZZ

Paul Carrese of Arizona State University's School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership was involved with a team of scholars in developing the "Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy." KJZZ spoke with him to learn about the project and what spurred his involvement.

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Step Up to Restore a Sound American Civics

June 15, 2021 | National Review

Most teachers, principals, and district leaders have run for cover amid this culture-war approach to civics reform, avoiding genuine improvements and letting students receive a deficient preparation for informed and engaged citizenship.

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What’s So Un-American about a Shared American Civics? | Paul O. Carrese & James R. Stoner Jr.

June 9, 2021 | National Review

Why are our conservative friends deriding and denouncing the Educating for American Democracy proposal for the enhancement of civics teaching in K–12 schools? They claim it is a Trojan horse for the leftist ideology of the 1619 Project and for “action civics,” both of which all people of conservative temperament — and probably many non-“woke” liberals — see as misguided, the first for its distorted account of American history, the second for its eagerness to politicize the classroom and enlist young students as advocates of left-wing causes.

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Mobs in America's Past and Present | Colleen Sheehan

January 28, 2021 | We the People

A mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, leading to a ricochet of effects including the impeachment of President Trump. On this episode, experts Larry Kramer, president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Colleen Sheehan, Director of Graduate Studies at the Arizona State School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, explore the history of mobs past and present, online and in-person.

Listen to the podcast episode »

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Jon Kyl: How to revive a shared dream for America's future

November 18, 2020 | USA Today

With improved civics education, the next generation will be better equipped to engage in constructive debate about our future.

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ASU’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership

November 16, 2020 | RealClear Education

As Americans deal with the political fallout from the 2020 election, Arizona State University associate professor Adam Seagrave says that “extreme political polarization” and the “breakdown of productive civil discourse” continue to be defining features of our times.

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To heal our nation, Americans need to recommit to shared values | Marc Morial

October 13, 2020 | USA Today

One of the most powerful means of assuring racial and social justice lies in building a shared sense of American values and commitment to each other.

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Saving the American Constitution | Colleen Sheehan

September 23, 2020 | Arizona Capitol Times

Our nation today is badly fragmented, and civil discourse is, well, not very civil.  Some have even speculated about disunion, of becoming two Americas.

Someone recently asked me, “How can the Constitution save us?” My response was that it can’t. Rather, it is up to us to save the Constitution.

Continue Reading »

How women, who could decide the 2020 presidential race, won the right to vote | Catherine Zuckert

September 18, 2020 | Arizona Capitol Times

Pundits now say that the votes of “suburban women” may determine the outcome of the 2020 election. We don’t know exactly who these “suburban women” are or how they will vote, but it is clear that women’s votes now count.

Continue Reading »

Does A Lack Of Civics Education Make Americans Less Likely To Vote?

April 23, 2019 | KJZZ

Harvard University professor Danielle Allen has studied and written about civics education extensively, and she was recently in the area as part of a presentation for ASU’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership.

Continue Reading »

Latest episode of Keeping it Civil.

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What can future leaders learn from today’s most prominent scholars and commentators?

Keeping It Civil is a new podcast produced by the School of Economic Thought and Leadership that seeks answers to key questions about the future of American life with fast-paced interviews with scholars and intellectuals. Hosted and produced by Lecturer and award-winning journalist B. Duncan Moench, PhD.

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