$29.95 Paper, 978-1-58465-661-6
$65.00 Cloth, 978-1-58465-660-9

(Cloth edition is un-jacketed.
Cover illustration is for paperback edition only)

New multidisciplinary scholarship on civic engagement in America

Civic engagement, defined as individual and collective action to identify public issues and participate in public life, has been a hotly contested subject in recent years. Beginning with a chapter by the editors that maps current key issues and main research questions, contributors to this volume counter claims of civic decline to show how, when, where, and why people act civically in multiple ways in various settings and contexts. From the local level of urban neighborhoods to the large scale institutions of health and higher education, this book documents how Americans actively shape public concerns. Attentive to matters of
race and class, this book will be of interest to anyone who wants to gain a deeper understanding of civic engagement in relation to civil society and politics, and to its theory and practice. The book will be useful
in a wide range of courses including those in Political Science, Sociology, Urban and Community Studies, Education, American Studies, Race and Ethnic Studies, and Nonprofit Studies.

"Acting Civically takes the debate on civic engagement in the United States to a new level by probing the question of the kinds of engagement that can enrich democratic practice in many different kinds of settings. This collection of essays is theoretically grounded and empirically fresh, and will be of interest not only to scholars and students, but also to practitioners and activists who seek to develop robust partnerships between universities and communities. The Tufts University Civic Engagement Research Group and Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service are models of what it means to produce knowledge for democracy."
—Carmen Sirianni, Professor of Sociology and Public Policy, Brandeis University and author of Civic Innovation in America

“Acting Civically is grounded in careful analyses of a set of highly significant efforts to foster civic participation by Tufts University and local urban communities in the Boston area. But the volume has great significance beyond its local focus. While it shows the great potential for civic engagement in America, its authors also demonstrate that good intentions are not enough. The volume offers challenging analyses of the hard issues of race, class and gender that any university or urban community will face when undertaking serious work for social change. Educators, civic activists and community organizers should pay close attention to the pioneering work by Tufts University and community actors discussed in this book.”—Mark Warren, Associate Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Click here for TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUSAN A. OSTRANDER is Professor of Sociology at Tufts University and author of Money for Change: Social Movement Philanthropy at Haymarket People’s Fund (1995). KENT E. PORTNEY is Professor of Political Science at Tufts University and the author of Taking Sustainable Cities Seriously: Economic Development, the Environment, and Quality of Life in American Cities (2003). Both are members of the adjunct faculty of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts.