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The ages of voluntarism: An introduction

Matthew Hilton and James Mckay

in The Ages of Voluntarism: How we got to the Big Society

This introductory chapter provides the historical background to the rise of the Big Society, surveying the history of voluntarism over the last century. Politicians and commentators have long ... More

This introductory chapter provides the historical background to the rise of the Big Society, surveying the history of voluntarism over the last century. Politicians and commentators have long bemoaned the supposed decline of civic life, fretting about its health and its future. In fact, the real story of voluntarism over the last hundred years has not been decline, but constant evolution and change. Whether the terms charity, philanthropy, civil society, non-governmental organisations, the third sector or the Big Society are used, voluntary endeavour is one of the most vibrant and dynamic areas of British public life. Voluntarism not only continues to thrive, but is also far larger than any political agenda that may be imposed upon it.Less

The Case for the Muslim School as a Civil Society Actor

Louis Cristillo

in Educating the Muslims of America

This chapter examines the Muslim school outside the conventional frame of curriculum and classroom. It explores how the Muslim school becomes a major actor in a nexus of institutions — the mosque, ... More

This chapter examines the Muslim school outside the conventional frame of curriculum and classroom. It explores how the Muslim school becomes a major actor in a nexus of institutions — the mosque, the local professional and business sector, the family, and the state — and in so doing provides evidence to correct the misconception that the Muslim school marginalizes youth inside a real or imagined ethno-religious ghetto. The analysis reveals, in fact, that participation in the founding and life of a Muslim school produces overlapping social networks to bring individuals and groups into greater involvement in American civic life and participatory democracy.Less

Introduction

Megan Smitley

in The Feminine Public Sphere: Middle-Class Women in Civic Life in Scotland, C.1870–1914

This chapter emphasizes the feminine public sphere. The notion of the feminine public sphere is based on the active participation of women in the formation of a middle-class identity, which was ... More

This chapter emphasizes the feminine public sphere. The notion of the feminine public sphere is based on the active participation of women in the formation of a middle-class identity, which was derived from a commitment to civic life and public service. Associationalism was a key feature of civil society in the 1870 to 1914 period, and while women's contribution to philanthropic societies has received some attention this study represents a more concerted effort to link women's public careers with the rise of a middle-class identity. By taking a fresh perspective on the ‘bourgeois public sphere’ through the lens of local, urban civic life—as opposed to high politics and the upper echelons of industrial capitalism—this research shows that the wives, sisters and daughters of men in the local elite mirrored their male kins' investment in a public profile in order to assert their own social position. The feminine public sphere of this study is the sphere of influence more affluent women carved out of a hostile, male oriented ‘public’ through heterodox interpretations of separate spheres; it is the discursive and organisational sites from which women contributed to the socio-political issues of their day while further reinforcing middle-class notions of civic duty.Less

Is Impartiality Politics?

Pierre Rosanvallon

in Democratic Legitimacy: Impartiality, Reflexivity, Proximity

This chapter examines conceptions of impartiality and looks at how impartiality itself is approached in a political context. In doing so the chapter asks if the shift from positive to negative ... More

This chapter examines conceptions of impartiality and looks at how impartiality itself is approached in a political context. In doing so the chapter asks if the shift from positive to negative generality reflects a decline in the democratic–republican ideal and a greater role for law. From here, the chapter turns to the idea of a democratic impartiality—an active impartiality whose intervention helps to build a political community. Impartiality has established itself in the political order as the vector of aspirations to construct a more deliberative and transparent public space. It is also a key to understanding new ways of thinking about the social.Less

Blood in the Time of the Civic

Jacob Copeman and Dwaipayan Banerjee

in Hematologies: The Political Life of Blood in India

This chapter focuses on blood in the time of the civic—that is, blood that is donated voluntarily as a dutiful contribution to civic life, that in turn ensures the continued efficacy and productivity ... More

This chapter focuses on blood in the time of the civic—that is, blood that is donated voluntarily as a dutiful contribution to civic life, that in turn ensures the continued efficacy and productivity of transfusion medicine. These voluntary donations take place according to a seemingly simple biological time map: the biological time of cellular production determines the biomedically mandated three-month gap between donations. The time regime of the repeated voluntary donation emerges from and is mapped upon the lifetime of blood cells. This is in contrast to apparently less civic-minded blood donation modes: the potentially dangerous commercial transaction of paid blood donation and the one-time mode of “replacement” donation, performed in order to release blood for the benefit of one's immediate family member in need of transfusion. As this chapter shows, these modes of donation are characterized by different temporalities. A routine of dutiful repetitive bloodshed structures voluntary blood donation's time of the civic.Less

Who Prays for Athens? Religion in Civic Life

Robert Parker

in Polytheism and Society at Athens

This chapter examines some particular aspects of public religion in ancient Athens, focusing on religious decision-making and authority, the power and influence of priests and priestesses, ... More

This chapter examines some particular aspects of public religion in ancient Athens, focusing on religious decision-making and authority, the power and influence of priests and priestesses, magistrates, other religious specialists, and of the council and assembly. The priests and priestesses are those appointed by the city, by the gene traditionally so empowered on behalf of the city, or by the demes, to serve particular gods in particular sanctuaries. These are the priests and priestesses who served bodies that had both a civic and a religious identity. The chapter then turns to the place of religion in the main public domains of Athenian life, considering behaviour along with the role of religious practices within the procedures of the assembly, the courts, and the army. The types of religious argument and evidence that might and might not be explicitly deployed in those contexts are discussed.Less

What Jazz Does

Gregory Clark

in Civic Jazz: American Music and Kenneth Burke on the Art of Getting Along

This chapter examines jazz as what Kenneth Burke called a “democratic situation” in which individuals who are more or less equal and more or less free must connect with and separate from each other ... More

This chapter examines jazz as what Kenneth Burke called a “democratic situation” in which individuals who are more or less equal and more or less free must connect with and separate from each other in the process of shaping their lives, individual and collective. Burke considers us all inhabitants of a persistently rhetorical situation in which we each choose constantly to identify with or separate from others. Prompted by the influence of others we must make choices about “acting-together.” And, particularly in a democratic culture, that “acting-together” is both unavoidable and transformative. Jazz improvisation in an ensemble setting models ways that “acting-together” can be transformative for the musicians and for those to whom their music is addressed. Indeed, unexpected change and transformation are the structure of this music itself. This chapter examines jazz music that is explicitly rhetorical to illustrate ways that what matters most in jazz may be what happens to people in the process of making and listening to the music.Less

The Civic and Political Impacts of Discursive Participation

in Talking Together: Public Deliberation and Political Participation in America

What impact, if any, do public talk and deliberation have on subsequent civic and political behavior? Deliberation and other forms of public talking have been persistently downgraded as “just talk,” ... More

What impact, if any, do public talk and deliberation have on subsequent civic and political behavior? Deliberation and other forms of public talking have been persistently downgraded as “just talk,” ineffective and perhaps a cause of citizen disengagement. A variety of research studies report that public deliberation's impact is slight or nonexistent, and may actually prompt a decline in civic and political participation. Doubts about the value and impact of deliberation stem in part from unfavorable comparisons with other forms of citizen participation that involve citizens taking concrete and observable action. This chapter, which examines the political effects of discursive participation in face-to-face forums, shows that face-to-face deliberation increases subsequent participation in civic activities, except for participation in electoral activities such as voting or working for a party or a candidate. These findings appear to support the expectation of deliberationists that public talking would invigorate civic life, although its apparent irrelevance to electoral politics may suggest an important limitation.Less

Is Wake Different?

Toby L. Parcel and Andrew J. Taylor

in End of Consensus: Diversity, Neighborhoods, and the Politics of Public School Assignments

This chapter sets the case of Wake County into a broader national perspective by comparing it with a number of other urban and suburban jurisdictions. Particular attention is paid to understanding ... More

This chapter sets the case of Wake County into a broader national perspective by comparing it with a number of other urban and suburban jurisdictions. Particular attention is paid to understanding Wake's often-reported uniqueness. A typology of school districts is developed based on the characteristics critical to understanding both the breakdown in Wake's consensus and the efforts to move it away from the diversity assignment policy. Specifically, the urban and suburban jurisdictions are sorted into four cells based upon their variation in racial heterogeneity and civic life (or the extent to which residents have reserves of social capital). The role of population growth/decline and partisan politics in the experiences of these districts is also considered. Special emphasis is placed on a comparison with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg district, also located in North Carolina. The analysis indicates that racial and socioeconomic heterogeneity and a robust civic life make Wake quite different from many other districts. Wake was able to sustain a diversity policy for an extended period of time while its growing population and more partisan local politics resulted in volatile policy making.Less

Making sense of localism

Jane Wills

in Locating Localism: Statecraft, Citizenship and Democracy

This chapter introduces the idea of localism. It then locates localism as a new form of statecraft in relation to the recent history of the British state. While localism is about engaging people in ... More

This chapter introduces the idea of localism. It then locates localism as a new form of statecraft in relation to the recent history of the British state. While localism is about engaging people in local civic life it is also about the central state and the geographical division of political powers across the nation. In its practical application, localism is about rethinking government, encouraging the state to open up to its citizens while also depending upon the ability of local people to respond. It outlines the challenges to be faced in developing this agenda focusing on the limits of depending upon the state and the shifts that would be required in the expectations made of citizens. The chapter looks at the reasons why localism has been supported from both the right and left of the political spectrum. It ends by summarising the main policies developed to support localism since 2010.Less

Race, Dialogue, and the Practice of Community Life

in Talking about Race: Community Dialogues and the Politics of Difference

Since the early 1990s, more than 400 cities across the United States, and many cities throughout the world, have implemented programs such as intergroup dialogues in which diverse groups of ... More

Since the early 1990s, more than 400 cities across the United States, and many cities throughout the world, have implemented programs such as intergroup dialogues in which diverse groups of volunteers are recruited to come together over repeated sessions to talk about race and address the issue of race relations. There are many reasons to be skeptical of this form of public talk. And yet the fact remains that many people in many communities around the country are turning to it. Examining what they are actually doing with these dialogues on race brings us closer to understanding the nature of deliberative democracy. And it also sheds light on yet another pressing topic in contemporary civic life: how to create bonds across social divides. In recent years, this has been called the problem of creating bridging social capital. Although this “bridging” social capital is notoriously difficult to create, many claim that it is crucial for heterogeneous democracies.Less

Citizenship, Creativity, and the Democratic Imagination

in Citizen Speak: The Democratic Imagination in American Life

This chapter begins with a discussion of citizenship in the United States. It proposes that we fabricate a democratic imagination from our experiences in civic life, along with those in other domains ... More

This chapter begins with a discussion of citizenship in the United States. It proposes that we fabricate a democratic imagination from our experiences in civic life, along with those in other domains such as work, family, and neighborhood. We use this democratic imagination to tell us when and why to get involved in politics, how to do so, and when and how to stay away. The discussions then turn to the democratic crisis and the deliberative solution, political participation and civic engagement, evaluating citizenship activities, and the methodology used in the presented study. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less

Do We Need a Public Sociology?: It Depends on What You Mean by Sociology

Lynn Smith-Lovin

in Public Sociology: Fifteen Eminent Sociologists Debate Politics and the Profession in the Twenty-first Century

This chapter expresses concern that public sociology will undermine the core task of professional sociology, that of cumulating knowledge for its own sake. While it has no objection to urging ... More

This chapter expresses concern that public sociology will undermine the core task of professional sociology, that of cumulating knowledge for its own sake. While it has no objection to urging individual sociologists to become involved in civic life, it strongly opposes embracing value-laden activity within the disciplinary structure itself. Universities and the disciplines within them are not and probably cannot be hermetically sealed from the outside world. But given that, universities and disciplines should attempt to shield scholars from outside pressures of granting agencies as well as political movements.Less

Spirals of Perpetual Potential: How Empowerment Projects’ Noble Missions Tangle in Everyday Interaction

Nina Eliasoph

in Democratizing Inequalities: Dilemmas of the New Public Participation

This chapter explores previously hidden consequences of the transformation of volunteering and civic life in the empowerment projects during the last twenty years. In contrast to hierarchical social ... More

This chapter explores previously hidden consequences of the transformation of volunteering and civic life in the empowerment projects during the last twenty years. In contrast to hierarchical social relations, empowerment projects aim to promote civic participation and help the needy, while also fostering transformation and innovation as well as sustainability. Drawing on a nearly five-year-long ethnographic study, this chapter considers the language used to the work of empowerment projects and the relevance of equality to the very existence of such initiatives. It also highlights the tensions between helping the needy, documenting accountability and transparency, and being “soul-changing” for those involved. It shows that those who are supposed to become “empowered” are forced to manage unintended contradictions between rhetoric and reality. In their effort to mesh civic participation and helping the needy, volunteers tend to ignore inequality and social conditions.Less

The organisations

Megan Smitley

in The Feminine Public Sphere: Middle-Class Women in Civic Life in Scotland, C.1870–1914

This chapter revolves around the core context of female public sphere. Female associationalism was the starting point for many middle-class women's public lives. Reforming organisations such as ... More

This chapter revolves around the core context of female public sphere. Female associationalism was the starting point for many middle-class women's public lives. Reforming organisations such as constitutional suffrage societies, temperance unions and Women's Liberal Associations (WLAs) provide more well-to-do women with opportunities to actively engage in the important social and political issues of their day. In Glasgow and Edinburgh, cross-membership knitted together women's organisations, imparting a multi-issue reform programme to a range of women's groups. These organisations, though part of international reforming efforts to enhance women's clout in public affairs, are rooted in local civic life. While it is shown that male associational life and civic involvement were marked by cross-membership within the local sphere, evidence from these organisations suggests a similar pattern among more elite urban women active in the feminine public sphere.Less

Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy

Jason Wood

in Last Words: Considering Contemporary Cinema

This chapter presents an interview with filmmakers Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy. Over the last four years Molloy and Lawlor have been working on a project called Civic Life, which involves local ... More

This chapter presents an interview with filmmakers Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy. Over the last four years Molloy and Lawlor have been working on a project called Civic Life, which involves local community groups in the production of nine high-quality short films for the cinema. In 2004, their film Who Killed Brown Owl won the award for Best British Short Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. In January 2008 their latest short film Joy won the Prix UIP Rotterdam at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Helen (2008), the first feature of the duo, who work under the title of Desperate Optimists, marks the culmination of the Civic Life series. The interview covered topics such as how Desperate Optimists and their initial work in community theatre and experimental performance began; the benefits of working with community groups; and how they found the transition from shorter pieces to feature-length work.Less