By Team TECE
The Arbeitskreis deutscher Bildungsstätten journal, Außerschulischen Bildung, has dedicated it’s first issue of 2022 to current political and social developments and the current state of civic learning in the United States. Special acknowledgement is due to several TECE Fellows – Sarah Wagner, April Grayson, and Sarah Surak, who contributed their time and expertise in the form of articles.
The events of recent years – from the COVID-19 pandemic to a national reckoning with racism – have fundamentally changed American society. With the 2020 election, many, both nationally and internationally, saw an opportunity to overcome growing polarization and return to core U.S. democratic values. But the challenges remain great.
Against this backdrop, what role can civic education and transatlantic exchange play in addressing these challenges together, strengthening civil society structures, and fostering people’s engagement?
The aim of this issue is to explore how different political styles, cultural norms and societal values influence civic education, how civic educators can learn from each other, build new contacts and facilitate encounters, and inspire creative concepts and formats.
To access the English versions of select articles, please follow the links below:
- “History, Memory, and the Road to Racial Justice in the “Belly of the Beast” Looking ahead at a new era of looking back” by April Grayson and Vondaris Gordon
- “Civic Renewal through Civic Learning: Exploring US civic education and a renewed transatlantic focus” by Katja Greeson, TECE project manager. Also available here in German as a cost-free reading sample.
- “Civic Reflection: Considering values, choices, and civic commitments in polarizing times” by TECE Fellow, Sarah Surak and Sandy Pope
To gain full access to this issue (in German-language), you may subscribe for an annual subscription (4 issues, print and online) here: https://www.adb.de/abonnement
Price: 7 Euro per single issue plus shipping costs; annual subscription (4 issues, print and online): 20 Euro (reduced rate 16 Euro) plus shipping costs.
The AdB and the Berlin State Agency for Civic Education will host an online conference on Thursday, May 19, 2022, from 3-8pm CEST / 9-2pm EST, titled “Transatlantische Herausforderungen, Unterschiedliche Herangehensweisen? Politische Bildung aus deutscher und amerikanischer Sicht”. Here, the topics touched upon in the journal will be discussed and deepened.
The event will take place primarily in German-language, although several inputs will be delivered in English. The event is open to all, those who have no experience with the topic as well as those who are very experienced. Details on the program and registration, as well as the conference brochure, can be found here.
Greetings from NYC where we are working on strengthening democratic civics in our schools. Is there a translation tool? Laura Tavares who you know and who is an advisor to us recommended your site. Sadly I don’t read German.
Hello, thanks for your interest! There is unfortunately not a fully translated English version of the publication mentioned above, but there are three of the articles available in english at the links here:
https://tece-usde.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/History-Memory-and-the-Road-to-Racial-Justice-in-the-Belly-of-the-Beast_Grayson-Gordon.pdf
https://tece-usde.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Civic-Learning-as-Civic-Renewal_english_Greeson.pdf
https://tece-usde.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Civic-Reflection_Surak_Pope_English.pdf
For more information, please feel free to email greeson@adb.de.