Civic Revolution


Book Description

Cities are the places that have the greatest influence over life on Earth. The single biggest cause of global warming, the urbanisation of humanity, is potentially the principal solution. The ‘ecological genius’ of the city enables us to live better – while consuming, wasting and polluting less. However it remains a vast, largely hidden civic power. What is missing is a citizen’s guide to turn the place where we live into the seat of the solution. Energising, motivating and uplifting, Civic Revolution is a topical and relevant book about the power of belonging that gets to the heart of how – and why – all of us must act. ‘A timely and readable call to arms to people who want to make life better in their local community but also understand the need for more fundamental system change.’ – Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts.




Civic Revolutionaries


Book Description

Praise for Civic Revolutionaries "Laden with real-life examples of unconventional civic action now underway across the U.S.A., Civic Revolutionaries provides the intellectual ferment and operational framework for truly exciting advances in America’s metropolitan regions during the first decades of the 21st century. I know my friend and mentor John W. Gardner would be delighted by the appearance and likely strong impact of this book." —Neal Peirce, syndicated columnist, Washington Post Writers Group and coauthor, Citistates "As America faces the future there is no shortage of leaders, but what about stewards–those people who are change agents that act out of a sense of responsibility for the long-term future of their community? Civic Revolutionaries is the first book to tell us why and how to become one." —John Parr, president and CEO, Alliance for Regional Stewardship "The need for regional stewardship will become increasingly compelling as the footprint of our daily lives extends beyond traditional political boundaries. The book is filled with insights for those who want to look over the horizon at the future challenges to the leadership of every American political, business, and nonprofit institution created by this new phenomenon." —George Vradenburg, vice chair, Alliance for Regional Stewardship "This is a book you have to read if you are (or want to be) a community leader. The authors describe a new revolution of civic institution building that is transforming every corner of American life." —Edward J. Blakely, dean, Robert J. Milano Graduate School, New School University and member of the board of directors, Regional Plan Association




Delta Democracy


Book Description

The 2011 Arab Spring protests seemed to mark a turning point in Middle East politics, away from authoritarianism and toward democracy. Within a few years, however, most observers saw the protests as a failure given the outbreak of civil wars and re-emergence of authoritarian strongmen in countries like Egypt. But in Delta Democracy, Catherine E. Herrold argues that we should not overlook the ongoing mobilization taking place in grassroots civil society. Drawing upon ethnographic research on Egypt's nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the wake of the uprisings, Herrold uncovers the strategies that local NGOs used to build a more democratic and just society. Departing from US-based democracy advocates' attempts to reform national political institutions, local Egyptian organizations worked with communities to build a culture of democracy through public discussion, debate, and collective action. At present, these forms of participatory democracy are more attainable than establishing fair elections or parliaments, and they are helping Egyptians regain a sense of freedom that they have been denied as the long-time subjects of a dictator. Delta Democracy advances our understanding of how civil society organizations maneuver under state repression in order to combat authoritarianism. It also offers a concrete set of recommendations on how US policymakers can restructure foreign aid to better help local community organizations fighting to expand democracy.




Civic Catechisms and Reason in the French Revolution


Book Description

At the heart of the French Revolution there lay a fundamental paradox: how to liberate the minds of the people whilst simultaneously ensuring their loyalty to the new regime. It is an exploration of the facts and implications of this tension that forms the basis of this study, which reconstructs the intellectual world of the Revolution. The new radical regime attacked the old institutionalized forms of Catholic worship and instruction, yet retained the catechetical outlook with its dogmatic mindset as an important feature of political education. Catechisms not only conveyed information in an accessible manner, they also revealed the intellectual tendencies of those who favoured the genre. Civic catechisms were meant to play an important part of revolutionary instruction; they were the only category of texts repeatedly mentioned in the National Assembly and in various pieces of legislation, including education bills, and there were calls for a 'national catechism'. The status of the catechisms changed throughout the Revolution, and this study also investigates the degree of continuity of purpose across the period, as well as the catechisms' place alongside other texts such as speeches and bills. An important contribution to the literature on the intellectual history of the French Revolution, this book will also be of interest to scholars of rhetoric, education and the intellectual history of the eighteenth century, as well as to revolutionary studies in general.




Civic Revolutionaries


Book Description

Civic Revolutionaries offers a practical guide for renewing the great American tradition of spirited, breakthrough community leadership. By their very nature, revolutionary leaders help their communities reconcile the competing values on which our nation was built: individualism and community, freedom and responsibility, trust and accountability, economy and society. Like the Founders, today's civic revolutionaries are extraordinary leaders who are deeply committed to place, not just to specific issues or constituencies. They provide the vital spark, inspiring others who must ultimately own the revolution if it is to be successful. Written for leaders in business, government, education, and community, Civic Revolutionaries features practical guidance and in-depth case studies from communities across the country. The book provides tested advice to both new and seasoned leaders and draws essential lessons from the American revolutionary tradition to demonstrate how to become an effective leader within the community. Read a Charity Channel review: http://charitychannel.com/publish/templates/?a=294&z=25




Civic Revolution


Book Description

Cities are the places that have the greatest influence over life on Earth. The single biggest cause of global warming – the urbanisation of humanity – is potentially the principal solution. The “genius of the city” enables us to live better while consuming and polluting less. However it remains a vast, largely hidden power.




The Citizenship Experiment


Book Description

The Citizenship Experiment explores the fate of citizenship ideals in the Age of Revolutions. While in the early 1790s citizenship ideals in the Atlantic world converged, the twin shocks of the Haitian Revolution and the French Revolutionary Terror led the American, French, and Dutch publics to abandon the notion of a shared, Atlantic, revolutionary vision of citizenship. Instead, they forged conceptions of citizenship that were limited to national contexts, restricted categories of voters, and ‘advanced’ stages of civilization. Weaving together the convergence and divergence of an Atlantic revolutionary discourse, debates on citizenship, and the intellectual repercussions of the Terror and the Haitian Revolution, Koekkoek offers a fresh perspective on the revolutionary 1790s as a turning point in the history of citizenship.




Civic Unrest


Book Description

From the American Revolution to the French Revolution, from the civil rights era in the United States to Arab Spring in the Middle East, the ongoing battle for freedom and democracy is a profound and fascinating study of the power of human will to change the world. Civic Unrest: Investigate the Struggle for Social Change examines the history behind civic unrest and the methods people use to fight for basic human rights such as freedom of speech and the right to vote. Civic Unrest discusses the different reasons for and methods of revolution, while offering young readers the opportunity to learn about the structure of the U.S. government and how the elements within the U.S. Constitution were decided upon by the Founding Fathers. Activities use elements of history, civics, and mathematics to interpret data, create maps, and debate issues. These enrich learning and encourage students to ask questions, make inferences, and draw conclusions while allowing for a hands-on immersion in the complex elements of civic unrest and democracies. Civic Unrest: Investigate the Struggle for Social Change meets Common Core State Standards for literacy in history and social studies; Guided Reading Levels and Lexile measurements indicate grade level and text complexity.




Civic Continuities in an Age of Revolutionary Change, c.1750–1850


Book Description

This open access book explores the role of continuity in political processes and practices during the Age of Revolutions. It argues that the changes that took place in the years around 1800 were enabled by different types of continuities across Europe and in the Americas. With historians of modernity tending to emphasise the rise of the new, scholarship has leaned towards an assumption that existing modes of action, thought and practice simply became extinct, irrelevant or at least subordinate to new modes. In contrast, this collection examines continuities between early modern and modern political cultures and organization in Europe and the Americas. Shifting the focus from political modernization, the authors examine the continued relevance of older, often local, practices in (post)revolutionary politics. By doing so, they aim to highlight the role of local political traditions and practices in forging and enabling political change. The book argues that while political change was in fact at the centre of both the old and new polities that emerged in the Age of Revolutions, it coexisted with, and was indeed enabled by, continuities at other levels.




Capitalism and the Emergence of Civic Equality in Eighteenth-Century France


Book Description

"William H. Sewell, Jr. turns to the experience of commercial capitalism to show how the commodity form abstracted social relations. The increased independence, flexibility, and anonymity of market relations made equality between citizens not only conceivable but attractive. Commercial capitalism thus found its way into the interstices of this otherwise rigidly hierarchical society, coloring social relations and paving the way for the establishment of civic equality"--