Citizenship and Civic Education: A Critical Elaboration on the Pedagogy of Rizal’s La Liga Filipina

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clement Camposano
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Citizenship Education ◽  
Sociology Of Education ◽  
General Will ◽  
Political Ideas ◽  
The Social ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
Ethical Project

Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s role in shaping Jose Rizal’s political ideas is a blurred spot in existing scholarship on the latter’s life and works. There seems to be an endemic lack of interest in this matter, with scholars preferring to explore Rizal through the optics of nationalism and/or liberalism, often in their attempt to construct the “unity” of his ideas. Aiming to fill this lacuna and unsettle established readings, this article explores Rizal’s decisive shift from Voltairean liberalism in favor of Rousseau’s vision of a cohesive civic body constituted through the social contract. It contends that the social contract theory and its associated concept of the “general will” could serve as bases for resolving the problem of fractiousness and excessive individualism Rizal observed among young expatriate Filipinos, a problem he became increasingly concerned with and nuanced his commitment to the campaign for liberal reforms. Putting on hold the obsession with a unified Rizal, this article asserts that invoking Rousseau’s vision crystallizes the meaning of La Liga Filipina—its place in the trajectory of Rizal’s thoughts and the educative role it was meant to play in relation to the Filipino nation as an ethical project. Finally, the article elaborates on this role, critically exploring its significance and implications for civic education using key sociological concepts and insights from the anthropology and sociology of education, as well as studies on the effectiveness of service-learning programs in promoting civic engagement and participation among young people. A critical elaboration on the pedagogy suggested by La Liga calls attention to how citizenship education might be situated in quotidian processes and spaces, how it is implicated in systems of inequality, and how it could open up new possibilities.

scholarly journals CONSIDERAÇÕES DE ARENDT SOBRE O CONCEITO DE VONTADE GERAL DE ROUSSEAU

Sapere Aude ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (19) ◽  
pp. 172-183
Author(s):  
José João Neves Barbosa Vicente
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Fundamental Concept ◽  
The Political ◽  
General Will ◽  
Political Thinking ◽  
Political Ideas ◽  
The Social

A vontade geral é um conceito fundamental no pensamento político de Rousseau; é através desse conceito que Rousseau pensa a comunidade política “legítima”, como descrita em Do contrato social, em que a liberdade de cada indivíduo é protegida e preservada. Arendt, no entanto, não compartilha dessa ideia e considera o conceito de vontade geral como descrito por Rousseau uma ameaça à política; ele a enfraquece e a destrói, uma vez que não permite a manifestação da liberdade através de ação e do debate de opiniões entre iguais. Não se pode admitir e nem aceitar ideias ou práticas políticas que tentam homogeneizar as formas de vida humana, que tentam excluir ou controlar a diversidade de opiniões. Defender a ideia de um povo homogêneo que compartilha de uma vontade geral como descrita em Do contrato social, não significa fortalecer a política, mas sim atentar contra a pluralidade humana que dá sentido à comunidade política. A proposta do presente artigo é discutir o posicionamento crítico de Arendt em relação ao conceito de vontade geral de RousseauPALAVRAS- CHAVE: Vontade geral. Rousseau. Pluralidade humana. Liberdade. Arendt. ABSTRACTThe general will is a fundamental concept in Rousseau's political thinking; It is through this concept that Rousseau thinks the "legitimate" political community, where each individual's freedom is protected and preserved. Arendt, however, does not share this idea and considers the concept of general will as described by Rousseau, a threat to politics; it weakens and destroys it, since it does not allow the manifestation of freedom through action and the debate of opinions between equals. Political ideas and practices that attempt to homogenize human life forms that try to exclude or control diversity of opinion can not be accepted or accepted. Defending the idea of a homogenous people that shares a general will as described in The social contract does not mean to strengthen politics, but to attack the human plurality that gives meaning to the political community. The proposal of this article is to discuss this critical positioning of Arendt in relation to the concept of general will of Rousseau.KEYWORDS: General will. Rousseau. Human plurality. Freedom.Arendt.

Gendering the General Will: Frankenstein’s Breaches of Contract

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe Beenstock
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
Test Cases ◽  
General Will ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Creation Stories

As a sociable being that is barred from society, Frankenstein’s monster presents a sustained engagement with social contract theory’s major dilemma of whether individualism can produce sociability. The male creature’s isolation and inner disunity suggest that contract theory displaces men and is unable to concatenate even those members that should be eligible for full citizenship. Shelley focuses on the gender inequality of contract theory through her different creation stories of the creatures’ bodies. In Victor’s decision not to complete the female creature she rejects Wollstonecraft’s revisionist approach to Rousseau, and demonstrates that social contract theory cannot be rewritten to include women. Women are not defined as political subjects but do have independent wills. Therefore, they are potentially resistant to contract and a threat to political control. Contending with Wollstonecraft and Rousseau, and also Coleridge and Godwin, Shelley suggests that intertextual relations produce unpredictable results. The creatures are test cases for the social contract’s respective failures in terms of social cohesion and gender.

Coleridge’s Exile from the Social Contract, 1795–1829

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe Beenstock
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
The State ◽  
The Self ◽  
Breaking Point ◽  
General Will ◽  
Social Crisis ◽  
State Of Nature ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Better Than

Coleridge wrote frequently about Rousseau throughout his varied career. His early lectures and letters draw on Rousseau’s critique of luxury and frequently allude to the general will, depicting Rousseau as a Christ-like figure. Coleridge’s subsequent disappointment with Pantisocracy led him to reject Rousseau and the social contract. Comparing Rousseau to Luther in The Friend, Coleridge argues that Rousseau’s unhappiness arises from a conflict between an age of individualism and an ongoing need for community. According to Coleridge, poetry tolerates this conflict better than philosophy. In ‘Reflections on Having Left a Place of Retirement’ Coleridge suggests that social retreat offers illusory solace from war and social crisis. He critiques the state of nature, sympathy, and even religion for failing to balance the self with its environment. Thematically and formally The Rime of the Ancient Mariner explores this crisis in cohering systems. Through the mariner’s relationship to the albatross, the wedding that frames the poem, and episodes of the supernatural that disrupt the ballad form, Coleridge defines a breaking point between the individual and general wills.

Facilitating youth development through service-learning: Social justice implications for underserved youth

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-103
Author(s):  
Christopher A Curtis
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Afterschool Programs ◽  
Marginalized Youth ◽  
Underserved Youth ◽  
Learning Programs

The implications of how service-learning participation can enhance civic knowledge and engagement among young people are discussed at length in the existing literature. However, research that explores the utility of formalizing service-learning as a means of enriching civic education for underserved and minority youth is lacking, particularly within the context of secondary education. The purpose of this article is to contribute to the discourse around increasing the use of service-learning programs as a means of supplementing existing methods that facilitate well-rounded youth development (e.g. school curricula, afterschool programs, mentorship) and enhance well-being among underserved youth within a social justice framework. The aims of this article are met by first illuminating the risk factors facing minority and underserved youth. The social justice implications of service-learning participation for youth are then discussed. Finally, the feasibility of utilizing service-learning as a protective factor for marginalized youth is explored.

In the Shadow of the General Will: Rawls, Kant and Rousseau on the Problem of Political Right

1987 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Neal
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
General Will ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Right ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Unstable Position ◽  
Theoretical Project

The relationship between Kant and Rawls is apparently an obvious one; Rawls himself acknowledges the Kantian foundations of his approach to questions of justice and political right, and identifies the precise points at which his theory departs from that of Kant. This essay attempts to show that when one examines those points of departure carefully, they turn out to point not merely away from Kant, but directly and inexorably toward the account of political right given by Rousseau in The Social Contract. The essay argues that it is impossible to fully understand Rawls' theoretical project until one sees the (unstable) position it occupies between the Kantian and Rousseauian accounts of political right. Moreover, it argues that the theoretical project undertaken by Rawls, that of revising the Kantian conception of autonomy in an attempt to show how it could be coherently “expressed” politically, was actually undertaken and “completed” by Rousseau — though with ironic, and unsettling, results.

scholarly journals Kapitał i zaufanie społeczne a aktywność obywatelska w Anglii i Polsce – implikacje dla edukacji obywatelskiej

2020 ◽  
pp. 85-109
Author(s):  
Daria Hejwosz-Gromkowska
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Citizenship Education ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Active Citizenship ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The Social ◽  
Adam Mickiewicz

Hejwosz-Gromkowska Daria, Kapitał i zaufanie społeczne a aktywność obywatelska w Anglii i Polsce – implikacje dla edukacji obywatelskiej [Capital and Social Trust vs. Active Citizenship in England and Poland – Implications for Civic Education]. Studia Edukacyjne nr 56, 2020, Poznań 2020, pp. 85-109. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. ISSN 1233-6688. DOI: 10.14746/se.2020.56.5The aim of the paper is to analyze the tendencies of shaping both social capital and social trust in England and Poland. The analyses of aforementioned categories allow to explain the patterns of conventional civic participation. The social capital and social trust are also important factors influencing citizenship education. Therefore, analysis comprises policies towards citizenship education in English and Polish schools.

Writing the Social Contradiction: Rousseau’s Literary Politics

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe Beenstock
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Conformity ◽  
General Will ◽  
State Of Nature ◽  
Literary Politics ◽  
The Social ◽  
The One

This chapter explores Rousseau’s account of the tension between community and individual by examining the Second Discourse and the Social Contract on the one hand, and Julie on the other. In his political theory Rousseau defines the state of nature as a mere fantasy which belongs to an optative imagined past. In leaving the state of nature, people trade basic needs for decadent desires. Rousseau introduces the general will as a practical device for managing the asociability of the private will, which is driven mainly by appetite. To safeguard the general will from its wayward members, individuals must form a social contract which transforms them into sociable beings. In Julie Rousseau explores the sacrifices that individuals make in joining the general will, as Julie is torn between personal desire on the one hand and social conformity on the other. Rousseau’s literature suggests that the two are incompatible and thus ‘judges’ his philosophy, exploring the deathly outcome of contract. Rousseau’s use of literature to critique the social contract constitutes his major legacy to British Romantic writers.

Democratic Innovation in K-12 Education

2018 ◽  
pp. 43-66
Author(s):  
Albert W. Dzur
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Institutional Governance ◽  
Democratic Schools ◽  
The Social ◽  
Student Power ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Barriers To Growth ◽  
K 12

Civic engagement and service learning are now part of mainstream American education, but such programs are normally embedded in hierarchical, rule-bound, and inegalitarian institutions. Even while called to service outside, most students are excluded from meaningfully shaping the social environment inside their schools. This chapter examines schools embracing a different model. Democratic schools involve students in curriculum design, teaching, and institutional governance. Regular all-school advisory meetings, student-led inquiry, peer juries, and other forms of participatory conflict resolution are common in these schools. Historically linked to progressive education reforms and to student power efforts in the 1960s, contemporary democratic innovators in mainstream K-12 education are motivated by three factors seen as under threat: professional identity, academic engagement, and genuine civic education. Drawing on interviews with teachers and principals working in democratic schools across different regions, this chapter describes barriers to growth as well as available resources for sustaining long-term reform.

Exaggerating Emile (and Skipping Sophie) while sliding past The Social Contract

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-186
Author(s):  
Graham P. McDonough ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Philosophy Of Education ◽  
General Will ◽  
The Social

This paper examines how philosophy of education textbooks present Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s views on women and socialization. It reviews ten texts, involving nine authors, and finds that they generally focus on the concepts of Nature, Negative Education, and Child Development from Books I-III of Emile, but severely restrict mentioning its Book V and The Social Contract. While these results implicitly reflect Rousseau’s historical influence on “progressive” educators, they do not seriously attend to well-established critiques of Rousseau’s sexism and omit acknowledging his intent that Emile’s Negative Education in Nature leads toward his socialization in the General Will.

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