Citizen Speak by Andrew Perrin
When we think about what constitutes being a good citizen, routine activities like voting, letter-writing, and paying attention to the news spring to mind. But, in "Citizen Speak", Andrew J. Perrin argues that these activities play only a small part in democratic citizenship - a form of citizenship that requires creative thinking, talking, and acting. For "Citizen Speak", Perrin met with labor, church, business, union, and sports organizations and proposed to them four fictive scenarios: what if your senator is involved in a scandal, or your police department is engaged in racial profiling, or a local factory violates pollution law, or your neighborhood is going to be the site of a new airport? The conversations these scenarios inspire, Perrin shows, require imagination. And, what people can imagine doing in response to those scenarios depends on what's possible, what's important, what's right, and what's feasible. By talking with one another, an engaged citizenry draws from a repertoire of personal and institutional resources to understand and reimagine responses to situations as they arise. Building on such political discussions, "Citizen Speak" shows how a rich culture of association and democratic discourse provides the infrastructure for a healthy democracy.
"Citizen Speak improves our understanding of the conditions that foster active citizenship and the cultural conditions that lead citizens to be involved in politicsThis book makes a convincing case that a focus on democratic imagination and talk can add crucial new dimensions to our conception of citizenship as it is practiced in today's society." - Michele Lamont, Harvard University"
Andrew J. Perrin is assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is coauthor of Women of Courage: Jewish and Italian Immigrant Women.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780226660813 |
| ISBN 10 | 0226660818 |
| Title | Citizen Speak |
| Author | Andrew Perrin |
| Series | Morality And Society Series |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | University Of Chicago Press |
| Year published | 2006-11-01 |
| Number of pages | 208 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |