Living the Theory: Local Politics and Service-Learning

At the University of Iowa, 2005-2006 was the Year of Public Engagement, where "during this year, the University community will be encouraged to intensify its efforts and sharpen its focus on engagement with the public and public issues at the local, state, national, and international levels" (University of Iowa, 2005). Putting aside the question of whether one year is enough to do "engagement" justice, Iowa's move was one in a series of efforts by American colleges and universities to better connect students, faculty, and staff to the community at large. This idea of engagement has spawned a mini industry as institutions of all types struggle with the question of what it means to be "engaged." While this is a very big question, this chapter focuses on a small, but critical, portion. The authors are interested in how political science can use civic engagement to enhance course work and reinforce not just involvement in a community, but involvement in the politics of a community. While not negating the importance of working in soup kitchens or cleaning up polluted streams, the authors suggest that these activities do not, by themselves, connect students to the civic - that is, the political - in their communities. [authors]