The Evolving Citizen

Contents

Acknowledgments

1 American Youth: Who They Are and Why They Matter

2 American High School: Teenagers and Scholastic Journalism

3 Dislocated Cosmopolitans

4 Removed Volunteers

5 Protective Critics

6 Independent Joiners

7 American Evolution, Democratic Engagement, and Civic Education

Notes

Index

“The Evolving Citizen is an engaging look at the changing ways in which America’s teens write about their political and civic environment. This important inventory of how youths adapt to the realities of their times and alter the meaning of democracy offers reasons for hope and concern. By spanning five decades, Jay Childers’s examination of how young adults have shifted their areas of focus, their levels of engagement, and the issues they find most riveting provides insight into the evolving meaning of citizenship and changing norms of civic engagement. This is a welcome addition to the literature, offering a ground-level look at ordinary democracy.”



—Gerard A. Hauser, University of Colorado Boulder