Introduction: This paper applies the thought of Jacques Rancière to the concept of democracy as it is traditionally understood in library studies literature. Methods: The paper reviews a cross-section of instances of the link between democracy and the public library in library studies literature. It offers a close textual analysis of Michael…

Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman characterizes this era as a time of "liquid modernity." Rather than settled meanings, categories, and frames of reference, Bauman contends that meaning is always in flux, open-ended rather than closed. This flux is in large part driven and exacerbated by a culture of consumerism. This phenomenology of the…

The liberal arts and the civic mission of higher education are under attack in this time of economic crisis and political polarization. But we can proudly and forthrightly make the case for the civic mission of higher education. The purpose of the liberal arts is to prepare people for responsible citizenship, and the best forms of civic engagement…

Using narrative inquiry methods, this study presents findings from seven politically conservative teachers reflecting on their experience in a teacher education program that they perceived to be ideologically liberal. All of the participants recollected falling into a spiral of silence (Noelle-Neumann, 1993) during their teacher education courses…

In this article, William Ayers constructs his Phil Smith Lecture as a call to action. Grounded in democratic principles of equality and social justice, the author invokes a liberal conception of human worth and the universal right to educational opportunity. The author critiques the passivity of the American polity in the face of Barack Obama's…