Reading Twang et al. (2020)

Today we are digging into a 33 page paper from Twang et al. from 2020. This one is a longer read that includes some interesting research data they collected.

Twang, A. H., DeAngelis, B. J., Lewis, J. L., Mellin, E. A., Bouman, K. S., & Ziegler, W. L. (2020). Critical Foundations for Civic Engagement: Reimagining Civic Learning for a University Honors Program. The SUNY Journal of the Scholarship of Engagement: JoSE, 1(2), 4. https://digitalcommons.cortland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=jose

Today we are digging into a 33 page paper from Twang et al. from 2020. The paper “Critical Foundations for Civic Engagement: Reimagining Civic Learning for a University Honors Program” by Twang, DeAngelis, Lewis, Mellin, Bouman, and Ziegler was published in The SUNY Journal of the Scholarship of Engagement, this article explores how honors programs can evolve from traditional academic excellence models toward intentionally civic-centered learning experiences. This article had a strong focus on practical action and what can be done within the programs. It seemed like a fun direction to take my academic article reading.

What stands out here is the idea that civic engagement requires unlearning certain assumptions about privilege, expertise, and authority. This passage was partially interesting to me, “These students believed that they already had the knowledge and resources needed, and should be able to go into the community now. It was a challenge to guide these students through ‘unlearning’ previous assumptions about service and charity. Their reactions, however, solidified the importance of laying a critical foundation before beginning service. Instructors ultimately viewed this frustration as part of the learning process.” The authors treat civic learning as an ongoing, reflexive process that requires both personal transformation and institutional change. It’s not simply about volunteering or service-learning; it’s about developing critical consciousness and agency.

In the context of the central idea I’m always focused on “Graduation with Civic Honors” programs, this paper offers a blueprint for how universities might embed civic reflection across coursework and create structures that reward civic-minded scholarship. It pairs nicely with the Kaplowitz (2017) piece discussed earlier, which focused on the how of civic engagement within honors education. Both articles we have looked at so far both observe and question the best methods to take action.

You can read the full text of the article here: https://digitalcommons.cortland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=jose