Jumping Into Civic Life: Stories of Public Work from Extension Professionals

When it comes to the task of making democracy work as it should in everyday ways and places, professionals who are employed by institutions of many kinds can be a problem. All too often, they use their technical knowledge and expertise in ways that dominate, disable, and sideline neighborhood and community members who aren't employed as credentialed experts. Or they stay out of public work in the messy, contentious realm of civic life altogether because they see it as an inappropriate activity for professionals to engage in, they don't know what to do, they aren't welcome, or they are afraid of losing their jobs. Through eight richly detailed oral histories, this book helps to open our imagination to the possibilities for professionals to make constructive contributions to the task of making democracy work as it should. The firsthand stories of public work in these oral histories are told by professionals from six different states who either chose or were invited to jump into civic life as active participants. They help us see what it means and takes to be a "citizen professional" who respects and supports the capacities, intelligence, expertise, and agency of others. The book's editors are Scott J. Peters, professor in the Department of Development Sociology at Cornell University; Theodore R. Alter, professor of agricultural, environmental, and regional economics and codirector of the Center for Economic and Community Development at Penn State; and Timothy J. Shaffer, assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies and the assistant director of the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy at Kansas State University. About the Kettering Foundation The Kettering Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit operating foundation rooted in the American tradition of cooperative research. Kettering's primary research question is: What does it take to make democracy work as it should? Kettering's research is distinctive because it is conducted from the perspective of citizens and focuses on what people can do collectively to address problems affecting their lives, their communities, and their nation. For more information about Kettering research and publications, see the Kettering Foundation's website at www.kettering.org.

About the Author :
Timothy J. Shaffer is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies and the assistant director of the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy at Kansas State University. He is also the principal research specialist at the National Institute for Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona. Scott J. Peters is a professor in the Department of Development Sociology at Cornell University, and faculty codirector emeritus of Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life. Theodore R. Alter is professor of agricultural, environmental, and regional economics and codirector of the Center for Economic and Community Development at Penn State.

Review :
"Is there a place for professionals in a society grown increasingly distrustful of experts? Can there be a democratic form of professionalism that empowers citizens, connects diverse publics, listens to and learns from lay people? These vital questions are at the core of this timely and inspiring book. The powerful narratives of eight innovative Extension professionals draw on a wealth of experience--with setbacks as well as triumphs, skillful improvisation as much as careful planning. Jumping into Civic Life is of immense value for anyone interested in the university's place in a democratic culture and for anyone concerned about democratic renewal."--Albert W. Dzur, author of Democracy Inside: Participatory Innovation in Unlikely Places "In an age when many feel hopeless, powerless, and hemmed in from all sides by invisible scripts and unseen powers, Jumping into Civic Life is an example of the liberatory power of unscripted public work. Through first-voice stories of the experiences of professionals working as citizens with their fellow citizens on divisive problems, it opens pathways of possibility toward a new understanding of democracy. Jumping into Civic Life could not be more welcome, nor more needed."--Harry C. Boyte, author of Awakening Democracy through Public Life