The Good Citizen: A History of American Civic Life

by Michael Schudson

Book Overview

In 1996 less than half of all eligible voters even bothered to vote. Fewer citizens each year follow government and public affairs regularly or even think they should. Is popular sovereignty a failure?
Not necessarily, argues Michael Schudson in this provocative and unprecedented history of citizenship in America. Measuring voter turnout or attitudes is a poor approximation of citizenship. The meaning of voting -- and what counts as politics --...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1451631626
• ISBN13: 9781451631623
• Release Date: January 2011
• Publisher: Free Press
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Citizenship is about rights

Professor Schudson brings tremendous insight to the current debate about civil society. He demonstrates that citizenship has evolved beyond traditional practices, e.g., voting, to a larger sphere of rights-consciousness in which the courtroom is a much at the center of our citizenship as the voting booth.