Youth and Civic Engagement
Youth and Civic Engagement
This memo is a review of the civic engagement literature particularly with respect to the place (or lack thereof) that African-American and other youth of color occupy in current research agendas. The memo elaborates and critiques several important aspects of the civic engagement literature including the difficulties of defining civic engagement, differences in research approaches, and methodological challenges in the field. Also discussed are key factors influencing youth civic engagement such as education, geographic context, race, political institutions/public policy, and family. Throughout the memo, there are critical assessments of some of the basic assumptions and oversights embedded in much of the civic engagement literature as well as suggestions for fruitful directions of future research.
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Jamila Celestine-Michener
Jamila Celestine-Michener is a PhD student in the Political Science department at the University of Chicago. Originally from Queens, NY, she received her B.A. in politics from Princeton University. Currently, her research interests broadly center on race in American politics, gender politics, the politics of youth of color and the politics of marginalized groups in America.
