This collection is provided to the larger educational community for use in their courses across multiple disciplines. Created by several cohorts of "Civic Engagement and Voting Rights Teacher Scholars" supported by the Mellon Foundation, these materials consist of full course syllabi, course assignments, and in-class activities across several humanities, social sciences, general education, and interdisciplinary areas of study. These ready-to-deploy materials help faculty to integrate course content with real-world issues impacting democracy, civic engagement, voting rights, and other civic-oriented topics.
This is an open-access collection distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License CC BY-NC 4.0
For more information on the program, see the program website.
For more information on the Teacher Scholars Cohort 1, see the link with their bios.
Landis - American Democracy
COURSE SYLLABUS - American Democracy A Draft Syllabus Outline for a University-Level, Advanced Undergraduate Course, Michael Landis
Ragusa - Charleston Classroom: Race, Elections and American Politics in the Holy City
COURSE SYLLABUS - Charleston Classroom: Race, Elections and American Politics in the Holy City, Jordan Ragusa
Walking Tour #1 - Memory, Jordan Ragusa
Walking Tour #2 - Education, Jordan Ragusa
Walking Tour #3 - Resistance, Jordan Ragusa
Presgraves - Citizen Science and Scientist Citizens
Course Syllabus: Citizen Science and Scientist Citizens, Jenny Presgraves
IN-CLASS ACTIVITY - Citizen Science Website Evaluation Instructions, Jenny Presgraves
IN-CLASS ACTIVITY - Who Regulates This?, Jenny Presgraves
TAKE-HOME ASSIGNMENT - Science and Storytelling, Jenny Presgraves
TAKE-HOME ASSIGNMENT - Science Policy Memo, Jenny Presgraves
Wood - Civic Engagement and Learning for Democracy
ACTIVITY - Threats to Democracy, Russ Wood
ACTIVITY - Voting Rights and Gerrymandering for College Students/Youth Voters, Russ Wood
ASSIGNMENT - Lincoln and a Theory of Civic Engagement, Russ Wood
ASSIGNMENT - Political Bullshit, Russ Wood
STUDENT DEVELOPMENT (SDV) MODULE - Civic Engagement and Learning for Democracy, Russ Wood
VanGorder - Key Issues in State and Federal Constitutional Government
ACTIVITY - Imagining Historical Civic Life, Megan VanGorder
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY OR ASSIGNMENT - The Constitution and Voting: A Guided Reading Tool, Megan VanGorder
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY OR HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT - Federalism Flares: Connecting Civic Concepts to Current Eve, Megan VanGorder
COURSE SYLLABUS - Key Issues in State and Federal Constitutional Government, Megan VanGorder
FINAL PROJECT - Informed Action through Community Engagement, Megan VanGorder
How Is Land Claimed in the United States?, Megan VanGorder
UNDERGRADUATE INQUIRY - How Is Land Claimed in the United States?, Megan VanGorder
Sapra - Democracy in Action
ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES FOR FINAL GROUP PROJECT - Digitally Amplifying and Preserving Refugee Experiences and Perspectives, Sonalini Sapra
ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES FOR FOOD JUSTICE WORK - Exploring Food Justice through Community Engagement at Guilford College Farm, Sonalini Sapra
COURSE SYLLABUS - Democracy in Action, Sonalini Sapra
LEARNING ACTIVITY # 1 The Underground Railroad Trail at Guilford College: Examining Justice and Citizenship, Sonalini Sapra
LEARNING ACTIVITY # 2 Civic Engagement and Political Awakenings, Sonalini Sapra
LEARNING ACTIVITY # 3 Intersectional Story Circles and Fostering Deep Belonging, Sonalini Sapra
Woodward - Foundations of Community and Civic Engagement
ASSIGNMENT - Asset-Framing in Community Problem-Solving, Andrea Woodward
ASSIGNMENT - Civic Engagement Checklist, Andrea Woodward
ASSIGNMENT - Having a conversation with someone about an issue over which you disagree, Andrea Woodward
ASSIGNMENT - Podcast Episode on a Public Issue of Importance to You, Andrea Woodward
ASSIGNMENT - Social Movement Presentation, Andrea Woodward
COURSE SYLLABUS - Foundations of Community and Civic Engagement", Andrea Woodward
Deas - America's Founding Documents: The Foundation for Civic Engagement
Civic Engagement Active Learning Activity 1, Kendall Deas
Civic Engagement Active Learning Activity 2, Kendall Deas
Civic Engagement Active Learning Activity 3, Kendall Deas
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT #1 - Beyond the Classroom Activity, Kendall Deas
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT #2 - Historical Document Analysis Exercise, Kendall Deas
COURSE SYLLABUS - "America’s Founding Documents: The Foundation for Civic Engagement", Kendall Deas
Hamblin - Graphic Democracy: Cartoons, Comics, and Voting Rights in America
ACTIVITY AND ASSIGNMENT - Data Comics and Gerrymandering, Sarah Hamblin
ACTIVITY AND ASSIGNMENT - Deliberative Dialogue, Sarah Hamblin
ACTIVITY Campaign Finance, Dark Money, and Comics Journalism, Sarah Hamblin
ACTIVITY - How to Close-Read Comics: Youth Voting and the 26th Amendment, Sarah Hamblin
ACTIVITY - The Civil Rights Movement: Black Voter Registration Comics, Campaign Comics, and Civil Rights Memoirs Discussion, Sarah Hamblin
COURSE SYLLABUS - Graphic Democracy: Cartoons, Comics, and Voting Rights in America, Sarah Hamblin
Nabi - Information Design for Public Action
ASSIGNMENT - Information Design Campaign Project, Hannah Nabi
ASSIGNMENT - News Briefing, Hannah Nabi
COURSE SYLLABUS - Information Design for Public Action, Hannah Nabi
LEARNING ACTIVITY - Audience Profile and Purpose Analysis, Hannah Nabi
LEARNING ACTIVITY - Document Analysis, Hannah Nabi
LEARNING ACTIVITY - Elevator Pitch Presentations, Hannah Nabi
Hung - Introduction to Ethnic Studies
ACTIVITY - DIY Ethnic Studies Lesson Plan Worksheet, Winnie Tam Hung
ACTIVITY - Indigenous Land as Site of Liberation (in-class exercise), Winnie Tam Hung
ACTIVITY - Pod Mapping and Reimagining Community Safety Exercise, Winnie Tam Hung
ASSIGNMENT - Freedom School Asignment, Winnie Tam Hung
ASSIGNMENT - Structural Analysis Reflection Assignment, Winnie Tam Hung
COURSE SYLLABUS - Introduction to Ethnic Studies, Winnie Tam Hung
Who's got your back? Pod Mapping and Community, Winnie Tam Hung
Garris - Introductory Psychology (Civic Engagement Emphasis)
ACTIVE LEARNING ACTIVITY - Critically Evaluating the US Census, Chris Garris
ACTIVE LEARNING ACTIVITY - Using Social Psychology to Get Out the Gen Z Vote, Chris Garris
ACTIVE LEARNING ACTIVITY - You and Your Community: Considering Personality When Getting Involved, Chris Garris
ASSIGNMENT - Democratic Discourse: Policy Letter to Your Representative, Chris Garris
ASSIGNMENT - What’s Up with Democracy: A Qualitative Research Exploration, Chris Garris
COURSE SYLLABUS - Introductory Psychology (Civic Engagement Emphasis), Chris Garris
Rutenberg - The City as History: Introduction to Public History
ASSIGNMENT Capstone Project: Curating a Class Exhibit “A History of Voting Rights in Tennessee”, Patricia Rutenberg
ASSIGNMENT - Comparing State and National Debates on Women’s Suffrage and Creating Your Own Speech/Debate on Women’s Suffrage, Patricia Rutenberg
ASSIGNMENT - Comparing Voting Rights of the Constitutions of Tennessee, Patricia Rutenberg
ASSIGNMENT - What do the US Constitution and Amendments, Federal and State Laws, and Landmark US Supreme Court Cases Tell Us About Voting Rights?, Patricia Rutenberg
COURSE SYLLABUS - The City as History: Introduction to Public History, Patricia Rutenberg
IN-CLASS ACTIVITY - Document Analysis of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Patricia Rutenberg
Bergland - On (Reimagining) Democracy
ACTIVITY AND ASSIGNMENT - Imagine Your Democracy— Creative Writing Responses, Daneen Bergland
ACTIVITY - Reimagine Democracy Poetry, metaphor, and civic responsibility, Daneen Bergland
ACTIVITY - Testing the Citizenship Test, Daneen Bergland
ASSIGNMENT - Power Literacy Project/Activity, Daneen Bergland
COURSE SYLLABUS - On (Reimagining) Democracy, Daneen Bergland
Ludwig - Sociology of Gender
ASSIGNMENT - Partial Final Exam, Bernadette Ludwig
ASSIGNMENT - Policy Analysis Assignment, Bernadette Ludwig
COURSE SYLLABUS - SO320: Sociology of Gender– S, UU, RR, W, Bernadette Ludwig
IN-CLASS ACTIVITY - “Gender and Voting”— Intersection of Voter Participation and Priorities for Different Gender Groups, Bernadette Ludwig
IN-CLASS ACTIVITY - Intersectionality Lecture— “Women Get the Right to Vote”, Bernadette Ludwig
IN-CLASS ACTIVITY - Voter Education and Registration— Nonlegal Barriers, Bernadette Ludwig