About
Us
LSP 275 – Lived Civics, the Social Contract & Public Life was inspired by the work of many educators who aim to create an impactful and efficient civics curriculum for students in America. Our team was fortunate enough to be awarded a grant from the Teagle Foundation in May of 2020 to make this curriculum possible.
LSP 275 – Lived Civics, the Social Contract & Public Life takes a different approach compared to common standardized civics education that we have seen in American educational institutions. LSP 275 focuses on incorporating lived civics and the social contract within the classroom. With polarization seeming to only increase within our political climate, it has become essential to create a curriculum that assists students in their understanding of civics, the role of the government, the role of residents and citizens, and how our individual experience shape how we interact with these realities.
By creating a classroom environment that fosters productive and honest discussions, both students and educators can learn from one another regarding how our interactions with politics can be vastly different and shape the way we function day-to-day. These discussions serve to provide real-life examples of civic experiences and perspectives that can expose students in ways that they might not have the opportunity outside of the classroom.
By drawing on founding documents such as the U.S. Constitution, philosophical works from figures like Rosseau and Locke, and historical events like the Civil Rights Movement, LSP 275 utilizes both scholastic material, student testimony, and an interdisciplinary focus on behalf of our Teacher Scholars to reach our goal of an impactful civics course at DePaul.
First Class – Fall 2022
Molly Andolina piloted the first ever LSP 275 class in the fall of 2022. Despite starting off with a small group of students, the experience was a very meaningful one. The class discussions were one of the most notable moments as students were able to explore what it is like to share and dissect one another’s lived experiences within the context of civics. By sharing stories from those living within the city of Chicago from those who grew up in other parts of the country, our students began to compare and contrast real lived civics. There appeared to be a shared consensus on many topics so Prof. Andolina was able to take on the role of framing alternative perspectives. Since one of the goals of the course is to help students listen and recognize a broad range of viewpoints, it is important to maintain that goal in circumstances, like this pilot class, where similar ideologies are shared. While it is great to build community and understanding amongst like-minded people, it is just as important to build that same type of community and understanding with those of opposing opinions. How can we begin the deterioration of polarization within the country if we cannot bridge ideologies within the classroom? These pilot classes serve to help us practice and play with the different classroom tactics to ensure open-mindedness is present in all conversations.
Expanding Our Interdisciplinary Approaches
As we make our way into 2023, our plan moving forward is to improve and grow. For our winter 2023 quarter, we were able to have our first round of teacher-scholars begin LSP 275 within their respective interdisciplinary domains. The civics team held a fall check-in meeting where Prof. Andolina was able to share her experience and recommendations to our cohorts as well as reflect on what was learned during the Summer Institute. The Civic Initiative crew as a whole was ready to kickoff 2023 by continuing to roll out LSP 275 classes as well as grow the number of our cohorts who will teach the following academic year. The civics team is also prepping for our second Summer Institute where we are beyond ecstatic to improve from our first workshop as well as bring together our bigger team of teacher-scholars!