The Social Work of Politics:
Rethinking Citizenship and Democracy,
Social Justice and Empowerment.
Sandy gave us several questions to think about in regards to this weeks readings and I have added a few of my own. The questions are in no specific order – they represent a kind of stream of consciousness on my part. It is not likely that we will get to all of the questions but please think about these issues as you read. I will start the discussion next week by asking if there are particular questions that people want to address/discuss. I may come up with some more questions before class but I thought this would be a good start. Enjoy your readings!!!
1. What exactly do you think Sandy means by "The Social Work of Politics?" and how does this relate to the readings for this week?
2. What do you think Jane Addams means by democracy and how does she this as changing or needing to change at the turn of the century in order to meet people’s needs?
3. How is democracy related to citizenship?
4. What does Jane Addams say citizenship should be like and what are the obligations of citizenship? Are these relevant or realistic as we approach the turn of the next century?
5. Why do you think Jane Addams view of citizenship is getting more attention now?
6. Do we agree with what Seigfried and Sarvasy say about Addams? Do you have a different take on what she says? [Pay particular attention to the Introduction of Jane Addams book as well as the chapters on Educational Reform and Political Reform as that is where Seigfried draws most of her ideas from].
7. Was there a passage or statement in Jane Addams writings that you liked or felt was especially relevant to the themes of this class or maybe something you didn’t like? I have always found the paragraph at the end of Chapter II to be particularly powerful and moving and I wonder if people see this as fitting with any of the issues we are discussing in class? [pages 69-70 in my edition – starts with "The Hebrew prophet…"].