Wesleyan University’s New Civics Course Reimagines Citizenship as Connection and Commitment

Wesleyan University is offering "Civics, Citizenship, and the American Imagination" to high school students in 16 states through partnership with the National Education Opportunity Network, taught by Khalilah Brown-Dean with 15 student teaching fellows, addressing decades of civics education decline by exploring citizenship as connection and commitment practiced through dialogue, organizing, problem-solving, and care rather than just voting or holding office. The course traces civic debates from Reconstruction to present while exploring contemporary challenges including voter engagement, media literacy, and political polarization, with students practicing respectful debate across diverse perspectives and developing final projects offering new ideas to address community challenges through policy proposals, campaigns, artwork, or local action. In Topeka, Kansas, students with beliefs ranging from Marxism to theocracy engaged immigration debates examining whether citizenship is legal status or community belonging, learning to solve problems without tearing each other down and recognizing complexity beyond partisan binaries. This initiative advances NCDD's mission by providing civics education emphasizing dialogue across differences, developing youth agency and civic vision, and treating young people as current community shapers rather than future citizens, helping students see themselves as architects of democratic futures who strengthen democracy when their voices join the conversation.

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Wesleyan University is offering a new civics course to high school students nationwide through its partnership with the National Education Opportunity Network (NEON), addressing decades of decline in civics education caused by shifts in focus to math and reading and hesitance to wade into potentially divisive classroom issues. "Civics, Citizenship, and the American Imagination," taught by Khalilah Brown-Dean, the Rob Rosenthal Distinguished Professor of Civic Engagement and Executive Director of the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, with support from 15 Wesleyan student teaching fellows, poses the critical question "What does it mean to be a citizen?" while moving beyond dictionary definitions to explore citizenship as connection and commitment practiced through dialogue, creative expression, community organizing, public service, and acts of care. The course reaches 1,433 students in 16 states and the District of Columbia through partnerships with high school teachers who provide in-class instruction complementing Brown-Dean's recorded lectures and lesson plans.

The curriculum traces key civic debates from Reconstruction to the present, exploring contemporary challenges including voter engagement, media literacy, and political polarization with heavy emphasis on youth leadership. Brown-Dean emphasizes that young people are already shaping their communities every day rather than waiting to become citizens someday, challenging students to recognize their own agency and understand that civic life includes organizing, storytelling, problem-solving, and caring about what happens to people around them, not just voting or holding office. Students explore civic issues from different perspectives, practice respectful debate, and develop final projects offering new ideas to address challenges in their communities or broader society through policy proposals, campaigns, artwork, digital platforms, or local action. This approach aligns with Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth's vision of reinvigorating democratic culture by offering high school students from different backgrounds opportunities to learn what it means to be a citizen, communicate with peers with diverse life experiences, and imagine how they can contribute to strengthening democracy.

In Topeka, Kansas, teacher Sara Schafer describes the course as the first time her institution has offered civics beyond a U.S. government class for seniors only, appreciating that "the goal is dialogue and the goal is figuring out ways to solve problems without tearing each other down." After polling students early on, Schafer discovered richly diverse political and religious beliefs ranging from self-proclaimed Marxists to proponents of theocracy, asking students to present personal perspectives that revealed complexity beyond Republican-Democrat binaries. Teaching Fellow Sasha Meier notes that immigration and citizenship emerged as a hot topic, with students debating whether citizenship is a legality or how much one feels belonging in a community, with some viewing it as strictly legal status while others emphasize civic engagement and community contribution. Brown-Dean's hope is that students leave with more than information—with responsibility and possibility, seeing themselves as architects of democratic futures rather than observers.
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To learn more about Wesleyan University's civics course and democracy initiatives, visit https://www.wesleyan.edu/about/news/2026/03/new-civics-course.html