Author Guidelines

Guidelines for authors

CLDE blog

Thank you for your interest and willingness to submit a piece for the Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) blog. We are excited to have you!

While the content and focus of each blog post will vary in its intersection with CLDE, we do want to make note of some guidelines for each author to keep in mind when writing. We value the variety of voices that will speak into this work and want to ensure that certain practices provide consistency and clarity in the writing that is published.

Each submission will be edited with these guidelines in mind, and we ask that you submit your piece having considered each of these in your writing.

Author guidelines

Author guidelines (abridged edition)

Civic learning and democratic engagement (CLDE) refers to a way of conceptualizing integrative learning, practice, and inquiry. A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future (see page 4 of the report) offers one framework for CLDE, orienting education’s role in supporting learners in developing our lifelong capacities to contribute to democratic societies. A Crucible Moment’s attention centers on K–16 learners, calling for educational institutions to rekindle and live more deeply into their missions as civic institutions. Imagining America’s Full Participation Report is another framework that calls attention to CLDE being a critical building block alongside change efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion for reimagining educational institutions as emancipatory spaces accessible and supportive of all.

  • What does civic learning and democratic engagement mean to you? What does it mean where you live, work, and play? In this time? What end does it serve?
  • What’s a powerful learning experience you have had or facilitated through civic learning and democratic engagement? What made it powerful? What were the challenges you encountered, and how did you navigate them?
  • How are grassroots community groups and other community institutions cultivating democratic habits of mind and interaction? Where is IUPUI a partner supporting them, and what can we learn from the community about good practices and impacts of CLDE?
  • What role(s), if any, should IUPUI, or other educational institutions, play in fostering democratic habits of mind and interaction on campus and beyond? How do you see your role in this effort?
  • What values guide civic learning and democratic engagement in your field, profession, or discipline? How are they applied?
  • What do you view as tension points or blind spots within civic learning and democratic engagement as part of the academic lives of students, faculty and staff?

We’ve provided a sampling of resources on frameworks for CLDE below that can be used as source material that you can respond to within your posts.  There is no requirement to reference these particular resources in your blog.  There is much more out in community, professional, and academic spaces on CLDE and related concepts.

Blog goals

  • Showcase the spectrum of views and practices situated under the umbrella of civic learning and democratic engagement across the campus.
  • Raise awareness of the inter-relationships among civic learning and democratic engagement with other campus priorities.
  • Strengthen the campuswide network of individuals and groups engaged in civic learning and democratic engagement.
  • Cultivate the CLDE blog as an online space for reflective writing, creative expression, idea sharing, and scholarly dialogue spanning a range of perspectives, including voices from on and off campus.