Should schools attempt to cultivate patriotism? If so, why? And what
conception of patriotism should drive those efforts? Is patriotism
essential to preserving national unity, sustaining vigorous commitment
to just institutions, or motivating national service? Are the hazards of
patriotism so great as to overshadow its potential benefits? Is there a
genuinely virtuous form of patriotism that societies and schools should
strive to cultivate?
In Patriotic Education in a Global Age, philosopher Randall Curren and
historian Charles Dorn address these questions as they seek to
understand what role patriotism might legitimately play in schools as an
aspect of civic education. They trace the aims and rationales that have
guided the inculcation of patriotism in American schools over the years,
the methods by which schools have sought to cultivate patriotism, and
the conceptions of patriotism at work in those aims, rationales, and
methods. They then examine what those conceptions mean for justice,
education, and human flourishing. Though the history of attempts to
cultivate patriotism in schools offers both positive and cautionary
lessons, Curren and Dorn ultimately argue that a civic education
organized around three components of civic virtue--intelligence,
friendship, and competence--and an inclusive and enabling school
community can contribute to the development of a virtuous form of
patriotism that is compatible with equal citizenship, reasoned dissent,
global justice, and devotion to the health of democratic institutions
and the natural environment. Patriotic Education in a Global Age
mounts a spirited defense of democratic institutions as it situates an
understanding of patriotism in the context of nationalist, populist, and
authoritarian movements in the United States and Europe, and will be of
interest to anyone concerned about polarization in public life and the
future of democracy.
