The pandemic and civic education: dangers and opportunities

Abstract

For quite a long time now, the medical crisis has taken over social and political life to the level of excluding almost all other issues. Apart from some “grand” political events such as the U.S. elections, politics seems to be narrowed down to health and economic survival. The field of education is no exception: the need to comply with social distancing affected education systems throughout the world, and in many places, schools were closed for varying periods of time and replaced with online platforms. This is particularly problematic for civic education. When it is difficult to have proper classes of the most basic aspects of the curriculum, civic education is in danger of being cast aside. Moreover, the prohibition of actual meetings and face to face encounters hinders various activities which are essential for civic education. However, the contemporary situation also opens interesting opportunities for civic and political education. The combination of often-unreasonable regulations with governmental corruption and police violence pushes groups and individuals who usually stay out of the political arena to take to the streets. Restrictions and limitations also generate varied reactions of political agents, from creative demonstrations to outright disobedience. The proposed panel will be dedicated to examining the dangers and opportunities faced by civic education in these unusual times.

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