Hannah Arendt, Forgiveness, Civic Education, and the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework

• In Event: Exploration of Civic and Politics Education

Abstract

Both the C3 framework and the philosopher Patricia White suggest that political anger and forgiveness belong in civic education to build deliberation and cooperation. We present a philosophical argument that White and the C3 framework’s cognitive accounts of anger and forgiveness are too limited. Using narrative analysis of commonly assigned fiction as the basis of this qualitative study, we offer pedagogical opportunities for educators to harness the possibilities of magic and ritual in literature to develop other aspects of civics education. We argue that the C3 framework neglects the role of storytelling and rituals in fostering a sustainable form of civic engagement, characterized by the possibilities in Arendt’s account of forgiveness: one that is unconditioned and breaks cyclical vengeance.

Authors

• Neil Dhingra, University of Maryland

• Pamela Catherine Callahan, University of Maryland - College Park