A team of researchers led by Purdue University associate professor of philosophy J.P. Messina has been awarded a nearly $2.91 million in funding for its project, “The Neglected Safeguards of Liberalism.”
The team includes co-principal investigators Jesse Crosson (associate professor of political science), Brian Kogelmann (associate professor of philosophy and political science), and Logan Strother (associate professor of political science).
In an email, Professor Kogelmann writes, “The premise is that liberal democracies are in trouble, and traditional safeguards like formal constitutions haven’t held up as well as we might have hoped. We want to understand how safeguards that get less attention—like political parties, interest groups, universities, business firms, informal norms, Congressional staffers, and more—help sustain liberal democracy.”
The centerpiece of the funding is a $1.99 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation. Additional funds are coming from Purdue University, the Stephenson Institute for Classical Liberalism at Wabash College, the Jack Miller Center, and the Institute for Humane Studies.
In addition to its research components, the project has an educational aspect. According to a press release:
Beyond advancing academic research, a major goal of the project is to translate its findings into educational opportunities for students, educators and the broader public. The researchers hope to broaden civics education beyond constitutions and Founding documents to include the institutions and associations that help free societies function. The grant will support the development of a new civics textbook examining the neglected safeguards of liberalism, designed for use in advanced high school and introductory college courses. The textbook will bring together contributions from scholars across disciplines and provide educators with resources to incorporate these concepts into their teaching. The researchers also plan to host summer conferences for Indiana high school civics teachers, introducing educators to the research and providing instructional materials they can bring back to their classrooms.
There will also be events and research opportunities for students at Purdue. “Universities have an important role to play in helping future officeholders learn the importance of liberalism-sustaining norms like toleration, respect for diverse perspectives and other tools like critical reasoning capacities that enhance citizen capacity.” said Messina.
Further information here.
