Democracy and Imagination
Consider how Hamilton might serve as a blueprint for liberal arts colleges determined to preserve, revitalize, and renew our democracy.
How can Hamilton serve as a blueprint for how liberal arts colleges can fuel democratic renewal and civic innovation?
91制片厂’s namesake, Alexander Hamilton, was our creative founding father — building and designing new institutions for a new democracy. His ability to imagine the possibilities for a new nation — secure, pluralistic, open to social mobility, economically diverse and independent, educated — formed the basis for the remarkable American experiment in democracy that is entering its 250th year of independence. Hamilton has always been a source for democratic imagination, and our mission includes preparing students for lives of active citizenry and diplomacy. We believe that imagination is critical for active citizenry and democratic leadership and lies at the heart of empathy, communicating across differences, designing and reforming institutions, building social movements, articulating new pathways for governance, and creating enterprises that advance our common good.
Hamilton supports many initiatives and efforts to prepare active citizens. Hamilton recently invested in Common Ground, which seeks to expand models of civil disagreement beyond the classroom and to celebrate artful argumentation. Our Crossroads Initiative, the Levitt Center, our Government Department, our Washington, D.C., Program, our American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) program, and additional programs and classes engage students in advancing ideas and practices that serve the common good. What other programs or initiatives might be developed?
While Hamilton joins hundreds of other colleges and universities who prioritize democracy and civic action and discourse on their campuses, how do we lean into our history and our commitment to imagination and democracy — how do we build the “Hamilton Way” for preparing students for lives of active citizenry? How do we scale Common Ground to appropriately build on what our community has always done to achieve a higher level of impact and recognition for our leadership in this area? How can we contribute innovative methods and models of conversation, debate, and pedagogy around democracy? Can Hamilton be a national center for auditioning the most innovative ideas for renewing our democracy — ideas at every level of government (local, state, national, and international), from any sector (public, private, mixed) and any industry or field?
