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Article

A Lived Experience Well-Understood: What Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws Can Tell Us about Civic Learning in Higher Education †

by
Constantine Christos Vassiliou
Department of Political Science, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO 80918, USA
I would like to thank Khalil Habib, whose generous feedback on my previous work helped me conceptualize this profoundly rewarding project. I am also grateful to the Center for the Study of Government and the Individual (CSGI) for its support.
Laws 2024, 13(4), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws13040040
Submission received: 17 April 2024 / Revised: 18 June 2024 / Accepted: 24 June 2024 / Published: 27 June 2024

Abstract

This article considers how Montesquieu’s theoretical response to his perceived dangers of modern commerce may guide us on teaching citizenship in higher learning today. I argue that a Montesquieu informed framework for civic learning, which primarily stresses a careful study of the nation’s existing constitutional and positive laws, would (1) entail a baseline level of scientific and economic literacy to deepen our understanding of how commercial modernity’s most recent innovations may undermine the authority of those laws if left unchecked, and (2) cultivate an appreciation for the laws, mores, institutions, and practices that some of these same innovations threaten to dissolve if left unchecked. The article concludes with practical recommendations on how to cultivate resilient future custodians of our self-governing republic. I contend that universities need to provide a learning environment that inspires students to crave different kinds of success or recognition, distinctly highlighting the need for heavy restrictions on the use of electronics in the classroom. I then propose that civics-focused curricula must ensure that students are furnished with the requisite technocratic expertise to (1) recognize how their daily economic decisions as private citizens will impact the public interest and (2) exercise prudent judgment over future legislation aiming to safeguard individual liberties within a techno-mediated twenty-first century commercial world.
Keywords: Civic Education; the Bill of Rights; The Spirit of the Laws; Privacy Law; Constitutional Studies Civic Education; the Bill of Rights; The Spirit of the Laws; Privacy Law; Constitutional Studies

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MDPI and ACS Style

Vassiliou, C.C. A Lived Experience Well-Understood: What Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws Can Tell Us about Civic Learning in Higher Education. Laws 2024, 13, 40. https://doi.org/10.3390/laws13040040

AMA Style

Vassiliou CC. A Lived Experience Well-Understood: What Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws Can Tell Us about Civic Learning in Higher Education. Laws. 2024; 13(4):40. https://doi.org/10.3390/laws13040040

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vassiliou, Constantine Christos. 2024. "A Lived Experience Well-Understood: What Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws Can Tell Us about Civic Learning in Higher Education" Laws 13, no. 4: 40. https://doi.org/10.3390/laws13040040

APA Style

Vassiliou, C. C. (2024). A Lived Experience Well-Understood: What Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws Can Tell Us about Civic Learning in Higher Education. Laws, 13(4), 40. https://doi.org/10.3390/laws13040040

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