Bloomsbury Democratic Transformations: Eight Conflicts in the Negotiation of American Identity

What will it take for the American people to enact a more democratic version of themselves? How to better educate democratic minds and democratic hearts? In response to these crucial predicaments, this innovative book proposes that instead of ignoring or repressing the conflicted nature of American identity, these conflicts should be recognized as sites of pedagogical opportunity. Kerry Burch revives eight fundamental pieces of political public rhetoric into living artifacts, into provocative instruments of democratic pedagogy. From 'The Pursuit of Happiness' to 'The Military-Industrial Complex,' Burch invites readers to encounter the fertile contradictions pulsating at the core of American identity, transforming this conflicted symbolic terrain into a site of pedagogical analysis and development. The learning theory embodied in the structure of the book breaks new ground in terms of deepening and extending what it means to 'teach the conflicts' and invites healthy reader participation with America's defining civic controversies. The result is a highly teachable book in the tradition of A People's History of the United States and Lies My Teacher Told Me. Review "In Kerry Burch's Democratic Transformations we have a unique approach to better understanding our country, our schools, and ourselves.  It's a pleasure to read such a clearly articulated and accessible work that nonetheless problematizes many of the concepts, phrases, and ideas that we often take for granted.  This work reminds us to never stop considering and reconsidering the terms and conditions under which we developed as a nation―and are continuing to grapple with as we reach for an authentic democracy." - Deron Boyles, Professor of Philosophy of Education, Georgia State University"Kerry Burch revives eight fundamental pieces of public rhetoric into living artifacts, into provocative instruments of democratic pedagogy. From 'The Pursuit of Happiness' and 'Forty Acres and a Mule' to 'The Military-Industrial Complex and The Personal is Political,' Burch invites readers to encounter the fertile contradictions pulsating at the core of American identity, transforming this conflicted symbolic terrain into a site of pedagogical analysis and development. The learning theory embodied in the structure of the book breaks new ground in terms of deepening and extending what it means to 'teach the conflicts while encouraging healthy reader participation with America's defining civic controversies. The result is a highly teachable book in the tradition of A People's History of the United States and Lies My Teacher Told Me. The power of contradiction as both intellectual project and practical approach becomes clear in Kerry Burch's Democratic Transformations  as he makes dazzling education work out of conflict, and invites us to dive into the wreckage and swim with confidence toward an uncertain and distant shore. The great challenge of our generation is to uncover, discover, or invent our humanity anew, and to create an identity fit for a future worth having. Where do we go from here? Revolution is still possible, but barbarism is possible as well. In this time of peril and possibility, rising expectations and new beginnings, when hope and history once again rhyme, it's urgent that we embrace an approach brilliantly embodied in this important book." - William Ayers, Distinguished Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago (retired)"A jazz musician prepares a lifetime for every spontaneously created solo: remembering past experiences, tuned to present companions and topics, eyeing future possibilities. One hopes to expect the unexpected, just as Kerry Burch found in writing chapters that went in directions he had not planned, now taking readers 'places they didn't expect to go, by inquiries they didn't expect to launch.' Such is democracy: a decisive plan met by the constant improvisation of amendments. Long may it swing!" - Antonio J. García