Center for Civic Literacy

The Center for Civic Literacy is a multi-disciplinary center established, with support from an IUPUI Signature Center grant, to examine the causes of Americans' low levels of civic knowledge, and to investigate the consequences of this troubling phenomenon. Self-government requires a civically educated citizenry. Many Americans lack the knowledge needed to make informed public judgments. Our mission is to increase public understanding of our civic deficit and its effect on democratic decision making, and to identify and promote the use of effective tools to help educators and others correct the problem. The Center for Civic Literacy fulfills its mission through scholarly research and publication, public teaching, and community-based partnerships.