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

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. Vassiliou argues 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.

Read full article by Constantine Christos Vassiliou here