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Understanding 'Unpatriotic Civics,' a new book designed to fulfill Ohio's collegiate civics requirement

Book cover featuring an illustration of Uncle Sam and the American flag.
Courtesy of Timothy Messer-Kruse
The cover of the book "Unpatriotic Civics: An Exploration of Founding Texts That Fulfills the Requirements of Ohio's Collegiate Civics Law."

It’s been a year since Ohio’s Senate Bill 1 became law to crack down on what conservatives view as liberal bias at the state’s public universities.

Among the law’s requirements is that students complete a three-credit hour course on American civic literacy to graduate.

Now a Bowling Green State University professor has published a textbook called “Unpatriotic Civics: An Exploration of Founding Texts that Fulfills the Requirements of Ohio’s Collegiate Civics Law.”

And as the title says, the book is designed to meet the state’s requirements – but probably not the way Republican lawmakers intended.

On Cincinnati Edition, we discuss the book and its examination of the historical documents Ohio college students are now required to study.

Note: After we recorded this interview, the Ohio Senate’s "On the Record" podcast released an interview that included a question about whether the book “Unpatriotic Civics” will be used in Ohio classrooms. That discussion is available here.

Guest:

  • Timothy Messer-Kruse, PhD, professor of cultural studies, Bowling Green State University

This conversation was prerecorded, so we can’t take calls. You can catch a replay at 8 p.m.

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