Soul of a Citizen Home Page
The Impossible Home Page
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CLASSROOM USE &
ACADEMIC EXAM COPIES
This is the classroom page for Soul of a Citizen. Paul Loeb's new book, The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear, now has its own classroom page, including faculty responses, classroom discussion questions and information on academic exam copies.
SOUL OF A CITIZEN: CLASSROOM USE
Now in its fifteenth printing, with 100,000 copies in print, Soul of a Citizen continues to generate exceptional responses at colleges and universities throughout the country, as well as many high schools. Students say it has inspired them to reflect on their own lives, challenge their powerlessness and cynicism, and move from passivity to participation. One group of college seniors said it was the only book in four years that had given them real hope.
Faculty are continuing to assign Soul of a Citizen, with outstanding results, in every academic discipline and at all levels. See study questions for questions developed for classroom discussion by faculty members who've been teaching the book throughout the country, and service learning projects for how courses are combining the book with community projects. Numerous colleges are assigning the book campus-wide, for all of their entering freshmen, in senior capstone programs, or in required service-learning courses. The book is inspiring thought and commitment at all levels of political and intellectual sophistication, from students who’ve never considered civic involvement, or for whom the classroom itself feels like foreign territory, to veteran activists and scholars.
FREE ACADEMIC EXAM COPIES
If you teach a class or supervise an educational program for which Soul of a Citizen would work, you can get a free academic examination copy by writing on school letterhead to St. Martin’s Press, academic marketing, 175 Fifth Avenue, 21st floor New York, NY 10010, faxing, again on letterhead, to 212-645-2610, or emailing academic@hholt.com. Please include your position, course title, and enrollment, as well as the book's title and ISBN, 0-312-20435-3.
If you don't teach a relevant course, but are interested in the book, you can call St. Martin's Press at
1-888 330-8477, order on-line, or order easily from any local store.SAMPLE STUDY QUESTIONS
See study questions for questions developed for classroom discussion by faculty members who've been teaching the book throughout the country. This page also includes a sample quiz used by a freshman comp instructor, and some of the excellent questions students who were reading Soul of a Citizen prepared for me during a recent college visit in Illinois.Also, please tell colleagues about the book, using the enclosed flier. Pass the word through relevant listservs, academic discussion circles, and in academic newsletters and journals.
You might also be interested in Paul Loeb's widely reprinted Academe article on teaching for engagement.
FACULTY AND STUDENT RESPONSES
“We assigned Soul of a Citizen to all 2,000 of our freshmen, together with service-learning projects in the Philadelphia public schools. The book helps get
students talking, asking questions, and thinking critically. We're looking forward to using it again.”
—Jackie McCurdy, Coordinator, University 101, Drexel Univ., Philadelphia, PA"We taught Soul of a Citizen in our Leadership and Identity class in our residential college. The book really stimulated students’ self-motivation to become social change agents. Most haven’t learned to see themselves in this role. Soul of a Citizen sparked wonderful discussions and helped them look at themselves in a different light. It gave them a sense of who they could become and what they could achieve."—Peter Clecak, Professor of Sociology, Arnecia Bryant, Campus Village Housing Office, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
"I have used Soul of a Citizen for the last two years with students taking our new required course on citizenship and social change. They’ve really been enthusiastic about the book. Loeb’s stories of citizen engagement, coupled with his insightful commentary, help them get beyond a personal, individualistic searching for meaning and happiness. It’s really inspired students who’ve done service with groups like Habitat for Humanity and Sierra club, and one who even did her Mission trip (she's Mormon) in the Ukraine last year. Soul of a Citizen challenges students to see that they can find meaningful living by working for the common good and living a life of community."—Melinda Dukes, Professor of Psychology, Tusculum College, Greenville, TN“The students in my public service honors research seminar have really enjoyed your book. It speaks to the core dilemmas they are thinking about. You have a way of not minimizing the weight or complexity of issues and problems we face, yet providing hope and encouragement to go on. Your lessons of continuing even when it looks darkest are so important these days.”—Jackie Schmidt-Posner, Haas Center for Public Service, Stanford University
"Too often, academic study leads students to doubt that their ideas and actions matter. Soul of a Citizen taught my students that ordinary people can and do change the world. They said it was the first book in their four years at school that gave them hope."— Jane Rinehart, Sociology & Women’s Studies, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA
"I teach Soul of a Citizen in a freshman composition class: Writing and Research, a service-learning course for students admitted through our Academic Opportunity program for students not regularly admissible. Loeb’s book works as a great rhetorical model, and inspires my students in what is, for many, their first step into the social arena. As they conduct primary and secondary research into the problems of homelessness, illiteracy, and hunger, Loeb’s book reminds them that solutions to such huge systemic problems start with small actions by people like themselves. "—Kathleen Dale, Senior Lecturer, Univ of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
"We’re assigning Soul of a Citizen to all our entering freshmen. Though a conservative group with little experience of social activism, they’ve responded very favorably. For the first time, they’ve begun to critically assess their responsibilities not just to friends and family or to themselves, but to the global community."
— Sara Weinberger, Social Work, Western New England College, Springfield, MA"My students loved Soul of a Citizen. The personal stories inspired them and proved a terrific antidote to the political cynicism of our time. The book did more than just give abstract information about what’s wrong in America. It connected them with broader issues. It showed how committed individual choices can have powerful results. It left them hopeful and eager to act."—Joe Szwaja, American government & economics teacher, Nova Public High School, Seattle WA
"I’ve been teaching Soul of a Citizen with great results in a general education course geared to first year students. Economists are rediscovering society and the importance of social norms. Loeb’s book provides students with a tangible sense of how they can participate in the construction of society, along with inspiring examples and models to guide them."—Professor Ken Jameson, Dept of Economics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
"I've been using Soul of a Citizen of in my Sociology of Empowerment class ever since it came out. Students get it, respect it, and are even inspired by it."—Gordon Fellman, Professor of Sociology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
"I've gotten wonderful responses using Soul of a Citizen in my introductory social work practice classes. Students love it. It's convinced them that change really is possible and that they as individuals can make a difference. This is even more remarkable since most came in interested primarily in direct practice--services to individuals, families, and small groups. Loeb's stories have a real impact."--Jean Kantambu Latting, Social Work Grad school, University of Houston
"I’m using this well-written, engaging investigation of ordinary citizens becoming involved in their communities and working for social change in a second semester freshman composition course. [It’s encouraged] reflection and connections as students think about their roles as citizens and writers within different communities. As one of my students said, "Sometimes I feel very overwhelmed by the number and magnitude of issues I'm moved by, but Loeb has encouraged me to just start and take it one step at a time."—Glenn Hutchinson, Dept of English, University of North Carolina, Charlotte [From review in Service-Learning journal, Reflections]
"I’ve made Soul of a Citizen the core of my community service-based seminar: Lives, Livelihood, and Community. Loeb's works serves as an inspiration for students, helping them to connect individual and community, soul and mind, action and results. It energizes their souls and stimulates their thinking towards ensuring tomorrow's communities will be better than those of today."—Robert Hogner, Honors College Director of Community Service Learning, Florida International University, Miami, FL"Soul of a Citizen was easily the most popular book of the semester. Students today want to know about more than just governmental institutions, policy analysis and political theory. They want to know what it all means to them as citizens. Paul Loeb does this in an insightful and inspiring way."—Stephen Zunes, Dept of Politics, University of San Francisco
"Provides a variety of excellent lenses through which community college students can view their service, work, and lives. Loeb’s challenges students to see their own possibilities for involvement and to think of themselves as citizens of conviction."—Rosemary Arca, English composition, Foothill Community College, Los Altos, CA
"I assigned Soul of a Citizen to my class on race and ethnic identity. When faced with perplexing social issues, students, like many of us, often express a ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’ attitude, which leads to cynicism and feelings of powerlessness. Loeb uses stories of ordinary citizens such as Rosa Parks to show that one doesn’t have to be a ‘great’ man or woman to have a social impact. He also clearly demonstrates that no one we call ‘great’ ever works in a vacuum, and that sometimes great results are achieved by someone who just takes action. Action connects us to our community and to those in it who hope for a better society, inspiring even greater action from many others. Soul Of A Citizen is an inspirational book." –Larry Zimmerman, American Indian Studies & Anthropology, University of Iowa [From Zimmerman’s Phi Beta Kappa Key review]
"Soul of a Citizen is a compelling text we use in our first-year seminar course, Engaging the World. Loeb raises issues that ask students to think about how they will make a difference with their lives. During class discussion, students resonated with his idea that ‘we become human only in the company of other human beings’ and challenged themselves to embrace life journeys that have impact greater than personal reward."—Tracy Tyree, Director, First Year Experience, Mercer Univ, Macon, GA
"Loeb’s book is great - thoughtful, interesting, easy to read, not preachy. I used it in my Civic Journalism course to start the discussion going about community participation and the role of story telling (and news reporting) in helping to make that happen. My mostly middle-class students seemed a little embarrassed at first to talk about community involvement - they saw it as something that "looks good on a resume" but was distant from their everyday experience. The book helps answer their concerns about personal responsibility and acknowledges both the difficulty and the joy of making that start for the first time. The discussion questions on his website were also very helpful in getting my students to talk and reflect."—Eleanor Novek, Dept of Communication, Monmouth University, Monmouth, NJ
“I used Soul of a Citizen in an undergraduate course called “The Citizen Leader,” part of our leadership minor. Our experience was transformational. The stories you shared gave students the permission to share their own stories. One young African American student shared his commitment to working for gay rights, which comes out of his experiences becoming reacquainted with his absent father who, in turns out, is a gay man. Another young woman talked about her struggle this semester to grieve her recently deceased father, an environmental activist. Another young African American student talked about her siblings and her worries for them and other young people today. Her brother is incarcerated in a juvenile youth detention facility and her sister is a teenage mother. She is the first person in her family to attend college, and hopes to dedicate her career in audio production to promoting music that sends positive rather than destructive messages to youth. The students in the class represented a range of political viewpoints. Regardless of their party affiliation, however, they found valuable messages in your writing. Youenabled them to set aside their ideological differences and take heed of the importance of working for social change.”—Kathleen Powell, Dept of Social Work, Frostburg State, Frostburg, MD
"I assigned Soul of a Citizen in a course entitled "Social Responsibility & Personal Well-Being." My students felt the book offered very concrete and useful suggestions about how to become more involved within their own communities. By addressing common obstacles that they face in becoming involved and looking at the societal obstacles for activism, it gave them a much more realistic view of the process. It motivated them to realize that one person can, indeed, make a difference."—Stephen Kramer, Psychology Professor, Mount Union College, Mount Union, OH
"I used Loeb’s book for a readings class in adult education. It helped me to make sense of the world for my students in a hopeful, useful way, and to connect complex ideas to related areas of concern, with a direction for action. I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in helping their students develop a better understanding of the world we are living in today."—Marcia Leister, instructor ABE/GED, Bellingham Technical College, Bellingham, WA
"I begin every one of my community-based, urban design studios by having my architecture students read "Soul of a Citizen." It provides both an intellectual and emotional basis as they design projects aiming to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods,"—Anthony J. "Tony" Costello, Irving Distinguished Professor of Architecture, Ball State University, Muncie, IN
"Our leadership seminar studied methods, style, and the biographies of well known American leaders. Soul of a Citizen provided insight into leadership with a moral purpose, teaching that anyone can become a leader for social change. It took the examples of ordinary folks who did not appear to have extraordinary abilities, but who became leaders in causes that benefited hundreds if not thousands of people. Students learned that they could make a difference."—John Bolen, Associate Dean, Simpson College, Indianola, IA
"Soul of a Citizen is a wonderful resource for teaching about social movements. The book puts real people and their stories center stage and it brings an activist's passion to a subject matter that is often taught in overly theoretical ways. My students really turn on to the course when they begin reading Loeb's book."—Steve Buechler, Dept of Sociology, Mankato State University, Mankato, MN
"I hesitated, since I'm profiled in the book, then assigned Soul of a Citizen to my cultural anthropology class, most of whom are first generation college students from immigrant families. They loved it. The book inspired great discussions, and they wrote essays calling it, "the best book I’ve ever read," and "the most inspiring book I’ve ever read," and comparing characters like Virginia Ramirez to their grandparents. They also said it was "much easier to read than lots of the other books you’ve assigned." I combined it with some strong social critiques and some novels and memoirs that helped students reflect on their lives. It made a huge difference in helping them get past their cynicism to realize they could act."—Peter Knutson, Dept of Anthropology, Seattle Central Community College
"We have been using your book, along with other readings, in a course called Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service. Soul of a Citizen provides a psychological and emotional roadmap, helping students develop themselves and become transformational leaders pursuing ethical ends in their career and life. Feedback has been excellent. I have not heard a single negative, or even neutral for that matter, comment."—Tony Middlebrook, Leadership Programs, Cardinal Stritch College, Milwuakee, WI
"I found the book absolutely inspirational and definitely plan on using it again. The students in my service learning course found Loeb's stories and perspectives motivating and reassuring, giving them a sense they could do their part to make our world a better place. They said it helped them conquer obstacles to involvement, so they could actually stand up for what they believed. Whether they were involved as Big Buddys or in more political kinds of advocacy, they found Soul of a Citizen a real tool for engagement."—Ellen Hastay, service-learning coordinator, Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR
"My students really picked up on your ideas and rhetorical sensibility. ‘Learned helplessness’ was particularly useful complementing Kenneth Burke’s idea of ‘trained incapacity.’"—David Deifell, Dept of Rhetoric, University of Iowa
"Paul Loeb's Soul of a Citizen make so many of the concepts in political science accessible for community college students. I've used the text as a supplement to a service learning project in my political science classes with great success. I'm amazed at how the stories resonate with students; these ideas get in their bones, not just their heads.”—Robert Porter, Political Science, Ventura College, Ventura, CA
"Each year in my Citizen Advocacy and Social Movements class, students are looking for reasons to believe change is possible, that activism is worth the effort, and that ‘ordinary people’ like themselves can make a difference. I give copies of Soul to every new student entering our program and it opens their hearts and minds as no other that I’ve ever used before. They love the stories you tell, how you name the obstacles to leading committed lives, and how you describe the personal growth and excitement that comes from taking action as engaged citizens. A number have called your book ‘life changing’!"—Steve Chase, Department of Environmental Studies, Antioch New England Graduate School“I used Soul of a Citizen in my Spring 2006 general education course, Citizenship and Civic Engagement. Students said they found it inspiring and hopeful. I wish the news put stories on every night that would inspire more people to be involved” –Bonnie Robinson, Department of Social Work, Chatham College, Pittsburgh, PA
Here’s a wonderful email from a recent college graduate involved with the environmental and consumer rights group, MASSPIRG:
"I bought your book after seeing you speak at the Philadelphia Ecoconference. I was intrigued by what you said about how people maintain their activism. After graduating with a degree in environmental policy and political science, I got a job as a campus organizer for MassPIRG in Lowell, MA. Your book kept me going during the most challenging month so far. We were working on an eight-week drive to qualify an initiative question. We had seemingly impossible weekly goals of collecting signatures for hours on end in front of grocery stores in the cold and dark. In between weeks four and five, I attended the Ecoconference. I was feeling pretty down by this point. Trying to get students involved was extremely challenging. I started to feel disillusioned and angry with those who would not help us. Your book gave me a moment to reflect and understand where others were coming from. It reaffirmed why I am doing what I am doing. I related most to the part about not having to be perfect or know all the facts to be activists. Your book will stay with me as a discussion tool and be brought out whenever things get hard."—Maija Spencer, Campus Organizer, MassPIRG
Classroom Study
Questions, Sample Quiz and Student Questions
Soul of a Citizen & Service Learning
Projects