ABSTRACT
The great American pragmatist John Dewey is presently undergoing a well-deserved recovery by philosophers, historians, and humanists. Dewey provides all the right elements for thinking not only about political science and citizen education but also about political theory and community service in particular. Courses in political theory can and should take advantage of community service opportunities, especially if these opportunities are thematized in expressly political and civic terms. Political Theory and Citizen Education with its practicum has been exceedingly well received by the students who have enrolled in it over the last four years. Indeed, they state that it ranks among their best academic experiences. Public Achievement, too, has its problems, some it shares with other kinds of service-learning opportunities, some unique to its aspirations. All such service activities entail almost excessive amounts of student effort amidst cramped undergraduate schedules; and they end up being enrolled in by self-selecting students who are already inclined to engage in service opportunities.
