postdoc in Civic Studies

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The Civic Studies Program at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, in partnership with the Center for Expanding Viewpoints in Higher Education (CEVIHE), seeks to host a Postdoctoral Fellow. Please see this announcement for details.

This postdoc’s research and teaching will focus on one of two broad areas:

  • The first area concerns how people speak and listen to those with whom they disagree on controversial issues, and how such dialogue can be improved. This line of inquiry may be of particular interest to scholars in psychology, communications, political science, and related fields.
  • The second area examines what makes certain types of intellectual work influential and well supported within the academy, while others remain marginal. It asks how such differences ought to be evaluated and addressed, under what conditions a body of thought can be considered improperly marginalized, and what responses may be warranted. These questions may be especially relevant to sociologists of knowledge, philosophers, political theorists, and scholars of Science and Technology Studies, among others.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will teach two courses in these areas. These courses may include seminars designed to introduce students to recent research and central debates about pluralism and intellectual diversity. The courses may be cross-listed in other relevant departments. The position offers an opportunity to develop an independent research program while gaining teaching experience in a supportive academic environment. The fellow will be encouraged to participate in Tisch College seminars, workshops, and collaborative research activities.

The appointment is for one year, with the possibility of renewal based on performance, funding, and mutual agreement.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning April 13, 2026, and the position will remain open until filled. The hiring range for this position is $65,000-$75,000, commensurate with experience.

The Postdoctoral Fellowship in Civic Studies is supported by CEVIHE, which seeks to cultivate early-career scholars whose teaching and research broaden the range of ideas represented in their disciplines and strengthen Tufts’ culture of open inquiry. The Center is committed to renewing the university’s intellectual mission by fostering a culture of engagement across ideological, religious, and cultural differences.

The fellow will maintain their offices at CEVIHE, where they will be part of a cohort of postdoctoral fellows representing various departments and programs. The fellow will be supported by a dual-mentor structure, including a faculty mentor in the Tisch College and a CEVIHE faculty mentor, to support research, teaching, and professional development. Fellows are expected to work in person at least four days a week and contribute to the CEVIHE community through attendance at a weekly lunch series, informal mentorship of undergraduates, and participation in occasional Center events.

What We’re Looking For

  • Applicants should hold a Ph.D. in a relevant field by the start of the appointment, with demonstrated research and teaching interests in civic studies. We are particularly interested in candidates whose work engages questions related to dialogue across disagreement or the dynamics of intellectual inclusion and marginalization within the academy.
  • Successful applicants will exhibit a capacity for rigorous, interdisciplinary inquiry and a commitment to fostering open, constructive engagement with contested ideas in both research and the classroom.

Summer Institute of Civic Studies in Dayton

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The Kettering Foundation will host a Summer Institute of Civic Studies at the Foundation’s Dayton, OH campus from Sunday, August 2 to Saturday, August 8, 2026. This will be an opportunity for scholars and practitioners to learn and connect with each other and with collaborators and partners in Dayton.

I will be present and part of the first two days. I am grateful to my colleagues at Kettering for their leadership of this institute. The rest of this post is pasted from their website.

Summer Institute of Civic Studies (SICS)

SICS are intensive interdisciplinary seminars that bring together faculty, advanced graduate students, and practitioners from diverse areas that may include but are not limited to higher education, nonprofits, philanthropies, community work, as well as civic and religious leaders. Participants will read a selection of articles and chapters that will be shared and available prior to the Institute. Participants should plan on 10– 15 hours of pre-SICS preparation time.

The SICS week involves seminar-style discussion groups as well as visits with our friends and neighbors in the Dayton community who are working at the intersection of civic life, community, and democracy. The 2026 Dayton SICS is in-person only.

SICS Goals

The goal of this SICS is an immersive experience in the literature and practices of civic studies, as well as the creation of connections and a learning community. Together, we can explore what it means to live well together, how to solve problems together, and collectively imagine how we can create safe, just, democratic, and inclusive communities now and in the future.

SICS Framing Questions

Central questions that participants will explore include the following:

  • How can people work together to improve the world?
  • What helps voluntary groups to function and succeed?
  • How can people address disagreements about values?
  • How can groups address disparities of power?
  • What practices and institutional structures promote civic engagement and civic
  • values?
  • How should we consider and combine facts, values, and strategies?

SICS History

The Summer Institute was taught from 2009 to 2019 by Peter Levine, associate dean of academic affairs at Tisch College and Kettering Foundation board member, and Karol So?tan, now retired from the University of Maryland. Since 2019, the Institute has been hosted in several locations, including Chernivtsi and Kyiv, Ukraine; Munich and Augsburg, Germany; Madrid, Spain; and James Madison University in Virginia. You can read more about previous SICS here.

The Institute was shaped by the Civic Studies Framing Statement created in 2007 by leaders and scholars working at the intersection of civic, community, and democratic studies, including Harry Boyte, Stephen Elkin, Peter Levine, Jane Mansbridge, Elinor Ostrom, Karol So?ttan, and Rogers Smith.

Who Should Apply?

The common thread for participants is a desire to deeply engage in the literature of civic studies, democracy, and community building; to learn and grow; to connect with others and be part of a community of civic studies practitioners and scholars; and to understand and strengthen civic politics, initiatives, capacity, society, and culture.

The Summer Institute of Civic Studies will take place in Dayton, Ohio, and is in-person only. Participation requires arrival in Dayton by 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 2, and departure after 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 8. Participants agree that if they accept the invitation to participate, they are committed to taking part in the entire week’s activities.

Participants should feel comfortable with 10–15 hours of pre-SICS reading and preparation time, as well as with seminar-style discussions for 3–6 hours a day (withplenty of breaks!).

Cost

Participation in the SICS is free. All food for the week will be provided. Participants willbe responsible for their own travel and lodging. There are limited travel and lodgingstipends available based on need and demand.

Barriers to Participation

We acknowledge that taking a week to attend a seminar and the requirement of in-person attendance presents barriers that will prevent some amazing candidates from being a part of this. That said, we will strive to lessen barriers to participation when possible. We welcome applications from parents and caregivers, as well as those with varying physical, familial, financial, or mental health needs. Accepted applicants will have an opportunity to share any specific needs or issues relevant to their participation. With the caveat that this is an in-person only Institute, we look forward to working with accepted participants to reduce barriers to participation when feasible.

International Applicants

We are happy to accept applications from international applicants but are not able to assist with or offer legal, practical, or financial support related to visas or international travel.

Application Instructions: please see this Kettering Foundation web page.

A System-Analysis of Democracy’s Crisis

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Newly published: Peter Levine, “A System-Analysis of Democracy’s Crisis,” in Studies in Law, Politics, and Society (2026), https://doi.org/10.1108/S1059-433720260000091003

Abstract: Democracy is in crisis. Evidence supports at least 16 explanations, many of which are linked in complex ways. Some of these explanations are likely to appeal more to the political left, center, or right. Instead of choosing one factor as the “root cause” and counting on any party or ideological movement to solve democracy’s crisis alone, we must understand the situation as a system of interlocking factors that should be addressed by different movements and organizations. Fortunately, American citizens and groups are already committed to tackling many of the threats. This article’s system-map is meant to help organize and inspire such action.

The published article is behind a paywall, but the corrected page proofs can be downloaded here.

postdoc opportunity in Civic AI

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The Civic Studies program at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and the Department of Computer Science at Tufts University, in partnership with the Center for Expanding Viewpoints in Higher Education (CEVIHE), seek to host a Postdoctoral Fellow whose research and teaching will focus on using artificial intelligence (AI) to help colleges and universities, other organizations, informal groups, or communities navigate intellectual diversity and debate. The Fellow may develop AI applications, study the impact of existing AI tools, or conduct preliminary research that could lead to applications later, such as tools that combat echo chambers or teach individuals to hear alternative views. The appointment is for one year, with the possibility of renewal based on performance, funding, and mutual agreement.

More information is here. Please direct any questions to Prof. Fahad Dogar of Computer Science at fahad@cs.tufts.edu or to me at peter.levine@tufts.edu

a crime against humanity

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Today, the elected leader of the United States said, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

Even before we learn what actually happens, it is clear that the threat was a crime against humanity that will permanently mark the history and the reputation of our republic.

These are the two elements of the crime of genocide in Article II of the Genocide Convention (ratified by the United States, with the signature of Ronald Reagan):

  1. A mental element: the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such”; and
  2. A physical element, which includes specific acts that include “killing members of the group,” “causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group,” or “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

Just as murder is a crime against a community, which removes an individual from the group, so genocide is a crime against humanity that removes a people or a civilization from the earth. And just as a threat to commit murder is a felony even if the murder is never committed, so a threat to commit genocide is a grave crime against humankind.

This President threatened genocide in order to force Iran to allow oil tankers to continue carrying the substance that is most responsible for global warming, after he had begun the sequence of events that caused the Strait to close in the first place.

As Americans, we might consider Karl Jaspers’ analysis of war guilt, which he presented to an very uncomfortable German audience during the winter of 1944-5:

  1. Criminal guilt is attributable to individuals who have broken specific laws. It merits individual punishment. Donald Trump is guilty in this sense. It is a much harder question whether military personnel bear criminal guilt for following orders, particularly if Trump’s threat turns out to be mainly bluster. It is also doubtful whether Trump will be found guilty in any tribunal. However, Jaspers’ argument implies that Trump should be condemned, not that he will be.
  2. Political guilt belongs to all members of a polity (a democracy or otherwise), because “Everybody is responsible for the way he is governed.” All Americans now bear political guilt for Trump’s actions, even if we have been organizing against him. This does not mean that we should feel personally ashamed or face punishment as individuals. In fact, to cultivate feelings of personal guilt or shame can be self-indulgent. Political guilt does mean that we have a responsibility to act in defense of humanity. We should also expect and be ready to pay a price for the isolation and marginalization of the United States.
  3. Moral guilt: This is what one ought to feel as a result of being connected to an evil, even if one wasn’t personally responsible for what happened. All else being equal, it is bad moral luck to be an American citizen right now, because that makes us morally inferior to citizens of many other countries. Moral guilt requires penance and renewal. We must change the context so that we can be better.
  4. Metaphysical guilt: Jaspers says, “There exists a solidarity among men as human beings that makes each co-responsible for every wrong and every injustice in the world, especially for crimes committed in his presence or with his knowledge.” This kind of guilt extends beyond the borders of the United States. I think one aspect of it is complicity. Billions of people will use (and will have to use) oil that will be cheaper if Trump’s threat works. Another aspect is self-awareness. We now know–if we didn’t know it already–that an educated and affluent population of free human beings can choose a leader who chooses to threaten another civilization with extermination. This is a fact about people. It would be convenient if it were only a fact about Americans, but we have learned that it is not. Our thinking about politics and ethics must be chastened by this reality about ourselves.

See also: Jaspers on collective responsibility and polarization;