Called to reckon : replacing history and reclaiming mission at a midwestern college / edited by Jane E. Simonsen.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Simonsen, Jane E., editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.)--History.

Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.).

Education, Higher--Curricula--Illinois--Rock Island.

Education, Higher.

Universities and colleges--Illinois--Rock Island--Finance.

Universities and colleges.

Physical Description:

xv, 353 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, [2025]

Summary:

A bold, necessary model for institutional self-examination. Augustana College, a predominantly white institution in Rock Island, Illinois, was founded by Swedish Lutheran settlers with a mission to educate for the common good and "serve the neighbor so that all may flourish." This collection--written by historians, alumnae, diversity leaders, and religion scholars--reveals the stories of those who have held the college accountable to its foundational mission. Drawing from archival research and interviews with students, staff, faculty, administrators, and community members, Called to Reckon weaves together issues of race, indigeneity, sexuality, religion, and belonging, linking past conflicts to present-day challenges. The essays examine the "town and gown" dynamic, exploring tensions between the college and its more diverse surrounding community. Other contributors recount key moments in the growing presence and power of Black students on campus from 1925 to 1975, placed in the context of African and African American history. A chapter documents the history of Latinos/x Unidos, while another essay demonstrates how queer members of the Augustana community helped reshape the campus in the post-Stonewall era. By placing Augustana's history in conversation with broader movements, this book offers a rich, critical perspective on the liberal arts tradition itself. It makes a key contribution to the growing field of whiteness studies, particularly in the understudied Midwest, and is an essential read for anyone committed to understanding how educational institutions can move toward justice--not just in aspiration, but in action. Useful for faculty, administrators, staff, and trustees alike, Called to Reckon challenges all of higher education to live up to its highest ideals. -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction : naming our ghosts / Harrison Phillis and Jane E. Simonsen

Toward right relations with neighboring nations / Jane E. Simonsen

Serving students and neighbors : community implications of campus expansion / Sarah Lashley

Performing blackness : a history in three acts / Lauren Hammond-Ford and Jane E. Simonsen

Empowering marginalized voices : a journey toward diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice / Monica M. Smith

Contested counterspaces : creating Latinos/x Unidos at a Midwestern college / Christopher Strunk and Lizandra Gomez-Ramirez

Queering the landscape : radical hospitality at the "Good Life" college / Robert Burke

Toward a pedagogy of accompaniment : transformative community, spiritual formation, and Augustana's useable past / Mark Safstrom

The value(s) of Lutheran liberal arts in a neoliberal age / Jason A. Mahn

Epilogue / Andrea Kathryn Talentino.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 319-338) and index.

ISBN:

0809339854

9780809339853

9780809339891

0809339897

OCLC:

1500405818