Called to Reckon

Replacing History and Reclaiming Mission at a Midwestern College

Häftad, Engelska, 2026

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A bold, necessary model for institutional self-examinationAugustana 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.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2026-01-12
Mått152 x 229 x 32 mm
Vikt476 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor372
FörlagSouthern Illinois University Press
MedarbetareBahls,Steven
ISBN9780809339853

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Jane E. Simonsen is a professor of history and women's, gender, and sexuality studies and the Richard A. Swanson Chair of Social Thought at Augustana College. She is the author of Making Home Work: Domesticity and Native American Assimilation in the American West, 1860-1919.Contributions by Steven Bahls, Robert Burke, Lizandra Gomez-Ramirez, Lauren Hammond-Ford, Sarah Lashley, Jason Mahn, Harrison Phillis, Mark Safstrom, Monica M. Smith, Christopher Strunk, and Andrea Talentino.

List of IllustrationsForeword —Stephen BahlsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction. Naming Our Ghosts —Harrison Phillis and Jane Simonsen1. Towards Right Relations with Native Neighbors —Jane Simonsen2. Serving Students and Neighbors: Community Implications of Campus Expansion —Sarah Lashley3. Performing Blackness: A History in Three Acts —Lauren Hammond-Ford and Jane Simonsen4. Institutionalizing Voices of the Marginalized: A Journey toward Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice —Monica M. Smith5. Contested Counterspaces: Creating Latinos/x Unidos at a Midwestern College —Chris Strunk and Lizandra Gomez-Ramirez6. Queering the Landscape: Radical Hospitality at the "Good Life" College —Robert Burke7. Toward a Pedagogy of Accompaniment: Transformative Community, Spiritual Formation, and Augustana's Useable Past —Mark Safstrom8. The Value(s) of Lutheran Liberal Arts in a Neoliberal Age —Jason A. MahnEpilogue —Andrea TalentinoBibliography

"What happens when a college creates time and space to think about the ways that it has changed over its history? The result is beautifully documented in this book: a reframing of the institution's story that gives credit to the past, confesses mistakes made along the way, and re-situates the institution in its (markedly different) twenty-first century setting. Academic leaders at all levels, and across the entire higher education landscape, have much to learn from this institution's remarkable effort."— David S. Cunningham, author of Reading is Believing and editor of Vocation Across the Academy"In a world grappling with ecological despair, divisive paradigms, and spiritual disconnection, this book offers a luminous and grounded vision for hope. It calls us back into the sacredness of inclusion and deeper reflection. This is not only a work of literary beauty—it is a theological and pedagogical reckoning."— Lamont Anthony Wells, executive director of the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities