Our Programs

Why It Matters: Civic and Electoral Participation

Did you know that in Norway non-citizens can vote after living in the country for three years? Or that in Switzerland all eligible voters are sent mail in ballots, which can be returned by the mail or dropped off at the polls? In a 2016 survey on global literacy conducted by National Geographic, only 14-29% of the general population could answer the survey questions correctly. When 1,203 recent college graduates were surveyed, the total percent of correct responses was just 55%. Citizens in the United States need to become more aware of the world around us and to perhaps look outward for some solutions to our internal issues.

“Why it Matters: Civic and Electoral Participation” was a national initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and funded by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and aiming to “explore civic participation as it relates to electoral engagement in a multivocal democracy.”

The Delaware Humanities project specifically to examined and elucidated systems in the United States by putting our democracy into a global context.   We hosted two lectures, two panel discussions, and five book discussions throughout the state from January-April 2021.

Past Programs