Chenoweth Launches “The Engaged”

There is a void in our academy and we would like you to help us fix it. This is the call to action from Associate Professor Erica Chenoweth and co-convener Christian Davenport from the University of Michigan on their newly launched website "The Engaged" part of an initiative to bring together scholars, students and citizens who wish to change the world.

"We started this initiative because we realized that many of our colleagues and students were struggling with what we see to be a false choice between doing high-quality scholarship and making a real-world impact," explains Chenoweth. "We also started it because we see an increasing interest in expanding typical understanding of 'applied work' to include work that supports and assists ordinary people rather than just policy elites."

Chenoweth adds that this initiative is in its early stages. "We hope this initiative will serve as a connection point for movements, students, and scholars. We have no interest in re-inventing the wheel, but at this point we're just finding out who is doing what. Ultimately we will create a section of our site that has searchable properties allowing people to track down people with common interests—whether you're a movement looking for help from a researcher with a particular expertise, you're a student seeking to make a difference in a research capacity or in your community, or you're a researcher trying to better sort through ethical dilemmas you have about your work and its applications."

For more information and to explore The Engaged, visit http://theengaged.weebly.com/