Center for Civics, Culture and Society

Center for Civics, Culture and Society Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Center for Civics, Culture and Society, Education Website, Levin College, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH.

The Center for Civics, Culture and Society at Cleveland State University was created and exists “to conduct teaching and research in the historical ideas, traditions, and texts that have shaped the American constitutional order and society.”

Meet the fellows behind the Center for Civics, Culture and Society: Miriam McElvain.Miriam is writing her dissertation o...
08/26/2026

Meet the fellows behind the Center for Civics, Culture and Society: Miriam McElvain.

Miriam is writing her dissertation on the significance of language in Augustine's political thought, with broader research interests spanning patristic and medieval political thought, language and political order, and localism. She holds MA degrees in Politics and Humanities from the University of Dallas and a BA in Government from Patrick Henry College.

Meet the fellows behind the Center for Civics, Culture and Society: Dr. Samantha Fritz.Dr. Fritz's research focuses on p...
08/24/2026

Meet the fellows behind the Center for Civics, Culture and Society: Dr. Samantha Fritz.

Dr. Fritz's research focuses on political legitimacy and authority, with current work connecting territorial authority to questions of political legitimacy. Before joining Cleveland State, she was a postdoctoral fellow with David Enoch's Liberalism Rekindled project at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her PhD in philosophy in 2025.

08/22/2026

🎉 GIVEAWAY! We're giving away a CSU swag bundle + bookstore gift card to celebrate VikesFest.

How to enter:
✅ Follow
❤️ Like this post
🏷️ Tag a friend in the comments — tag more friends for more entries!

Bonus entry: Repost this to your Story and tag us.

Giveaway closes Sunday at midnight. Winner announced Monday, good luck!

This giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, Instagram.

Meet the faculty behind the Center for Civics, Culture and Society: Dr. Christopher Utter.Dr. Utter's scholarship spans ...
08/21/2026

Meet the faculty behind the Center for Civics, Culture and Society: Dr. Christopher Utter.

Dr. Utter's scholarship spans the history of political thought, from Plato, Aristotle, and Xenophon to Rousseau and Nietzsche, alongside the relationship between modern science, political economy, and human flourishing.

Before joining Cleveland State, he was a faculty member in the Department of Government at American University, where he also served as Associate Director of the Lincoln Scholars program. He holds a PhD in Government from Georgetown University and a BA from St. John's College. A Cleveland native, he's excited to be teaching and writing in his hometown.

📣 Come find us at VikesFest this Saturday, August 22!Stop by the CCCS table to test your civics knowledge in a quick tri...
08/20/2026

📣 Come find us at VikesFest this Saturday, August 22!

Stop by the CCCS table to test your civics knowledge in a quick trivia challenge (small prizes for correct answers 🏆), enter to win a CSU swag + bookstore gift card giveaway, and meet some of our faculty in person.

Whether you're brand new to campus or a returning Viking, we'd love to say hi. 👋

📍 Euclid Ave., outside the Student Center
🕐 12:00-3:00PM

Meet the faculty behind the Center for Civics, Culture and Society: Dr. Joshua Paladino.Professor Paladino serves as Ass...
08/20/2026

Meet the faculty behind the Center for Civics, Culture and Society: Dr. Joshua Paladino.

Professor Paladino serves as Assistant Project Director of the Center's Seminars in American Civics and Managing Editor of Davenant Academic Press, teaching American political thought and political theory.

His research centers on the political and theological thought of C. S. Lewis, with publications in Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal and Pietas: A Journal of Tradition, Place, and Things Divine. He's currently at work on a book, The Political Theology of C. S. Lewis. He earned his PhD from Hillsdale College.

How do you give every state a voice in government when some states have ten times the population of others?That question...
08/18/2026

How do you give every state a voice in government when some states have ten times the population of others?

That question nearly ended the Constitutional Convention before it produced anything at all. Virginia's delegation wanted representation based on population. New Jersey's delegation wanted every state to have an equal vote, regardless of size. Neither side would budge, and by mid-1787 the convention was at genuine risk of falling apart.

The solution, proposed by Connecticut's delegation, split the difference: a House of Representatives based on population, and a Senate where every state gets equal footing. Neither large states nor small states got everything they wanted. Both got enough to stay at the table.

Compromise isn't a footnote to how the Constitution was designed. In this case, it was the design itself.

Meet the faculty behind the Center for Civics, Culture and Society: Michael V. Szpindor Watson.Professor Watson's resear...
08/17/2026

Meet the faculty behind the Center for Civics, Culture and Society: Michael V. Szpindor Watson.

Professor Watson's research spans the origins of money, ancient economic and monetary history, Polish and Intermarium history, and the relationship between ethics and economics, reflecting an interdisciplinary approach that pairs economic reasoning with ethical inquiry.

He previously taught at Olivet Nazarene University and directed the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program at Belmont Abbey College. He also serves as a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve Civil Affairs branch. He earned his PhD in Economics from George Mason University.

Meet the faculty behind the Center for Civics, Culture and Society: Dr. David West.Professor West's scholarship centers ...
08/14/2026

Meet the faculty behind the Center for Civics, Culture and Society: Dr. David West.

Professor West's scholarship centers on the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, particularly texts exploring political theory, statesmanship, and the relationship between philosophy and politics, from Thucydides and Cicero to Homer and Vergil.

His research focuses on Roman political thought. He recently guest-edited a special issue of Polis: The Journal for Ancient Greek and Roman Political Thought on Cicero and Livy, and is currently completing a book on Cicero as civic educator. He earned his PhD from Boston University.

08/13/2026

New this fall: CIV 211, Great American Debates.

Some of the most contested questions in American life don't have easy answers, but they do have arguments worth taking seriously on both sides. CIV 211 trains students to research, articulate, and stress-test opposing positions on today's most debated issues, then defend them in respectful, rigorous, in-class debate.

The course fulfills Research and Professional Writing credit, carries 3 credit hours, and runs every fall and spring. Whether paired with CIV 111 or taken on its own, it's a chance for students to practice the kind of serious, good-faith argument that's harder to find every year.

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Levin College, Cleveland State University
Cleveland, OH
44115

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