NEWS

On Wednesday July 15, 2026, SHEAR Civics Exchange will join the American Philosophical Society at its home in Philadelphia to celebrate the SHEAR Civics Exchange\APS partnership. The event is open to the public and will take place the day before the start of SHEAR’s annual conference in Philadelphia, to which all interested in learning more about the United States from the American Revolution to the Civil War are also encouraged to attend.

The July 15 evening event will feature SHEAR Civic Educators and SHEAR members Joanne Freeman of Yale University, Zara Anishanslin of the University of Delaware, Christina Snyder of Penn State University, and Lauren Duval of the University of Oklahoma. SHEAR Civics Exchange is working with the APS exhibit and ongoing educational effort Philadelphia: The Revolutionary City. The SHEAR Civic educators will each speak about a revolutionary document from the exhibit and how it pertained to civic engagement and citizenship during the American Revolution and speaks to civic issues and developments today.

We hope to see you at the APS on July 15th and at the SHEAR Conference the next day. If you are interested in supporting our ongoing efforts at SHEAR Civics Exchange, do consider donating to SHEAR.

In March 2026 SHEAR Civics Exchange formed a partnership with the National Judicial College. The NJC provides coursework and training to justices appointed at the state level and is working with organizations of the federal judiciary to educate judges and the public about an independent judiciary and the rule of law. With the partnership, the civic educators of SHEAR Civics Exchange will be providing the all-important historical context for to understand the origins, meaning, significance, and development of these institutions and ideals.

Though the SHEAR Civics Exchange\NJC partnership is still in its early stages, exciting programming for judges is already planned. In May and June, the SHEAR Civic Exchange Scholars and SHEAR members Kate Masur of Northwestern University, Jake Ruddiman of Wake Forest University, Honor Sachs of the University of Colorado, and Andrew Shankman of Rutgers University will be speaking with judges on the Declaration of Independence and the development of the rule of law from the American Revolution to the Civil War. Each SHEAR Civic Educator will do so in a different city, Kate Masur in Chicago, Jake Ruddiman in Atlanta, Honor Sachs in Denver, and Andrew Shankman in Philadelphia so that SHEAR Civics Exchange can connect with judges throughout the nation. These initial efforts will be just the first step of an ongoing partnership between SHEAR Civics Exchange and the National Judicial College. If you are interested in supporting our ongoing efforts, please consider donating to SHEAR to support the organization and SHEAR Civics Exchange.

In January 2026, SHEAR was delighted to receive a $100,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. The grant, the first of its kind for SHEAR, and a rare recognition for any scholarly organization, provides funding to launch SHEAR Civics Exchange, SHEAR’s effort to improve civic education and civic knowledge and strengthen the sinews of public opinion and citizenship. The Luce Foundation seeks to support efforts to improve public good, voluntarism, and service, and we at SHEAR hope this first-of-its-kind grant will lead to greater partnerships between scholarly and philanthropic organizations around our shared commitments to supporting education, citizenship, and the common good.

While the Luce Foundation’s generosity has allowed us to launch SHEAR Civics Exchange, we intend for our civics efforts to be a perpetual part of SHEAR’s mission. Maintaining the effort, advertising it, and paying for the staff it requires is expensive, and we appreciate any donations to SHEAR, which will help us to continue promoting civic knowledge well into the future.