Civic Duties and Cultural Change

Civic Duties and Cultural Change

From Source Collect: California Law Review's Podcast by California Law Review

November 4, 2025 · 51 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the evolution of civic duties in American society and features an interview with Daniel Rice about his article on the topic.

In this episode, we will discuss the duties that Americans owe—and perhaps over time have ceased to owe—the state. Once central to the American constitutional tradition, civic duties like shoveling snow, repairing roads and fighting overseas have faded from our conception of communal obligations. Yet as society evolves, so too do civic duties. To correct the narrative that civic duties are a fixed part of our historical tradition, Daniel Rice, an Assistant Professor of Law at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, joins us to unpack his article, Civic Duties and Cultural Change. Author: Daniel Rice, Assistant Professor of Law, UNC Chapel Hill Host/Script/Transcript: Juliette Draper (Volume 114 Podcast Editor) Production: Carsten Felicitas Grove (Volume 114 Senior Technology Editor); Maya Parthasarathy (Volume 114 Technology Editor) Soundtrack: Composed and performed by Carter Jansen (Volume 110 Technology Editor) Introductory Quote: Judge Thelton E. Henderson

People in this episode

Host: Carter Jansen

Guest: Daniel Rice

Topics covered

  • civic duties
  • cultural change
  • American constitutional tradition

Keywords

  • communal obligations
  • historical tradition
  • societal evolution

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Civic Duties and Cultural Change

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