Concern about the health of civic life in the United States has generated academic debate, journalist commentaries, several study commissions, and publications by the score. Is civil society in decline, or is it reinventing itself? That is the question addressed from a variety of perspectives by the sociologists and political scientists who contributed to this volume. The chapters, initially prepared for presentation at a conference in September 1997, examine issues at the center of the debate from several theoretical perspectives. The editors organize the contributions under three headings: the roots of civic engagement, civic life in a changing society, and the ironies of contemporary activism.