Examining Self, Community, and Society

3 credits

Examining Self, Community, and Society offers a 6-week interdisciplinary seminar (sociology, social psychology, and readings in contemporary literature) that examines the self as a personal construction and situates this agentic self in local communities and society. At every level the course examines the balance between individual choice and the weight of a structured menu of choices, noting the challenge of constructing meaningful identity development and steering a course between possibilities, some of which are fruitful and some of which are harmful to both personal fulfillment and social justice. In this way, the class seeks to make the perennial questions about social justice into personal choices that can shape the students educational and community commitments. Satisfies Core requirement for: Cultural Diversity,Social Science