Civic Life (CL)
These courses address the social, economic, and political structures that pattern how individuals engage collectively in public life at the community, national, and international levels. Students will learn to identify and analyze structures appropriate to a course's focus and assess patterns of change and development of those structures. Civic Life courses will require students to reflect on their personal engagement in civic life through classroom and/or experiential learning activities.

Rationale

Understanding of Civic Life is an integral part of a liberal arts education. Civic Life courses address the social, economic, and political structures that pattern how individuals engage collectively in public life at the community, national, and international levels.

Goals

Students will learn to describe and analyze those structures appropriate to a course's particular focus, and to assess patterns of historical change and development of those structures. Civic Life courses require students to reflect on their personal engagement in civic life through classroom and/or experiential learning activities.

Explain how the course meets the goals of the Civic Life requirement.

Course Criteria

A course must meet the following criteria in order to be designated as fulfilling the Civic Life requirement.
  1. Courses must include structured opportunities for students to reflect on their personal engagement in civic life.

    Explain how the course meets this criterion.

  2. Courses must be devoted to meeting one or more of the following:
    ⛿ To include a criterion for this course, click the check box next to the number and then answer the question for that criterion.
    1. Examining the authoritative allocation of values in a society and the patterns by which individuals and communities attempt to engage and change those structures.

      Explain how the course meets this criterion.

    2. Investigating the historical development of civic structures and those structures' relationship to democratic society.

      Explain how the course meets this criterion.

    3. Examining the structures for production and distribution of material goods in a society, and how those structures manage scarcity, choice, and tradeoffs within and between groups.

      Explain how the course meets this criterion.

    4. Exploring the social construction of ethics and the role of ethics in decisions that affect the general population in their everyday lives.

      Explain how the course meets this criterion.

    5. Investigating the structures of groups, organizations, and societies, how people interact within these contexts, and the social life, social change, and social causes of human behavior.

      Explain how the course meets this criterion.

    6. Exploring patterns of inclusion in and marginalization from civic life in a society.

      Explain how the course meets this criterion.

    7. Examining the evolving forms of civic discourse and the changing media used to communicate that discourse with attention to the dynamics informing this civic communication.

      Explain how the course meets this criterion.

Learning Outcomes

Students will meet one or more of the following learning outcomes.
  1. Students will be able to describe and analyze structures for the authoritative allocation of values in a society and the patterns by which individuals and communities attempt to engage and change those structures.

    Explain how the course meets this outcome.

  2. Students will be able to describe and analyze the historical development of civic structures and those structures' relationship to democratic society.

    Explain how the course meets this outcome.

  3. Students will be able to describe and analyze the structures for production and distribution of material goods in a society, and how those structures manage scarcity, choice and trade-offs within and between groups.

    Explain how the course meets this outcome.

  4. Students will be able to describe and analyze the social construction of ethics and the role of ethics in decisions that affect the general population in their everyday lives.

    Explain how the course meets this learning outcome.

  5. Students will be able to describe and analyze the structures of groups, organizations, and societies, how people interact within these contexts, and the social life, social change, and social causes of human behavior.

    Explain how the course meets this learning outcome.

  6. Students will be able to describe and analyze patterns of inclusion in and marginalization from civic life in a society.

    Explain how the course meets this learning outcome.

  7. Students will be able to describe, analyze, and trace the development of the forms and media used to communicate as part of civic life as well as the dynamics informing this communication.

    Explain how the course meets this learning outcome.

⛿ Be sure to complete the required information for each General Education requirement selected for this course, which are organized into separate tabs along the top of the page.