Instructors: Colleen Eils, John Sipple, & Rachel Sumner

3 credits. Letter grade.
Offered: Fall.
Exploratory Studies: CU-CEL
Visit the Class Roster for Course Times

Course Description

Students in this course will develop skills and dispositions that support pluralism and aid in addressing complex challenges that impact society and our local community. Pluralism recognizes that difference is a social and cultural fact, with consequences and opportunities for society, politics, and our everyday lives; it seeks to foster human connection and mutual understanding, co-develop knowledge about society, and motivate shared action to advance the social good. These civic capacities will be cultivated through critical dialogue, an approach through which students leverage their curiosity about themselves, the people around them, and issues around housing, food, and health systems. Combining academic material, individuals’ stories, and experiential learning, this course will leave students with a more comprehensive understanding of these complex issues and potential paths forward.

Learning Outcomes

• Identify personal and collective responsibilities and possibilities associated with pluralism.
• Develop dialogue skills (e.g., active listening, strategic questioning, purposeful sharing of personal narratives) while forming relationships across difference with peers and community members.
• Analyze complex issues surrounding housing, food, and health systems and their impact on individuals, institutions, and our local community through story sharing, empirical sources, and research.
• Collaborate with fellow students and community members, using dialogue as a tool to generate and evaluate possible ways to address complex issues.