Urban Studies: The American City –GE 313/AN 354/SO 487 Bruce Bigelow & Ken Colburn
This is a course in the liberal arts. Liberal education, rooted in a vision of the common good and the inherent value of community and the individual, has long been a cornerstone of higher education in the United States. As such the skills of oral and written communication, analysis of data, and critical thinking are nurtured. In addition, values which support democratic citizenship including knowledge of social problems, tolerance and understanding of ethnic and cultural diversity, and lifelong learning are encouraged.
A liberal arts perspective focuses on such critical questions as: What is the good life and how can individuals attain it? What is a good society, that is, what are the requirements for a just and vibrant collective life? And how are these two matters connected--does the possibility of attaining a good life for the individual necessarily require the existence of a good society?