Description
[Social Practice minor] This is a reading/discussion course in which students will study various controversial issues facing today’s society, enabling them to discover their values and responsibilities as informed and engaged citizens of the world. As our nation approaches the 2024 Presidential and Congressional Elections, Americans find themselves more deeply and bitterly divided on social, political, economic, and cultural issues than at any time since the 1960s. We will examine how a number of these volatile issues are depicted in American popular culture, for example, an analysis of racism in the recently award-winning film Get Out, Jordan Peele’s provocative cinematic vision of the world through a black man’s eyes and Do the Right Thing by director Spike Lee. Students will be responsible for seminar presentations, at least two research and analytical papers. Intellectual discourse, thoughtful reflection, and a healthy, rigorous civil debate on controversial issues will be enco