The Lively Classroom: A Fusion of Gen Ed and Religious Studies |
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Page 1 of 3 Celia Brewer Sinclair, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
The Challenge of Gen Ed
So reads the rationale for the general education program at a large public university in the North Carolina system. I teach “gen ed” courses at this university. I teach as a member of the religious studies department. And I love what I do. “Gen ed,” and specifically the courses called “liberal studies” at my university, is a challenge. It is the challenge of developing courses that are interdisciplinary grab-bags of materials and majors. Each course is a wonderful mess that brings together future engineers, nurses, educators, etc., and asks them to read, to watch, and to reflect together. What I love is identifying big questions, both contemporary and enduring. For instance, this semester in LBST 2101 (Western Cultural and Historical Awareness) we ask: Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good people do bad things? Historically how have thinkers in the West answered these questions? What patterns and perspectives can we identify in Western thought? What patterns and perspectives are found right here in the classroom? The title of my LBST 2102 (Global and Intercultural Connections) section this semester is “Heroes and Warrior Women.” Questions asked in this course include: How have different cultures defined heroism? What models and theories inform the class when they think of the heroic?
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