It has been nearly a millennium since European university students first gathered in halls to listen to lectures. With some technological additions (lights, whiteboards, Powerpoints), introductory courses at U.S. universities look pretty much the same. For the past few decades, financial consultants, educators, and students have questioned whether this model of learning makes sense in the 21st century.
In 2020, a pandemic gave this question a new urgency. Nothing about the old way of doing things seems inevitable anymore; everything seems up for debate. Should we get rid of lecture halls? What about dorms? The SATs? Tuition? This seminar invites students to deliberate about the current policies and politics of public higher education in the United States. We will study how ancient ideas about merit, democracy, and equity (or lack thereof) have shaped decisions about what higher education should offer and to whom. We will look to alternative traditions of learning with roots in indigenous worldviews, abolitionist organizing, and feminist collaboration, and study how these traditions have challenged and complemented public higher education. As we explore theories and practices of the past and present, students will learn to articulate and advocate for their own priorities as 21st-century citizens of UMD.
Restricted to UH students matriculating in Fall 2020 or later.
This course is part of the “Deliberation” cluster. Deliberation courses be offered through Spring 2022.
