Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2025

Abstract

This course will invite students to engage in conversations about connecting (and avoiding), helping and learning in our civil society. We’ll think and talk about thorny questions of what it means to be a citizen of ASU, the High Country, the US, and the world. Through the reading of provocative texts and a few films, we’ll practice the habit of civil discourse and respectful argumentation as we engage in service activities. Basically, we’ll practice the habit of talking in community about our relationship to community. Students will participate in community-based service-learning to explore the themes of civic connecting, helping and learning (especially via talking). The course will improve the student’s ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize complex ideas in the context of current community issues.

The First Year Seminar (UCO 1200) provides students with an introduction to the four goals of a liberal education at Appalachian State University. Specifically, students will practice (1) thinking critically and creatively and (2) communicating effectively. In addition, students will be introduced to the learning goals of (3) making local-to-global connections and (4) understanding responsibilities of community membership. While each First Year Seminar course engages a unique topic examined from multiple perspectives, each course also introduces students to a common set of transferable skills. As such, this First Year Seminar facilitates student engagement with fellow students, the University, the community, and the common reading as well as essential college-level research and information literacy skills and the habits of rigorous study, intellectual growth, and lifelong learning.

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