Category

Bergland - On (Reimagining) Democracy

Publication Date

7-2024

Keywords

syllabus, civic learning, composition, general education, information literacy, first-year courses, interdisciplinary perspective

Publisher

Clemson University Press

Comments

Freshman Inquiry (FRINQ) is a year-long course that explores a particular theme (ours is Reimagining Democracy) from an interdisciplinary (incorporating two or more types of knowledge) perspective. In this course, we will explore how democracy functions, and evaluate its relevance in our time of political, economic, and environmental crisis. Over the course of the year, we will examine how the rise of digital media, polarization and extremism, and political paralysis in response to existential issues like climate change, pose critical challenges to democratic norms and ideals. We will consider how individual and societal interventions such as media literacy, atrocity prevention efforts, community building, and protest movements can address these fundamental challenges to democracy. Students will design and participate in community-based learning activities that increase civic engagement and address large-scale social and ecological issues.

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