Hawaii Pacific University HUM 4500 The World Problematique Section ____ Semester and year, meeting times Instructor: Name, contact information and other relevant information about the instructor. Course description: An interdisciplinary course on how the humanities (history, literature, philosophy, art, etc.) have shaped our world views and how the humanities can offer critical tools for addressing the problems facing the world today. Instructors may focus on a particular theme such as civilization, the environment, social and ethical concerns, etc. Replace last sentence with description of the focus of your section. Course prerequisite: WRI 1200 and HUM 1000 or designated substitute and junior or senior status. General Education Requirement: This course is classified as a Global Citizenship course which meets the Upper-Division Citizenship requirement for general education. Be aware that some majors specify a particular service-learning course or a different Global Citizenship course to meet the citizenship requirement. Check your degree requirements if you are planning to use this course to meet the citizenship requirement. The course addresses global citizenship . . . add a sentence or two about how this is done in your section of the course . Here is an example The course addreses global citizenship by providing students with an understanding of the dynamics of globalization (dynamics of the social/cultural, political and economic realities) so they can act responsibly and constructively in changing the way things change. Once we begin to understand the nature of social, cultural, economic and political impacts of globalization, we can begin to understand the responsibilities of a global citizen. Essays by Mander, Norberg-Hodge and an interview with film producer Godfrey Reggio provide a conceptual framework within which students are able to think through the concept of a global citizen. General Education Student Learning Outcomes and the Five Themes: HPU’s general education curriculum is focused around five themes. This course emphasizes two themes: Values and Choices and World Cultures. Under the Values and Choices Theme, it provides students with opportunities to achieve the following related general education student learning outcomes.
Students should be able to apply their understanding of ethical systems and models to develop and demonstrate a conscious value system as individuals, students, professionals and citizens. In this section we will examine: (a) Jigmi Thinley’s essay “What is GNH?” The essay develops the concept of “gross national happiness” and its underpinnings in Buddhist culture and values; (b) Sissela Bok’s book ‘A Strategy for Peace’. She uses Kantian resources; (c) the juxtaposition of Hardin’s “Lifeboat Ethics” and Singer’s “Famine, Affluence and Morality” shows in striking manner how utilitarian moral values can conflict with Hobbesian ethical egoism [an apparent premise in global capitalism]. Students reflect on core values informing discussions concerning
issues of global security and terrorism; moreover, students are challenged to respond critically to what Bok offers as a moral framework for global peace.
Students should understand a range of meanings for concepts associated with individual and social ethics such as rights and responsibilities, justice and impartiality, citizenship and social responsibility. We examine, among other things, moral arguments of philosophers [Peter Singer, Sissela Bok, Sonja Amadae, Peter Hershock, et al.]. Such arguments address issues of economic value, environmental value and values essential to a moral framework for establishing and sustaining global peace. Both Hershock and Amadae take an East-West comparative approach concerning matters such as human impoverishment and terrorism. Bok offers a third voice to the ongoing debate among moral philosophers between moral relativism and moral objectivism/universalism.
The course also emphasizes the World Cultures Theme by providing students with opportunities to achieve the following related general education student learning outcomes:
Students will investigate the roles that race, ethnicity, class, power, belief systems and gender play in past and present cultural systems. We examine a number of world religions/philosophies (a) as grounding the world-views of some communities: Ladakhi, Bhutanese, and Eskimo and Canadian Indian; and (b) as counter-cultural responses to the effects of modernization and globalization. Some class discussions address the views of Indian women and Western educators on the impacts of technology and modern education on culture and psychological reconditioning. In some cases modernization has altered the set of values and concepts defining traditional cultures. Students consider the fundamental question concerning change and development: when is change a good thing? What kinds of change are beneficial to a community and in why?
Students will analyze cultural forces that have influenced customs and choices in contemporary lifestyles and world views. The cultural forces today have been determined by globalization, modernization and technology, and therefore influenced, even eroded, traditional lifestyles still in existence but threatened. In our assessment of the views of Norberg-Hodge we consider whether the changes in choices made and values maintained by indigenous people are justified.
Note: Purple text shows places where specific course information must be filled in. Red text provides explanatory notes to the instructor which should be deleted before using the syllabus. Blue explanations above should be rephrased by the individual instructor to reflect the specific approach in that section to these required outcomes. Course specific outcomes below are an example and should also be rephrased or modified by the instructor to fit the particular emphasis of his or her course. Course-Specific Student Learning Outcomes for HUM 4500 The World Problematique (These will vary by instructor) 1 Students will examine how technology and modernization may have been responsible for creating so much trouble on a global scale.
2 Students will build on this knowledge base to imagine alternative future scenarios promoting sustainability. 3 Students will critically examine some ethical issues relating to globalization. 4 Students will describe interrelationships among various world problems, applying insights from Asian, religious, or philosophical perspectives.
For the rest of these required syllabus items see the details in the faculty handbook. Delete this note once the syllabus is complete. For online courses there are some additional requirements given at this link. Texts List textbooks with ISBN’s and include this language as well
All textbook information (pricing, ISBN #, and e-books) for this course can be found on the HPU Bookstore website: hpu.edu/bookstore. If you have any questions regarding textbooks, please contact the HPU Bookstore at: Phone: 808-544-9347 Or e-mail:
[email protected] [email protected] Assignments and mode of evaluation Summary of important dates and deadlines (if the schedule is a separate document and due dates are not given with the description of the assignments). Class rules and policies (including regarding attendance, late work and academic dishonesty) Schedule of events (may be attached separately)
