New fall course

C-300 is a course offered through the Political Action and Civic Engagement (PACE) Program in the College of Arts & Sciences.  Next semester, the course is tied  to the Themester and is titled Citizens in Society: Good Behavior, Bad Behavior in Public Life. Here is a brief description:

This course considers a range of behaviors used by citizens to advocate and effect change in public life and the effect of those behaviors on our public life. The course will focus on both theory and practice in its consideration of “good” and “bad” public behavior; we will pay particular attention to the relationship between context, intent, action, and outcomes in our analysis and practice of public behavior, especially as they related to the two following themes:

1.       The Information Commons. What is the relationship between anonymity and good and bad behavior with regard to communication between citizens and with regard to the sharing of public knowledge. How does the value of privacy interact with the need for accountability? What would ‘better behavior’ on the internet look like?

2.       The Political Commons. What is the relationship between our electoral system and good and bad behavior in the political sphere? How has the electoral system created certain patterns of behavior, good and bad? What public behaviors are encouraged or curtailed by our electoral system? What would ‘better behavior’ in the electoral process look like?

Though it is a 300-level course, I am hoping that it might be appealing to incoming freshman – and other students-- who want to test the waters in a 300-level course and who are interested in a course related to civic life, political discourse, and behavior on internet.