Liberal Arts: Seeking Common Ground: From Local to Global, Lyceum (day)

The world is undergoing massive transformations in the 21st century in its environment, economy, politics, culture, societal structure, aesthetics, and more. These transformations have brought on many conflicts among peoples and nations. How can we understand these conflicts on both a local and global level? How can we respond to and help to resolve these conflicts? How do we find commonality among peoples? How do we connect our neighborhoods to other parts of the world? How do we share resources equitably in an increasingly crowded, automated, and digitally mediated world? How shall we prepare ourselves and our children to face these new challenges? These are some of the questions this program will examine and explore. From local to global we will study and learn from cultures of people past and present while pursuing our own intellectual and imagination development. Drawing on an interdisciplinary perspective, we will consider various definitions and theories of globalism and humanism. By the end of the program, we will be able to apply our newly obtained knowledge and skills to seek common ground among peoples locally and globally that may overcome racism, nationalism, sectarianism, and tribalism and help people to embrace the principle of liberty and justice for all.

Our fall theme will be identifying the problem and clarifying the question. This quarter will be used to lay the foundation for the rest of the year, both substantively and in terms of the tools necessary to operate effectively in the learning community. We will explore the concept of connectivity, historically and in a contemporary context, as it is explicated in theory and practice. In seminars, we will read and analyze documents, artifacts, and secondary texts to decipher in what ways connectivity has existed and persisted throughout human history. Students will examine their personal experiences with human connectivity by constructing an autobiographical memoir. Our work will be supplemented with a series of courses designed to assure literacy with words, numbers, environmental and biomedical sciences, and images. Students will have the opportunity to hone their skills in critical reasoning, research, and the use of multimedia and computers.

Our winter theme will be researching roots, causes, and potential solutions. We will look at specific contemporary societal issues in human connectivity from a variety of institutional perspectives, most notably in environmental policies, public and global health, law, education, government, and domestic and foreign politics. Students will investigate specific issues of interest to identify a particular problem, define its dimensions, determine its causes, and establish action plans for its remedy.

In spring the theme will progress to implementation. We will focus on the design and implementation of projects aimed at addressing the issues of interest identified in winter. Seminar groups will combine their efforts to assist the community in facing today’s challenges. The projects may take the form of educational events, publications, multimedia presentations, or art installations to help the community seek common ground with its neighbors and with the rest of the world. Courses will assist in the successful implementation and evaluation of student group activities.