Below you will find the requirements for Self and Society courses in the PSU General Education Program. Each Self and Society course, regardless of the department in which it is taught, must attempt to fulfill these requirements.
Read through these requirements, and discuss what you have learned in Mx3 that has contributed to your understanding of the relationship of the individual to society, and to your own relationship to society in relation to these requirements, which are set out on page 67 of the 2006-2007 PSU catalogue. How has the course contributed to your understanding and appreciation of the “multiple dimensions of self including the social, physical, emotional and cognitive” and your investigation of the “interactions between individuals and the spacial, temporal, political, economic and technological aspects of the social environment?” Also explain how and to what extent this class has helped to “[D]evelop an understanding of how society affects our perceptions of what is accepted and not accepted as normal and right. How does society respond to individuals whose needs conflict with those of society[?]”
In discussing these questions and issues, refer to stories, class discussions and blog entries in which they were raised, be as specific as possible, citing specific references whenever appropriate. Employ MLA style for all citations and for your Works Cited. Your essay should be five to seven pages in length, not counting your Works Cited.
Please submit this essay as an electronic attachment to artfried@gmail.com. If you want to receive your paper back with my comments on it, please submit it no later than noon, Friday, May 11. If you will be satisfied just knowing your grade, submit it by noon, Thursday, May17.
If you have any questions, ask them in class or email me at artfried@gmail.com.
An educated person must grapple with a question that has interested human beings for centuries: the relationship between self and society. To understand one’s self, one must understand and acknowledge the impact of society on the development of identity and the formation of beliefs. The needs of the individual sometimes conflict with the needs of society. Cultures differ in the relative value they give to the individual and to the group.
Using issues that impact on students’ lives, Self and Society explore courses of these sorts. They encourage students to inquire into multiple dimensions of self including the social, physical, emotional and cognitive and to investigate the interactions between individuals and the spatial, temporal, political, economic and technological aspects of the social environment. [The remainder of this description, which is not directly relevant to this assignment, may be found on page 67 of the PSU academic catalogue for 2006-2007.]
