Goal 9. Ethical and Civic Responsibility

Goal: To develop students' capacity to identify, discuss, and reflect upon the ethical dimensions of political, social, and personal life and to understand the ways in which they can exercise responsible and productive citizenship. While there are diverse views of social justice or the common good in a pluralistic society, students should learn that responsible citizenship requires them to develop skills to understand their own and others, positions, be part of the free exchange of ideas, and function as public-minded citizens.

LEP Objective: Understand and evaluate ethical or civic issues and theories, and participate in active citizenship or ethical judgment. Students can meet this requirement through 1 approved course or experience.

Students will be able to:

• Examine, articulate, and apply their own ethical views.

• Understand and apply core concepts (e.g. politics, rights and obligations, justice, liberty) to specific issues.

• Analyze and reflect on the ethical dimensions of legal, social, and scientific issues.

• Recognize the diversity of political motivations and interests of others.

• Identify ways to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

Consistent with LEP Student Learning Outcomes, students will also demonstrate their ability to:

• Explain the connections among education, citizenship, and participation in a democratic society. 

• Explain major ethical or political theories.

• Describe how interpretations of ethics or citizenship may vary by nationality, ethnicity, race, color, religion, gender, ability and disability, or sexual orientation. 

• Apply concepts such as democracy, rights, morality, justice, virtue, liberty and obligation to personal, professional, and public issues. 

• Analyze and evaluate alternative theoretical approaches or formulate solutions to ethical or civic issues.

• Develop and exercise personal agency or ethical judgment in the public domain. 

The following courses are pre-approved to fulfill this goal requirement and further indicate what other goal area(s) or Diversity courses of the Liberal Education Program (LEP) or Racial Issues Graduation Requirements (RIGR) the course fulfills.

Requirements:  (1 course)

British Studies
course, Contemporary Britain, 3 Cr.

Business Law
course, The Legal, Ethical, and Global Environment of Business, 3 Cr.

Community Development
course, Community and Democratic Citizenship, 3 Cr.

Economics
course, Economics and Democratic Citizenship, 3 Cr.

General Engineering
course, Ethics and the Engineering Profession, 3 Cr.
course, Engineering Ethics, 2 Cr.

Gerontology
course, (Diversity) Ethics in Gerontology and Geriatrics, 3 Cr.

Global Studies
course (8), Global Society and Citizenship, 3 Cr.

Gender and Women's Studies
course (8), Feminist Transformative Leadership, 3 Cr.

History
course (5), Democratic Citizenship, 3 Cr.

Human Relations and Multicultural Ed.
course (Diversity), Non-Oppressive Relationships I, 3 Cr.

Languages and Cultures
course, Service Learning Experience, 2-4 Cr.

Philosophy
course (6), Moral Problems and Theories, 3 Cr.
course (10), Environmental Ethics, 3 Cr.
course (8), Global Justice, 3 Cr.
course(Diversity), Bioethics, 3 Cr.
course (Diversity), Ethics in Professional Communication, 3 Cr.

Political Science
course (5), American National Government, 3 Cr.
course, (Diversity) Women in Politics, 3 Cr.

Religious Studies
course, Religious Diversity in America, 3 Cr.
course (6), Comparative Religious Ethics, 3 Cr.

Sociology
course (5) (Diversity), Social Problems, 3 Cr.

Social Work
course, Social Welfare and Democratic Citizenship, 3 Cr.