Ohio State’s motto, Disciplina in Civitatem (Education for Citizenship), is the touchstone in terms of both its intellectual content and practical goals. In this course, students will confront complex philosophical questions and policy issues head-on but do so in a more rigorous, respectful, and constructive way than recent political discourse in the U.S.
Citizenship is not just what passport you hold or where you were born. It means participation in a governing community. Students will analyze the ideas, practices, and systems that make governance possible. While the class focuses on liberal democratic national-states, students will also discuss other levels and kinds of self-governing communities. These cases raise important, contested questions: Who is (or ought to be) included in citizenship? Who gets to decide? How can practices of citizenship respond to changing technological and economic conditions? How have people excluded from citizenship fought for, and sometimes won inclusion?
These debates have a long history, but citizenship needs to be redefined and reinvigorated for each new era. Today, citizenship is under stress from technological advances, political polarization, and economic disruption. The class starts from the premise that students are and will continue to be citizens of various communities throughout their lives. The class offers a chance to develop citizenship skills: productive discussion across lines of political and personal difference, analyzing new and challenging ideas, and collaborative problem-solving.
More details coming soon.