College Seminar - American History (102-7-22)

Topic

First Generations: Higher Ed in Modern America: A

Instructors

Michael J. Allen
847/467-3979
Harris Hall - Room 342

Meeting Info

University Hall 118: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

This discussion-based seminar, titled "First Generations: Higher Ed in Modern America: A Social and Emotional History," offers a multi-generational encounter with successive waves of first generation students who have transformed higher education--and been transformed by it--over the past century or so. Mixing memoirs and biographies with short fiction, journalism, historical studies, and university data, we will review the entry of various historically underrepresented groups of students into higher education, from Jewish, Irish, and low-income white students in the early 20th-century to growing numbers of women and Black students in subsequent decades, to openly gay and lesbian students, Asian Americans, and Latinos more recently. In addition to reading about the lives of such students, we will consider how they helped change the universities, and explore the ideas and pressures that motivated university leaders to diversify higher education, and limits to those efforts. Northwestern alumni and administrators will be invited to join us to discuss their relationship to this history, and when possible we will focus on Northwestern while putting it in the context of larger trends. The hope is that this course will introduce students to their new college and help them feel empowered and at home here, wherever they may be coming from.

Learning Objectives

Setting and evaluating academic goals; Communicating effectively, both orally and in writing; Studying effectively; Thinking critically; Understanding standards of academic integrity; Knowing when and how to ask for help

Evaluation Method

Class Participation (20%); short writing (30%); longer papers and projects (50%)

Class Attributes

WCAS College Seminar