Being Human I

HPM 584 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

To realize the promise of democracy we must learn to value ourselves and others as fully and equally human. But this belief is under serious assault today. Economic systems turn us into profit centers, political systems turn us into data points, communications systems turn us into users, even as relationships are replaced by transactions. One way we dehumanize others - individuals, communities and whole populations - is to label them as “less than” based on race, gender, class, education, nationality, etc. We can also turn ourselves into categories, labels, data points - objects of transaction, not relationships. And in universities and colleges, the humanities, including the arts, literature, philosophy, sacred scriptures, and poetry, are being marginalized with ever increasing speed.
In Being Human Part I (MLD 360) we get to know each other, co-create a brave space within which to learn, and explore how each of us actually experience ‘being human’ - or not. We reflect on the natural history of being human rooted in experience of being, feeling, and knowing. Recognizing ourselves as animals who have learned to achieve consciousness, are able to use language, story telling music, dance, visual arts, story, and philosophy to make meaning of ourselves, others, and the world in which we find ourselves. Students will be expected to take both MLD 360 and MLD 361 (HPM 584 & HPM 585), and must submit a Student Commitment Form posted on the course Canvas site.