PHIL 1512: Local Arts/Humanities: Existential Issues in Narrative Ethics
University of North Carolina, Charlotte
This Local Theme course uses the methods and insights of the arts and humanities to explore the central question of what it means to be a member of a "local" community. Through the study of the experiences of different peoples, societies, cultural traditions, and modes of expression in communities at the city, regional, or national level students will be able to better understand the complexity and diversity of the society in which we live. This course involves philosophical reflection on the processes and structures that shape how people live, struggle, and make progress together in a set of overlapping communities. Students may explore questions such as how different cultures and communities understand and experience love and sex, healthcare, technology, democracy, or freedom. Section information text: The general guiding question in this course concerns whether concepts like “wellness,” “happiness,” and “choice,” instead of improving individual lives, social relations, and social institutions, are contributing to new forms of alienation and illness. Topics and readings could include selections on “burn-out,” “exhaustion,” and a sense of being “full time job searchers” in a non-stop 24/7 world (Ivor Southwood, Jonathan Crary, Josh Cohen); chronic illness, anxiety, and depression (Renata Salecl, Meghan O’Rourke, Darian Leader); the tyranny of choice (Renata Salecl); body images and identity (Susie Orbach, Carl Elliott); and a novel, *Cockroach*, whose author Rawa Hage combines Athol Fugard’s *Tsotsi* with Franz Kafka’s *Metamorphosis* to comment on the twenty-first century.
Average GPA: 3.04
Grade distribution records: 1,134 students across 6 terms.
Grade distribution
| Grade | Students | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| A | 446 | 39.3% |
| B | 398 | 35.1% |
| C | 157 | 13.8% |
| D | 23 | 2.0% |
| F | 66 | 5.8% |
| W | 40 | 3.5% |
Based on 1,134 student grade records across 6 terms and 8 professors.
Instructors
- Daniel Boisvert 276 students, Average GPA 2.96
- Martin Shuster 233 students, Average GPA 3.08
- Shannon Sullivan 197 students, Average GPA 2.87
- Damien Williams 142 students, Average GPA 3.33
- Reginald Raymer 125 students, Average GPA 2.97
- Lisa Rasmussen 76 students, Average GPA 3.10
- Gordon Hull 43 students, Average GPA 3.33
- Julia Levin 42 students, Average GPA 2.97