CoursesFellows Proseminar I
COMM 025

Fellows Proseminar I

The SNF Paideia Fellows Proseminar I introduces sophomore Fellows to academic research and practice related to the civic engagement mission of the SNF Paideia program. We engage diverse perspectives on the purpose of higher education, the nature of citizenship, the value of civility, and the relationship between individual and community wellness.

Students will develop their personal civic identity and wellness goals through intentional course exercises and assignments. This includes identifying potential avenues for civic engagement within their academic discipline, selecting and practicing wellness strategies tailored for their lives and goals, and crafting concrete plans to cultivate civil dialogue and service at Penn and beyond. The goal of the course is to equip students with the knowledge, skills, experiences, and ethical frameworks for healthy, sustainable and robust civic leadership at Penn and in their local, national, and global communities. This course is open only to SNF Paideia Fellows, who are required to take it during the fall of their sophomore year.

Course sessions will address the following questions:

  • What is the purpose of a Penn education?
  • What is Paideia?
  • What is citizenship?
  • Is civility outdated?
  • What does civil discourse look like?
  • Wellness and civic engagement: A non-sequitur?
  • Strategies for wellness and civic engagement?

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Instructor(s)

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Semester

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Instructor(s)

  • Deborah Thomas

Semester

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