2023-2024 Academic Catalog

Dec 21, 2024

2023-2024 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

CYES 050 - Gettin’ Schooled: Current Issues in Education

People called for a mass public schooling system long before the U.S. formed into a nation. Yet, it is no coincidence when and where public school systems were established-the middle of the 19th Century in Massachusetts soon after industrialization began. Yet as our economy has gone through radical transformations in the last two centuries, why have our schools remained remarkably similar to the model from the 1800s? Is what happens in our school system really about education, or are we just gettin’ schooled? In the class, we will examine the current state of schooling with a critical lens. We will look at how schooling impacts people’s lives-their practices, their identities, their visions of society, and their social relationships. More specifically, we will explore the role of schools in the social construction of hierarchy, inequality, difference, identity, and power. In doing so, we will consider the many ways schooling intersects with issues of social class, race, ethnicity, and gender. We will explore schooling as contested territory, investigating how political agendas and power struggles influence what people learn. Finally, we will set out to define and imagine a new vision of education for our society and our own trajectories.

Prerequisites: IDND 018 OR VE Placement

Course Designation/Attribute: VE, D&I

Anticipated Terms Offered: Every Fall