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Civic Responsibilities

The four civic responsibilities will provide you with the skills and knowledge you need to be an active and engaged citizen in a complex, diverse, and global society.

Race and ethnicity

Issues of race and ethnicity reside at the heart of America’s national identity and underlie some of the nation’s most persistent problems. The goal of this civic responsibility is to help students understand the nature of race and ethnicity and the impact both have on our lives in modern communities.

Learning Outcomes:

Students should have an understanding of the nature of race and ethnicity and the impact both have on our lives in modern communities.

  • Students should be able to explain the broad spectrum of human racial and ethnic experience.  They should understand the differences and similarities between race and ethnicity as concepts.
  • Students should understand the arbitrary and socially defined nature of race as well as analyze the ways race and racism maintain positions of class, power, and privilege in America.
  • Students should develop thoughtful and equitable personal, ethical, and political decision-making abilities when considerations of race and ethnicity are involved.  They should identify the limits of ethnocentric and parochial thinking.

Gender

The ideas and practices about gender and sexuality mold identities, institutions, nations, and global interactions. The goal of this civic responsibility is to explore how the construct of gender affects our society.

Learning Outcomes:

Students should have an understanding of gender and the impact it has on our lives in modern communities.

  • Students should be able to explain how gender and sexuality shape our daily lives.  They should understand how gender is a central category of analysis that informs our interpretation of human experience.
  • Students should understand that gender is socially constructed.  They should be able to analyze family, education, labor, religion, and government as they are shaped by gendered constructs.  Further, they should be able to explain how gender intersects with other constructed patterns of privilege and oppression in society, such as race, ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation.
  • Students should develop skills in the application of gender research and theory to problems in the contemporary world.

Global Awareness

The world is becoming increasingly interconnected, and students must develop the intercultural skills that will allow them to participate effectively in the global community.

Learning Outcomes:

Students should have an understanding of the nature of the global community and the complexities of modern society in an international context.

  • Students should understand how experiences across cultural and social boundaries challenge cultural-centric preconceptions.  Students should understand the complexity and connectedness of the world. Students should recognize the international dimensions of academic disciplines.
  • Students should be able to understand divergent points of view in the global community.  They should recognize and respect a culture or society that is different from their own and comprehend some of its connections with other parts of the world.
  • Students should understand the development of cross-cultural differences.  They should adopt responsible approaches to global issues and policies.

Community Engagement

TCNJ seeks to prepare its students to sustain and advance the communities in which they live.  All incoming students at TCNJ participate in a project or experience that is not only educational for the students but also helps improve the quality of life for others in our region.

Learning Outcomes:

Students should seek to sustain and advance the communities in which they live by engaging in an informed and academically based service experience.

  • Students should think critically, analytically, and inclusively about their society.  They should develop a hands-on understanding of class, power, and privilege.
  • Students should develop the means to apply the knowledge they gain from their academic experiences within the context of everyday community life.   They should understand how to accept responsibility for active and engaged citizenship in a complex and diverse society.

 

Please note: The Liberal Learning Program has been renamed The College Core, and some of its components have also been renamed. Learn More
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