This seminar course is designed to give students an insight into the theory and practice of postsecondary education. Students who take this course will be exposed to various topics in higher education including, but not limited to the development of the American university, social theory and the purposes of higher education, higher education in the modern era, the role of government in postsecondary education, privatization and for-profit education, religion, gender, race, Greek life, college athletics and free speech. Students will write a high-quality graduate school level research paper on a topic of their choosing in groups and may choose to write their paper with the professor. By the end of the course, students should have both a broad understanding of the American higher education landscape and a deep understanding of a major issue in the field.
Students who complete this course will achieve the following learning goals:
- learn how to write a research paper, based in theory and practice, of sufficient quality for peer review in a major academic journal
- gain a base of content knowledge concerning the most contentious issues in higher education
- demonstrate skills in rigorous research and oral and written presentation
- Teacher: Chris Marsicano