海角论坛

September 23, 2013鈥擨t doesn鈥檛 take long for students in to get to class. They take the elevator downstairs and find a seat in Associate Dean Tad Howard鈥檚 living room in Kennedy Hall.

Dean Howard鈥檚 course is also a living and learning community (LLC). LLCs typically house students with a similar interest in one topic. Students in the Hill River City LLC are enrolled in Howard鈥檚 course and live together on the eighth floor of Kennedy Hall.

鈥淚n many ways, LLCs ask students to challenge the concept of traditional residential spaces,鈥� Alexis Hendrix, a community director with the , said. 鈥淭he LLC provides a space where out-of-class discussion can occur past the walls of the classroom, and relationships with faculty can deepen and grow in ways that may not be possible inside a traditional classroom,鈥� she continued.

Howard has taught 海角论坛, Culture, and Conflict for four years and saw it as a perfect fit for a living and learning community. The course explores the history and debates surrounding universities, 鈥渨ith special attention to current curricular controversies in and around the humanities,鈥� Howard said. 鈥淚鈥檓 interested in the history of college, but I鈥檓 more interested in the what the history of college tells us about us.鈥�

Universities and colleges are often the focus of criticism, from 鈥渇aint gripes of overspecialized scholarship, self-aggrandizement, and identity politics to direct accusations of malpractice, indoctrination, and corruption of youth,鈥� Howard explained. In class, Howard and his students examine whether these criticisms are based in truth or in assumptions about what colleges do and have always done.

鈥淭his exploration can tell us a lot about how we value, organize, and promote knowledge, how we understand college鈥檚 responsibility to tradition and the advancement and scrutiny of culture,鈥� he said.

According to Howard, the debate about 鈥渉igher education鈥檚 failures and cultural offenses鈥� also illustrates an aspect of the American identity. 鈥淵ou could imagine a world where no one would care about an editorial that goes after colleges,鈥� he said. 鈥淸But people care] because colleges play a certain role in our lives. We鈥檝e developed certain expectations for them, and we鈥檝e put a certain amount of faith in them.鈥�

As Howard and his students discuss societal views on higher education, their own views are informed by their new living experiment, which breaks down academic and social boundaries. Initially, Howard was curious about how class discussion would change when students were not only classmates but neighbors as well. Nevada Schadler (C鈥�15) has found that living with her classmates enhances her learning experience. 鈥淲hen you place that bond in an academic setting, [you] are able to delve deeper in conversations due to the already existing level of trust and familiarity,鈥� Schadler said.

Although 海角论坛, Culture, and Conflict is a semester-long course, students will live together throughout the year and enroll in a one-credit interdisciplinary project in the spring. 鈥淓ach student will be asked to make linkages between this course and another course they鈥檙e taking in the spring,鈥� Howard explained. He hopes students will be able to explore the conflicts and bridges between discrete courses.

鈥淎m I expected to accept something in one class that I comfortably deny in the next?鈥� Howard asked. 鈥淭he array of disciplines and course options, on the one hand, is a rich source of freedom in the liberal arts experience. But the comfortable compartmentalization can also paper over conflicts we aren鈥檛 even recognizing,鈥� he continued.

The students鈥� interdisciplinary projects will also bring other professors into their discussions and further build their community. With more connections throughout the university, Howard sees an opportunity to broaden the conversation about the college experience.

鈥淧eople imagine themselves to be an expert on college because they鈥檝e been,鈥� Howard said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 fun to dig into something you think you know a lot about and discover that the history might be different than you thought.鈥�

Related Information

Students interested in joining the Hill River City LLC for the 2014鈥�15 year should contact Alexis Hendrix at amh282@georgetown.edu or 202-687-0714. Students may also join a variety of living and learning communities. Visit the Office of Residential Living鈥檚 for descriptions of each LLC. Applications for 2014鈥�15 will be available soon.