tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/unique-courses-18877/articlesUnique Courses – The Conversation2021-11-23T13:29:14Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1711852021-11-23T13:29:14Z2021-11-23T13:29:14ZCareer-based classes keep students more engaged<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431205/original/file-20211110-21-1w4w3pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C25%2C5682%2C3763&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Career technical education courses are linked to higher rates of school engagement for high schoolers from low-income backgrounds. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/male-instructor-and-trainees-watching-while-woman-royalty-free-image/1180593580?adppopup=true">Maskot/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Taking a STEM-related career and technical education course in high school makes low-income students more engaged in school than those who don’t take such a course. This is what education scholars <a href="https://www.gse.upenn.edu/academics/faculty-directory/gottfried">Michael Gottfried</a>, <a href="https://ed.unc.edu/people/daniel-klasik/">Daniel Klasik</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6UdaRNkAAAAJ&hl=en">I</a> found in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F23328584211053324">our study</a> using survey data from nearly 20,000 high school students across the country.</p>
<p>We found that career and technical education courses related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics were linked with higher engagement in the 11th grade for low-income students. This finding held after taking key student and school characteristics into account, such as student attitudes and academic histories.</p>
<p>By higher engagement, we mean that these students were more likely to show up to school and be prepared for class. They were also less likely to be suspended. Interestingly, we did not find that these courses had the same effect – or any effect at all – for students from middle- or high-income families.</p>
<p>Career and technical education courses in general are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811411600703">designed to be engaging</a>. STEM-related career and technical education courses focus on engineering technology and computer science. These courses teach students applied skills through hands-on experiences. They are meant to prepare students for success in both college and career.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>As schools shifted to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, many students became <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/20210608-impacts-of-covid19.pdf">disengaged from school</a>. </p>
<p>Prior to the pandemic, students from low-income backgrounds in particular had <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_24">lower engagement</a> than students from middle- or high-income backgrounds. During the pandemic, students from low-income backgrounds who were already dealing with issues such as food insecurity, homelessness and access to technology no longer had a physical location to attend school. This <a href="https://www.aecf.org/blog/reengaging-students-who-lost-their-way-during-the-pandemic">led to further disengagement</a>. In Michigan alone, the pandemic resulted in a decrease in enrollment of <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2020/12/8/22163735/enrollment-down-in-mi-pandemic">53,000 students</a>, many of whom simply stopped going to school. These losses were particularly heavy in urban areas, where low-income families tend to live.</p>
<p>Studies show that students who are more engaged in school have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2004.tb08283.x">better grades and test scores</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312032003583">better chances of graduating</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02732170701796429">fewer behavioral problems</a> and are <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/491805/pdf">more likely to earn more</a> later in life. STEM-related career and technical education courses are also related to several of these same <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0895904816673738">outcomes</a>. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to know exactly what goes on in STEM-related career and technical education courses on a large scale. While individual teachers know what they teach and what their students learn, it’s difficult to identify what students are learning or how teachers are teaching different classes in different schools. </p>
<p>Also, we don’t know exactly what might motivate a student to choose a STEM-related career and technical education course over a fine arts or other elective class.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Exploring the long-term benefits of STEM-related career and technical education courses is a crucial next step. For example, it will be important to explore whether these courses actually lead to jobs, which we are looking at in some current projects. </p>
<p>Additionally, low-income students are less likely to take STEM-related career and technical education courses than middle- and high-income students. This is unfortunate because STEM careers are both in <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-10/why-computer-occupations-are-behind-strong-stem-employment-growth.htm">high demand</a> and <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/recognizing-stem-occupations-on-stem-day.htm">provide high wages</a>. Future research will need to explore how to encourage low-income students to take these courses. </p>
<p>Ultimately, career and technical education may provide an interesting opportunity to look at student success as more than just a test score. Rather, it will enable educators to measure success in terms of being ready for a career.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research study was funded by the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education</span></em></p>Students from low-income backgrounds fare better when they are able to take career and technical classes in STEM, new research shows.Jay Stratte Plasman, Assistant Professor in Workforce Development and Education at The Ohio State University, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/537902016-02-03T11:10:44Z2016-02-03T11:10:44ZWant to improve motivation? Try this reward<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110030/original/image-20160202-32254-1jchqps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What's the secret of motivation?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/morberg/3842815564/in/photolist-6RzrbL-33PQKY-8jsHNw-hw8poX-hTuyve-p6JbAw-8EcUzv-jxDp2U-9bpwuw-pgYUSQ-7Mzk4R-733Xqz-pEHY9R-6d9fXr-gUACXw-eMzRQi-gUBy38-2GvT6s-7xARC4-5k7Juf-8EcUbv-cNnx4E-fiDf6B-fQqbfZ-7cVpPB-66xpY-pHE9BK-kP4wAx-oaQ9Y4-7MDjPo-KB3yj-aSDvyp-4zu2qv-7N4PgZ-6bFFdi-agaHgs-sFycdR-67uKSx-8DSkPb-7npyt5-7yuTwY-7xdtaM-dTBbiU-5vC7MD-dTBba5-6tpEMk-8ih72y-gfCQKq-393CNp-7xeAr4">Niklas Morberg</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last semester I experimented with a new idea in my consumer behavior class. I gave pop quizzes on the assigned readings but with a little twist.</p>
<p>First and foremost, students were not required to take the quizzes. But if they did take a quiz and they answered it correctly, they would earn a point. If they collected five points over the course of the semester, they would be able to opt out of the final exam if they chose.</p>
<p>There was one catch: if the students took a quiz and answered it incorrectly, then they would lose a point and fall behind in their effort to get to the magic number of five.</p>
<p>I had two different sections of the class, one with 35 students and the other with 27. The required effort in both classes was exactly the same (earn five points from the quizzes). The prize in both classes was also exactly the same (opting out of the final).</p>
<p>So, there should have really not been much of a difference between the two classes regarding their performance on the quizzes. Yet, there was a difference in performance. In fact, quite a substantial difference.</p>
<p>Fewer than half (43 percent) of the students in the first class ended up collecting the necessary five points. But, in the second class, a staggering 82 percent of the students did so.</p>
<p>Could it be that one class had better, more motivated students than the other?</p>
<p>I checked the final course grades for all students in both sections and the grade average for the two sections was almost identical.</p>
<p>So, what happened?</p>
<h2>Difference between a loss and a gain</h2>
<p>A subtle but key difference was in the way I presented the information about the quizzes and the prize of the optional final exam to the students.</p>
<p>Here is what I did:</p>
<p>In the first class, the students were told that the final exam was <em>required</em> but they could earn the right to not take it with five points from the quizzes.</p>
<p>In the second class however, they were told that the final exam was <em>optional</em>. But, they could lose that right if they did not get five points from the quizzes.</p>
<p>In other words, the exact same offer was presented either as a potential gain (earning the right to an optional final) or a potential loss (losing the right to an optional final). </p>
<p>This relates to the idea of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/your-money/overcoming-an-aversion-to-loss.html?_r=0">“loss aversion”</a> – i.e., the amount of pain we feel for losing something is higher than the joy we feel for gaining the same thing. For example, most people would be more upset if they lost a US$20 bill than they would be happy if they found $20. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Even when the incentive was the same in both classes, students who seemed to lose it valued it more.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hackny/8673949525/in/photolist-edufZT-6p2GQU-aqQ9Q8-dnz3pd-dM3m7n-3S1QoQ-dcy3H1-ojEury-aLYAp8-edzT7G-nsNwZn-aahYCJ-aaZSTF-guJGG2-edubVv-7AEE17-e3kZz4-9gVYzu-9ru3Kv-9gGXrT-cXjcV5-cXj9XC-ptg9aV-e3mjGe-amnveH-bXcSwB-a1Pfkk-b9wuba-aB6KB4-aaijQA-63VgZe-dXNqxm-a1Pfhc-a1S6F7-dM8UXw-5Ya5KY-aahYZ5-nay6fq-9gGXkx-aag9wX-aanE25-yCrpxL-7ADTYy-aag38R-aahYHj-aaieYG-aaFohy-9ydKRW-7AA8mT-edzJR9">hackNY.org</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The value of ownership</h2>
<p>So, in the case of my class, could it be that the increased value for these students was a function of them “owning” the prize they would lose? </p>
<p>Quite possibly, given that the concept of ownership has been shown to impact perceptions of value. </p>
<p>In a related study, behavioral economist <a href="http://danariely.com/">Dan Ariely</a> and marketing professor <a href="https://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/faculty/profiles/zcarmon/">Ziv Carmon</a> talked with Duke students who had won Final Four tickets in the lottery. They asked them how much it would take to sell their ticket.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/drEVExtrUgQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>They also contacted students who wanted to go the Final Four but did not win tickets in the lottery, asking them how much they would be willing to spend to buy one.</p>
<p>Students who had a ticket to the game agreed to sell it for an average price of $1,400, about eight times more than what students interested in buying were willing to pay ($170).</p>
<p>This is known as the <a href="http://www.eief.it/butler/files/2009/11/thaler80.pdf">“endowment effect,”</a> a concept introduced by behavioral economist <a href="http://www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/t/richard-h-thaler">Richard Thaler</a>, which suggests that owners of an item evaluate it significantly more favorably than nonowners. This explains why people expect much more to give up an object than they are willing to pay to obtain it.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://careymorewedge.com/papers/Endowment.pdf">study</a> using coffee mugs, marketing professor at Boston University <a href="http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/morewedg/">Carey Morewedge</a> and his colleagues suggested that ownership plays an important role in our perceived value of an item. Often, what we own has also sentimental value for us besides just its functional value. </p>
<h2>Motivation in the classroom</h2>
<p>As the semester ended, I shared with my students in both classes what happened and asked for their thoughts.</p>
<p>“I didn’t want to give it up,” said one student referring to having the right to the optional final. Other classmates nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>Given that ownership in this case was not about a tangible object, it is hard to imagine that the “endowment effect” was due to sentimental reasons. Yet, it was strong enough to affect the students’ motivation and performance. </p>
<p>The fact that they had the right to an “optional final” made them perceive it as more valuable than their counterparts who did not have it. Consequently, it increased their motivation to do what was necessary to not lose it.</p>
<p>As “loss aversion” suggests, the disappointment for losing the optional final would have been higher than the excitement for earning it. The motivation of the students in the two classes seems to have been affected accordingly. </p>
<p>So, how can we use these findings to get our students more motivated?</p>
<p>Traditionally we use rewards to encourage desired behavior in the form of “if you do this, then you earn that.” But by framing it this way, we may unintentionally devalue the reward and make students less likely to appreciate it.</p>
<p>Lack of ownership (even for nontangible objects) may lead to lower motivation.</p>
<p>Instead, what if we would offer the reward to everyone but then take it away from those who did not engage in the desired behavior? It seems a bit harsh, but it may also be more effective.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53790/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vassilis Dalakas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A class tries an experiment on motivation. What do they learn?Vassilis Dalakas, Professor of Marketing, California State University San MarcosLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/461662015-08-26T09:50:50Z2015-08-26T09:50:50ZHow understanding the prisoner’s dilemma can help bridge liberal and conservative differences<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92944/original/image-20150825-15907-fqxzfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How do people make social choices?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gregloby/3515990945/in/photolist-6mGnBx-ohnH9-7KjjUa-47DMxQ-pZTtRL-iugy48-kApF4K-7t6x1w-bwZGq4-4mQ92F-gi2Y8-aepoHj-4dWDy1-bBkSEv-7YLToc-7zmDvJ-p8AeCU-82iUui-4YEcB5-rv5BBz-johxfJ-a8eatm-4yHvxq-hE2BNj-4p26pe-wKPZuX-oaswe8-7ZhZny-dpdfS4-oGTUn-9cszRw-3sZr4-7YTS1d-wykvLA-82j8tP-6kNWxw-9xNg55-zhW2-5LTZ3x-7vALtD-jh3o27-a7nCTX-ajCMFJ-7fSgv3-aT8Fgz-bAcXyf-msAE56-5YNZLo-76XUCA-oojdXx">Greg Lobinski</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In my social psychology class, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/07/20/why-i-give-my-students-a-tragedy-of-the-commons-extra-credit-challenge/">I pose an extra credit question</a> where students choose between having two points or six points added onto their final term paper grade, with the stipulation that if more than 10% of the class chooses six points, no one gets any points. </p>
<p>This exercise is a classroom demonstration of the <a href="http://perspicuity.net/sd/sd.html">commons dilemma</a>, and similar to the prisoner’s dilemma. Essentially, people are forced to choose between what would maximize their personal outcomes (more points) and what would be best for the group as a whole (fewer points). </p>
<p>It’s worth noting that this <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15328023top1704_5#.VdyNZ9NViko">exercise</a> was developed 25 years ago. I first learned it from my college psychology professor <a href="http://drigotas.socialpsychology.org/">Steve Drigotas</a> over a decade ago. I have been using it since 2008. </p>
<p>But recently, after a student of mine tweeted the dilemma of the extra credit question, it went viral in a way that I had never expected. So why is it only now starting to resonate with so many people worldwide? And why are people <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/dont-be-greedy#.knMAzn4B5">connecting this exercise</a> to concerns about greed or selfishness? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167094/original/file-20170427-15121-1t458qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167094/original/file-20170427-15121-1t458qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167094/original/file-20170427-15121-1t458qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167094/original/file-20170427-15121-1t458qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167094/original/file-20170427-15121-1t458qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=666&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167094/original/file-20170427-15121-1t458qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=666&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167094/original/file-20170427-15121-1t458qe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=666&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A student’s reaction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Twitter/Seanhin</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The prisoner’s dilemma</h2>
<p>Let’s analyze this class exercise. At first glance, it would seem that the obvious choice would be to pick two points – for then, everyone is sure to get the points. </p>
<p>But this requires a great deal of social trust. And that is not always apparent between strangers. </p>
<p>Thus, some students choose six points (greater than 10% of students in all of my classes have done so, except one class which hit 10% exactly). In fact, I would argue, picking six is a “rational” choice, because the likelihood of your own choice directly affecting the group is very <a href="http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2015/07/14/an-awesomely-evil-test-question-and-its-mathematical-answer-game-theory-tuesdays/">small</a>.</p>
<p>Now let’s look at the big picture. </p>
<p>Imagine if everyone in a group uses this line of “rational” reasoning. Then everyone would proceed to behave in a way that maximizes their own lot. The point here is that choosing six is “rational,” but only when we consider how <em>individual</em> actions impact the group.</p>
<p>In the aggregate, when thousands (or millions) of people behave this way, the consequences are disastrous. </p>
<p>This exercise is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/07/20/why-i-give-my-students-a-tragedy-of-the-commons-extra-credit-challenge/">analogous</a> to real-world behavior involving consumption of public resources (water, food, oil, electricity, etc). The “rational” mindset is how we end up with overharvesting, water or food shortages, pollution, climate change, etc.</p>
<h2>What the exercise revealed</h2>
<p>It’s important to note that most students in my class (around 80% each semester) end up choosing two points. While many students choose the “rational” six-point option, they are still in the minority. </p>
<p>I believe this is because most people do understand the importance of being communal. In other words, most people are happy to behave in a way that benefits others around them. </p>
<p>Here’s a real-world example at work: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3PIXy9lBgo">Honest Tea gave people the opportunity to pay for tea using the “honor system.”</a> People can choose to take a bottle of tea without paying (the selfish option), or voluntarily pay for their tea by putting money into a jar (the communal option). </p>
<p>Again, the “rational” choice is to take the tea without paying. But <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/08/18/honest-tea-national-honesty-index-marketing-public-relations/14235077/">a majority of people pay for their tea</a>, even if they don’t have to. </p>
<p>Why is it so? Humans are prosocial creatures – which means they like to help each other. </p>
<p>That most students chose the prosocial option in my class is notable. It inspires me and gives me hope for the future. However, the fight is not over, and we still need to reduce excessive consumption. </p>
<h2>People crave reciprocity</h2>
<p>So, learning from this exercise, how can we increase cooperation on a mass scale? </p>
<p>Psychological science may provide some potential solutions.</p>
<p>One of the biggest theoretical developments in moral psychology in recent years has been <a href="http://www.moralfoundations.org/">Moral Foundations Theory</a>, which suggests that there are <a href="http://www-bcf.usc.edu/%7Ejessegra/papers/GHKMIWD.inpress.MFT.AESP.pdf">several intuitive systems</a> that feed into our judgments of right and wrong. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92946/original/image-20150825-15912-3s8yts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92946/original/image-20150825-15912-3s8yts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92946/original/image-20150825-15912-3s8yts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92946/original/image-20150825-15912-3s8yts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92946/original/image-20150825-15912-3s8yts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92946/original/image-20150825-15912-3s8yts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92946/original/image-20150825-15912-3s8yts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mostly humans behave in ways that helps others around them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thearches/5907952019/in/photolist-a14NiH-eiyJ19-e31Xe5-5yFrKB-9sg3u8-5Lak4P-7FeDmK-4L8eyq-5UQWT-7yRaQT-dqTT7E-auVHF5-ei7smM-diQrxf-D7LMt-qVmCa1-42CNjv-nPQkq-3W1Vv4-rHxoRL-6QRf9D-3kGgNd-aqAKNw-7zDRUU-8qHyZM-qxkirC-azVume-9ePsf7-57H7r4-51m3oq-jwXdpD-nTo9KF-nNThRF-oxKgD3-ozKiXW-k9nL2t-pE16Z7-7Dr9Zr-i6v4DU-9GEQsk-2kwhmV-nypipm-5QNavA-8Woeay-eibJrt-5WFXE9-81PyAd-bJC5qz-fucYfP-qcb2AU">TheArches</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of these is a concern about fairness/cheating. </p>
<p>People crave reciprocity with others. If someone does us a favor, we feel compelled to repay the kindness: or if they hurt us, we crave revenge. </p>
<p>Fairness manifests in justice and equality (eg, right to a fair trial), and in principles like the “Golden Rule” (treating people the same way you want them to treat you). </p>
<p>Another moral virtue is in-group loyalty. </p>
<p>Every community and nation has important symbols of unity (eg, the national flag), songs, pledges of allegiance, legends and monuments to its founders, sacred documents (eg, the Constitution), and institutions designed for the group’s protection (eg, the military). </p>
<p>In recent history, <a href="http://www-bcf.usc.edu/%7Ejessegra/papers/GrahamHaidtNosek.2009.Moral%20foundations%20of%20liberals%20and%20conservatives.JPSP.pdf">liberals</a> have tended to strongly emphasize the importance of fairness and justice in building a strong society.</p>
<p>Consider the equal rights movements for African Americans, women, and LGBTQ folks, especially in light of the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/us/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage.html?_r=0">recent Supreme Court ruling</a>. Liberals are fighting to close wage gaps, end discrimination, and promote equal rights. </p>
<p>In contrast, conservatives have tended to emphasize the importance of <a href="http://www-bcf.usc.edu/%7Ejessegra/papers/GrahamHaidtNosek.2009.Moral%20foundations%20of%20liberals%20and%20conservatives.JPSP.pdf">group loyalty</a>. Consider the emphasis on keeping America strong, protecting the homeland from foreign threats, bolstering the military and respecting national symbols like the flag.</p>
<h2>Challenges outside the classroom</h2>
<p>So how do these moral virtues apply to the commons dilemma game? </p>
<p>Well, if you want the extra points, you’re relying on other people to cooperate. So, think about the ethic of fairness. </p>
<p>Pick the same choice that you would want others to take. Let your own desires for others’ behavior guide your own personal decisions – if you want others to choose two points, you should do the same. </p>
<p>Additionally, if you want your group (eg, your school, your community) to thrive, you must personally contribute. If you care about the health and the spirit of your culture, that sentiment must be reflected in your own actions. </p>
<p>If we consider the ethic of group loyalty, then choosing two points is not only cooperative, it’s patriotic. Making a conscious effort to limit one’s consumption of resources (by using less water, for example) is a duty to the flags, symbols and pledges of allegiance that unite us.</p>
<p>Outside of the classroom setting, there are environmental problems that must be solved, and there are moral virtues that can help bridge across the ideological aisle. </p>
<p>While liberals and conservatives may differ in their perspectives on political issues, there are ways to build common ground by drawing on their respective moral concerns. </p>
<h2>Solving the world’s problems</h2>
<p>Fairness and loyalty are two different paths toward reining in selfishness and making cooperation more possible. </p>
<p>If we can harness the power of these moral virtues together, we just might have a shot at solving some of the world’s toughest ecological problems. </p>
<p>A case in point is the Pentagon. Usually in charge of military matter, it <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/immediate-risk-to-national-security-posed-by-global-warming/">now considers climate change a national security threat</a>. </p>
<p>In order to combat climate change, we need to use all the tools available in our moral toolkit. Everyone must sacrifice for the common good of preserving our great nation, and it is essential that we view our neighbors as equal partners in this endeavor.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46166/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dylan Selterman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A professor’s extra credit question goes to show how, as humans, we do care for each other. The challenge is: how do we apply it to more pressing problems of the world?Dylan Selterman, Lecturer, University of MarylandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/428002015-07-28T10:21:12Z2015-07-28T10:21:12ZWant more innovation? Try connecting the dots between engineering and humanities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89512/original/image-20150723-22849-1rla6iw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A team of scholars are working to connect disciplines.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gosheshe/3288921135/in/photolist-61CzEP-8ZwnR1-7r5FUR-98g5LU-4ngDbv-cFnmdQ-3At1qN-3AouJB-fGUiVk-nbZnT9-aJSfjK-36mK5e-bsAb2x-7x9bSS-7r9BF3-3AoonD-eaeZjM-5ug6uo-HJzcd-andneR-5ubKtR-ypFzW-FUxN6-yMkw9-9aTAwj-FUxNc-FUxMz-FUxMZ-99NqYK-jBjfM1-9boLH5-eujKmq-fWeykn-oRKpwc-gkUTrJ-7vEVHQ-jFj8M-bsa3TJ-dj7YTm-d5o8dq-bhU55P-ff62Fx-dpRT9P-dJR7U5-5xw8zK-di2p12-edijwu-dPEgdR-9ZP5Es-dKMueJ">gosheshe</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>_This article is a part of The Conversation’s series on unique courses. For other articles in this series, read <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-teacher-uses-star-trek-for-difficult-conversations-on-race-and-gender-43098">here</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/through-the-brewing-class-what-beer-making-can-teach-students-about-business-42396">here</a>. _</p>
<p>Today’s college students may benefit from an exciting array of subjects to study. But they seem to miss the most important education of all: how to relate their specialization to others in an increasingly interconnected world. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12187/changing-the-conversation-messages-for-improving-public-understanding-of-engineering">National Academy of Engineering</a> has categorically stated that today’s engineers need to be more than individuals who simply “like math and science.” They must be “creative problem-solvers” who help “shape our future” by improving our “health, happiness, and safety.” </p>
<p>And in 2001, the <a href="http://www.abet.org/">engineering accreditation body ABET</a> added <a href="http://www.abet.org/accreditation/accreditation-criteria/criteria-for-accrediting-engineering-programs-2015-2016/">a new criterion</a> so as to ensure that students get “the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context.” </p>
<p>The point is that the connections between humanities and science have been lost in today’s separation of disciplines. Indeed, a <a href="https://www.amacad.org/content/research/dataForumEssay.aspx?i=1571">recent report</a> by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences discovered that humanities and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) training majors largely dwell in different silos.</p>
<p>So, where and how did we lose our way? And how can educators and institutions change things? </p>
<h2>Separation of disciplines</h2>
<p>The founders of the <a href="http://www.neh.gov/">National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)</a> were well aware of the critical nature of this interdependence.</p>
<p>When the NEH and the <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation (NSF)</a> were established in the 1950s and ‘60s, the <a href="https://www.acls.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/NEH/1964_Commission_on_the_Humanities.pdf">NEH founders wrote</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If the interdependence of science and the humanities were more generally understood, men would be more likely to become masters of their technology and not its unthinking servants.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These founders, hailing from leading universities as well as the US Atomic Energy Commission, IBM Corp and New York Life Insurance, knew that connecting the humanities and sciences helps us make informed judgments about our control of nature, ourselves and our destiny. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89530/original/image-20150723-22806-4ppt2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89530/original/image-20150723-22806-4ppt2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89530/original/image-20150723-22806-4ppt2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89530/original/image-20150723-22806-4ppt2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89530/original/image-20150723-22806-4ppt2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89530/original/image-20150723-22806-4ppt2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89530/original/image-20150723-22806-4ppt2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Connecting the humanities and science helps us make informed decisions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicomachus/5411002223/in/photolist-9f9NrM-8jcn6B-9jQGBu-oPjXFv-ou8hni-a6WUT-gWPMXg-2RjiuV-nPFYFa-pxKHuU-8hqeXq-hYCTSY-amZQ3L-nTkPED-8on6Gx-fWHMYZ-8FuYpa-uty4B-eVSJs8-o8G96Y-oaDHfy-oaAvs3-oaAvrb-nTf6Kd-nTeKiU-nTfNy6-dnLxg-o8G8hy-3ENeJ-nTfPnv-8WHqrf-8FuT42-8Fy64E-oKQLPU-oaDHhh-nTeKiJ-9CTbfh-5Cr99G-nTkQjp-n5hZzE-dcK3Zp-6G32k6-2btAZq-nRAu1A-nTf1BZ-g79H9A-g79iaK-g79hFi-nTf1z4-nTf6JG">Phillip Barron</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But, since the 1980s, political rhetoric has emphasized the need for less humanities and more STEM education. STEM is painted as a more profitable investment, in terms of job creation and research dollars generated. </p>
<p>A notable example is the Obama administration’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-top">“Race to the Top” initiative</a>, which both isolates and prioritizes the STEM disciplines from the humanities, arts and social sciences. </p>
<p>This rhetoric is also evident in the creation of separate political education organizations such as the bipartisan <a href="http://stemedcaucus2.org/">STEM Education Caucus</a> founded several years ago by congressional representatives to strengthen STEM education from kindergarten to the workforce. </p>
<p>This separation of disciplines actually hurts education, and it also hurts our ability to innovate and solve big problems.</p>
<p>Connecting STEM with humanities doesn’t just provide the well-rounded education <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/Employers-Want-Broadly/138453/">today’s employers want</a>. As the <a href="http://www.humanitiescommission.org/_pdf/hss_report.pdf">American Academy of Arts and Science’s 2013 “The Heart of the Matter” report</a> observes, connecting these fields is necessary to solve the world’s biggest problems such as “the provision of clean air and water, food, health, energy, universal education, human rights, and the assurance of physical safety.” </p>
<p>So, separating and prioritizing STEM from humanities ignores the fact that we live in a complex social and cultural world. And many different disciplines must combine to address this world’s needs and challenges.</p>
<h2>Bringing the disciplines together</h2>
<p>To address this gap, four years ago the faculty from materials engineering and liberal arts at the <a href="http://www.humanities.ufl.edu/">University of Florida</a> began working with the <a href="http://www.mrs.org/home/">Materials Research Society</a>. We wanted to put together a new course on “materials.” </p>
<p>Why did we choose materials? Because everything is made of them, every discipline studies them and they are tangible (quite literally) to the average freshman.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89665/original/image-20150724-8442-nb7ett.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89665/original/image-20150724-8442-nb7ett.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=773&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89665/original/image-20150724-8442-nb7ett.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=773&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89665/original/image-20150724-8442-nb7ett.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=773&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89665/original/image-20150724-8442-nb7ett.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89665/original/image-20150724-8442-nb7ett.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89665/original/image-20150724-8442-nb7ett.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An interdisciplinary course on materials prepares students for the challenges of the future.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14591315557/">Internet Archive Book Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After all, grade school students still learn about the <a href="http://www.britannica.com/technology/hand-tool#toc39194">Stone, Bronze, and Iron ages</a>. The <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution">Industrial</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28600802">Information revolutions</a> revolved around new uses for steel, aluminum and silicon. The human past has been shaped by harnessing and consuming materials and energy.</p>
<p>Materials will be important for our collective future as well. So, we thought, this is the future for which we should be preparing students.</p>
<p>And thus our course, <a href="http://www.mrs.org/impact-of-materials-on-society-subcommittee-goals/">The Impact of Materials on Society (IMOS)</a>, was born. Taught by a team of nine faculty from engineering, humanities and social sciences, the course explores the close connection between the “stuff” in our lives and our experiences as social beings. </p>
<p>Students discuss how materials benefit global trade and communication but also risk resource exploitation and political conflict. For example, we depend upon rare earths for our cellphones, iPads and wind farms, but accessing these rare earths from limited sources is not sustainable.</p>
<p>So, some of the questions that the course raises are: what materials do we depend upon in our daily lives? Does this dependence have social consequences? What social relationships form around the production and use of these materials? And how do our current uses of materials affect our ability to discover new uses for them? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89559/original/image-20150723-22849-1sf7rez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89559/original/image-20150723-22849-1sf7rez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89559/original/image-20150723-22849-1sf7rez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89559/original/image-20150723-22849-1sf7rez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89559/original/image-20150723-22849-1sf7rez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89559/original/image-20150723-22849-1sf7rez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89559/original/image-20150723-22849-1sf7rez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students also discuss the ethical and social aspects of using certain materials.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/collegelibrary/8611243532/">college.library</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Students are also asked to consider how our values shape our willingness to adopt new technologies. For example, Earl Tupper may have invented Tupperware, but it was <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/tupperware-wise/">Brownie Wise and her home parties with other women</a> who first made his polymer famous! </p>
<p>Each week covers a different material (eg, clay, glass, gold, plastic), its scientific properties, demonstrations, and its past and present impacts. </p>
<p>Working together in multidisciplinary groups, students then contemplate the development of future materials. These include flexible electronic materials that can be used to create <a href="http://www.insidescience.org/content/hi-tech-tattoo-your-workouts/1557">wearable sensors</a> that can transmit important information, such as body hydration levels during athletic training. New <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=128637">polymer (plastic) materials </a> made from renewable sources instead of petroleum may have fewer health risks and are more sustainable than today’s plastic cups and bottles. </p>
<p>At the same time, they discuss the ethical and social considerations that might affect the successful production and adoption of these new materials in different contexts.</p>
<h2>Gap in education</h2>
<p>The course is different from other freshman-oriented courses. It is not a “history course for engineers.” And it is not an “engineering course for humanists.”</p>
<p>It is an interdisciplinary course that uses multiple perspectives to understand materials innovation. A wide range of departments including engineering, anthropology, classics, history, English, sociology and philosophy participate in its teaching. </p>
<p>Students refer to IMOS as a “bridge course” that provides the “connecting dots” between different classes.</p>
<p>And the responses come from students across the different majors. For instance, one engineering major noted, “This class just further proves that you have to understand different aspects of how our world works and not just engineering to be a great engineer.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile a history major observed, “This class gives me a leg up in my other history courses because it reminds me to think about the properties of materials and how they shape our lives.” </p>
<p>These experiences point to a gaping hole in modern education: discipline-specific and general education courses provide important knowledge, but “bridging courses” are needed for students to capitalize upon that knowledge.</p>
<p>To engineer useful technologies, we need to connect scientific study with the cultural competencies of the humanities and social sciences.</p>
<h2>Challenges of 21st-century learning</h2>
<p>The “Renaissance” ideal was to produce elite men whose broad training prepared them for any endeavor. Thankfully, 21st-century education is more inclusive.</p>
<p>But it still requires intellectual and cognitive flexibility to harness large amounts of data. </p>
<p>This doesn’t mean simply knowing everything, even though we live in the “Age of Google.” Today, students need the ability to make connections across disciplines.</p>
<p>Celebrated innovators such as Einstein, Ada Lovelace and Steve Jobs credit the <a href="http://www.neh.gov/about/awards/jefferson-lecture/walter-isaacson-lecture">intersection of disciplines</a> for their inventive thinking. </p>
<p>More boundary-crossing opportunities in higher education can break open the disciplinary silos. And that alone will unleash critical thinking and innovation. </p>
<p><em>Additional contributors to this article are University of Florida faculty Sean Adams, Marsha Bryant, Florin Curta, Mary Ann Eaverly, Bonnie Effros and Ken Sassaman, and Materials Research Society Outreach Coordinator Pamela Hupp.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42800/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophia Krzys Acord has received funding from the National Science Foundation and Department of Defense for the development and dissemination of this course.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Jones has received funding from the National Science Foundation and Department of Defense for the development and dissemination of this course.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan D. Gillespie receives funding from the Dept of Defense to help develop an educational video to support this and similar courses on materials science.</span></em></p>Separation of disciplines in academia hurts our ability to innovate and solve big problems.Sophia Krzys Acord, Associate Director, Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere; Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology & Law, University of FloridaKevin S Jones, Chair Professor, University of FloridaSusan D Gillespie, Professor, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/423962015-07-23T09:47:47Z2015-07-23T09:47:47ZThrough the brewing class: what beer-making can teach students about business<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89242/original/image-20150721-24304-1xmb9ee.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What lessons are there in the beer industry?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rhett Brymer</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is a part of The Conversation’s series on unique courses. For other articles in this series, read <a href="https://theconversation.com/philosophical-toolkit-in-tow-scholar-travels-to-conflict-zones-42805">here</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-teacher-uses-star-trek-for-difficult-conversations-on-race-and-gender-43098">here</a>.</em></p>
<p>Next time you are in your local grocery store, step in to look a little more closely at the beer cooler. Amid the brightly colored, creative packaging lies the final battle for the ultimate goal – your purchases. </p>
<p>But, what battles were fought to get the beer to that particular cooler? More importantly, what might those battles say about larger trends in business today? </p>
<p>At Miami University’s Farmer School of Business, we designed an experiential class to go in depth with these issues, leveraging the lessons of the beer industries as a way to better understand larger trends in business strategy and supply chains. </p>
<h2>What can the beer industry teach us?</h2>
<p>Why beer? What is significant about the brewing industry? And what can students take away (besides a new appreciation for hops)?</p>
<p>The beer industry turns out to be a fascinating microcosm of the larger landscape of today’s business climate. Breweries are varied and transparent, prisms through which students get to see firsthand the strategies employed by the full spectrum – from tiny nanopubs to the <a href="http://www.brewbound.com/news/the-brewers-association-top-50-u-s-craft-breweries-of-2013">fastest-growing midsized breweries</a> to the <a href="http://www.agmrc.org/media/cms/coors_6C217F1EDB6E5.pdf">largest brewing facility in the world</a>. In other words, they offer the perfect opportunity to use a hospitable, popular setting to examine a plethora of questions facing the industry and individual businesses.</p>
<p>For instance, how can microbreweries survive given their paltry market share? (The average US microbrewery has a 0.0041% market share.) Who are they? And how do they compete against the global brands and scale of the macrobreweries? </p>
<p>We set out to find out for ourselves – and for our students.</p>
<p>During a three-week intensive examination of the beer industry, we toured 25 breweries and related facilities from Portland, Oregon to Asheville, North Carolina in a field study to get to know the intimate details of the industry’s supply chain. </p>
<p>And what did we find?</p>
<p>The overwhelming majority of new market entrants in the beer industry are craft breweries that sell to a very localized consumer base. </p>
<p>As the dominant market players concentrated on general markets, widespread distribution and global uniformity, there were many <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/publications/why-microbrewery-movement-organizational-dynamics-resource">geographic niches</a> for entrepreneurs to claim local identities. </p>
<p>Now, the craft and local nature of these new beers is <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/budweiser-ditches-the-clydesdales-for-jay-z-1416784086">capturing</a> the new generation of beer drinkers – indeed, 44% of drinkers aged 21 to 27 report never tasting Budweiser or Bud Light, two macrobrew icons. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89243/original/image-20150721-24266-1xscmcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89243/original/image-20150721-24266-1xscmcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89243/original/image-20150721-24266-1xscmcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89243/original/image-20150721-24266-1xscmcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89243/original/image-20150721-24266-1xscmcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89243/original/image-20150721-24266-1xscmcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89243/original/image-20150721-24266-1xscmcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In touring the beer industry, students start to understand it at a deeper level.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">William Newman</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Instead, <a href="http://libra.msra.cn/Publication/42770013/microbreweries-as-tools-of-local-identity">drinking local beer</a> has become part political statement – lowering carbon emissions and supporting local entrepreneurs – and part cultural experience – either as connection to a hometown or as a tourist destination. </p>
<h2>Application to the future</h2>
<p>In touring a few dozen breweries, students begin to understand the industry at a much deeper level. </p>
<p>They see up close the struggles the small brewers go through to survive. They understand the challenges of scaling up and maintaining complex businesses with national distributions. They recognize strategies and the logic behind them.</p>
<p>Yet, they still have to grapple with large, unanswered questions:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>How many local breweries can the US sustain? </p>
<p>Will we see a bubble in the beer industry as more <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/101142795">investment money</a> pours into brewing?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In response to declining light lager sales domestically, the major breweries have turned to acquiring smaller craft brands like 10 Barrel, Elysian and Leinenkugals, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/15/news/companies/beer-sabmiller-meantime/">mirroring efforts</a> in the food industries as “big food” yields market share to local, niche brands.</p>
<p>Similarly, independent craft brewers, like New Belgian and Sierra Nevada, have become <a href="https://www.brewersassociation.org/insights/brewery-consolidation/">national brands</a>, bringing together the opposing forces of scale economies and local branding, replete with high connection with consumers, small batches and nimble product offerings. But can rapidly growing craft breweries keep their local feel? </p>
<p>So, some of the questions we ask are: will acquired local breweries continue having craft appeal with new macrobrewery ownership? What are the quality implications for regional craft beers once they are part of a larger company? </p>
<p>Interestingly, unlike the big companies, small beer manufacturers tend to view each other as more <a href="http://blog.stonebrewing.com/index.php/collaboration-not-competition-a-look-at-craft-beer-culture/">collaborators than competitors</a>, and openly share stories of assisting a competing brewery when in a pinch. </p>
<p>Because of the craft beer market growth, <a href="https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics/national-beer-sales-production-data/">increasing revenue</a> at individual craft breweries has not had to come at the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2014/02/26/rewery-revolution-heats-up.html">expense of other craft breweries</a>. </p>
<p>Instead, thousands of craft breweries have formed alliances, such as the Brewer’s Association, to <a href="https://www.brewersassociation.org/current-issues/brewers-association-and-beer-institute-send-joint-letter-to-members-of-congress/">lobby on behalf of smaller breweries</a> to position themselves with better laws, taxes and regulations, in turn decreasing the advantages of large incumbents.</p>
<p>This leads to yet another question: will the collaborative ethos of smaller craft breweries turn ugly when craft beer sales begin to decline? </p>
<h2>What’s in a bottle of beer</h2>
<p>The bottle of beer on the grocery shelf seems so simple. Yet, it is the result of an intricate orchestration of materials and logistics that takes seeing to grasp. </p>
<p>Producing glass from train cars of sand; securing contracts for hop futures to avoid severe shortages; malting your own barley; breeding superior strains of yeast; locating plants on top of preferred aquafers: all sourcing strategies used to achieve an edge on the competition. </p>
<p>Students respond avidly when they see an industry in such great depth. They appreciate how complex running a business truly is regardless of size. </p>
<p>They are stunned at the variety of company cultures, and become more comfortable in finding one right for them. They see the fruits of an idea, an entrepreneur and hard work, compelling confidence in many students to start their own ventures. </p>
<p>Students in this class get to experience the “real stuff,” outside the sterility of a classroom, and outside their disciplinary bubbles. As prominent activist and food writer <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/products/9781846148033/cooked-natural-history-transformation">Michael Pollan recently wrote</a>: “One of the problems with the division of labor in our complex economy is how it obscures the lines of connection.” </p>
<p>Being out in the field and being challenged with the complexities of several real businesses each day helps make those connections. So, we do these tours each year. We embark on our next field tour in January 2016.</p>
<p>Although numerous programs on the science and techniques of brewing have <a href="http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/beeradvocate-magazine-98-march-2015.263602/">cropped up</a> nationwide, few have explored the breadth and depth of the business in all its intricacies and connections. </p>
<p>Single-industry classes, such as this one, allow students to see the lines of connection between business functions, across the niches of a marketplace. They also allow them to explore the complexities of supply chains and cooperative strategies that structure the modern-day economies that these graduates are entering.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42396/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The beer industry is a fascinating microcosm of the larger landscape of today’s business environment. Students can examine a range of questions facing businesses, through the beer industry.Rhett Andrew Brymer, Assistant Professor of Management , Miami UniversityW. Rocky Newman, Professor of Management, Miami UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/430982015-07-22T10:26:51Z2015-07-22T10:26:51ZA teacher uses Star Trek for difficult conversations on race and gender<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89211/original/image-20150721-24291-1g8685r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Can Captain Kirk's struggle for belonging and identity become a tool for teaching?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/x-ray_delta_one/4922578504/in/photolist-8uZv6b-8uFehN-9Nke5x-9No5oL-9No3U7-7Pu4ih-9No2rf-uRxNMX-ooCwCd-9LjCyg-s5GeMt-6aXNBs-5C51hV-vTTj-botCkn-9NGYZA-9NwrEg-9NA8FD-9LBudB-9ND6qW-stRTL9-kHRt3-kW3rK2-6sHHpn-9NwACM-9ND1jY-9NxKaD-9ND4FA-9NAfyg-bd8jFK-garsey-hMdFed-8Tm2oR-fQPLbZ-pDvr2Y-9DJ3bt-hM4hTv-hMcATc-hLURxf-hMfETZ-hMfmWC-hM3Yx1-hMrGLC-hM4wis-hMdfBs-hM5afU-hM5KsZ-hM4Ejq-hMcWgZ-hM3nVg">James Vaughan</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The television series <a href="http://www.cbs.com/shows/star_trek/">Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969)</a> debuted one year after my immediate family and I relocated from the Harlem district of New York City to an area of South Central Los Angeles in 1965. </p>
<p>This was also the year in which that latter metropolis erupted into riots that became known collectively as the <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Fire_this_Time.html?id=cFgo3X7vdo4C">Watts Rebellion</a>. The television series became a form of escape from the surroundings of a depressing urban reality and envisioning a more tolerant future. </p>
<p>As it turned out, however, TV was not to be the key to that future. Rather, that entrée would be provided by many subsequent years of formal education that would spark in me an intellectual curiosity about the inner workings of the trek of life – engaging the tangibles of this world as well as the intangibles I imagined to exist beyond the stars. </p>
<p>It was through the arts and humanities that I attempted to grapple with the many intersecting questions I had about things that mattered most to me, such as race, gender and sexuality, as well as technology of the past, present and future. </p>
<p>Fast forward half a century – to where I help my students attempt to make sense of exactly those same relevant, complex questions.</p>
<h2>Teaching complex, contemporary issues</h2>
<p>After earning a doctoral degree in art history and teaching at the university level for 25 of those intervening years, I have observed a contradiction in the majority of students of this Generation Y: they seem connected and yet very distanced from the overwhelming complexities of the world around them.</p>
<p>The point of connection appears strongest in the area of popular culture. The disconnect, ironically, seems vested in a contemporary (sometimes blind) obsession with technology. </p>
<p>As a historian of art and visual culture by training, I wrestled with how popular culture and technology might be combined in a thought-provoking fashion with difficult and uncomfortable social and personal matters. How might these issues be made important to a student’s contemporary situation, to her or his daily experiences and encounters? </p>
<p>I found part of the answer by traveling back to the 1960s, when difficult <a href="http://www.penielejoseph.com/BlackPowerMovementDemocracy.pdf">social change movements around race</a> (<a href="http://www.penielejoseph.com/BlackPowerMovementDemocracy.pdf">civil rights, black power</a>), <a href="http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/28mwh3nk9780252067822.html">gender</a> (the <a href="http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/28mwh3nk9780252067822.html">women’s</a> <a href="http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/494.html">movement</a>) and <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_gay_and_lesbian_liberation_movement.html?id=8-qHAAAAIAAJ">sexuality</a> (<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470674871.wbespm296/abstract">the gay and lesbian movement</a>) were in full swing and paralleled the <a href="http://www.harpercollins.com/9780061176289/space-race">national obsession</a> with <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-larry-rosen/our-obsession-relationshi_b_6005726.html">technology</a>, the <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=d8Wl-dgSgK8C&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=space+race+martin+j+collins&source=bl&ots=Jq6bGdBVkC&sig=Cooj_IQAMaADd7d9-AUzkpHiGYg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDIQ6AEwA2oVChMIkLaGmLTsxgIVQZYeCh0-hgHv#v=onepage&q=space%20race%20martin%20j%20collins&f=false">space race</a> and <a href="http://mrpopculture.com/what-is-pop-culture">indulgence</a> in <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442214965/Globalization-and-American-Popular-Culture-Third-Edition">popular culture</a> as a way to both escape and liberate ourselves. </p>
<p>The result of my time travel was the creation of a new course for the 21st century entitled “Roaming the Star Trek Universe: Race, Gender, and Alien Sexualities.” The course explores the Star Trek universe of science fiction television as one way to probe critical issues of race, gender and alternate forms of sexuality. The response to the course offering was overwhelming. </p>
<p>But why would students be interested, and why teach such a course in today’s complex world? </p>
<h2>Why does it matter?</h2>
<p>Certainly, this is not the first nor last course to be taught on Star Trek. However, what makes it different, or at least unusual, is its open-ended interest in the intersecting dynamics of race, gender and varying forms of sexuality. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89213/original/image-20150721-24291-15g9ce3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89213/original/image-20150721-24291-15g9ce3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89213/original/image-20150721-24291-15g9ce3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89213/original/image-20150721-24291-15g9ce3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89213/original/image-20150721-24291-15g9ce3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89213/original/image-20150721-24291-15g9ce3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89213/original/image-20150721-24291-15g9ce3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The stories and characters of Star Trek can teach students many things about today’s complex world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/x-ray_delta_one/4919013338/in/photolist-8uFehN-9Nke5x-9No5oL-9No3U7-7Pu4ih-9No2rf-uRxNMX-ooCwCd-9LjCyg-s5GeMt-6aXNBs-5C51hV-vTTj-botCkn-9NGYZA-9NwrEg-9NA8FD-9LBudB-9ND6qW-stRTL9-kHRt3-kW3rK2-6sHHpn-9NwACM-9ND1jY-9NxKaD-9ND4FA-9NAfyg-bd8jFK-garsey-hMdFed-8Tm2oR-fQPLbZ-pDvr2Y-9DJ3bt-hM4hTv-hMcATc-hLURxf-hMfETZ-hMfmWC-hM3Yx1-hMrGLC-hM4wis-hMdfBs-hM5afU-hM5KsZ-hM4Ejq-hMcWgZ-hM3nVg-hM3sk8">James Vaughan</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a persuasive tool in imagining the possibilities of the future, Star Trek has the power and pull to immerse the individual completely through stories and characters that give meaning and purpose to our collective sense of identity and existence. </p>
<p>For instance, in the original series episode, called “Let that be your last battlefield” (1969), the conflict between two bi-colored humanoids named Lokai and Bele leads to questions of racial and political friction, assigning racial designations and bringing out the tensions of identity politics.</p>
<p>As with real life, there are no pat solutions but many consequences. </p>
<p>The science fiction genre, as part of popular culture, provides a seductive means of examining the intersections of the concerns of race, gender and sexuality in exciting and daring new ways such as, for instance, using Klingons as metaphors for Muslims and Vulcans for Jews. </p>
<p>The linking of past, present and future through subjects such as slavery, racism, colonization, feminism, reproductive technologies, homosexuality/homophobia, spirituality and religious fundamentalism, just to name a few, stimulates critical reexamination of today’s very real problems. </p>
<p>One way to do this, for example, is to ask probing questions so to get students thinking about ways in which interspecies conflicts among humans, Vulcans, Romulans, Klingons, Andorians, Betazoids, Cardassians and Bajorans, to name a few, are portrayed and how they mirror or parallel disagreements between today’s nations, races, genders, religions and classes. </p>
<p>The idea of creating futuristic spaces, places and experiences that are modeled on past and contemporary situations poses questions about the possibility of achieving optimistic futures and the inevitability of being left with pessimistic ones.</p>
<h2>Science fiction is about everything</h2>
<p>Counter to stereotype, science fiction is not only about the future of technology and science, but encompasses what the <a href="http://www.centerforfutureconsciousness.com/sf_novels.htm">writer and educator Thomas Lombardo</a> <a href="http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000220421/Contemporary-Futurist-Thought.aspx">calls</a> “the future of everything” – the future of society, culture, ethics, the environment, the human mind, races, genders, sex and sexuality. </p>
<p>It is in respect to the complex narratives about thoughts on the future of everything from a variety of perspectives that the Star Trek universe presents a challenge and is overwhelming even when restricted to the intersecting matters of race, gender and sexuality.</p>
<p>Of these three concerns, race is perhaps the most difficult to figure out. There is a constant struggle over what race means, and, in most instances, its definition and significance remain unresolved. </p>
<p>There are a host of characters from the Star Trek universe that speak to the logic and illogic of race, signaling the importance and timeliness of racial matters today. </p>
<p>Characters in the television series who are readily identified by the color of their skin include Uhura, Worf, Geordie Laforge, Guinan, Captain Benjamin Sisko and Tuvok. All of them can teach us something about contrived racial (and gender) categories that also go beyond skin color. </p>
<p>However, in order to think more deeply about race, we also have to look at what the series says about the power of whiteness and its tendency to reinforce racial as well as gender stereotypes.</p>
<p>Captain Kirk of the original series, the Prime Directive, and the United Federation of Planets all come to mind here. Characters such as Mr Spock, B’Elanna Torres, Odo and even Commander Data reference the complexity of ethnicity and racial mixtures disguised as hybrid alien species struggling for identity and a sense of belonging in an extended humanoid and technological universe.</p>
<h2>Relevance to our lives today</h2>
<p>These issues and the struggles they impose are important because they continue to resonate with us today and have direct bearing on the quality of our lives.</p>
<p>The process of teaching and learning about race, gender and sexuality through science fiction stories and technology in television and film can be challenging and even daunting. </p>
<p>But Star Trek may well be one of the more significant ways (even boldly so) through which to not only teach and learn about the past, the present and the future, but to willfully shape the contours of the latter. </p>
<p><em>This article is part of a series on unique courses.
Tomorrow: A view through the brewing class</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43098/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Smalls does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What can Star Trek teach us about today’s trek of life?James Smalls, Professor of Art History, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/428052015-07-14T10:10:37Z2015-07-14T10:10:37ZPhilosophical toolkit in tow, scholar travels to conflict zones<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202202/original/file-20180116-53292-185n64h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How can we incorporate philosophy in our daily lives?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/5784920249/in/photolist-21PHCFS-6CQ2L7-6y5h3e-qXhBCm-9Pcefi-douqBJ-hihrkG-CzJHfk-fpSTdz-7R6zmi-8VTmVC-fpSUsM-9ujeng-rrAXY-9vdNmB-6x8Wvv-okkiNU-8LnqMT-eMtX6D-XNVoLe-eMtXbR-HGcrGH-7iaTGY-fpehct-fpegWa-DMdvzE-21WmHE7-KB8z9d-eMT8J9">Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past few years, I’ve organized philosophy workshops around the world: with students at Palestinian and Indonesian universities, Hasidic Jews in New York, teenagers in Brazil and an <a href="http://www.canadahistory.com/sections/eras/newfrance/theiroquois.htm">Iroquois community in Canada</a>.</p>
<p>I chose the locations deliberately along various lines of conflict: Israel and Palestine, Islam and the West, religious orthodoxy and urban modernity, social and racial divisions in Brazil, and the struggle of Native Americans with the legacy of colonialism.</p>
<p>These conflicts raise fundamental questions: does God exist? Is piety worth it? Can violence be justified? What is social justice and how can we get there? Who should rule? And what does political self-determination require?</p>
<p>One aim of these workshops was to show that philosophy is useful to articulate such questions more clearly and to explore and refine answers to them.</p>
<p>In the discussions, viewpoints often clashed. A second aim of the workshops was to show that such clashes are a good thing – as long as they don’t turn into violence but fuel what I call a “culture of debate”: an intellectual space for debating issues we deeply care about, but also deeply disagree on. The widely differing cultural and religious backgrounds of my interlocutors allowed me to test this idea on the ground. </p>
<h2>Why do we choose to be just?</h2>
<p>Here are two snapshots from the workshop discussions:</p>
<p>One workshop took place in 2006 with Palestinian students at <a href="http://www.alquds.edu/en/">Al-Quds University</a> in East Jerusalem. Among others, we took up the question Plato raises at the beginning of the Republic: are we better off being just or unjust?</p>
<p>This is a radical question for a Muslim (or a Jew or Christian for that matter). You can discuss what a just person does, but not doubt whether walking on “the straight path” (as the Quran puts it) is a good thing.</p>
<p>My students took care not to stray from the straight path. During a break, Bisma, one of them, showed photos in class, some of which the male students and I weren’t allowed to see because she appears in them without the veil. To be seen unveiled by men is considered illicit.</p>
<p>But when I asked the students if they cherished justice itself or just its rewards, they were confused. Are people pious because they want to secure a spot in heaven or because they’re really convinced of what religion prescribes? </p>
<p>I then explained <a href="http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/jcanders/Ethics/ringgygesreadexcerpt.htm">Plato’s thought experiment</a>: “What if you had a magical ring that makes you invisible, so you can commit whatever injustices you like without fear of punishment?” Bisma said that with such a ring, she’d be tempted by injustice. So Plato got us to probe a fundamental question: why do we choose to be just or pious? </p>
<h2>Can we trust our convictions?</h2>
<p>At another workshop I met with <a href="http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/crossroads/religious-and-confessional-spaces/yeshayahu-balog-matthias-morgenstern-hasidism">Hasidic students</a> in Brooklyn in 2009. We read, among others, the account that the medieval <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/al-ghazali/">Muslim theologian al-Ghazālī</a> gave of his crisis of faith when he lost trust in the authority of “parents and teachers” – that is, the beliefs and values stemming from the contingent circumstances of our <a href="https://www.aub.edu.lb/fas/cvsp/Documents/reading_selections/CVSP%20202/Al-ghazali.pdf">upbringing</a>.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87979/original/image-20150709-10904-1nw4ike.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87979/original/image-20150709-10904-1nw4ike.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87979/original/image-20150709-10904-1nw4ike.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87979/original/image-20150709-10904-1nw4ike.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87979/original/image-20150709-10904-1nw4ike.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87979/original/image-20150709-10904-1nw4ike.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87979/original/image-20150709-10904-1nw4ike.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Socrates and his disciples.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>That happened when he realized that he might have been just as fervent a Jew or Christian as he used to be a Muslim, had he been brought up in a Jewish or Christian community.</p>
<p>Jacob, one of the students, described a similar childhood experience: “I would get up very early to study Torah for a couple of hours before <em>shacharis</em> (the morning prayer). On the way to the synagogue, I noticed that Muslims were already praying in the mosque. So I asked myself: if we’re both passionate enough about our religion to get up while it’s still dark – how can I be sure that my religion is true and theirs is false?”</p>
<p>Experiences like al-Ghazālī’s and Jacob’s show that some of our deepest convictions may not be all that well-founded.</p>
<h2>Between war and peace</h2>
<p>Al-Ghazālī’s crisis of faith also helps to explain the value of what I call a “culture of debate.”</p>
<p>Consider the <a href="https://www.isca.ox.ac.uk/">bewildering diversity</a> of beliefs and values, all held with great conviction, across different times and cultures.</p>
<p>This should give us pause and make us wonder whether our beliefs and values are the correct ones even if we are convinced that they are. Don’t they often just stem from the circumstances of our upbringing as al-Ghazālī stresses: parents, teachers, and whatever other influences we happened to be exposed to: from media, fashion, and marketing to political rhetoric and religious ideology? A culture of debate offers us opportunities to test how well founded our beliefs really are. </p>
<p>Let me illustrate this through an example.</p>
<p>A while back, I became friends with Egyptian students when I was studying Arabic in Cairo. The better we got to know each other, the more we became concerned about our very different ways of life. </p>
<p>They wanted to save my soul from eternally burning in hell by converting me to Islam. I wanted to save them from wasting their real life for an illusory afterlife by converting them to my secular worldview. </p>
<p>“Can one prove God’s existence?” was one question we discussed. </p>
<p>I argued that one cannot; they offered a proof. I pointed out a flaw; they came up with an <a href="http://www.historyofphilosophy.net/avicenna-god">improved version</a>. The discussion ended inconclusively.</p>
<p>I didn’t convert to Islam, nor did my Egyptian friends become atheists. But I realized that I hadn’t properly thought through some of my most basic convictions – from my atheism to my idea about how to live. In the academic and social circles I normally move in, these convictions were not challenged in the same way.</p>
<p>So debates across cultural boundaries can take on the role of the <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/">Socractic gadfly</a> : if we engage someone who doesn’t share our cultural narratives, we must argue for our views. </p>
<p>A culture of debate steers a middle way between war and peace: We shouldn’t gun down people we disagree with, but we also shouldn’t get mired in multicultural complacency – as if our differences were no reason for disagreement in the first place, but something beautiful – a multicultural “mosaic.” </p>
<p>If we imagine the world engaged in a global conversation, there would be lots of issues we wouldn’t see eye to eye on: from God and the origin of the universe to how one should live, from gender differences and education to the relationship between political and religious power. </p>
<h2>Making philosophy part of our life</h2>
<p>Engaging people who disagree with us is a chance to examine the beliefs and values we normally take for granted. One way to equip citizens for productive discussions is to convey to them the practice of philosophy: philosophical techniques – logical and semantic tools that help us clarify our views and make and respond to arguments. And philosophical virtues – loving the truth more than winning an argument and trying our best to understand the viewpoint of the opponent.</p>
<p>The five workshops I organized and describe in my <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10447.html">new book</a>, Teaching Plato in Palestine: Philosophy in a Divided World, aim to show that integrating this practice of philosophy into our personal and public lives is indeed something worthwhile.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42805/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carlos Fraenkel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Does God exist? Is piety worth it? Can violence be justified? Philosophy can offer a way to engage with these questions on which there are often widely differing beliefs.Carlos Fraenkel, James McGill Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Studies, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.