HNRS-120 | Global Service Traditions

Full Title: Global Service Traditions

Topic Description:

"Service to others" is a fundamental concept in all human societies. What motivates the human desire to serve? This course focuses on building an anthropological understanding of varying traditions of service by investigating the historical, economic, and social motivations underlying them. We'll read notable ethnographic and biographical depictions of service, analysze theoretical positions speaking both for and against attempts to improve social welfare, and engage in a process of self-reflection about our own motivations for service. In order to facilitate self-discovery, this course requires you to engage with communities eyond the classroom via five service experiences of your choosing, some or all of which will occur off campus.

Counts as Global? Yes

Topic Approved: November 2015