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Section Description:
With a focus on current events at both global and local levels, this class teaches students how to be rigorous and effective investigators. To better frame the concept of “our world,” we will begin with a brief history of place, taking UC Berkeley as a case study and discussing the role that the university and its research has played and continues to play in public life. This history will be complimented by close examinations of primary sources and discussions on finding and utilizing primary sources effectively. Tracking this history to the present moment, we will then map our conversations onto current events for a larger discussion on writing research papers using primary and secondary sources. Some of the issues that we will cover in our readings and discussions will include: how and where we find our information, what types of information and what sources of information we find valuable, and what we do with the information we have access to. Over the course of the semester, students will embark on a process of discovery related to a key issue within their chosen topic, to determine where, how, and why their research holds particular relevance to our world today.
