American Conversations
American Conversations is a learning community that introduces students in their first two years to the liberal arts through an integrated sequence of four courses. Over that time we pursue the conversations that have shaped the history and culture of the United States and seek to live Thomas Jefferson's dream that free and educated citizens should learn to understand what is going on in the world, and to keep their part of it going right.
Questions about America, American values, and its role in the world are among the most important of the twenty-first century: but what exactly are America's values? What do we mean when we talk about freedom, rights, and justice for all? What is the American dream, and where did it come from? These are only a few of the topics taken up in American Conversations.
Like the college's other Conversations programs, American Conversations is open to students of all interests who like to read, discuss, write about ideas and look at issues through the lenses of several disciplines at once. This isn't your typical history survey, but a deeper conversation that moves through history, literature, art, and a variety of social sciences. Most of all, it's a community where students learn by having conversations -- with their professors, with the material, and with each other.
