Learning Communitites

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Fall 2012 Course Offerings
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Learning Communities

At Middle Georgia College, students now have the option to enroll in Learning Community (LC) courses. These courses will increase shared knowledge and build shared knowing. LCs seek to construct an educational experience that is not just an unconnected array of courses, but rather a form of study that ensures a coherent educational experience, one that is intentionally structured to promote student self-examination.

Students come to share, as a community of learners, a body of knowledge that is itself connected. Students then begin to take an active role in the construction of knowledge and do so in ways which require them to learn together as connected learners. To accomplish these purposes, MGC has constructed specific goals for LCs that are achieved by the end of the semester.

The MGC Community Model

Learning Community classes at MGC all have a common theme. One major assignment is shared by all LC students that they complete in their individual course. Additionally, LC students are required to participate in events on campus (readings, guest lectures, movie nights, festivals, etc.) that reflect the campus LC theme.

Students may enroll in as many LC courses as they wish. The more LC courses the student selects, the more comprehensive their education becomes.

2012-2013 Theme: Cultural Collisions

What are cultural collisions, and how do they occur? No matter the degree of intensity, collisions occur in large part because of our assumptions about differences based on language, class, race and physical appearance.In 2012-2013, Learning Community students will find themselves challenging their preconceived notions, working through metaphorical and physical cultural collisions, and coming to an understanding of how these collisions impact their day-to-day lives.

Books chosen for the theme:

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is the first book of a trilogy set in a future dystopia.Following cataclysmic war, North America becomes the new nation of Panem which is divided into 12 districts.To keep the masses both repressed and entertained, the Capitol periodically hosts Roman “bread and circuses” style Hunger Games that pit two children from each district against each other in a fight for survival.The Hunger Games follows the young tribute Katniss Everdeen as she navigates political intrigue, the media frenzy surrounding the Games, and the boundaries of her own heart.The Hunger Games has been adapted to the big screen and premieres March 23, 2012. (FICTION)

Zeitoun, by Dave Eggars, is the true story of one family caught between the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina. Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a house-painting business in New Orleans. In August of 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approaches, Kathy evacuates with their four young children, leaving Zeitoun to watch over the business. In the days following the storm he travels the city by canoe, feeding abandoned animals and helping elderly neighbors. Then, on September 6th, police officers arrest him in his home. Zeitoun has been named one of the best books of the decade by Entertainment Weekly and has been a notable or starred book by dozens of newspapers nation-wide.It has been chosen by over 100 Colleges and Universities as part of FYR and Freshmen Experience curricula. (NONFICTION)

ZEITOUN

The Zeitoun Foundation
Zeitoun Reading Guide
Internet Tendencies
Dave Eggers' Bio

THE HUNGER GAMES

Homepage for The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games Workout
The Hunger Games Reading Guide
The Hunger Games and Philosophy

Learning Communities

The MGC Community Model

2012-2013 Theme: Cultural Collisions

ZEITOUN

THE HUNGER GAMES

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