NEH Enduring Questions Course on the Concept of the Neighbor

FAIN: AQ-248267-16

Valparaiso University (Valparaiso, IN 46383-4520)
Allison E. Schuette (Project Director: September 2015 to June 2019)

The development and teaching of a new undergraduate course on questions about neighborliness.

This Enduring Questions course will pose the question: who is my neighbor? Questions of how to relate to those who are not family, kin, or clan have ancient roots in our religious and philosophical traditions, and how we define the neighbor and our responsibility towards the neighbor remains deeply relevant today. Is proximity any longer the best or most meaningful measure of this given relationship, or does the neighbor now include people in the next county, across the country, or on a different continent? And what are my responsibilities to this neighbor? How do they differ from my responsibilities to a family member, a friend, a spouse, or a stranger? Will certain conditions promote or inhibit neighborliness, and how much control do I have over those conditions? Students from a variety of majors and programs at Valparaiso University will be invited to explore these and other questions in a humanities, reading-intensive course.

Media Coverage

VU professor awarded grant to develop question-driven course (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Rob Earnshaw
Publication: Northwest Indiana Times
Date: 6/2/2016
Abstract: Allison Schuette discusses how her new course, Who's My Neighbor, grows out of work she has done in Northwest Indiana. The course is made possible by an Enduring Questions grant from the NEH.
URL: http://www.nwitimes.com/business/jobs-and-employment/workplace/college-spotlight/vu-professor-awarded-grant-to-develop-question-driven-course/article_8d0c40c9-0ec2-5126-96f0-33fc0b2a9248.html