In the blockbuster movie, Barbie, the title character has a crisis of conscience. While Billie Eilish’s hit song plays in the background, we see Barbie wondering what she was made for—both literally and figuratively. But we all know that Barbie’s not the only one who has pondered this very big question. In this course, we’ll attempt to answer it for ourselves. We’ll begin with an exploration of how we are hard-wired to make some ways of thinking and feeling easier than others and the implications this has for our daily lives. Then, we’ll move into an examination of how external factors interact with this “wiring” to affect how we experience the world—everything from where we live to how we’ve been educated to the intersecting systems of oppression and privilege we experience (i.e., what we are being made for). At the end of the course, we’ll examine what we personally care about and how we might convert those values into action (i.e., what I will make of myself?).
NOTE: This course is offered as a hybrid but is primarily lecture (less than 50% online). Note required meeting time and location for this section.