TOI-5 Individual Values and Social Institutions

Informed citizenship and leadership call on an appreciation of how society is organized on multiple scales, from individual values and actions to social institutions and economic systems.

Courses within this Topic of Inquiry category must meet the following TOI-5 Learning Objective:

TOI-5 Learning Objective: Using theories and methods of social scientific or humanistic inquiry, students will be able to critically examine how institutions and values are justified and/or how they relate to political, social, economic, or familial institutions.

Sample Course Objectives

  • Demonstrate openness to competing ideas, theories, methods, and perspectives
  • Apply social science methods and objective reasoning to societal conflicts or ethical dilemmas
  • Relate knowledge and skills obtained from the study of ethics and theories of social responsibility to personal, professional, and/or institutional decision-making
  • Explain how one’s membership within a culture affects one’s values and life experiences
  • Practice shared inquiry into the nature and development of individual values
  • Evaluate the origins and processes of political, social, economic or familial institutions in the context of a dynamic global community
  • Define the political, ethical, economic, or social trade-offs reflected in individual and group decisions