Economics and General Education
Chris Bell and Jeff Konz
2010 COPLAC Conference
UNC Asheville
June 2010
Economics and General Education
Economics at UNC Asheville and the
Integrative Liberal Studies Program
I.
Liberal Studies Introductory Colloquiua (Econ 179, WMST 179)
Econ and the Spoken Word (Fall 2004)
Jelly Bean Economics (Fall 2006, 2008, 2010)
What’s the answer to Alfie’s question? (Fall 2005)
What’s for dinner? (Fall 2007, 2009, 2010)
Stocks, bonds, and the Wall Street Journal (379-Fall 2005)
American Obsession with Economic Growth (379-Spring 2006)
North Carolina Women (WMST 179) (Fall 2008, 2010)
Global Poverty: Will the poor be always with us? (Fall 2007, 2009)
Economics and General Education
Economics at UNC Asheville and the
Integrative Liberal Studies Program
II.
Liberal Studies Senior Colloquium: “Cultivating Citizenship in the
Contemporary World” (LS 479)
Economic content:
--Economic globalization
--How markets work
--Ethical justifications and critiques of markets
--Economic development and human development
--Global economic and financial institutions
Economics and General Education
Economics at UNC Asheville and the
Integrative Liberal Studies Program
III. Humanities Program
--Members of the department have taught all four courses
--Economic content:
Hum 324: The Modern World
--Adam Smith, laissez-faire, invisible hand
--Industrial revolution, growth, and alienation
--Karl Marx
--John Maynard Keynes
Hum 414: The Contemporary World
--Global poverty
--Globalization, economic and political
--Inequality and conceptions of economic justice
Economics and General Education
Economics at UNC Asheville and the
Integrative Liberal Studies Program
IV. Topical Clusters
Globalization and the Environment—
Econ 250: Economic Globalization
Econ 314: Economic Growth and Development
Technology, Society, and Culture—
Econ102: Principles of Microeconomics (one instructor’s)
Transformations in Appalachia—
Econ 245: Land Economics
Food for Thought—
Econ 245: Land Economics
Econ 273: Economics of Food (new class)
Applied Ethics —
ESI 101: Introduction to Ethics and Social Institutions
Economics and General Education
Economics at UNC Asheville and the
Integrative Liberal Studies Program
V. Intensives (Part 1)
Writing-Intensive:
102: Principles of Microeconomics (only one instructor)
314: Economic Growth and Development
345: Economics of Natural Resources
480: Senior Research in Economics
ESI 101: Introduction to Ethics and Social Institutions
ESI 490: Senior Research in Ethics and Social Institutions
Information-Literacy Intensive:
380: Approaches to Research in Economics
ESI 490: Senior Research in Ethics and Social Institutions
Economics and General Education
Economics at UNC Asheville and the
Integrative Liberal Studies Program
V. Intensives (Part II)
Diversity-Intensive:
230: Sports and Economics
330: Women, Men, and Work
Quantitative-Intensive:
101: Principles of Macroeconomics
102: Principles of Microeconomics (most sections)
306: Managerial Finance
360: Mathematical Economics
Economics and General Education
Economics at UNC Asheville and the
Integrative Liberal Studies Program
VI. Governance of General Education
Members of the department have served as
--Member, ILS Oversight Committee (twice)
--Chair, Information Literacy Intensive Subcommittee
--Chair, Quantitative Intensive Subcommittee
--Member, Writing Intensive Subcommittee
--Coordinator, Applied Ethics Cluster
Economics and General Education

What does economics have to offer to
general education?
A (unique?) combination:
Quantitative tools
Analytical reasoning
Social and historical context
Policy decision-making
Communication and rhetoric
Moral reasoning
Economics and General Education

What does economics have to offer to
general education?
1) Freestanding courses in economics, either introductions to the
discipline or applications of economics to particular fields.
2) A particular method of analysis with applications to multiple
fields and questions.
3) Collaboration with colleagues in other disciplines in learning
communities or interdisciplinary courses and programs.
4) A paradigmatic example of Enlightenment rationalism.
Economics and General Education

Why should economists participate in
general education?
1) University citizenship, moral duty.
Not convinced?
2) Improvements in our economics courses, particularly by
incorporating humanistic elements.
3) Intellectual growth and new scholarly projects which cross
disciplines.