General Education and Social Imagination

Abstract

This study began from the problem that universities should teach how to survive competition in the society where never-ending competition prevails and self-help discourse are dominant, and colleges specialized in nurturing technical talents should raise individuals with a strong sense of community though educating how to cooperate with each other. Universities should reflect on the current educational practices that emphasize education of supremacy, and foster sociological imagination to rebuild communities and citizenship. The sociological imagination, which connects individuals to the social structure, enables us to perceive current problems, and generates social fiction that leads us to a new vision for the society we want, contributing to new changes and practices. This study examined 〈Share Leadership〉, a course in general education provided by Ewha Womans University, and explored possibilities of the imagination to support the production of alternative value and knowledge. Courses in general education should play a role in identifying current issues through sociological imagination and examining possible solutions while continuously nurturing the value of each individual as a social being.