This seminar aims at students with previous experience in volunteering programs or in current voluntary engagement, opening reflection spaces for connecting real life experiences with scientific discourses and methods.
The underlying question, that the seminar title is asking, is based on the book “Philosophy for a better world” by Floris van den Berg (2013). In his book, van den Berg introduces the principle of “universal subjectivism” for exploring the diverse notions of “doing good” and “what is better” through the interchange of perspectives. With a methods focus, and based on students‘ own experiences, in this seminar we will explore the diversity of perspectives in relation to "doing good through volunteering" and "what is a better world through volunteering", taking various scientific discourses (e.g., sustainability, forms of knowledge and learning, care work, equal opportunities, effective altruism), and various scientific methods to research such perspectives (e.g., qualitative interviews, quantitative surveys, focus groups) into account. Students are encouraged to bring in their own experiences as case studies to critically reflect on their own motivations and learning outcomes, the structures within which the experience took/takes place, and the implications of the experience on an individual and (global-) societal level.
- Teacher: Dagmar Berg-Mölleken