Philosophy 320, Markets and Morals, was an honors class that I took the fall of 2019 and was also a perspectives course. Prior to taking this class I did not know a lot about economics or different economic systems. This was one of the most enlightening and helpful courses I have taken thus far at Longwood University. My professor Dr. Blincoe provided us with rigorous work and stimulating class discussions throughout this course. I had not taken a class that had been structured in this style, where the majority of the class was discussion provided by the students. Dr. Blincoe was able to guide our class discussions to help me learn and think about the world in a new light. I was pushed to really dig deep and think about what my opinions were on economic systems and why I thought so. I was able to reflect on my past and why I have these beliefs while also being constantly provided with new information to guide my thinking in the future. Another very helpful part of this course was the one on one discussions with my professor that took the place of tests. We were to plan an argument on which economic system we believed was best and argue that one-on-one with our professor in a professional and civil manor. I admit that although I was not very good at these discussions, with me being used to taking question tests where the information is very specific what it was going to be on, this was definitely a change of pace. This perspectives course pushed me to grow and think in ways I would have never done before. I learned how important it is to know how to speak your opinion and also that it is important to have an opinion on these world topics. By far one of the most interesting and helpful courses I have taken thus far and I would recommend this class to anyone. No matter what major you are I find that this course was just as relevant to me and my life, even though I am a nursing major.
One of the ways we were pushed to reflect on our past and to bring out our current opinions on economic systems was to write one page papers discussing our opinions. This time of reflection gave me a chance to really think about what has made me who I am today. Below is an example that I completed during this course. In this paper we were to describe our thoughts on freedom in relation to work. This was extremely helpful and this course really made me appreciate that I am a nursing major with this goal to help people and have a new challenge every day where I can have the freedom to exercise that.