My philosophy 320 class, Markets and Morals, was very eye opening. I feel like I learned so much in this class about where I stand on my beliefs about politics and government. Dr. Blincoe was an amazing professor who really challenged the class to understand and learn about all perspectives, such as capitalism, socialism, and distributism. Throughout the semester we were required to read readings that were assigned prior to each class and we would have reading checks on them to test our knowledge. I learned I retain information best when I highlight what I am reading. I think what helped me grow as a student and a person the most in this class was participating in the required one on one discussions. These discussions, aimed at instilling skills necessary to successfully argue your beliefs, helped me become more confident in what I believe in. Even though I came into this class having strong beliefs, I learned a lot about other perspectives which ultimately made me more confident in my belief system. In preparation for the one on one discussions, we were to complete bibliographies that correlated with the topic at hand. Completing the bibliographies helped me understand the importance of educating yourself prior to debating a point. Most notably, I learned the importance of educating myself on possible counterarguments which would help me successfully argue my point. Throughout this class I found that I became a much better speaker and became more confident in standing up for what I believe in.

The artifact below is one of the bibliographies I completed prior to my one on one discussion defending capitalism. The information I researched helped me gather information to help me support my argument successfully.