Development of contemporary issues courses: pitfalls and opportunities

Area of Science:

• Animal Studies
• Higher Education Pedagogy

Background:

• Contemporary issues courses are increasingly common, with a notable rise in those addressing human exploitation of animals.
• Ohio State University's general education curriculum mandates senior students complete a contemporary world issues course.
• The College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (FAES) offers five such courses, with one focusing on animal use by humans.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and teaching of a contemporary issues course focused on human-animal interactions.
• To highlight the opportunities and challenges associated with establishing and delivering such a course within a university setting.

Main Methods:

• Course development within a university's general education curriculum framework.
• Continuous offering of the course since 1990, with increased frequency since 1992.
• Addressing challenges including course approval, interdisciplinary visibility, instructor training, and bias management.

Main Results:

• The course, 'Issues concerning the use of animals by humans,' was the first from FAES in its category.
• The course has been consistently offered, demonstrating sustained student and institutional interest.
• Similar positive experiences were reported by instructors of comparable courses at 11 other universities.

Conclusions:

• Developing and teaching contemporary issues courses, particularly those on animal use, provides significant benefits for faculty and institutions.
• Such courses require ongoing adaptation and careful management of pedagogical and personal challenges.
• The positive experiences suggest a broader applicability and value of these specialized courses in higher education.