Liberal Arts Education in the Anthropocene and the PBL Living Lab : Focusing on Korea University's Core Liberal Arts Course LIBERTY JUSTICE TRUTH Ⅱ

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the meaning and possibility of convergence liberal arts education in the Anthropocene. This article introduces the development process of the LIBERTY JUSTICE TRUTH Ⅱ, core curriculum at Korea University, and describes the educational significance of PBL and the living lab, which are at the core of the course. The liberal arts education of the Anthropocene should move towards the transformation of social and technological systems for sustainability. PBL is gaining attention as a learner-centered educational methodology, and the ‘living lab’ is emerging as a methodology that expands the social and public role of universities by emphasizing active linkage and cooperation with local communities. The characteristics of the PBL process of the LIBERTY JUSTICE TRUTH Ⅱ course are as follows. First, it implements a student-centered teaching model. Second, it establishes a co-agents model that unites and cooperates through a network of actors with diverse perspectives, knowledge, and experiences. Third, it implements a living lab that solves social problems practiced by learners as citizens and educational subjects. In the Anthropocene, humans need to change their thinking and behavior and their relationships with other living and non-living beings. Since it requires students to think about and put into practice a fundamental transformation of the human condition, the design idea of the LIBERTY JUSTICE TRUTH Ⅱ course embodies the essence of liberal arts education in the Anthropocene. The course, which combines PBL and a living lab, has practical significance as a liberal arts education program for the transformation of contemporary thinking and behavior.