URBS 235 - Quality of Life

1 unit(s)

(Same as SOCI 235) In a world of cultural diversity, uneven development, and political conflict, enhancing quality of life is arguably the unifying principle in our ambitions for social planning and personal life. But just what does “quality of life” mean? How did it become a preeminent concern for policy-makers and the public at large? And what is at stake if we subordinate other conceptions of the common good to this most subjective and individualistic of ideas? This course takes up these questions through an examination of quality of life’s conceptual dimensions and social contexts. Topics include global development policy, patient-doctor conflicts over the right to die, the pressures of work-life balance, the influence of consumer marketing, the voluntary simplicity movement, the “quality of life city,” and the cultural divides between conservative “Red States” and liberal “Blue States.” Leonard Nevarez.

Two 75-minute periods.

Not offered in 2019/20.