Minding Your Manners

Catalog description

Whether we realize it or not, manners and etiquette saturate every part of our lives. These codes of conduct regulate everything from how we address our friends, teachers, and colleagues to how we eat and drink, dress, laugh, smile, sit, and stand. Governing both public and private life, they tell us how to conduct ourselves on special occasions and guide us in the most workaday circumstances. on the face of it, these codes may appear trivial and superficial. But violations of etiquette are not infrequently met with dismay, anger, or even shock reactions that indicate there is something more going on under the surface. This course is devoted to understanding the nature and significance of these conventions. Why should we care about manners? What is the ethical significance of etiquette? Relatedly, what is the importance of civility? Who determines what counts as proper or civil? How might codes of propriety or civility be abused or cause harm? In this course, we will consider these questions and more through the lens of the arts and philosophy. Senior standing required.