Pacific Seminar 1 is a shared intellectual experience with a uniform syllabus and common course reader that introduces students to the question “What is a Good Society?” The discussion-oriented course is designed to expose students to the rigor of university study by reading, discussing, and writing about the ideas and arguments of historical and contemporary writers who address the following aspects of a good society: (1) College learning: Perspectives on experience and knowledge, (2) Self, Family, and Community: Relations among familiars and neighbors, (3) Civil Society, Citizenship, and Governance: Relations among citizens within a nation, and (4) Global Issues: Relations across borders. Pacific Seminar 1 develops skills you will need to succeed in any field of study at the University and beyond. The course thus represents an introduction to general education in the best sense of the term: education for self-examining and self-governing citizens.