Sustainable Development Goals and General Education Core Courses Offered by the Department of English

Abstract

This paper proposes to include the United Nations’ seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in core curriculum for twofold benefit of improving the higher education system in Pakistan according to contemporary global needs and to advance the overall condition of the country via SDGs implementation at grassroots level. I recommend incorporating SDGs in academia while using the dialogic teaching methodology proposed by Freire. Theoretical framework proposed in Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed endorses freedom, critical thinking, and shared authority. To elaborate, I’ll discuss my experience of teaching an advanced writing core course with two aims: One, to teach the regulated course contents to help students improve their writing and presentation skills; second, to help the students enhance their critical thinking and train them to be more conscientious citizens. The findings suggest implementing these practices of freedom, critical thinking, and shared authority while adapting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the English department’s core curriculum.