| Rationale:
The humanities and the social sciences comprise the subjects and
disciplines that use various modes of rational inquiry to understand
human nature and experience, organization and change in human
societies, the nature of the world, and rational inquiry itself.
An education in the humanities and social sciences requires reading
significant works, gaining an exposure to a variety of methodologies,
and learning to apply these in written exposition. An education
in the basic humanistic disciplines is a necessary part of being
truly educated -- of becoming a citizen with a broad knowledge
of human cultures and with well-considered moral, philosophical,
aesthetic, and intellectual convictions.
Each course in the
general humanities category of the General Education Requirements
will provide instruction and guidance that help students to:
- understand and
engage in the human experience through the interpretation
of human culture and artifacts (this objective must be the
central focus of each humanities course); and
- become aware of
the act of interpretation itself as a critical form of knowing
in the humanities; and
- make academic
arguments about the human experience using reasons and evidence
for supporting those reasons that are appropriate to the humanities.
In
addition, each course appearing on one of the specific humanties
lists meets the objectives for the specific category as
detailed below:
Objectives for
courses in the category of Literature:
Each course within
the literature category of the General Education Requirements
in the Humanities will provide instruction and guidance that
help students to:
- understand and
engage in the human experience through the interpretation
of literature (this objective must be the central focus of
each literature course); and
- become aware
of the act of interpretation itself as a critical form of
knowing in the study of literature; and
- make scholarly
arguments about literature using reasons and ways of supporting
those reasons that are appropriate to the field of study.
Objectives for
courses in the category of History:
Each course in the
history category of the General Education Requirements will
provide instruction and guidance that help students to:
- understand and
engage in the human experience through the interpretation
of evidence from the past situated in geotemporal context
(this objective must be the central focus of each history
course); and
- become aware of
the act of historical interpretation itself, through which
historians use varieties of evidence to offer perspectives
on the meaning of the past; and
- make academic
arguments about history using reasons and evidence for supporting
those reasons that are appropriate to the field of study.
Objectives for
courses in the category of Philosophy:
Each course in the
philosophy category of the General Education Requirements will
provide instruction and guidance that help students to:
- understand and
engage in the human experience through the philosophical study
of human thought, human values, and the world (this objective
must be the central focus of each philosophy course); and
- become aware
of the acts of understanding and engagement itself as critical
parts of the study of philosophy; and
- make philosophical
arguments using reasons and ways of supporting those reasons
that are appropriate to the field of study.
Objectives for
courses in the category of Religion:
Each course in the
religion category of the General Education Requirements will
provide instruction and guidance that help students to:
- understand and
engage in the human experience through the interpretation
of religious cultures and artifacts (this objective must be
the central focus of each religion course); and
- become aware
of the act of interpretation itself as a critical form of
knowing in the study of religion; and
- make arguments
about religion using reasons and ways of supporting those
reasons that are appropriate to the field of study.
Objectives for
courses in the category of Visual and Performing Arts:
Courses in the visual
and performing arts deal with aesthetic, personal, practical,
and cultural significance of the fine and applied arts.
Each course in the
visual and performing arts category of the General Education
Requirements will provide instruction and guidance that help
students to:
- deepen their understanding
of aesthetic, cultural, and historical dimensions of artistic
traditions; and
- strengthen their
ability to interpret and make critical judgments about the
arts through the analysis of structure, form, and style of
specific works; and
- strengthen their
ability to create, recreate, or evaluate art based upon techniques
and standards appropriate to the genre.
Objectives for
courses in the category of Social Sciences:
Each course in the
social science category of the General Education Requirements
will provide instruction and guidance that help students to:
- understand at
least one of the following: human behavior, mental processes,
organizational processes, or institutional processes; and
- understand how
social scientific methods may be applied to the study of human
behavior, mental processes, organizational processes, or institutional
processes; and
- use theories
or concepts of the social sciences to understand real-world
problems, including the underlying origins of such problems.
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