GE Program Goals

C2: Educational Objectives and Criteria - Introduction

Lower-division foundation courses in Area C provide a basic understanding of the traditions, values, and achievements found in literature, philosophy, and the fine and performing arts. Courses in this area foster, encourage, and improve students' ability to understand and respond--cognitively and affectively--to cultural achievements in both verbal and non-verbal forms.

Foundation courses in the arts and humanities prepare students to see achievements within their broad historical and cultural context. These courses seek to improve and encourage students' ability to read with critical judgment and write with clarity, emphasizing writing as an integral part of the process of learning and discovery. They also cultivate an awareness of language and the arts as forms of expression valuable both in themselves and for developing critical awareness. By placing basic knowledge in a larger context, these courses provide a vision of why this area is an important component of general education.

Lower-division courses in C1 - C3 must fulfill EACH of the following objectives:
After completing the foundation courses in Area C, students should have an enhanced ability to:

C1 - C3:  Lower-Division Educational Objectives

EO 1  understand the possibilities and limitations of language as a symbolic and expressive medium; differentiate between formal and metaphorical language;

EO 2  read with insight, engagement, detachment, and discrimination; sustain an extended line of reasoning through both narrative and thematic development;

EO 3  recognize crucial historical developments within the arts and humanities; appreciate the significance of major literary, philosophic, and artistic works;

EO 4  understand the historical development of issues in the humanities in significant periods prior to and including the twentieth century; understand the ways that historical context can illuminate current problems and concerns;

EO 5  grasp relevant aspects of the relationship of the arts and humanities to science and technology;

EO   appreciate non-verbal forms of understanding and expression; appreciate the aesthetic and historical development of one or more of the visual or performing arts; understand the relationship between form and content;

EO 7  understand currently accepted critical standards; understand the advantages and limitations of various schools of reasoning;

EO 8  appreciate the relative cultural significance of canonical and non-canonical works of literature, philosophy, and the arts.

Lower-division courses in C2 must meet EACH of the following criteria:
The expanded course proposal and course outline must clearly indicate how the course:

CR2:  Criteria for Lower-Division Courses in Philosophy

CR 1  provides broad historical perspective on philosophy (including at least one ancient or medieval work, at least one modern work, and no more than one work from the twentieth century);

CR 2  encourages an expansive understanding of philosophic achievements and their relationship to other philosophic achievements;

CR 3  provides perspective on the implications of holding a particular philosophical position;

CR 4  develops the skills of reading with insight, engagement, discrimination, and detachment;

C5  develops the skills to analyze and evaluate a variety of philosophical positions;

C6  relies upon primary texts for readings;

C7  focuses primarily on major, recognized accomplishments in philosophy;

C8  serves as a writing-intensive course in GE.

Writing Intensive courses are located in Areas A1, A3, C1, C2, C4, and D5. These courses  include a minimum of 3000 words of writing and base 50% or more of a student's grade on written work.   Faculty teaching Writing Intensive courses will provide feedback to students about their writing to help them grasp the effectiveness of their writing in various disciplinary contexts. A significant selection of writing-intensive upper-division courses will be made available.

The GE Program is committed to providing the resources to support both the required writing component and Writing Intensive coursework. The kind and amount of writing will be a factor in determining class sizes, and a Writing IN Generally  Every Discipline (WINGED) program will provide support and training for faculty.