Area E Guidelines (prior to summer 2020)

In the sections that follow, you will see the specific learning goals for each area. Together, we refer to these requirements as "Guidelines."

• Generally speaking, "Educational Objectives" refer to what students will learn by completing that sub area while "Course Criteria" refer to how the course is designed to support that learning.

 

These guidelines pertain to courses in catalogs 2019-20 or prior.

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Area E: Lifelong Learning and Self-Development

formerly Area D4 on catalogs 2017-19 or prior. For more information on Area D guidelines, click here.

Introduction

Area E: Educational Objectives 

Area E: Course Criteria

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Introduction

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Areas E: Lifelong Learning and Self-Development provides students with a basic understanding of humans, their institutions, and their social achievements in both contemporary and historical contexts. Courses in this area prepare a student for the demanding tasks of civic participation, life-long learning, the understanding of self and of the human community, and the achievement of perspective in time, space, and human diversity.

Courses in this area should encourage students to see themselves in context with others, and to see the human experience as something that is both uniquely individual and communally comparable. By placing basic knowledge in a larger context, these courses provide a vision of why this area is an important component of General Education.

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Area E: Educational Objectives

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Courses in Area E must meet THREE of the following objectives:

After completing the foundation courses in Area D/E, students should have an enhanced ability to understand:

• EO 1 — Physiological, psychological, and social influences on thinking and behavior; how the mind and body work in concert; issues of "nature" versus "nurture"; personal development; and the importance of maintaining physical and mental health;

• EO 2 — How human beings act in concert; historically how communities have grouped together; basic interpersonal relationships (social, economic, political, and legal); the constant interplay in human society between the protection and elevation of the individual and the welfare of the community; how individual actions affect the whole;

• EO 3 — Organizations of public order, of commerce and labor, and of society (family, education, government, religion, and economy) and their origins; how humans create institutions and what they expect from them; and how institutions function to first reflect then shape human society;

• EO 4 — The impact of history on the present and the future; how history affects the study of history; the importance of mythology; historical development in multidisciplinary terms (economic, political, sociological, institutional, intellectual, legal, and scientific); and the development of both western and non-western cultures;

• EO 5 — How the environment affects human behavior; the human impact on the environment; the importance of geographic and environmental factors on the historical evolution of human society and economy; the interconnectedness of the planet, its natural resources, and its population;

• EO 6 — The human experience in comparative terms by examining the diversity of experience from both individual and group perspectives with special attention to the issues of gender, ethnicity, and racial diversity on our planet;

• EO 7 — The importance of empirical information and appropriate methodologies.

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Area E: Course Criteria

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Area E courses must meet EACH of the following criteria:

• CR 1 — Provides an understanding and appreciation of the self as an integrated physiological, psychological, and social being; and addresses issues relevant to the physical, emotional, intellectual, and social aspects of well-being;

• CR 2 — Presents the theories and methodologies used to examine the self, their contexts, and their advantages and disadvantages;

• CR 3 — Provides an understanding of the commonalties and individual differences among humans, and how these are expressed across the human life span and in a social or cultural context;

• CR 4 — Provides an opportunity for students to see practical application of classroom material for enhancing their own personal development;

• CR 5 — Includes an appropriate writing component.

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