Template and Curriculum

Area C Guidelines (GE 2020)


Area C: Arts and Humanities

Introduction

In Area C students explore the human condition as expressed in literature, philosophy, and the arts. Courses in this area expose students to broad achievements in the arts and humanities that changed and/or continue to change how we understand ourselves emotionally, intellectually, and culturally. These courses seek to improve and encourage students' ability to read with critical judgment and write with clarity. These courses emphasize 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 the arts and humanities are important to well-rounded university graduates. Lower-division courses provide a broad foundation for in depth experiences in upper-division courses. Activities in Area C1 may include participation in individual aesthetic, creative experiences; however, courses that primarily emphasize skills development and/or professional preparation are excluded from Area C. Students may take courses in languages other than English in partial fulfillment of the Area C requirement if the courses do not focus primarily on skills acquisition but also contain a substantial cultural component. This may include literature among other content.


Template Requirements

The current list of approved courses for Area C can be found in the Cal Poly catalog.

Lower-division courses in Area C must come from three different course prefixes.

SUBAREA standard high-unit Curriculum Requirements
C1: Arts — Arts, Cinema, Dance, Music, Theatre 4 4 C1 guidelines

C2: Humanities — Literature, Philosophy, Languages other than English

Writing Intensive

 4 4 C2 guidelines
Please note: there are 4 separate sets of guidelines in this subarea

Lower-Division C Elective

Select a course from either C1 or C2

 4 4 -

Upper-Division C

Writing Intensive

 4 4 Upper-Division C guidelines
Area C Unit Subtotal 16 16  

 

 

Area C Curriculum Guidelines


As you review the sections that follow, please note that "Educational Objectives" refer to what students will learn by completing that subarea while "Criteria" refer to how the course is designed to support that learning. Together, these objectives and criteria are referred to as our "(curriculum) guidelines". Additional information about GE curriculum guidelines can be found here.

 

C1: Arts — Arts, Cinema, Dance, Music, Theatre

 

Educational Objectives

Consistent with the EO 1100-R and Cal Poly's current General Education program, "arts" in the GE program means architecture, cinema, dance, music, theater, visual arts, and related fields.

Upon completion of a qualifying C1 course, students should be able to:

  • EO1 Describe key aesthetic developments in the arts, including formal, material, and/or technical innovations as well as contributions made by individuals from diverse and/or underrepresented groups¹;
  • EO2 Summarize key historical and contemporary developments in the arts, including contributions made by individuals from diverse and/or underrepresented groups; relate these developments to their broader social, political, and/or historical contexts;
  • EO3 Explain and/or employ relevant artistic skills and techniques to explore the possibilities and limitations of aesthetic forms as an expressive medium and the relationships between form and content;
  • EO4 Differentiate between subjective and objective responses to aesthetic experiences and/or works of art;
  • EO5 Analyze subjective and objective responses to aesthetic experiences and/or works of art;
  • EO6 Apply critical standards/frameworks to evaluate and interpret the cultural significance of canonical and non-canonical works of art, including works from diverse and/or underrepresented groups and traditions.

 

Note:

¹ By “diverse” we intend the definition of diversity found in the Cal Poly Statement on Diversity and Inclusivity (https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1807&context=senateresolutions). By “underrepresented groups” is intended groups who are currently underrepresented and historically marginalized groups.

 

Lower-Division Criteria

The course proposal and expanded course outline for courses in C1 must clearly indicate how they meet all of these criteria:

  • CR1 Develop skills in historical and critical analysis;
  • CR2 Courses with laboratory or activity components develop skills in at least one particular area of practice in the arts;
  • CR3 Instructional materials and course content (e.g., readings, examples used in class, course assignments) incorporate contributions made by individuals from diverse and/or underrepresented groups;
  • CR4 As appropriate, address issues of sustainability;
  • CR5 Require disciplinary appropriate writing assignments that comprise at least 10% of overall course grade.
     

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C2: Humanities — Literature, Philosophy, Languages Other than English

 

Beginning with the 2026-27 catalog, C2 prerequisites (specifically outlined in CR1) will be modified to show that students will only need to complete a A2: Written Communication course, not all of Area A, per the passage of AS-974-24.


C2: Literature — Lower-Division Educational Objectives

All C2 literature courses must satisfy the following educational objectives and criteria.

Upon completion of a qualifying C2 course, students should be able to:

  • EO1 Identify and define an array of historical and critical literary terms, categories, and conventions;
  • EO2 Read, analyze, and interpret literary texts with insight, engagement, discernment, and empathy;
  • EO3 Explicate texts from a diverse range of traditions, including texts from historically underrepresented groups;
  • EO4 Critique texts that account for the rhetorical relationships among writer, audience, text, and genre;
  • EO5 Analyze how power structures and how social, cultural, and historical contexts shape literary production and reception.
     

C2: Literature — Lower-Division Criteria

The course proposal and expanded outline for lower-division Area C2 courses must clearly indicate how they meet all of these criteria:

  • CR1 Enrollment prerequisites list completion of Area A;
  • CR2 Compare and contrast a wide range of literary traditions, including works from historically underrepresented groups, from a period covering two hundred years or more;
  • CR3 Instructional materials and course content (e.g., readings, examples used in class, course assignments) incorporate contributions made by individuals from diverse and/or underrepresented groups;
  • CR4 As appropriate, address issues of sustainability;
  • CR5 Meet all other criteria for GE writing-intensive courses (GE Writing Intensive Requirements).
     


C2: Philosophy — Lower-Division Educational Objectives

Upon completion of a qualifying C2 course, students should be able to:

  • EO1 Read philosophy with a focus on impartiality, careful insight, and engagement;
  • EO2 Critically compare a historically diverse range of philosophical movements and their relationship to other intellectual movements;
  • EO3 Critically examine the implications of holding a particular philosophical position;
  • EO4 Integrate philosophical arguments into a holistic philosophical view;
  • EO5 Apply philosophical methods to analyze and evaluate a variety of positions.
     

C2: Philosophy — Lower-Division Criteria

The course proposal and expanded outline for lower-division Area C2 courses must clearly indicate how they meet all of these criteria:

  • CR1 Enrollment prerequisites list completion of Area A;
  • CR2 Include at least one ancient or medieval work, at least one modern work, and no more than one work from the 20th and 21st century;
  • CR3 Rely upon primary texts for readings;
  • CR4 Include recognized accomplishments in philosophy;
  • CR5 Address (e.g., readings, course assignments) issues of diversity and inclusion;
  • CR6 As appropriate, address issues of sustainability;
  • CR7 Meet all other criteria for GE writing-intensive courses (GE Writing Intensive Requirements).
     

 

C2: Languages Other than English

All C2 courses in languages other than English must satisfy the following educational objectives and criteria. GE C2 courses in languages other than English shall be at the mid- to high-intermediate level.

Educational Objectives

Upon completion of a qualifying C2 course, students should be able to:

  • EO1 Develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension competencies in the target language at least at a mid-intermediate level as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL):
  • EO2 Identify and analyze relevant cultural text, audio, film, and image artifacts in target language;
  • EO3 Examine and analyze the aesthetic, linguistic, historical, and social development of issues in target languages and cultures;
  • EO4 Apply linguistic and cultural knowledge in various performative settings, including creative, expository, and analytical discourses;
  • EO5 Use communicative and cultural competencies to participate actively in target language cultures.
     

Criteria

The course proposal and expanded outline for lower-division Area C2 courses must clearly indicate how they meet all of these criteria:

  • CR1 Enrollment prerequisites list completion of Area A;
  • CR2 Use primary sources authored within the target culture such as texts, art, films, or music from distinct historical periods;
  • CR3 Instructional materials and course content (cultural artifacts used in class, course assignments) incorporate contributions made by individuals from diverse and/or underrepresented groups;
  • CR4 As appropriate, address issues of sustainability;
  • CR5 Meet all other criteria for GE writing-intensive courses (GE Writing Intensive Requirements).
     

C2: Study Abroad Languages Other than English — Lower-Division Educational Objectives

Cal Poly study abroad courses (such as SPAN 141-142-143 and SPAN 241-242-243) would be included in this area. In compliance with EO 1100-R, these courses contain substantial cultural components because they are taken in the context of full immersion in the target language and cultures.

Upon completion of a qualifying C2 study abroad course, students should be able to:

  • EO1 Develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension competencies in the target language and cultures;
  • EO2 Identify and analyze relevant cultural text, audio, film, and image artifacts in the target language and cultures;
  • EO3 Examine and analyze relevant aesthetic, linguistic, historical, and social issues in the target language and cultures;
  • EO4 Use communicative and cultural competencies to participate actively in the target language and cultures in various performative settings.
     

C2: Study Abroad Languages Other than English — Lower-Division Criteria

The course proposal and expanded outline for lower-division Area C2 courses must clearly indicate how they meet all of these criteria:

  • CR1 Enrollment prerequisites list completion of Area A;
  • CR2 Use primary sources authored within the target cultures such as texts, art, films, or music;
  • CR3 Instructional materials and course content incorporate contributions made by individuals from diverse and/or underrepresented groups;
  • CR4 As appropriate, address issues of sustainability;
  • CR5 Meet all other criteria for GE writing-intensive courses (GE Writing Intensive Requirements).



Upper-Division C — Arts and Humanities

These courses must be integrative in nature, requiring the application and generalization of knowledge and/or understanding from foundation Area C courses (as appropriate) to the advanced study of a subject or to new, but related, areas of inquiry within the arts and humanities. These courses may be interdisciplinary in nature and should focus on achieving depth rather than breadth. Courses in this area also emphasize writing as an integral part of the process of learning and discovery.
 

Upper-Division C — Educational Objectives

Upon completion of a qualifying Upper-Division Area C course, students should be able to:

  • EO1 Integrate factual and conceptual knowledge in the arts or the humanities to the advanced study of a subject or to new, but related, areas of inquiry;
  • EO2 Evaluate issues in the arts or the humanities, including issues of diversity and inclusion;
  • EO3 Critically analyze a focused area of study in the arts or the humanities;
  • EO4 Evaluate how relationships between different areas of study in the arts or the humanities provide additional perspectives on knowledge.
     

Upper-Division C — Criteria

The course proposal and expanded outline for Upper-Division Area C courses must clearly indicate how they meet all of these criteria:

  • CR1 Enrollment prerequisites list completion of Areas A1 Oral Communication, A2 Written Communication, and A3 Critical Thinking, and B4 Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning as pursuant to EO 1100 Revised (section 2.2.3) and C1 or C2; some courses will require additional pre-requisites as course content dictates;
  • CR2 Explore in depth a subject related to the disciplinary/interdisciplinary study of the arts and/or humanities;
  • CR3 Demonstrate the subject's relationship to other cultural achievements and to relevant issues of diversity and inclusion;
  • CR4 Instructional materials and course content (e.g., readings, examples used in class, course assignments) incorporate contributions made by individuals from diverse and/or underrepresented groups;
  • CR5 As appropriate, address issues of sustainability;
  • CR6 Meet all other criteria for GE writing-intensive courses (GE Writing Intensive Requirements).
     


Sources:

 

 

Last updated September 24, 2024

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