The classical Aristotelian doctrine that an intellectual activity is scientific when its aim is to ascertain the truth and aesthetic when its goal is poetic creation is very difficult to sustain today. Social scientific theories often involve an act of creation and are sometimes described as elegant, if not beautiful. The arts, literature, and history are not simple flights of imagination but derive from life and are meant to teach us something lasting and profound about human behavior.
In combining the Humanities and Social Sciences, the unifying theme of the Social World is the focus on human beings and the fields of knowledge devoted to gaining insight into a world created by human beings with important consequences for their activities as individuals and as members of larger groups.
Arts (AT) and Literature (AL)
The arts do more than imitate life; they interpret and explain it. The arts and literature area of the General Education curriculum includes courses that consider the production, performance, function, and aesthetic evaluation of the arts – verbal, visual, aural, and plastic – in relation to one another and to the societies that produce them. Courses in this area should be designed to provoke comparison and critical acuity and should encourage verbal expression through writing exercises. Participatory experiences may be an aspect of such a course. General Education courses may treat foreign literature either in translation or in the original language.
The range of knowledge covered in a Literature or Arts course and the experience provided with literature or the arts should be significant both in historical or cultural breadth and in literary or artistic importance.
Courses within this area may do any or all of the following:
- Provoke comparison and critical acuity
- Provide participatory experiences such as projects, performances, and attendance at plays, concerts, galleries, etc.
- Treat foreign literature either in translation or in the original language
- Encourage verbal expression through writing exercises
Historical Studies (HS)
We learn from the past. All aspects of human existence, including our social, political, and economic systems, have evolved from the past and help to illuminate and shape our present and future lives. Students are exposed to historically important events, developments, or processes as a way of teaching them to understand the present and direct their futures, as well as gain an awareness of and appreciation for a historical perspective.
Courses within this area seek to do the following:
- Focus on human interaction in specific situations developing through time, covering a sufficient breadth of scope and time
- Consider the development of significant social, cultural, political, or economic institutions or ideologies of the society (or societies) involved
- If the focus is on a particular event or historical process, demonstrate its connection to a broader historical context
- Expose students to history as a way of helping them understand the present and direct their futures
- Help students develop information literacy within historical studies, including the identification, access, and use of primary and secondary historical sources
Social and Behavioral Sciences (SB)
The Social and Behavioral Sciences have taught us that people are both creatures and creators of their own societies. Educated individuals should have some understanding of this reciprocity, and they should appreciate the diversity that exists in human societies. When we fail to grasp the variations among human cultures and social arrangements, we often perceive our own social milieu as both “natural” and “fundamentally right.” Insights about the explanations for and causes of human behavior, the nature of human societies, the structure of social relationships, and the ways in which people and societies change should help students think more clearly about their own human nature and the social worlds in which they live. These insights may help them plan more effectively for their futures and may help shape the future of our own society in positive ways.
Courses within the Social and Behavioral Sciences area seek to do the following:
- Introduce students to theory, methods, and results of systematic and critical inquiry about individual and social life
- Demonstrate the dynamic nature of both individuals and societies, leading to an understanding of change as a natural process
- Stress the systematic quality of individual and social life, leading to an understanding of the complex relationships among individual behaviors, human situations, and social institution
Interdisciplinary (I and SI)
Students are not required to take courses with an interdisciplinary designation but may use one to satisfy the fourth, 4-credit course requirement within the Social World curriculum area. Interdisciplinary courses are often experimental and issue-focused and speak to the basic integrations of (many) fields of human study. Courses of this sort, which focus on topics and often involve teams of interested faculty, may well be high points in the undergraduate experience. There are two course designations in this option: I (Interdisciplinary) and SI (Science Interdisciplinary). Both I and SI courses may be paired with Social and Cultural Diversity (DU/DG).
- I (Interdisciplinary) Interdisciplinary courses integrate two or more of the disciplines in the Social World area (AT, AL, HS, SB) of the General Education program. In content and pedagogy, they cross the boundaries of the General Education disciplinary designations; they do not fall entirely outside the defined disciplines. A course may involve the disciplines of historical studies, literature, and behavioral science to explore a particular theme. Courses such as these would not be appropriately designated in any single curriculum area, but they encompass the principles and theories of General Education.
- SI (Science Interdisciplinary) Science Interdisciplinary (SI) General Education courses engage frameworks and content that include one or more of the Social World disciplines and, at the same time, one or more of the Biological and Physical World disciplines and/or the Analytical Reasoning discipline. A course that is interdisciplinary across the areas of physical science and social science, for example, will integrate the fundamental theories and methods of both disciplines to investigate the issues raised in the course. Science Interdisciplinary courses that address the Biological or Physical sciences should provide an understanding of the scientific perspective and mode of inquiry.
An SI course may be used to satisfy the fourth, 4-credit course requirement within the Social World curriculum area, but SI courses may not be used to satisfy the Biological Science, Physical Science, or Analytic Reasoning requirement.
Social and Cultural Diversity (DU and DG)
The purpose of the Diversity requirement is to broaden students' exposure to ways of thinking about how to understand diverse perspectives and more effectively interact with people from different cultures and backgrounds. This requirement is designed to provide students with the experiences needed to meet the following learning outcomes:
- Students will learn disciplinary or interdisciplinary theories and knowledge necessary to comprehend diverse social, cultural, and political perspectives.
- Students will develop the ability to understand, articulate, and critically analyze diverse social, cultural, and political perspectives.
- Students will demonstrate critical awareness of how individual perspectives and biases influence ways of seeing the world.
- Students will gain knowledge of structural and cultural forces that shape or have shaped discrimination based on factors such as race, ethnicity, language, religion, class, ability, nationality, sexuality, or gender.
- Students will demonstrate the capacity to listen and communicate respectfully with others of diverse perspectives.
- Students will explore and address questions that reflect multiple perspectives to develop a complex understanding of the world.
There are two types of diversity courses. Courses that primarily, but not exclusively, focus on diversity within the US are designated DU. Courses that focus primarily, but not exclusively, on diversity outside of a US framework are designated DG. All diversity courses are offered jointly with another Social World designation listed above and will appear on SPIRE as: ALDU, ATDU, HSDU, SBDU, IDU, SIDU, ALDG, ATDG, HSDG, SBDG, IDG, or SIDG.
For further information, please see Sen. Doc. No. 17-070.
The two designations have separate online proposal submission forms, Form DU for the US designation and Form DG for the Global designation. Proposers will use the DU and DG submission forms online.
This information derives from Faculty Senate Special Report 85-024A and 85-024B and Forms G-J.