Distribution Areas

Area I: Individuals and Society

To introduce students to modes of inquiry and systematic ways of thinking about individuals and their positions in societies.  Students who succeed in courses in this area will be able to demonstrate one or more of the following:

Area II: Socio-Political Structures  

To introduce students to typical modes of inquiry and a systematic way of thinking about the organizations and institutions of society.  Students who succeed in courses in this area will be able to demonstrate one or more of the following:

Area III: Literature

To understand the complexity of texts, their underlying process and structure, and their relationship to the human experience and to use works of literature as a basis for interpretation of the human condition. Students who successfully complete courses in this area will be able to demonstrate one or more of the following:

Area IV: The Arts

To appreciate creative/artistic expression in order to participate actively in individual aesthetic and creative experiences, and to use works of art as a basis for an analysis and interpretation of the human condition, and to determine which analysis and interpretation may lead to a truth, some truth, or an approach to truth. Students who successfully complete courses in this area will be able to demonstrate one or more of the following:

Area V: Comparative Culture

To analyze processes, problems, and prospects in diverse cultures and societies by examining social and cultural diversity worldwide, and by understanding the historical processes that give rise to diversity; to understand cultural components such as identity, race and ethnicity, nationality, family, history, language, gender, economy, ecology, technology, philosophy, aesthetics, politics, ideology, values, religion, migration, and the dynamism of culture. Students who successfully complete courses in this area will meet this objective by demonstrating one or more of these abilities:

Area VI: Historical Studies

To interpret the past through documents, artifacts, and other primary source materials in order to understand the past and the present in historical context by locating and evaluating traditional and Internet sources, forming an interpretation based on these sources, and communicating ideas and conclusions about major events, ideas, institutions, personalities, and changes of the past. Students who successfully complete courses in this area will be able to demonstrate one or more of the following:

Areas VII: Knowledge, Self, and Values

To use systematic ways of conceiving the world through myth, politics, religion, morality, logic, and philosophy in order to develop an ability to reflect critically on systematic modes of thought, and specifically to rearticulate important arguments and modes of thought. Students who successfully complete courses in this area will meet this objective through one or more of the following:

Natural Science

To demonstrate critical thinking and problem solving as applied to the natural world; to discuss, present, and write about science concepts; and to analyze and evaluate data and articles published in various media. General Education courses in the natural sciences have as their primary objectives the development of critical thinking and science literacy. Students who successfully complete courses in this area will be able to demonstrate one or more of the following:

LEH 300/301

1. Over-all learning objectives of LEH300 and LEH301 sections:

LEH300 and LEH301 provide juniors and seniors (prerequisite 60 college credits) with two upper-level, advanced interdisciplinary courses in addition to the student’s major, in order to develop skills in analytical thinking, research, and writing as applied to topics of general interest. The topics in LEH300 are unrestricted, combining study in multiple disciplines of the humanities or the sciences or both. The topics in LEH301 treat aspects of American society and culture with an emphasis on the question of what it means to be American. These topics are studied from the point of view of several disciplines by applying the methodologies of at least three to issues and problems, to texts, and to other appropriate materials.

2. Mechanisms for integration of objectives into courses:

The students are expected to do "300-level" college work, i.e. to do advanced research with original sources, demonstrate information/computer literacy, and utilize source material and secondary information in a variety of acceptable forms. Rather than the passive learning of a standard, textbook variety, these courses encourage students to take an active role in researching topics of interest to them.