GENERAL EDUCATION
REQUIREMENT
The general education component consists
of 57 credit hours spanning all four
years. Within the 57 hours is the 18-hour
requirement in Cultural Foundations.
The purpose of these six required courses
is to help students develop a balanced
understanding and appreciation for their
own and other cultures. The courses
are multidisciplinary with CF 20 and
CF 21 examining American Society from
a multicultural perspective. CF 30 investigates
the development of Western Civilization.
The progression is completed in CF 31
where non-Western societies and related
global issues are explored. To
view the university's general education
curriculum click here.
CULTURAL
FOUNDATIONS CURRICULUM
CF 18 - Literature and Human
Experience
Students read, discuss, and write about
an ethnically and/or culturally diverse
selection of fiction, poetry, drama,
and belles lettres. They learn the characteristics
of these major literary genres and become
familiar with some of the cultural conventions
that both shape and are shaped by works
of literature. Students are expected
to participate in class discussions,
as well as write several short papers.
To view a sample syllabus, click here.
CF 19 - Understanding and Appreciating
the Arts
This course introduces students to a
wide range of artistic expression, including
the visual, performing, and cinematic
arts. Through experiencing a variety
of readings, lectures, and discussions,
and by attending plays, exhibits, and
films, students are exposed to the breadth
and depth of the arts, from aesthetic
principles and arts vocabulary to the
role of criticism. This course explores
the relationship of various art forms
to each other, placing them in an historical
and cultural context. Students also
study one art form in depth, focusing
on the immediate creative experience,
while developing critical criteria for
viewing and appreciating all art.
CF 20 - The American Experience
American Experience has varied with
the gender, race, ethnic status and
social class of the participant. The
purpose of this course is to examine
this diversity in experience throughout
the country's history. The course places
individual and group experience within
the social, economic, and political
context of various eras, exploring group
differences in experience and perspective
as well as the ideals and values that
define
American civic culture. The overall
goal of this course is to develop an
historical understanding of the problems
and strengths inherent in our pluralistic
society.
To
view a sample syllabus, click here.
CF 21 - American Dilemmas
This course presents the principles
and methods of economics, sociology,
and political science to analyze current
social problems. It is complementary
to "The American Experience" in that
it continues the theme of social pluralism
and consideration of social and political
ideals as it explores the problems and
issues our society faces in the present.
Class discussions and assignments are
structured to encourage students to
address the meaning of individual and
public responsibility as well as to
define the common good. The importance
of conflicting values in defining
social problems and their solutions
is included.
To view a sample syllabus, click here.
CF 30 - The Identity of the
West
The course deals with major developments
in the history of the West which have
made Western culture influential in
the world. The course prepares students
to deal with problems of conflict and
confluence with non-Western or third-world
cultures in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Special emphasis is placed on the Age
of Exploration and Neo-colonialism in
order to better prepare students for
the next course in the sequence of Cultural
Foundations courses. Anthropological
perspectives are integrated where appropriate.
To view a sample syllabus, click here.
CF 31 - Contemporary World
Issues
The course consists of two seven-week
modules, each dealing with a crucial
issue in world affairs in different
non-Western areas of the world. The
two modules are linked thematically
to ensure continuity and deal with critical
issues affecting societies outside North
America: European, Near Eastern, Far
Eastern, African or Latin American.
Students analyze issues in cultural
context and use the disciplines of history,
political science, sociology, and economics
for an in-depth analysis. Each student
will produce an analytic paper.
To view a sample syllabus, click here.
Practical Examples and Working
Documents related to this topic
STEPS IN BUILDING THE PROGRAM
St. Edward's University has been evaluating
its general education curriculum for
several years. At the recommendation
of the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools, the University sent a team
to a Lilly Foundation workshop in 1988
to determine the extent to which the
curriculum achieved the goals of our
Mission Statement. The team identified
the strengths and weaknesses of the
curriculum and made recommendations
for continuing the process of general
education review. Shortly thereafter,
a faculty committee spent a year developing
a rationale for and objectives of our
general education curriculum. In September,
1989, the Academic Council accepted
their recommendations and formed faculty
committees to design a new curriculum
incorporating these objectives.
In December of 1990, a Cultural Foundations
Committee was convened and told to incorporate
the following areas into the new curriculum.
- World Cultures - Global issues,
Current Culture Politics, Government
and Geography.
- World Civilization
- Historical Development of the U.S.
and Current U.S. History
- Understanding and Appreciating
the Arts
- Literature
- Multicultural Issues
The specific charge given to the committee
was as follows:
The committee on Cultural Foundations
is charged with generally defining a
set of courses (or perhaps options within
a set of courses) which will
help students understand their own culture
and gain a perspective of how their
culture relates to others. While this
is a daunting task within the
fifteen credit hour restriction set
by the Council, seven major parts of
this component have been identified.
This committee should integrate
these parts so that our students develop
a balanced understanding and appreciation
for their own and other cultures. There
is a strong
interdisciplinary assumption in this
component. Discrete, discipline specific
courses are NOT envisioned.
The Cultural Foundation committee met
in January and February of 1991 and
recommended six courses to the general
faculty. These courses were subsequently
accepted by the Academic Council and
the Board and were listed as Cultural
Foundations requirements in the 91-92
catalog. Core faculty groups were formed
for each course to develop master syllabi
and design and participate in faculty
development workshops.
RESULTS AND EVALUATION
As a result of this project no St.
Edward's student should graduate without
developing an understanding of the diversity
in our society. The
curriculum has been smoothly implemented
and multiple sections of each course
are offered every semester. During the
process our curriculum
changed from a broad cafeteria-style
distribution to a core. The change did
require more faculty and did change
the patterns of enrollment in many courses.
Some faculty members now teach fewer
electives and instead teach sections
in the core.
The diversity initiative/curricular
change could not have taken place without
strong support from the university administration.
This included
strong financial support for new faculty
and ongoing faculty development. It
was also necessary for the faculty to
realize that change was
inevitable before the process could
proceed. It is crucial that faculty
take the lead role in actually designing
the new courses since they need
to develop and teach the courses. There
must be administrative support and hands-on
faculty course design combined with
faculty development
efforts.
Our curricular change has been well
received by the administration, involved
faculty, and off campus entities. e.g.,
American Association of
Colleges and Universities and the Ford
Foundation. It has been less well received
by some students and uninvolved faculty.
The students seem to
enjoy the courses, but do not perceive
them as an important part of their education.
As they often put it, "These courses
aren't even part of my
major." Faculty members not opting to
participate in core faculty groups are
often uninformed and sometimes give
students erroneous information in the
advising process. Faculty and student
education regarding the new curriculum
seems to be an endless process. The
Admissions Office seemed initially to
fear the new curriculum would result
in a drop in students, but this has
not been the case.
LINKS
In terms of links with other projects
on diversity, we participated in the
Association of American Colleges Engaging
Cultural Legacies Project. More recently
we served as a resource institution
for the Ford Foundation and the Association
of American Colleges and Universities
American
Commitments and American Commitments
II Projects. We have also participated
in a number of working conferences of
the Ford Foundation Diversity Initiative.
PRODUCTS AND CONTACTS
In terms of products we have a brochure
giving an overview of the Cultural Foundations
area of the general education curriculum.
We also have
syllabi for each of the six Cultural
Foundations courses. There is a faculty
coordinator for each of the six courses
who can provide syllabi
and other materials with respect to
each course. The contact people are
listed below.
C.F. 18 Literature and the Human Experience
Dr. Alan Altimont (e-mail: alana@admin.stedwards.edu)
C.F. 19 Understanding and Appreciating
the Arts
Ms. Susan Loughran (e-mail: susanl@admin.stedwards.edu)
C.F. 20 The American Experience
Dr. Terry Newton (e-mail: terryn@admin.stedwards.edu)
C.F. 21 American Dilemmas
Dr. James E. Payne (e-mail: jamesp@admin.stedwards.edu)
C.F. 30 The Identity of the West
Mr. Anthony Florek (e-mail: tonyf@admin.stedwards.edu)
C.F. 31 Contemporary World Issues
Mr. Anthony Florek (e-mail: tonyf@admin.stedwards.edu)
In the last year we have added experiental
learning/service learning components
to some Cultural Foundations sections.
This year we are running two classes
that involve integrating C.F. 18, "Literature
and the Human Experience," and C.F.
20, "The American Experience," with
the second semester of freshman composition.
Click below to view cluster information.
Cluster Spring 1997
Cluster
Spring 1998
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