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Engaging Today's Students with the Liberal Arts |
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The College of the University of Chicago |
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What we do well at The University of Chicago Our framework for general education provides a common ground that allows all students to engage in intellectual discovery across disciplines without regard to their potential concentrations (except in the case of the sciences). All College students at the University of Chicago are required to take fifteen general education courses in the social sciences, humanities, biological sciences, and physical sciences. To fulfill these requirements, students must choose from a short list of specially designed introductory sequences that-although enhancing the acquisition of skills-are not necessarily precursors to a particular discipline, but rather introductions to the ways that practitioners in those disciplines think and do their work. Upper-class students asked to reflect on the value of the general education requirements frequently express that-beyond gaining specific critical analysis, quantitative, and communicative skills-by taking these courses they are better prepared to participate fully as citizens in a democratic society. They enjoy talking outside of classes about common texts and concepts and working collaboratively in many areas and they appreciate that the variety of offerings in each of the general education sequences allows a certain amount of personal choice. Additionally, we feel that our emphasis on engaging the student with the text in the humanities and social sciences sequences, expecting them to discuss and write about the text independently rather than relying on established critical analysis, is one of our strengths. Through small class discussions and writing tutorials, students learn to trust their own opinions about the text, to articulate them verbally and in writing, to defend them if necessary, and to hear the opposing points of view. What could we do better? At Chicago we have seen a decrease in the number of students willing to concentrate in the humanities even if that is where their hearts would take them. Anxieties about future careers and paying back loans dominate many discussions during advising conferences, and pressure from home to do something practical (meaning pre-professional) often results in declaring concentrations that students are not particularly interested in or, in some case, well-suited for. We would like to be able to improve our ability to articulate the values of humanistic studies and thus increase the number of students who are willing to risk taking humanities courses and concentrating in the humanities. A project the College might pursue to address the challenge We are interested in doing a study assessing the current state of the humanities, looking at historical and current practices and student perceptions, and making recommendations about how to better promote and enhance participation in the humanities. Team Members
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Return to: College strengths Return to: Engagement Project |
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