Guiding Notes for General Education Course Review
September 2023 34
C1 Arts: (e.g., Arts, Cinema, Dance, Music,
Theatre)
• Arts include the visual arts, architecture,
design, music, dance, theatre, and film
• courses should help students make
connections between the arts and
cultural and social issues, and serving as
an introduction to the arts as an
aesthetic and creative endeavor
• skills development permitted, but only
when it contributes to a broader
contextual understanding of the arts
• courses that exclusively emphasize
skills development are not appropriate
for general education
• acceptable courses must have a
predominant focus on lecture vs. skills
development and practical activities
• have as their major emphasis the
integration of history, theory, aesthetics,
and criticism
• develop and advance historical
understanding of major civilizations and
cultures, both Western and non-Western
• recognize contributions to knowledge,
civilization, and society by men and
women, and members of various ethnic
or cultural groups
• performance and studio classes may
satisfy this area if their major emphasis
is the integration of history, theory, and
criticism
C2 Humanities: (e.g., Literature, Philosophy,
Languages Other than English)
• students learn to analyze and appreciate
works of philosophical and cultural
importance
• course serves as a pathway to a broader
understanding of the human condition
• course will help students confidently
understand and articulate their own
subjective intellectual experiences
• creative writing courses if they include
significant attention to reading and
analysis of works of literature
• geography, history, and art courses
(e.g., art history) if outline indicates a
strong cultural content and exploration
of subjective human experience
• language courses should evoke a
sympathetic response to the acquired
culture
• encourage students to analyze and
appreciate works of philosophical,
historical, literary, aesthetic and cultural
importance
• advanced foreign language courses may
be approved if they include substantial
literary or cultural aspects
• theater and film courses may be
approved if taught with emphasis on
substantial historical, literary, or
cultural aspects
• Advanced English Composition and
English Composition for ESL courses
may be approved if they include
significant literary and humanities
content and/or a methodological,
epistemological, or theoretical focus.