2018-2019 Residential Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Integrated Studies in Philosophy and Literature
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The timelessness of works in the humanities reflects one of the most central and enduring aspects of human nature: the ever present desire to find meaning and purpose in the midst of a changing and turbulent world. The expression of this desire to question who we are, and to reflect on what we do, can be found in those defining works of a culture - its literature, art, music, philosophies, history, religions-that serve as touchstones to our past and guides to both our present and our future.
Within the Humanities the work of becoming human is of central concern to the disciplines of philosophy and literature. Both represent core expressions of a culture’s self-understanding. Through the interplay of logic and metaphor, reason and imagination, philosophical argument and literary narrative, studies in philosophy and literature provide us with comprehensive and enriching views of ourselves by raising critical questions, challenging key assumptions, and demonstrating how story/imagination can contribute to the illumination of truth.
Studies in Philosophy & Literature will provide a solid foundation in all aspects of a student’s professional and personal life. Here, at the intersection of these disciplines, students will become practitioners of Engaged Reading,* learning how to move into a text to uncover layers of meaning, heightening attentiveness to the world, and developing confidence in their own abilities to think creatively and critically about who we are and the choices we make.
Learning Outcomes
Outcomes for students who successfully complete a course of study in Integrated Studies in Philosophy & literature include,
- A demonstrated ability to articulate the importance of the imagination in a culture’s self‐understanding;
- Demonstrate proficiency in Engaged Reading* of texts;
- Ability to Identify the differences and similarities between logical and metaphorical approaches to knowledge;
- Articulate the process whereby language functions as the medium through which experience is structured;
- Demonstrate an understanding of the historical and cultural role of philosophy and literature in shaping and challenging a culture’s worldview.
* The discussion and practice of Engaged Reading is intended to introduce students to the aliveness of text in order to shift their experience from reading solely for the purpose of taking in (receiving?) information to reading as an interplay between reader and author. Through this process students will develop a method, suited to their individual learning style that will allow them to read with an attentiveness to what presents itself in language in both analytical and imaginative ways.
ProgramsMajorMinorCoursesIntegrated Studies in Philosophy and Literature
All undergraduate courses are 4 credits unless otherwise noted.
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