In its draft, the committee lists these three skills fostered by the Humanities:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of creative expression by critiquing, creating or collaborating on a work of art.

2. Formulate ethical judgments about human conduct

3. Identify the role of individual and social values in shaping cultures

I’d suggest that this list does not adequately encompass the pedagogical objectives of courses in the Humanities. For a more adequate list, the committee might refer to the one compiled in 2000 by a UWSP faculty committee as part of an effort to define more precisely the objectives of the Humanities component of our GDRs:

1. Students will be able to formulate ethical judgments about human conduct (in life and as represented in art), and render judgments about the merits of artistic expressions.

2. Students will be able to grasp particular intellectual, cultural, and aesthetic concepts, and also see these particulars in relation to larger, more universal, and more enduring concepts.

3. Students will be able to make an imaginative leap outside their own particular perspective, and, for example, empathize with a character in literature or the drama or another work of art, or with a historical figure, seeing the world as it existed in another time and another place.

4. Students will develop the critical ability not only to understand intellectual, cultural, and aesthetic concepts, but also to challenge them, and envision possibilities beyond the known and established.

5. Students will be able to express their understanding and interpretation of humanistic studies clearly and in forms appropriate to the particular discipline.

I’d also like to highlight the helpful list of outcomes for a liberal arts education compiled by Rebecca Karoff in her white paper posted on the webpage of the UW System Liberal Arts Initiative (accessible through the link provided by the committee on this discussion site). Except for skills in quantitative analysis, most of these outcomes are important pedagogical aims within the Humanities.

1. Effectively communicate orally, visually, in writing, and, ideally, in a second language;

2. Understand and employ quantitative and qualitative analysis to solve problems;

3. Interpret and evaluate information from a variety of sources;

4. Make complex connections across the borders of traditional and emerging disciplines, subject areas, cultures, institutions and structures of power;

5. Transform information into knowledge and knowledge into judgment and action;

6. Understand and work within complex systems and with diverse groups;

7. Demonstrate intellectual agility and the ability to manage change and ambiguity;

8. Discern the ethical consequences of decisions and actions;

9. Acquire a deep understanding of one's self and respect for the complex identities of others, their histories, and their cultures;

10. Actively participate as a citizen of a multifaceted democracy and a globally connected society.

From: Glodowski, Justin M
Posted: Thursday, September 11, 2008 1:18 PM
Subject: Knowledge of Human Culture and Global Society Discussion

Knowledge of Human Culture and Global Society – 21 Credits (A minimum of 3 credits each from Social and Behavioral Sciences, History, Humanities, and Cultural Diversity, and 9 additional credits from any area)

Social and Behavioral Sciences
History
Humanities
Cultural Diversity
Foreign Language

General Discussion Knowledge of Human Culture and Global Society Discussion Discuss general education and respond to questions asked by the general education policy review committee. // <![CDATA[ _spBodyOnLoadFunctionNames.push("setupPageDescriptionCallout"); // ]]>

General Discussion Knowledge of Human Culture and Global Society Discussion

Discuss general education and respond to questions asked by the general education policy review committee.