Introduction to Liberal Studies
THE HUTCHINS PROGRAM
Founded in 1969, the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies is named after Robert
Maynard Hutchins, one of the twentieth century's most respected educational
reformers and an active proponent of broad, liberal education. The Hutchins
School of Liberal Studies is an interdisciplinary liberal arts school, operating
as an independent four-year degree-granting program within the School of Arts
and Humanities, and dedicated to active learning through small-group seminars
and directed study. A nationally recognized leader in the movement for committed
teaching and integrative learning, the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies has
maintained its commitment to innovative pedagogy and interdisciplinary inquiry
into vital issues of modern concern for more than thirty years. All features
of the program are designed to encourage you, the Hutchins student, to take
yourself seriously as a reader, a writer, and a thinker capable of continuing
your own educational process throughout your life.
INTRODUCING THE HUTCHINS SCHOOL
The Hutchins School of Liberal Studies is a broad-based interdisciplinary program
which ranges widely across the many areas of inquiry that make up the liberal
studies. More than just a collection of courses, the Hutchins program tries
to provide the kind of educational experiences that will help students become
confident of their ability to participate effectively in society. In this age
of too-easy answers, well-educated citizens need to be able to think independently
- but this skill is rare. For that reason, the program holds the fostering of
intellectual development as one of its highest aims. To think independently,
you need to be able to ask the kinds of questions that are meaningful for your
own growth and effective in getting you to the heart of any issue. You need,
also, to be able to make coherent sense of a wide and often confusing array
of ideas and opinions. Finally, you need to be able to bring a sense of values
to bear in interpreting what is "out there." To develop that independence
of mind, you are given a good deal of latitude in determining the directions
your education will take. Discovering how to use the opportunities you encounter
to shape a meaningful education is part of the challenge of the Hutchins program
- and to that end, the Hutchins portfolio is one important key.
INTRODUCING THE HUTCHINS PORTFOLIO
The portfolio allows you to record and evaluate the range of educational experiences
and ideas that constitute your particular pathway through Liberal Studies BA.
The portfolio is also a means of assessment appropriate to the aims of the Hutchins
program. Unlike tests, the usual means of evaluation, a completed portfolio
furnishes a portrait of you as an independent learner and captures a sense of
the shaping process through which you have developed intellectually.
HUTCHINS APPROACHES TO LEARNING
The Hutchins School of Liberal Studies provides many kinds of learning experiences
through which you can earn the 40 units needed for the major. For example, you
will be able to work independently or in small groups on projects you design;
you can enroll in an occasional lecture or lecture/discussion course with large
numbers of students; some of your work may be creative in nature and as such
expand beyond the boundaries of reading and writing; your study plan may involve
an internship or "study away." As you develop your major, you will
participate in at least four Hutchins seminars, for the seminar is the heart
and soul of our enterprise.
Most of your work in Hutchins will be done in regularly scheduled seminars where
discussions are facilitated and assignments are made by a seminar instructor.
A few courses may be in the lecture format commonly employed by most university
departments. Still others, more focused on activities, are designated as workshops.
You may also earn units in Hutchins through directed study, special projects
and internships - all listed under "The Hutchins Major."
Options for the bachelor's degree include: Track I, the general liberal studies major plan known as Interdisciplinary Studies; and Track II, the teaching credential preparation plan known as Subject Matter Preparation. While there are specific course requirements for each of these Tracks, the general pattern for the major in both tracks is the same. During their first semester in the upper division, all transfer students are required to take LIBS 302, which is a prerequisite for all upper-division Hutchins courses. Students who are continuing from the Hutchins lower division curriculum after completing all four semester are exempt from LIBS 302. During their first two semesters in the upper division, students will take two required courses, LIBS 304 and LIBS 308, designed to involve them in a discussion and critique of some of our most fundamental social, historical and political beliefs and values, viewed in a worldwide context. In order to complete the major, you will be required to take at least four seminar courses, and at least one course from each of the four Core Areas. Finally, you will take LIBS 402, Senior Synthesis, which serves as a capstone course and must be taken in the final semester of enrollment. All Hutchins majors, whether Interdisciplinary Studies Track I or pre-credential Subject Matter Preparation Track II, must complete the basic requirements of LIBS 302, LIBS 304, LIBS 308, LIBS 402, one course in each of the four Core Areas and at least four seminars.
REQUIRED COURSES - TRACKS I AND II - FIRST SEMESTER
These courses are required of all Liberal Studies majors.
LIBS 302 - Introduction to Liberal Studies
This interdisciplinary "gateway" course is required of all Liberal
Studies majors who have not completed the Hutchins lower-division general education
curriculum and is designed to examine the meaning of a liberal education. This
course emphasizes seminar skills, focuses on oral and written communication,
and introduces the Hutchins portfolio. It prepares you for learning in the seminar
format, for reading critically and for writing effectively. The major goals
of the course include: 1) application of multiple perspectives to ideas, concepts
and events; 2) development of your ability to think independently; 3) achievement
of familiarization with the procedures and opportunities of the Hutchins Program;
4) learning of seminar processes and protocols; 5) understanding the nature
and meaning of interdisciplinary inquiry; 6) introduction to the four Core Areas
which are designed to help broaden your educational experience. You must complete
this course with a grade of "C" or better to continue in the program,
and this course may not be repeated.
LIBS 304 - We Hold These Truths (Fall)
This is a required courses which may be taken in conjunction with LIBS 302.
It is designed to examine fundamental beliefs, assumptions and "self-evident
truths" that serve as foundations for American culture, and then to consider
those "truths" in light of challenges provided by multicultural perspectives.
LIBS 308 - The Practice of Culture (Spring)
This is a required course which may be taken in conjunction with LIBS 302. It
is designed to familiarize you with non-European cultures, to develop a language
and framework for understanding cross-cultural and multicultural realities,
and to raise critical questions regarding the practice of culture in various
settings.
REQUIRED COURSES - TRACKS I AND II - THE CORE AREAS
In terms of course content, you will find that most of your work will occur
within the Core Areas of the upper division program: "Society and Self"
(Core Area A), "The Individual and the Material World" (Core Area
B), "The Arts and Human Experience" (Core Area C), and "Consciousness
and Reality" (Core Area D). In order to complete the major, all Hutchins
students must take at least one course in each Core Area. Work in each of these
Core Areas involves you in a range of perceptions and attitudes from many disciplines.
LIBS 320 - Elective Seminars
These courses fulfill the four seminar requirement and are offered in specific
Core Areas. Occasionally a course is listed as a split-core, fulfilling more
than one of two Core Areas. In such cases, the Core Areas are indicated in the
Hutchins Schedule of Classes, and you are asked to declare to your instructor
early in the semester which Core Area you are choosing for the course. A single
course will never fulfill more than one Core Area.
LIBS 321 - Elective Courses
These courses fulfill Core Area requirements but do not qualify as seminars,
as they are taught in lecture-oriented or other large class formats which do
not address the pedagogical goals and processes of the seminar.
LIBS 301, 333-5, 345, 354-6, 362, 422-9, 435-7, 465, 485 - Special Topics Seminars
Often courses dealing with special topics are offered under a different numbering
system. These courses represent a broad spectrum of topics and themes, including:
Androgyny, Masterpieces in the Humanities, Postmodernism, Discovery of the Unconscious,
Themes in the Literary Humanities, Machine as Metaphor, Experiencing History,
Science and Society. The Core Areas for these courses are provided each semester
in the Hutchins schedule, and all are taught as seminars.
REQUIRED COURSES - TRACKS I AND II - THE FINAL SEMESTER
This course is required of all Liberal Studies majors, and will be your last
Hutchins course.
LIBS 402 - Senior Synthesis
This is a capstone course required for the Hutchins major. It is made up of
two different yet related activities and makes use of the Hutchins portfolio
for its unifying feature. At the start of this course, you collect and organize
all of the work you have completed for the major - this might include papers,
art works, community project materials, and anything else that resulted from
the courses taken for the major. Drawing on all of this work, you prepare a
major paper synthesizing aspects of your own intellectual development. Then,
you are asked to complete a senior project, which is ultimately presented to
the class, and can serve as a culminating experience. You will take this course
in your final semester.
REQUIRED COURSES - TRACK I STUDENTS ONLY
If you are looking for a broad interdisciplinary major as a foundation for some
career choice (e.g., the arts. the law, public service, etc.), or are motivated
by intellectual curiosity and wish to pursue an individualized study plan, then
you should consider the Interdisciplinary Studies Track I major within the Hutchins
School of Liberal Studies. In addition to the core areas listed above, majoring
in Interdisciplinary Studies will allow you to choose from a wide variety of
courses which include elective seminars, workshops, directed studies, internships
and study away opportunities. As a Track I student, you will regularly participate
in LIBS 305, The Hutchins Forum, which serves as an intellectual arena for the
generation of ideas. You may decide to organize an Area of Emphasis within the
forty units required for the major which reflects your career plans and/or intellectual
interests. You might engage in artistic and creative activities, research and
scholarly investigations, Hutchins community projects, social and community
action opportunities, or gather together a variety of experiences that you find
intellectually satisfying. You will certainly find that the Internship or Study
Away program (one of which is required for the major) is a valuable opportunity.
The following courses are required for all Interdisciplinary Studies Track I
students, in addition to the courses required of all Hutchins majors pursuing
a BA in Liberal Studies.
LIBS 305 - The Hutchins Forum
The objective of the Hutchins Forum is to serve as a learning community among
Track I students. It functions as a "headquarters" for advising, a
"communications center" where you can articulate the meaning of a
Liberal Studies education, a "laboratory of ideas" used to focus on
a project or define an academic interest or emphasis. This course must be taken
at least once, and you are urged to take it every semester. It includes individual
and group directed study projects, preparation for student-instructed courses,
preparation for graduate school, and group community action projects. Obviously,
different people or groups pursue different projects simultaneously. However,
there are overarching topics/issues each semester, with some invited guests
or other activities which engage the entire Forum from time to time.
LIBS 310 or 410 - Directed Study
Every Track I student is required to engage in at least one graded Directed
Study project. This course is determined and designed by you, in consultation
with a faculty advisor, and provides an opportunity for in-depth investigation
and analysis of some area of interest. Such work can also serve as preparation
for Field Study, Study Away or Internship, the teaching of a Student-Instructed
Course (LIBS 399), or for the projects suggested in the Hutchins Forum. This
course can also help to clarify an area of emphasis. Both of these course numbers
indicate that the work will be graded. For projects better suited to credit/no
credit options, there are two other Directed Study designations (LIBS 315 or
415).
LIBS 396, 397, 499 - Field Study, Study Away, Internship (respectively)
This requirement allows you to receive credit for experiences as diverse as:
a period of travel and formal study in a foreign country; an independent project
in a nearby city; an internship in a local school, business, or social service
agency; or substantial involvement in some other department or program on this
or some other campus. The Field Study, Study Away or Internship (designed in
collaboration with a faculty advisor) should be preceded by a semester of Directed
Study related to the expected activities. Whether close at hand or far away,
this experience should help students relate educational experiences to the larger
world, and such explorations can often lead to expanded career options. You
must have the Hutchins Internship Advisor's approval before enrollment in LIBS
499.
REQUIRED COURSES - TRACK II STUDENTS ONLY
If you are looking for a broad interdisciplinary major as a foundation for your
pursuit of a California Elementary Teaching Credential or an Early Childhood
Emphasis Credential, the Hutchins School offers a California Teacher Commission
approved subject-matter preparation program known as Subject Matter Preparation
Track II. This BA pre-credential option ensures interdisciplinary subject matter
proficiency as well as possession of the high-level analytic, synthetic, creative
and expressive academic skills required of future educators. Completion of the
pre-credential liberal studies option waives the need to take the Multiple Subject
Assessment for Teachers examination (PRAXIS) and is excellent preparation for
entering graduate-level professional training (either in the SSU School of Education
or elsewhere) required for a California teaching credential. Waiver students
are required to take the C-Base Exam, an academic subject area diagnostic test.
The following courses are required for all Subject Matter Preparation Track
II students, in addition to the courses required of all Hutchins majors pursuing
a BA in Liberal Studies.
BIOL 312, 314, or 332 - Oceanology, Field Biology, Plants and Civilization (respectively)
All Subject Matter Preparation Track II students are required to take an upper
division field biology course, chosen from this list of three. Students working
toward a Life Science Subject Concentration, and those who have taken an upper
division field biology course at another institution may appeal to the Subject
Matter Preparation Coordinator for substitution.
LIBS 327, ENGL 379, or LING 441 - The English Language, History and Structure
of English, Linguistics and Second Language Teaching (respectively)
All Subject Matter Preparation Track II students are required to take an English
language course, chosen from this list of three.
MATH 300 - Elementary Number Systems and Applications
All Subject Matter Preparation Track II students are required to take mathematics
for elementary teachers.
Pre-Credential Course Requirements
All Subject Matter Preparation Track II students are required to take additional
pre-credential courses, specified in the Subject Matter Preparation Track II
Key (provided in the "Advising Documents" section of the portfolio).
Please consult this Key for complete descriptions and requirements.
Pre-Credential Subject Concentration
All Subject Matter Preparation Track II students are required to take additional
concentration courses, specified in the Pre-Credential Concentration Key. Please
consult this Key for complete descriptions and requirements.
The Hutchins portfolio is a tool which enables you to plan and document your
own development within the Hutchins Liberal Studies Major. The portfolio begins
in LIBS 302, evolves each term as you complete your coursework, and culminates
in LIBS 402. Each portfolio is different, and yours will reflect the path you
follow in your interdisciplinary study and serve your intellectual goals in
a way that is both unique and productive. You should include examples of your
achievements in the core areas, key courses, directed study and study away,
etc.
All work for the major should be included in the portfolio (except for brief
reaction papers). You should also include such things as slides or pictures
of art work you produce, tapes of performances you give, ethnographies, records
of oral interviews and case studies. Reports on learning that you do outside
the regular classroom, through internships or at museums, concerts, field trips,
cultural ceremonies, can also be included. Activities or experiences which are
difficult to document in writing need to be discussed with your advisor or instructor,
but generally whatever attests to your growing understanding should be included.
Supportive upper-division work from courses outside of the Hutchins major may
also be included in your portfolio, if appropriate.
While the Hutchins School places great emphasis on reading carefully and writing
effectively in a number of fields, it acknowledges the validity of human expression
in other forms that go beyond what can be achieved in expository writing. So
strongly are we persuaded that other kinds of expression are important that
we urge you to include them in your educational experience and record them in
your portfolio. While your attempts may perhaps seem amateurish, they are no
less important for that: the "non-discursive" can let us "say
the unsayable," and the attempt is worth it.
The portfolio in not something to "get done" as soon as you start
your work in Hutchins; it should "grow," as you do, semester by semester.
Because you will become surer of yourself as you build your major, the earlier
work you include in the portfolio may (but will not necessarily) strike you
as less representative as time goes on. It is nevertheless to be valued as significant.
In other words, don't be discouraged if you find you have included items you
have, in a sense, outgrown - they are valuable and important. Early work should
not be updated or revised, for it all belongs in the portfolio just as they
are. Your work in LIBS 402 will be based on the content of your Hutchins portfolio,
so it is essential that you save all of your work for later reflection. In LIBS
402 you will write an intellectual autobiography tracing the development of
your thinking in the major. The second feature of LIBS 402, the Senior Synthesis,
explores an area or issue of special concern for you which builds on aspects
of works included in the portfolio and will eventuate in a paper or project.
This is your first upper division course in the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies. As such, it is designed to introduce you to 1) the interdisciplinary work of liberal studies and 2) the unique community of the Hutchins School. But of the greatest importance is that this course is also about constructing a critical consciousness, looking at how we see our world, thinking about how we understand our surroundings and our selves, questioning how we ask questions, and learning how to learn. By the end of the semester you should have a better idea of what the Hutchins School is all about, a clearer sense of your place in our community, and a firmer grasp on the skills of a life-long learner. You should also be able to articulate and engage with the questions encountered and constructed, both on a daily basis and throughout your lifetime.
UNDERSTANDING THE HUTCHINS PROGRAM
A nationally recognized leader in the movement for reform in higher education,
the Hutchins School has maintained its commitment to innovative pedagogy and
interdisciplinary inquiry into vital issues of modern concern since its inception
in 1969. All features of the program are designed to encourage students to take
themselves seriously as readers, writers and thinkers capable of continuing
their own educational process throughout their lives. The Hutchins School offers
a lower-division alternative general education program and an upper-division
major in liberal studies leading to a BA degree. A minor in integrative studies
is also offered. The Hutchins School has several distinctive features:
Whatever your particular interests, as a Hutchins student you are challenged
to read perceptively, to think both critically and imaginatively, to express
your thoughts and feelings in writing, speech and other media, and to make productive
use of dialogue and discussion.
INTERDISCIPLINARITY AND THE SEMINAR
Perhaps the most distinctive features of the Hutchins School are its interdisciplinarity
and its commitment to the seminar process. During your time with Hutchins, you
will take a variety of courses from a variety of perspectives, but in every
case your courses will attempt to transcend the boundaries of traditional academic
disciplines and bridge the gaps that are often present in traditional educational
structures. While we do make use of Core Areas (described in detail in another
section), our courses will never focus on a single discipline. Furthermore,
the faculty of the Hutchins School believe that the best way for students to
learn virtually any material is in small discussion groups, seminars, of no
more than fifteen individuals. While we do offer other classroom formats, the
seminar is at the heart of our pedagogy.
One of the main goals of LIBS 302, Introduction to Liberal Studies, is to help
you develop and improve your seminar skills over the course of the semester.
Our seminars are designed to help you learn by giving you an equal voice in
the educational process. While there is, of course, a teacher in the room, he
or she is considered to be a facilitator whose role is to guide the discussion,
not dominate it. The keys to an effective seminar can be found in a few steps:
1) always come to class well-prepared, having read the material, taken notes,
prepared discussion questions; 2) never be afraid to speak, always be willing
to listen; 3) always be respectful of your community, your colleagues; 4) engage
with the material in a way that links your comments to previous observations
and leaves opportunities for the next; 5) be considerate and avoid dominating
the conversation or remaining silent; 6) don't let the facilitator do all the
talking; 7) enjoy the seminar. In other words,
A seminar is a contract between people to be prepared - every day - to explore
the boundaries of knowledge. A dynamic seminar is one in which the members work
together to help each other understand the readings and the questions which
develop out of the readings and conversations. There is likely to be nothing
more exhilarating in your years at college than the experience of a really good
seminar. And the most important part of a seminar is keeping up with, or even
exceeding, the reading - for careful reading leads to exciting discussion. In
order to be able to participate effectively in seminar, it is important to be
aware of several basic seminar skills. If you do the reading, come to class,
and learn these strategies, you are almost certain to have vibrant, dynamic,
and lively seminars. Many of these skills involve some sort of interaction with
other people. They are geared toward helping you learn how to develop a line
of thought in conjunction with others. The objective is meaning-making, not
self-gratification - cooperation is always better than competition.
[from Introduction to Seminaring in the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies written
by Owen Laws, adapted by Richard Gale]
What is most important about the seminar process, is that it is yours - you the individual and you the class. Make the most of it!
WORKING WITH THE HUTCHINS PORTFOLIO
There is nothing more useful in the Hutchins Program, nothing more vital to
your success as a student and as a thoughtful citizen, than the Hutchins portfolio.
First, as you will have noticed already, it contains a great deal of information
designed to help you understand and succeed in the Hutchins upper division -
serving as a touchstone for all of your work and many of your questions. Yes,
it is also an assessment tool which is used in your LIBS 402 class to help your
teacher understand the work you have accomplished during your years as a Hutchins
Major. But the Hutchins portfolio's greatest value comes not from what we have
put into it, or what we will get out of it, but rather from how you choose to
make it useful in your journey through the Hutchins upper division curriculum
and how you make the work you do meaningful through reflection and consideration.
For the Hutchins portfolio is first and foremost a chance for you to take control
of your own education by making your work more than assignments for a class.
As you begin each core class, you can use the portfolio to prepare you for the
work that is to come. While working on a particular topic, you can use the portfolio
as a place for reflection on the meanings and values of the course. At the end
of each semester, the portfolio will provide a venue for you to consider what
you have learned, what you might have learned, and what you still want to learn
about the topic. As you write papers for classes, use the portfolio as a place
to evaluate and consider the work in progress. As you choose courses for the
next semester, use the portfolio to guide your interests into challenging and
meaningful and intriguing directions. And above all, you should use your portfolio
to constantly reflect on the most important questions of all: "is this
what I want my education to be," "are these the skills that will make
me a life-long learner," "will my years as a Hutchins undergraduate
prepare me not only for the work I will do, but also for the life I will lead,"
and "am I learning what I want to learn and becoming who I want to become?"
This is what education should be about, and the portfolio is a place for you
to make your future, consider your present, and understand your past.
DEVELOPING THE SKILLS YOU NEED
The Hutchins program intends to build upon students' previous education and
experience in some specific ways. Meeting academic requirements does not necessarily
ensure that you will acquire the skills we think you should have by the time
you graduate from Sonoma State University. With this in mind, read through the
following descriptions of goals for our students. When you meet with your advisor
during your progression through the program you will assess yourself. Then as
you plan your studies you can take into account the areas in which your skills
need strengthening.
Our primary concern in the Hutchins program is for students to become and remain
life-long learners. In order to do this well, we think that students need to
be able to enter into discussion effectively, analyze written material, think
critically, write clearly, and make formal presentations. We also hope that
students will be able to go beyond the purely discursive and communicate about
and through a variety of arts (including multi-media, performance, photography,
the visual arts, and more).
The seminar is one of the best places to practice and develop effective discussion
skills. Your willingness to discuss and debate issues is a key factor. But it
is also important to show respect for other points of view, to listen carefully,
to keep comments relevant to the subject at hand, and to be aware of the quantity
of your contributions relative to those of your peers. Combining these skills
with the ability to express yourself clearly will give you a valuable asset
for any future.
A strong point of the Hutchins program is our focus on analyzing written material
critically as well as personally. We ask you to respond to a large amount of
writing during your studies. It is crucial that you develop your ability to
recognize important points in the readings. You need to be able to examine arguments
(both explicit and implicit) carefully, and to know how to raise questions about
arguments in and aspects of the material which interest or puzzle you.
Knowing how to look at the writing of others can also help you with your own
writing. It is our goal that every graduate of the Hutchins program be able
to communicate effectively through writing. While the main focus is on formal
papers, creative writing is important as well. We expect you to become skillful
enough with the basic components of writing to get your point across clearly
whether you are writing a petition, a letter to a friend, a novel, or a technical
report.
Words may be our most abundant form of communication, but they aren't the only
form. Although the next goal is sometimes difficult to achieve, and is not commonly
an integral part of American liberal education, we want our students to be able
to communicate through the arts. At a minimum, we want you to recognize some
of the forms employed in the arts and be able to discourse about them critically
and thoughtfully. Ideally, we want you to be able to express yourself through
the arts themselves; to take meaning from and to make meaning in your world
through artistic expression.
One final way in which we want you to be able to get your point across is through
formal presentations. When you get up in front of a group of people to speak
your mind, we want you to have enough assurance and control for people to listen
to you. We also want people to be able to hear you, and that means speaking
up and speaking clearly. Then we can see (hear) the organization you put into
your presentation.
MAKING THE HUTCHINS PROGRAM WORK FOR YOU
One of the most important features of the Hutchins Program, and one of the educational
philosophies we have held to from the very beginning, is the idea of student
empowerment and ownership of the educational enterprise. Your education can
and should be whatever you make of it - and your time as a Hutchins Major should
reflect the questions you want to ask, the ideas you want to explore, the directions
you want to choose. No other major on campus is so fully committed to independent
processes and products. As a result, we recommend that you take some time to
consider what you want out of your college career, and how you plan on achieving
that goal. While your advisors and teachers may try to help you in your journey
through Hutchins, ultimately it is your education, and you are responsible for
making it meaningful.
YOUR INDIVIDUAL LEARNING PLAN DESIGN
Here in Hutchins we believe that you should shape your education to meet your
needs, hopes, and aspirations. While we will require certain kinds of work of
you during your time here, you have the chance to determine a great deal about
the shape and content of your upper-division curriculum. To formulate some of
your ideas, read through the following questions, then respond briefly to each
of them. None of this is carved in stone, and it will certainly change in the
future, but by thinking about and writing these ideas you may find some common
threads in your intellectual journey, or begin to construct the path that will
take you into your future. You can, of course, change your responses whenever
you want - and we encourage you to think about these questions throughout your
years in the Hutchins Program. Remember to be as thorough as you can be, and
completely honest.
Begin with today's date: ____________________
1. Why are you in college?
2a. What do you hope to be doing five years from now?
2b. What do you hope to be doing ten years from now?
2c. What do you hope to be doing twenty years from now?
3. Why are you in the Hutchins program instead of some other place?
4. Where were you before you came to Hutchins?
5. What are you most eager to learn about and why?
6. What are you least interested in learning about and why?
7. What do you think are your greatest skills, intellectual and artistic, "creative" and social?
8. What skills do you still need to develop?
9. What are you most concerned about, as you start into Hutchins' upper division?
10. What are you most sure about, as you start into Hutchins' upper division?
What else do you want to write for you to read some time in the future?
EXAMINING YOUR SKILLS
In an effort to better understand your skills and those areas where you might
want to devote some time, we ask that you read and respond to this list. For
each skill, decide whether your present level is "low" or "mid"
or "high" - and be thoughtful in your assessment.
Mid-Semester End-of-Semester
Skill/Ability Level Skill/Ability Level
Ability to enter into discussions effectively:
· my ability to respect other points of view __________ __________
· my willingness to discuss or critique issues __________ __________
· my ability to listen carefully and consciously __________ __________
· the relevance of my comments and questions __________ __________
· the amount of constructive talking I do in class __________ __________
Ability to analyze written material:
· my ability to recognize important points in readings __________ __________
· my ability to examine arguments carefully __________ __________
· my ability to respond critically to readings __________ __________
· my ability to raise questions for discussion __________ __________
· my ability to provide explanations and interpretations __________ __________
Ability to communicate through writing:
· my informal writing __________ __________
· my formal papers and essays __________ __________
· my creative writing ________ ________
· my technical skills (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.) ________
________
· my compositional skills (sentence & paragraph structure, transitions,
etc.) ________ ________
· my referencing skills (bibliographic format, citation protocols, etc.)
__________ __________
Ability to make formal oral presentations:
· my preparation __________ __________
· my organization of materials __________ __________
· my vocal qualities and personal presence __________ __________
· my sense of presentations as performance __________ __________
· my confidence and sense of control __________ __________
Ability to communicate creatively across all disciplines:
· my familiarity with creative expression (arts, sciences, social sciences,
etc.) __________ __________
· my ability to express myself creatively (various media). __________
__________
· my willingness to learn through creative expression __________ __________
YOUR INTELLECTUAL INTENTIONS AND EDUCATIONAL GOALS
The preceding pages have asked you to review the reasons that brought you to
Hutchins and your concerns as you begin the upper-division program. You have
looked at ideas about your own learning style, have reviewed already completed
courses, and have thought about the skills you will need as a lifelong learner.
You are probably aware of a whole host of things you hope to learn and do in
the coming terms, ranging from intellectual areas of interest to abilities you
hope to develop and master. Given that present awareness, write a brief synopsis,
here on this sheet, of your own most important learning goals and the ideas
about learning you will take with you during your time with Hutchins. What do
you want things to be like here, and why? (This synopsis - call it your philosophy
of education if you like - should not talk about individual major requirements
or specific program attributes, but about the self-development you think should
occur to enable you to graduate from Hutchins as an assured, autonomous learner.)
Add additional pages as needed.
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While we are very proud of the interdisciplinary focus you will encounter in
the Hutchins Program, we are also aware of the need for some mechanism by which
you can organize your studies into categories of meaning and processes of discovery
- not disciplinary boundaries, but areas of emphasis and investigation which
can help you place your learning into a useful context. In this program, we
have chosen to address this issue through Core Areas of study. These Core Areas
represent one possible grouping of ideas and topics into categories that ensure
a broad-based, multi-faceted, and interdisciplinary approach to a liberal education.
Each Core Area addresses a central theme, but always from a variety of perspectives,
and we believe they can be used effectively to guide you through your educational
journey. Although other configurations might certainly be considered, we have
chosen four Core Areas as most useful. These areas are:
· Society and Self [Core A]
· The Individual and the Material World [Core B]
· The Arts and Human Experience [Core C]
· Consciousness and Reality [Core D]
While all of the traditional disciplines can be placed into at least one of
these categories, we tend not to think in those terms or seek those divisions.
Rather, we believe that meaning and understanding of any single discipline can
best be achieved in tandem with other disciplinary frameworks. The result is
a curriculum that addresses your needs, and the needs of our ever-changing and
ever-integrated 21st century. But there is more to our world than themes and
topics.
In the belief that the increasing sensitivity of our age should lead all people
to think about such issues, we strongly encourage you to demonstrate your understanding
and awareness of cross-cultural, gender-, and ethnicity-related issues in contemporary
society. As you examine issues and encounter ideas in each of the four Core
Areas, we ask that you consider questions that reflect our multi-faceted society
and planet. How does cultural context affect our appreciation of the arts, understanding
of the sciences, conceptualizing of social justice? What might be the sources,
physical and social, of stereotyping, racism, ethnocentrism? Why has the position
of women undergone such rapid change in the twentieth century and how will this
change in the twenty-first? How can you learn the values and assumptions of
cultures beyond your own and what insights might you gain from cross-cultural
understanding? What are the implications of living in a pluralistic society?
These and other questions impact our past, present, and future - and these are
the issues that will confront us in the coming decades. They belong to no one
discipline, and to no one Core Area, but they can and should be addressed by
all critical and conscious individuals.
CORE AREA A -SOCIETY AND SELF
The first of the Hutchins Core Areas takes as its focus the relationship between
the individual and all kinds of human groups. It is, after all, in the context
of human interaction that the individual finds many of the dimensions of the
self. Between society and the individual flow those ideas, attitudes, and beliefs
which result in the political and economic arrangements that make our life-in-common
possible - for better or worse, depending on how individuals manage to shape
their social milieu. Social scientists focus on human interaction in the areas
of culture, politics and economics. In so doing, they refer to historical developments,
geographical facts, analytical models, and moral questions in an attempt to
understand the dynamics of individuals and their communities. Social scientists
are interested in what people value and why they consider certain items, behaviors,
and roles to be important. Furthermore, they are interested in how valued goods
are distributed. The moral and ethical underpinnings of our patterns of social
interaction are investigated with special attention paid to how these do and
should affect issues such as race, gender, and class. Of particular importance
to social scientists are questions concerning whether the goals of human dignity,
political justice, economic opportunity, and cultural expression are being enhanced
or destroyed by specific historical developments, cultural practices, economic
arrangements, or political institutions.
Core Area A courses take us into various aspects of the issues described above.
It is our aim that through the discussions, papers, and other assignments in
those courses you will come to a clearer perception of some of the problems
and possibilities before us at the beginning of a new century and as we move
toward an ever more "global culture." How, in the face of that compelling
force, do we shape the kind of society that values and protects the individual?
How do we become individuals who understand and foster a just society? Core
A courses might enable you to...
· Explore an historical event in terms of multiple causes and consequences.
· Study a belief system or ideology that legitimizes a regime or government.
· Contrast market, mixed, or socialist economies and the role government
plays in each.
· Address the issues of class stratification within a given social circumstance
or political process.
· Examine the individual's interdependence and independence within society.
· Investigate a political controversy, identifying major players, interests
under dispute, and possible resolutions in terms of social justice, human rights,
community, and freedom.
List of Core A courses taken:
Course # Course Title Sem./Year Most Valued Topic
LIBS _____ ___________________________________ __________ _______________
LIBS _____ ___________________________________ __________ _______________
LIBS _____ ___________________________________ __________ _______________
CORE AREA B -THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE MATERIAL WORLD
Core Area B of the Hutchins program is called "The Individual and the Material
World." Included in this Core Area you will find most of the Hutchins courses
which deal with science and technology and their relationship to the individual
and society. In today's world, any well-educated person should understand, at
least at a general level, both the methods of science and important information
which has been discovered through their applications. Those basic concepts and
methodologies are usually studied in science departments and are an important
part of the general education requirements. In the Hutchins upper division,
however, we want students to build upon their understanding of the sciences
and come to grips with some of the crucial issues posed by our culture's applications
of science and technology. As you know, science and technology impact all areas
of our lives: our very worldview is in part formed by our understanding of what
the material world consists of, how it works, and the ways in which it can be
manipulated. Further, as inheritors of the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions,
we intervene in our material world technologically, for better and for worse.
As you take courses in Core Area B, you will find occasion to write on topics
which address the idea of the material world: scientific aspects of social issues,
the contribution science has made to your understanding of an issue of personal
concern, your sense of science as a social endeavor. You may write about the
values implicit in a particular technology, the cultural consequences of a materialist
world view, the impact on a minority group in the United States of the application
of a technology developed in the twentieth century. This list is not meant to
be exhaustive; you will find your own issues regarding science and technology,
and your teachers may provide you with alternatives as well. Core B courses
might enable you to...
· Describe how scientific knowledge has brought you a better understanding
of some vital issue.
· Investigate ways in which a society's "science" reflects
its values.
· Evaluate the similarities and differences between science and technology.
· Discuss the values implicit in the growth of and reactions to scientific
breakthroughs.
· Analyze the social forces which influence the development of particular
technologies.
· Explore how what we consider the "real" world has evolved
in relation to what we consider to be scientific "truth."
List of Core B courses taken:
Course # Course Title Sem./Year Most Valued Topic
LIBS _____ ___________________________________ __________ _______________
LIBS _____ ___________________________________ __________ _______________
LIBS _____ ___________________________________ __________ _______________
CORE AREA C - THE ARTS AND HUMAN EXPERIENCE
Through the arts and humanities we explore what and why humans create. These
fields include the broad range of experiences in literature, epics, poetry,
drama and other literary forms, the visual arts, languages, architecture, theatre,
music, dance, the writings of philosophers and the thought and literature of
the world's religions. Study in the arts and humanities explores the inner world
of creativity and individual values, as well as questions about how we arrive
at a sense of meaning and purpose, ethical behavior, beauty and order in the
world. The arts and humanities may help us achieve a deep and significant level
of understanding about aspects of ourselves which may otherwise remain obscure
and therefore troubling. Through the arts and humanities we can ask some of
our important questions - and occasionally answer them: about life and death,
about feelings, about the way we see things.
These areas, through which we can grow, express human problems and create the
metaphors which help us recognize and become aware of the interrelations of
all the areas of inquiry humanity has developed. The arts and humanities create
images from which participants may learn about their reality or the realities
of other times. Art forms help to develop creative and intuitive thinking processes
and can involve us directly in an expressive mode which leads to an understanding
of the aesthetic experience. The arts can, then, be an end in themselves, as
well as a means to an end. Core C courses might enable you to...
· Unlock a creative activity that you would otherwise not have pursued.
· Argue that art is an end in itself, not a means to an end.
· Explore the development of a moral viewpoint, critical thought, or
philosophic tradition.
· Investigate the concept of the "good life" as conceived through
religious or ethical perceptions.
· Examine fiction or poetry as art forms to discover the literary aspects
that make them powerful.
· Consider how we achieve a significant understanding of the human condition
through the creation of images and metaphors.
· Explain how direct involvement in an expressive art helps you to achieve
an understanding of the aesthetic experience.
· Describe the values and assumptions of an ethnic, political or social
group, as expressed through their chosen aesthetic.
List of Core C courses taken:
Course # Course Title Sem./Year Most Valued Topic
LIBS _____ ___________________________________ __________ _______________
LIBS _____ ___________________________________ __________ _______________
LIBS _____ ___________________________________ __________ _______________
CORE AREA D - CONSCIOUSNESS AND REALITY
What one endorses as really "real" is a result of many factors, some
of them psychological, some biological, some philosophical, some social, and
so forth. This fourth Core Area includes courses from a cross-disciplinary range
dealing with many aspects of existence, reaching from the physical to the metaphysical.
We are all aware that our consciousness is somehow the result of our gender,
our health, the ways we were reared, the social stratum in which we find ourselves,
the beliefs that were engendered in us, and other factors too numerous to list.
Consciousness is seen as occurring across a spectrum of potentials (conscious/unconscious,
rational/irrational, egocentric/transpersonal, masculine/feminine) that influence
our personal and collective realities.
It is nothing new to say that to gain the richness latent in human consciousness,
a person needs more than adequate food, clothing, and shelter. One also needs
various levels of emotional, religious or spiritual, intellectual, and transpersonal
or universal disciplines, practices, and experiences. Attempting to understand
the components of "being human" has been one of the major concerns
of people in all places at all times. The answers provided for us are sometimes
perplexingly inconsistent with one another, yet their very divergence itself
suggests something about the powerful complexity of the human individual.
Courses in this Core Area deal with such issues as the study of biology as it
relates to psychology, consciousness as it affects and is affected by perceptions
of reality, meaning-making as a necessary human achievement, and identity formation
as it is understood in the light of developmental psychology and the nature-nurture
controversy. You will have the opportunity to formulate your own thoughts about
the status of human consciousness and reality and include that formulation in
this section. Core D courses might enable you to...
· Discuss the nature-nurture controversy and its implications for education
and child-rearing.
· Engage in the study of a religious thinker/movement or a philosopher/philosophic
tradition.
· Consider various manifestations of inner-self and outer reality.
· Study the historical significance of one major world religion's way
of understanding the meaning of life, the nature of humankind, the ways of acting
in the world.
· Compare humanistic and scientific modes of viewing and comprehending
the world and reality.
· Look for the meaning of life.
List of Core D courses taken:
Course # Course Title Sem./Year Most Valued Topic
LIBS _____ ___________________________________ __________ _______________
LIBS _____ ___________________________________ __________ _______________
LIBS _____ ___________________________________ __________ _______________
During the final semester of your senior year you will enroll in LIBS 402,
Senior Synthesis. This course is designed to be a capstone experience, giving
you the opportunity to remember, reflect upon, assess, and synthesize your Hutchins
upper division work. The process begins with the form that follows this page
in the portfolio. It is a self-assessment grid that is designed to help you
understand the intellectual journey you are about to complete (and perhaps suggest
areas you still might want to work on). Then you will be asked to organized
all of your essays and other materials from your Hutchins courses and write
a series of brief abstracts. You will be given the opportunity to assess your
work, specifically discussing how the Hutchins portfolio has been used by you
over the course of your tenure at Hutchins. From these activities you will gain
a better sense of the work you have accomplished and the progress you have made
- that understanding will then be applied to the writing of an intellectual
autobiography.
The second half of the Senior Synthesis experience involves the development,
organizing, researching, writing, and presenting of a Senior Project or Paper,
developed in consultation with your LIBS 402 instructor. This can take many
forms and follow many paths. You might want to pursue some subject that you
touched upon in an earlier class but never had the time to really investigate.
You might want to interrogate an issue that you were never able to grapple with
in any of your other classes. Some students use this opportunity to create something
artistic or socially-significant, others pursue arenas of personal growth or
environmental change. The direction you choose is entirely open, but whatever
you choose must be important to you and to your intellectual development. Remember,
this will most likely be your last major effort as an undergraduate college
student, and your last opportunity to work on something about which you are
passionate. No matter what you choose to do for your Senior Project or Paper,
remember that it must include a written component (for art work this might be
a log and analysis of the work, for social service it might be an articulation
of the meaning and significance of the activity, etc.) and will ultimately be
presented orally to the class. Once again, in this class you will …
· Assess your intellectual skills according to the self-assessment sheet
which follows.
· Organize all of your essays and other materials, from all of your major
classes, and put them into the Hutchins portfolio in chronological order.
· Write one brief abstract for each of your above-mentioned essays or
other materials.
· Write your intellectual autobiography.
· Develop, write and present your Senior Synthesis Project/Paper.
· Complete portfolio self-assessment
EXAMINING YOUR SKILLS - PART TWO
In an effort to better understand your progress in the Hutchins Program, we
ask that you revisit this list from LIBS 302. Is your level "low"
or "mid" or "high?" End-of-Program
Skill/Ability Level
Ability to enter into discussions effectively:
· my ability to respect other points of view __________
· my willingness to discuss or critique issues __________
· my ability to listen carefully and consciously __________
· the relevance of my comments and questions __________
· the amount of constructive talking I do in class __________
Ability to analyze written material:
· my ability to recognize important points in readings __________
· my ability to examine arguments carefully __________
· my ability to respond critically to readings __________
· my ability to raise questions for discussion __________
· my ability to provide explanations and interpretations __________
Ability to communicate through writing:
· my informal writing __________
· my formal papers and essays __________
· my creative writing __________
· my technical skills (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.) __________
· my compositional skills (sentence & paragraph structure, transitions,
etc.) __________
· my referencing skills (bibliographic format, citation protocols, etc.)
__________
Ability to make formal oral presentations:
· my preparation __________
· my organization of materials __________
· my vocal qualities and personal presence __________
· my sense of presentations as performance __________
· my confidence and sense of control __________
Ability to communicate creatively across all disciplines:
· my familiarity with creative expression (arts, sciences, social sciences,
etc.) __________
· my ability to express myself creatively (various media). __________
· my willingness to learn through creative expression __________
Ability to continue as a life-long learner:
· my ability to think independently and ask meaningful questions __________
· my ability to make sense of a wide array of ideas and options __________
· my ability to bring a sense of values to bear in interpreting my world
__________
YOUR INTELLECTUAL INTENTIONS AND EDUCATIONAL GOALS - PART TWO
Now that you have completed most of your coursework in fulfillment of the bachelor's
degree in Liberal Studies, we ask that you write a brief synopsis, here on this
sheet, of your own most important life-long learning goals and the ideas you
will take with you into the world you will encounter after graduation. What
do you want things to be like and why? How will you go about making meaning,
making change in the world you are destined to create? This synopsis - call
it your philosophy of life-long learning if you like - should talk about the
self-development and accomplishment you want to occur to enable you to succeed
as an assured, autonomous life-long learner after you leave Sonoma State University.
Add additional pages as needed.
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YOUR INTELLECTUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY
One of the best ways to understand the value and meaning of your undergraduate
experience is through the creation of an intellectual autobiography. Your LIBS
402 instructor will provide you with more details about this in class, but in
preparation for documenting and reflecting upon your educational journey, you
might find it useful to make a list of significant events and transformative
moments in your intellectual development. Consider listing courses that were
particularly meaningful, teachers who were especially influential, projects
that were unusually challenging, experiences that were surprisingly important.
Include anything you consider to be central to your growth as a critical and
thoughtful learner and citizen.
COMPREHENSIVE SELF ASSESSMENT
The chart on the following page has been designed as a tool for comprehensive
self assessment and is included for you to use in considering the work you have
done during your time in the Hutchins Program. It addresses a variety of assessment
areas that the faculty considers to be important for you and your educational
development, and suggests that there are levels of competency associated with
each area. As you read through this chart, consider how your perspectives have
changed during the past few years. To what extent have you grown as a learner?
At what levels were you learning when you entered the Hutchins Program and at
what levels are you learning now? If there has been significant change, can
you determine why and how? If there has been less change, can you imagine how
your future development might continue? The categories and levels in this chart
can be applied to each aspect of your Hutchins experience, from reading to seminaring,
from your papers to your portfolio. While you should be striving to achieve
"level three" in all areas, it can be fruitful to try and understand
whatever level you have reached and what it means for you as a life-long learner.
| Assessment Areas | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
| Interdisciplinarity: |
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Multiple perspectives in overall work: |
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In this section you will find an assortment of documents designed to help
you plan your coursework in the Hutchins Program. Interdisciplinary Studies
Track I students will find an advising key immediately following this page.
Subject Matter Preparation Track II students will find an advising key immediately
following the first key. Also provided are a concentration list and other materials
that will prove useful to you when you meet with your advisor. All Hutchins
students are assigned an advisor in their first semester. Normally, this will
be your LIBS 302 instructor, but occasionally there will be a change - in that
case you should consult the adviser list in the Hutchins Office. Also, be aware
that any full-time Hutchins professor can advise you.
Because these keys are used by all students and all advisors, it is in your
best interest to familiarize yourself with the appropriate key and come to all
advising sessions well-prepared. Being well-prepared for an advising session
should involve:
The more you know about your major, its requirements and the documents that support it, the more prepared you will be and the more responsibility you can take for your own educational journey. Remember that Hutchins faculty will help as much as they can, but in the final analysis your education is in your hands. Make it your own!
The other forms you need to download are: