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Building an Academic Career: Requirements,
Policies and Special Opportunities
Earlham's General Education Program
Introduction
In its Statement on Liberal Learning (1988) the American Association of Colleges and Universities writes,
A truly liberal education is one that prepares us to live responsible, productive, and creative lives in a dramatically changing world. It is an education that fosters a well-grounded intellectual resilience, a disposition toward lifelong learning, and an acceptance of responsibility for the ethical consequences of our ideas and actions. Liberal education requires that we understand the foundations of knowledge and inquiry about nature, culture and society; that we master core skills of perception, analysis, and expression; that we cultivate a respect for truth; that we recognize the importance of historical and cultural context; and that we explore connections among formal learning, citizenship, and service to our communities. Because liberal learning aims to free us from the constraints of ignorance, sectarianism, and myopia, it prizes curiosity and seeks to expand the boundaries of human knowledge. By its nature, therefore, liberal learning is global and pluralistic. It embraces the diversity of ideas and experiences that characterize the social, natural, and intellectual world. To acknowledge such diversity in all its forms is both an intellectual commitment and a social responsibility, for nothing less will equip us to understand our world and to pursue fruitful lives.
As a liberal arts college, Earlham offers more than 40 disciplinary and interdisciplinary majors and minors in which students cultivate deep and specific knowledge and experience. Equally important, the College expects every student to develop broad, general skills and proficiencies across the whole spectrum of the curriculum: the Fine Arts, the Humanities, the Social Sciences and the Natural Sciences. In a world that is increasingly interconnected, diverse and complex, it does not suffice to be narrowly well educated. We must be able to grasp and make use of new and unfamiliar ideas and to make significant connections not only within traditional spheres of knowledge, but across different intellectual and experiential boundaries. Thus, Earlham aims at a general and deeply multidisciplinary education for all students who seek an Earlham degree.
General Education must serve acknowledged goals. For the College's 1993 North Central Accreditation self-study, Earlham's Curricular Policy Committee presented, and the faculty approved, a statement of General Education goals. According to these goals, Earlham aims to graduate students who possess:
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Skills in reading, reflection, writing, oral communication
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A grasp of the habits of thought and intellectual methods of different
disciplines
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An understanding of the scientific method and its application in
a laboratory setting
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The ability to interpret a work, idea, text, or culture from different
perspectives
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Skills to gather and evaluate information from many sources, including
print and electronic media
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Experience in engaging interdisciplinary and integrative inquiries
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Experience contextualizing disciplinary studies
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A sense of the responsibility that comes with knowledge
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Proficiency in at least one non-native language
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A global awareness and solid knowledge of other cultures
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An understanding of the formal dynamics of works of art
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Personal creativity and confidence in one's own ideas
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Skills in group and cooperative learning
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An awareness of one's self as a biological organism, a political
and social being, a maker of art, and a reflective and thoughtful
moral agent
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A desire and the skills to be a lifelong learner.
The Curriculum Policy Committee revised these requirements in
2002-03, adapting its long-term mission to the changing needs of the present.
These goals inform not only the stated General Education requirements,
but Earlham's curricular and co-curricular programs as well.
Additionally, the College uses these goals in curricular assessment.
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Close and critical reading, thoughtful reflection, ready discussion
and cogent writing.
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Increased adeptness in thoughtfully considering texts of all
sorts, whether singly or in comparison with one another.
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Gaining an understanding of the scientific process through direct
laboratory or field experience with natural processes.
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Systematic understanding and overt application of quantitative
and/or abstract reasoning (analytic reasoning).
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Proficiency in a second language and the cultural insight that
accompanies this proficiency.
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Multiculturalism in the study of domestic and international
diversity.
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Informed understanding of the arts through performance or creative
fashioning as well through theory and history.
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Practice and discipline in group learning. This includes thoughtful
community membership and should culminate in collaborative inquiry.
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Learning athletic skills and considering the nature of and need
for wellness.
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The ability to gather information from print and electronic
sources and critical capacity to evaluate the data gathered and
the ideas encountered. |
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