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General Education Learning Objectives and Course Criteria

Bibliographic Research in Writing (BRW)

Physical Education and Well-Being

World Language (Language Other than English)

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Bibliographic Research in Writing (BRW)

Description:

As global citizens, we must speak and act knowledgeably, consider arguments that counter our own, and evaluate the strength of evidence used to support our own and others’ claims. To further these ends, students are required to take one four-credit course that fosters bibliographic research and writing. Bibliographic Research in Writing (BRW)-designated courses familiarize students with modes of critical inquiry by requiring them (1) to discover and document the existing information available on a research question by identifying and evaluating relevant books, articles, and other types of sources, and (2) to create a polished written product that may take the form of a research paper or other academic writing. Students will work closely with faculty in developing and revising their work, make use of print and digital library resources, and draw on the expertise of librarians in the process. The BRW-designated course need not be taken in one’s major. BRW-designated courses may be applied toward a major or minor, and also towards another general education requirement.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completing the requirements of a BRW-designated course, students will have:

Articulated or investigated a research question that engages with the scholarship of a given field;
Identified relevant literature of the scholarship area and documented their research process;
Used sources appropriately by considering the information-creation process, authority in context, diversity of perspectives, and the relationship of the sources to one another;
Developed a polished written product incorporating revisions based on detailed faculty feedback.

Course Criteria:

For a course to receive the BRW designation:

Both bibliographic research and writing must be important components of the course; the writing component will vary by discipline.
Students must be required to find and use sources beyond those assigned or recommended by faculty.
The course must explicitly address academic writing conventions, styles of attribution, tools, and library/information resources appropriate for bibliographic research and writing in the scholarship area. Students and faculty in BRW-designated courses are encouraged to engage with liaison librarians, writing center consultants, and information technologists.
It must include assignments that require students to:
- Articulate or investigate a research question, as a way of introducing research as a mode of critical inquiry;
- Strategically explore the relevant literature of the discipline or scholarship area and document the research process via assignments such as research logs, annotated bibliographies, etc.;
- Evaluate sources by considering the information creation process, authority in context, diversity of perspectives, and scholarship as a conversation;
- Develop a polished written product whose final version incorporates revisions based on detailed faculty feedback
It must not be a 400-level thesis, capstone, or similar course.

Note for implementation: Because providing detailed feedback on writing is a labor-intensive process, BRW-designated courses should be capped at 25 students if possible. GEST will research feasibility.

Creative Arts Back to top

Description:

The practice and study of the creative arts increase students’ understanding of their own creative powers and potential, the artistry of others, and the historical and cultural contexts surrounding artistic creation. The arts provide us insights into ourselves and into the complexities and ambiguities of artistic representation, meaning, and culture. Students at Lewis & Clark should therefore acquire, as part of their general education, an awareness of this unique yet foundational way of knowing, forging, and experiencing the world and themselves.

Students may fulfill the creative arts requirement either by engaging in the creative process through courses in artistic production (e.g., the creation of studio art, media, design, music performance and composition, dance, theatre, creative writing) or courses in the study of artistic production (e.g., art history, literature, music history and theory, aesthetics).

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completing the requirements of a Creative Arts General Education course, students will have demonstrated their knowledge of an art, an artistic process, its meaning, and/or the interpretation of an art through one or more of the following:

the production of an artistic artifact/performance;
the analysis of artistic technique, form, and/or process;
the analysis of the frameworks of artistic production, representation, and reception (e.g., historical, cultural, theoretical, or global).

Students will have also developed their own informed artistic point of view, through cultivating both a sense of receptivity to artistic expression and an understanding of art’s materials, techniques, concepts, and forms.

Course Criteria:

For a course to fulfill the Creative Arts requirement:

It must require students to demonstrate their knowledge of an art, an artistic process, its meaning, and/or the interpretation of an art through one or more of the following:
- Producing an artistic artifact/performance;
- Analyzing artistic technique, form, and/or process;
- Analyzing the frameworks of artistic production, representation, and reception (e.g. historical, cultural, theoretical, or global)
It must foster the development of a student’s informed artistic point of view, through cultivating both a sense of receptivity to artistic expression and an understanding of art’s materials, techniques, concepts, and forms.

Culture, Power, and Identity Back to top

Description:

Courses in this category recognize culture, power, and identity as consequential themes within a liberal arts education. These themes have emerged in a variety of disciplines as critical lenses for grappling with historic and current discrimination, domination and inequality. These courses also invite us to consider how broader structures of power interact with culture and/or identity to operate with respect to the varied histories and experiences within our community. Courses that meet this requirement approach a variety of topics from a range of analytical perspectives across the full scope of social, cultural, political, economic, scientific, psychological, and artistic processes represented in the Lewis & Clark curriculum. As students investigate the interplay of culture, power, and/or identity, they learn to cultivate practices in communication, critical reflection on their own position, and/or recognition of different experiences, identities, and perspectives.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completing the requirements of a Culture, Power, and Identity General Education course, students will have critically examined one or both of the following:

The manner in which dynamic structures of culture and power affect society and individuals via social, cultural, political, economic, scientific, psychological, and/or artistic processes in historical and/or contemporary contexts;
The ways in which individuals, embedded within structures of power, shape interactions in historical and/or contemporary contexts.

Students will have also cultivated at least one of the following practices:

Collaborative and productive communication about culture, power, and/or identity in their community;
Critical reflection on their own position in relation to culture and power;
Recognition of different experiences, identities, and perspectives.

Course Criteria:

For a course to fulfill the Culture, Power, and Identity requirement:

It must require students to critically examine one or both of the following:
- The manner in which dynamic structures of culture and power affect individuals and society via social, cultural, political, economic, scientific, psychological, and/or artistic processes in historical and/or contemporary contexts;
- The ways in which individuals, embedded within structures of power, shape interactions in historical and/or contemporary contexts.
It must include activities that require students to engage in at least one of the following:
- Collaborative, productive communication about culture, power, and/or identity in their community;
- Critical reflection on their own position in relation to culture and power
- Recognition of different experiences, identities, and perspectives.

Global Perspectives Back to top

Description:

To become educated citizens of an interdependent world, all Lewis & Clark students are expected to gain a critical understanding of perspectives, politics, economics, societies, religions, creative arts, and/or cultures distinct from the United States, sometimes through comparison with the United States. This understanding can occur either through immersion in the culture of another global region as part of an overseas study program or via a classroom experience.

Students may fulfill the Global Perspectives requirement in one of two ways:

By successfully completing at least 8 credits on a fall, spring, or summer semester Lewis & Clark overseas study program.
By completing one course (4 credits) from the list below.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completing the Global Perspective requirement, students will have

Gained a critical understanding of perspectives, politics, economics, societies, religions, creative arts, and/or cultures distinct from those of the United States, or of regional or global trends therein,

and/or

Fostered recognition and development of cross-cultural skills by comparing United States perspectives in politics, economics, societies, religions, creative arts, and/or cultures with those of other countries and regions.

Course Criteria:

For a course to fulfill the Global Perspectives requirement:

It must include activities that allow students to either:
- Gain a critical understanding of perspectives, politics, economics, societies, religions, creative arts, and/or cultures distinct from those of the United States, or of regional or global trends therein, or that
- Foster recognition and development of cross-cultural skills by comparing United States perspectives in politics, economics, societies, religions, creative arts, and/or cultures with those of other countries and regions.
It must devote a majority of its course content to materials from outside the United States.
Creative Arts courses that fulfill this requirement must devote a significant portion of their course content to examining the cultural context of the art, as distinct from its formal or artistic context.

Historical Perspectives Back to top

Description:

Global citizenship requires us to understand perspectives and contexts other than our own. These contexts and perspectives may be geographic and cultural, and they may be temporal. The Historical Perspectives requirement engages students in explanations and understandings from outside our present moment that illustrate how our present arises from our past. Historical Perspectives courses attend to the ways that the stories we tell about the past are themselves historically influenced by cultural, social, political, economic, and religious motivations, and to the ways that our current explanations and understandings of the world are contingent. By studying events, texts, art, artifacts, and ideas from the past—and the narratives we construct about them—students expand their imaginative and interpretative capacities and cultivate skepticism and humility in understanding the world beyond the present moment.

Courses fulfilling the Historical Perspectives requirement present students with opportunities to learn about events, texts, art, artifacts, or ideas significantly removed from the present perspective, i.e., prior to 1945, a year marking a significant break in global history.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completing the requirements of a Historical Perspectives General Education course, students will have:

Explained and demonstrated an understanding of contexts or perspectives from outside the current era;
Explained or evaluated events, texts, art, artifacts, or ideas from before 1945, including primary sources;
Placed cultures, events, objects, texts, or ideas from before 1945 in conversation with one another and/or with the present moment.

Course Criteria:

For a course to fulfill the Historical Perspectives requirement:

It must:
- Devote a majority of the course to content from before 1945 or to content about events, texts, art, artifacts, or ideas from before 1945;
- Require students to respond to a primary source or artifact from before 1945 (i.e., not have only secondary sources on the syllabus);
- Place cultures, events, objects, texts, or ideas from before 1945 in conversation with one another;
- Ask students to explain or evaluate how ideas, sources, artifacts, or concepts have changed over time.

Natural Sciences Back to top

Description:

To prepare for life-long learning and civic leadership in an interdependent world, students must be familiar with methods of scientific inquiry and reasoning that lead to evidence-based explanations of natural phenomena and inform the development of technology.

Lewis & Clark students make necessary progress toward this goal by completing at least one course in the natural sciences. To register for many of the courses that fulfill this requirement, the student must first do one of the following: (a) earn the appropriate score on a quantitative reasoning examination; (b) receive a score of 4 or 5 on an AP exam in calculus AB or BC; (c) receive a score of 5, 6, or 7 on an International Baccalaureate higher-level mathematics exam; (d) successfully complete QR 101 or another prerequisite course. Some courses have additional prerequisites. (See course descriptions.)

Learning outcomes:

Upon completing the requirements of a Natural Sciences General Education course, students will have:

Recognized science as an iterative, exploratory process that requires both reasoning and creativity;
Come to understand that scientific principles result from the analysis of evidence collected through experimental or observational approaches;
Developed and used skills for analysis and interpretation of scientific data;
Demonstrated familiarity with the use of data to generate and answer questions about natural phenomena;
Become familiar with the major concepts of at least one field of the natural sciences; and
Assessed the broader impact of topics discussed in the course.

Course Criteria:

For a course to fulfill the Natural Sciences requirement:

It must incorporate activities that require students to do all of the following:
- Recognize science as an iterative, exploratory process that requires both reasoning and creativity;
- Understand that scientific principles result from the analysis of evidence collected through experimental or observational approaches;
- Develop and use skills for analysis and interpretation of scientific data;
- Demonstrate familiarity with the use of data to generate and answer questions about natural phenomena;
- Become familiar with the major concepts of at least one field of the natural sciences; and
- Assess the broader impact of topics discussed in the course.

Physical Education and Well-Being Back to top

Description:

Physical education is a facet of the liberal arts tradition that stresses the interdependence of the physical, mental, and social dimensions of human experience. Students will learn to recognize and experience the positive benefits of building physical fitness and self-care habits, explore aspects of the body’s structure and function, and engage in experiences within a group or community setting.

The wide array of classes that satisfy this requirement are offered at many levels and modes of engagement, including physical education courses (with dozens of options from weightlifting to rock climbing to yoga and meditation), varsity sports, and dance and movement classes. Courses promote personal health and well-being, often serving collective purposes of expression and teamwork. Students learn to challenge themselves by setting goals and measuring progress toward those goals.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completing the requirements of a Physical Education and Well-Being course, students will have:

Learned to recognize and experience the positive benefits of building physical well-being and self-care habits as part of the liberal arts tradition;
Explored structural and functional aspects of their bodies as part of a healthy relationship with the body;
Discovered connections between the mind and body; and
Engaged in these experiences within a group or community setting.

Course Criteria:

For a course to fulfill the Physical Education and Well-Being requirement:

It must incorporate activities that require students to:
- Learn to recognize and experience the positive benefits of building physical well-being and self-care habits as part of the liberal arts tradition;
- Explore structural and functional aspects of their bodies as part of a healthy relationship with the body;
- Discover connections between the mind and body; and
- Engage in these experiences within a group or community setting.

World Language (Language Other than English) Back to top

Description:

The study of a language other than one’s own has always been a hallmark of a liberal education and is all the more important in today’s interdependent world. Learning a new language reveals nuances and subtleties that yield insight into cultural practices, values, belief systems, and everyday life in the contemporary world and/or in historical contexts.

At Lewis & Clark in particular, language learning has a place of central importance, both because of Lewis & Clark’s historical commitment to global perspectives and because encounters with diverse cultures have become an integral part of the undergraduate program. Not only does language study enhance our appreciation for and sensitivity to the world around us, it also better enables us to understand and appreciate our own languages and cultures.

World language proficiency, whether in a modern or classical language, is a requirement for all Lewis & Clark students. A student can satisfy this requirement in either of the following ways:

By completing study of a language other than English through the 201 level, either on campus or by completing an approved overseas program. (The list of approved programs is available from the Office of Overseas and Off-Campus Programs.)
By placing into 202 or above on a language placement examination for a language other than English. (Language placement examinations must be provided by a regionally accredited institution.)

Exemptions:

Students admitted as international students whose first language is not English are exempt from the world language requirement.

Students admitted as US citizens or dual citizens who have acquired non-English language proficiency by virtue of living in another country must complete a language placement examination from a regionally accredited institution. If no regionally accredited institution offers a placement exam in the language, other testing alternatives may be available. Please see the Registrar’s Office for information and procedure.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completing the World Language General Education requirement, students will have demonstrated proficiency in a language other than English by having

Obtained a passing grade in any World or Classical Language course at the 201 level; or
Achieved an ACTFL score (for modern languages) equivalent to the 201 level in both Speaking and Writing; or
Met the SCS guidelines (for classical languages) equivalent to the 201 level in reading and translation skills.

Students completing this requirement will have also acquired a familiarity with the cultural, historical, and/or literary contexts of the language studied.

Course Criteria:

For a course to fulfill the World Language General Education requirement:

It must be a language course (modern or classical) other than English at the 201 level.