Page 5 of Albion College Academic Programs by Albion College Michigan

1. require the creation or performance, and the analysis of works of art; 2. work with culturally produced rather than naturally occurring objects or experiences that have artistic, social or historical significance (for example, art objects, works of literature or various types of performances); 3. introduce appropriate forms of critical inquiry and analysis, including area-specific vocabularies, materials, techniques and/or methodologies; 4. encourage students to become critical and introspective about their cultural experiences; 5. focus on the methods and materials by which the work produces meaning as well as what meanings are to be produced, emphasizing the dialogue between form and content in the area of study. Scientific Analysis Courses in this mode involve the observation and interpretation of the natural world. In order to fulfill this mode of inquiry, courses must: 1. explore the subject matter and methodology of one or more of the natural sciences; 2. demonstrate how fundamental principles of these disciplines form the basis for deriving specific results; 3. require students to make observations and formulate hypotheses to explain their observations; 4. require students to test their hypotheses or other scientific theories to appreciate their strengths and weaknesses; 5. demonstrate applications to human society and the natural world; 6. include a laboratory as a significant component of the course. Modeling and Analysis Courses in this mode derive some essential or simplified features from logical, physical, social or biological phenomena, and describe and interpret them within an analytical framework. In order to fulfill this mode of inquiry, courses must: 1. explore logical, physical, social or biological phenomena; 2. enable students to decide which features of the phenomena to describe and what simplifying assumptions to make; 3. derive predictions from the model and interpret them in the original context; 4. consider the usefulness and the limits of the model and compare it with other possible models. Historical and Cultural Analysis Courses in this mode focus on how human knowledge is determined by its cultural and historical context, and how this knowledge in turn shapes cultures and creates historical change. In order to fulfill this mode of inquiry, courses must: 1. include material significantly removed from the students' experience either by virtue of cultural or historical distance; 2. direct students to investigate their own cultural and historical moment from a perspective informed by their study of culture or history; 3. require students to explore the specific cultural context of artifacts, to the extent that the course covers artifacts of a different culture or from a different historical period. III. Category Requirements A liberal arts education prepares students to play a critical, thoughtful role as citizens in their society. Courses in environmental, ethnicity, gender and global studies deepen students' understanding of themselves, society and the world by introducing them to many different perspectives. To this end, all students are required to take one unit each in environmental studies, ethnicity studies, gender studies and global studies as specified below. Environmental Studies Students are required to take one unit from the list of courses approved as satisfying the environmental studies requirement (see www.albion.edu/registrar/ ). Many of these courses also will satisfy a requirement in a major, in a program, or in a concentration. Each approved course meets the following criteria: 1. It must substantially enhance students'understanding of the earth's environment. 2. It must deal substantially with the consequences of human intervention into natural systems. 3. It must lead students to view the relationship among elements of environmental systems from an interdisciplinary perspective. 4. It must focus on the perspectives that environmental studies brings to the discipline. Ethnicity Studies Students are required to take one unit from the list of courses approved as satisfying the ethnicity studies requirement (see www.albion.edu/registrar/). Many of these courses also will satisfy a requirement in a major, in a program or in a concentration. Each Page 2 of 3 Albion College Catalog 2006-2007 Academic Programs Core Requirement 5/8/2006 http://www.albion.edu/academics/catalog/programs/core.asp

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