INTRODUCTION:
Having been passed by a referendum of Le Moyne's faculty in the Spring of 2011, the new core will begin its roll out in 2012-13 with pilot courses (notably, 7 experimental sections of our new First Year Seminar) and proceed with full implementation on a year-by-year basis beginning in the Fall of 2013. With some exceptions, students in the class of 2017 will follow the new core, moving through with the "wave" of its new courses beginning with the re-designed first year sequence and continuing with second, third and fourth year programs.
The new core curriculum marks a considerable departure from the older core at Le Moyne College. Both more structured (in the initial 2 years of a student's education), and more flexible (in the last 2 years and in its overall structure) than its predecessors, the new core also puts a novel emphasis on the attainment of basic skills (through a sequence of "writing instructional" courses and a new math/quantitative requirement) and on interdisciplinary learning. The new core also contains Le Moyne's first college-wide requirements in the visual and performing arts as well as in language or encountering another culture.
Even with its December start, the first year of work by the new Core Curriculum Committee (CCC, a sub-committee of the Curriculum Committee for the College [CC]) and Core Director was remarkably productive. The implementation of all of the new elements in the core demands considerable planning and design. Students and members of the public can follow ongoing progress in this implementation via our periodic newsletters, here: Faculty may access both these documents and more detailed records of the activities of the CCC and Core Director on the Committee's Blackboard site, a subset of the Curriculum Committee's page.
CORE IV Proposal (Curriculum Committee)
Sincerely,
Tom Brockelman
Professor of Philosophy & Director of the Core Curriculum
VISION:
Le Moyne's Core Curriculum is central to the College's Catholic and Jesuit mission of cultivating whole persons, students who are liberally educated, passionately curious, and actively engaged in the promotion of peace and justice in their personal and professional lives. We send forth graduates who are committed to building and serving the world in dynamic, principled and generous ways. Inspired by the signature Jesuit quest to seek God in all things, the Core fosters an understanding of knowledge as a means to service and leadership in an interdependent world.
Through the Core Curriculum, students develop a historical understanding of and appreciation for the main features of human cultures, especially their literary, religious, philosophical, scientific, social and aesthetic elements. The Core’s sequence of courses begins with first-year seminars. Faculty seminar leaders initiate students into the community of learning by modeling scholarly responses to questions of meaning generated by an ever-changing world. Through a cohesive set of courses, Le Moyne students then acquire both the skills and the disciplinary foundations to support a lifetime of inquiry. In the final phases of the Core Curriculum students return to the enduring questions raised in the first year, now prepared to undertake more independent and interdisciplinary study. Most simply, the Core helps students understand the world and their responsibilities within it.
Through the Core sequence, students not only attain the knowledge and skills associated with scholarly understandings of multiple academic disciplines; they also develop the confidence to engage in intellectual inquiry as members of a global community. Their liberal education empowers them to explore diverse ways of knowing; to appreciate cultural and artistic expression; to understand the moral, ethical and political frameworks essential to making fair and just decisions; and to pursue new intellectual experiences as integral to the life-long process of self-transformation.
Current Members:
- Tom Brockelman (Chair)
- Holly Rine ( Sabbatical)
- Ann Ryan, English & History
- Fred Glennon, Religious Studies & Philosophy
- Phil Novak, VPA & Communications
- Delia Popescu, Social Sciences
- Lara DeRuisseau, Natural Sciences
- Barbara Carranti, Professional Programs
Ex Officio Members:
- Michael Streissguth, Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences
- Wally Elmer, Dean of Management
- Cathy Andersen, Director of Transfer Admission
- Mary Chandler, Registrar
- Maura Brady, Coordinator of Writing Instructional Task Force
- Dixie Blackley, Assistant to the Provost for Student Learning Assessment
- Matthew Dowell, Writing Director
- Kelly Delevan, Core Librarian
- Vincent Hevern, Former Social Sciences Representative
LEARNING GOALS
To assist Le Moyne students in their intellectual and spiritual formations and transformations, and to enable them to understand the moral, ethical, and political frameworks essential for making fair and just decisions, the Core Curriculum prepares students for life-long learning in the following areas:
1. HISTORY AND SOCIETIES.
Students will develop an understanding of the main features of human cultures throughout history, including language. In the process they will develop an ability to view the world from the perspectives of cultures other than their own.
2. RELIGIOUS INQUIRY.
Students will develop an understanding of various religious faiths and theological perspectives. In the process they will encounter Catholicism relative to other faiths, other ways of knowing, and ways of seeking ultimate meaning outside faith traditions.
3. PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY.
Students will develop an understanding of the philosophical perspectives important in the formation of our world. They will learn various approaches to thinking and will understand the importance of these approaches in leading a meaningful life. They will also develop the ability to comprehend, articulate and criticize concepts and arguments in texts and in life situations.
4. INTERDISCIPLINARITY.
Students will explore the disciplinary nature of modern knowledge as well as the necessity for interdisciplinary understanding in today’s globalized world.
5. ARTISTIC AND LITERARY STUDY.
Students will develop an understanding that creative processes and artistic and literary works are tools for seeing, experiencing and making sense of the world. They will also appreciate aesthetic expression as a form of human communication.
6. DIVERSITY.
Students will develop an understanding of the perspectives and experiences of individuals and groups in diverse cultures. They will also recognize structures of domination that marginalize and exclude groups and individuals.
7. QUANTITATIVE REASONING AND SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES.
Students will develop an understanding of various perspectives in the natural sciences. They will also learn to use the tools of mathematics and the scientific method in the critical analysis of information.
8. SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Students will develop an understanding of the systematic study of human behavior in the social sciences.
9. READING AND WRITING LITERACY.
Students will learn to read closely and critically, going beyond basic comprehension to actively interpret and build upon the nuances of their reading. They will gather, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information and make sound judgments about its application. They will also learn to write with clarity, precision, and purpose and to communicate the results of research in effective, well-organized expository prose.