Degree Requirements

All students majoring in disciplines within the School of Arts are required to complete courses in the Liberal Arts Core. The purpose of the Liberal Arts Core is to provide a common background of knowledge in the humanities and social sciences which serves as a context for more specialized study in the individual major. The core is intended to provide exposure to the differing methods and modes of inquiry appropriate to various disciplines as well as to the assumptions upon which the disciplines are grounded, their knowledge claims, and their limitations. It seeks to provide opportunities for students to make conscious connections between specialized learning and basic human concerns and to build a durable foundation for lifelong learning.

Core courses seek the development of skills in different forms of inquiry, abstract logical thinking, critical analysis and informed judgment. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of the ability to bring what one has learned in one context to another, from one discipline to another, and from one community to another. These goals are sought within an atmosphere of free inquiry, dialogue, and interfaith concern.

Some majors may require specific courses (see following pages) to fulfill the Liberal Arts Core or the University General Education requirements. Students seeking Teacher Licensure must meet special requirements. The Liberal Arts Core requirements are as follows:

Foreign Language Cluster

Foreign Language (12 hours)

Courses must be in a single language: Chinese, French, German, Greek, Latin, Russian or Spanish. Students must pass a foreign language course at the 202 level. If this requires less than 12 hours credit of course work as determined by a placement test, the remaining hours are free electives. Students may request a challenge exam for courses at the 202 level (or higher) in a foreign language. Challenge exams are not offered for foreign language courses below the 202 level, but students may take a placement test upon enrollment or anytime thereafter. For foreign languages not offered at CBU, please contact the chair of Literature and Languages to determine placement and credit options. School of Arts majors who take their foreign language courses at Rhodes College fulfill the language requirement by passing a foreign language class at the 201 level at Rhodes.

Humanities Cluster*

Visual and Performing Arts (6 hours)

Any combination of Art or Theatre courses except ART 475 or THEA 475

Philosophy or Humanities (3 hours)

HUM 150	Perspectives on Public Life	3
HUM 200/GS 200	Foundations of Global Studies	3
HUM 210	Introduction to Sustainability	3
HUM 498	Honors Capstone	3
GS 200/HUM 200	Foundations of Global Studies	3
	PHIL 2@, 3@ or 4@ Except PHIL 497 or PHIL 498

Literature (3 hours)

ENG 211	Introduction to Literature I	3
ENG 221	Survey of British Literature I	3
ENG 222	Survey of British Literature II	3
ENG 223	American Literature to 1865 (formerly ENG 331)	3
ENG 224	American Literature from 1865 (formerly ENG 332)	3
ENG 315/THEA 315	History of the Theatre	3
ENG 339	Eighteenth-Century British Novel	3
ENG 340	Nineteenth-Century British Novel	3
ENG 341	Nineteenth-Century American Novel	3
ENG 343	Literature of the American South	3
ENG 351	Modern Novel	3
ENG 352	Modern Poetry	3
ENG 354	Modern Drama	3
ENG 355-358	Special Topics in Literature	3
ENG 361	African-American Literature	3
ENG 362	Women in Literature	3
ENG 432	Medieval Literature	3
ENG 440	Chaucer	3
ENG 441	Shakespeare	3
ENG 442	Renaissance Literature	3
ENG 443	Milton	3
ENG 444	Restoration and the Eighteenth Century	3
ENG 445	Romantic Prose and Poetry	3
ENG 446	Victorian Prose and Poetry	3
ENG 447	Seventeenth-Century Literature	3
ENG 450	Contemporary Literature	3
ENG 452	British Literature Seminar	3
ENG 453	American Literature Seminar	3
ENG 454	African-American Literature Seminar	3
ENG 455	Comparative and Transnational Literature Seminar	3
ENG 456-459	Special Topics in Literature	3

History (6 hours)

Any HIST except HIST 498 or HIST 499

Social Science Cluster*

Political Science (3 hours)

Any POLS Course

Behavioral Science (3 hours)

Any ANTH, CJ, PSYC, or SOC Course Except PSYC 110

*One course from Humanities or Social Science clusters must have a “global perspective”. Choose from: ANTH 160, ART 101, ART 211, ART 212, ENG 231, ENG 232, HIST 107, HIST 108, HUM/GS 200, PHIL 324, PHIL 325, POLS 113, POLS 115, RS 270, RS 355 or RS 360.