Outside Ai's walls, General Education is also known as "liberal arts" studies. Students can even major in liberal arts, meaning they take a wide variety of courses to get a general exposure to many disciplines. Even in these programs, students often eventually specialize in one area of science or the humanities. My master's degree is in liberal studies from Indiana University South Bend. To earn it, I took graduate-level courses in science, history, political science, philosophy, literature and writing, but I also chose to specialize in women's studies and my master's thesis combined ideas from all these areas.
On the surface, I could argue that what I learned from my graduate science class had nothing to do with my master's project, or with what I wanted to do with my life after earning my degree. The goal, after all, was to teach college writing, reading, and speaking in the state of Indiana. Since I wanted to teach writing, not science, the science class could be seen as a waste of time.
Only it wasn't.
The science seminar was on the Atomic Age, but it wasn't just about atoms and nuclei. It was about how the discoveries associated with nuclear energy changed our world. Sure, we discussed science and even got to observe experiments being carried out at the Notre Dame University Radiation Laboratory. But I also learned how the Atomic Age ushered in nuclear medicine, which would some day help me understand a family member's radiation treatment. I explored how the politics of the nuclear age continues today and affects current negotiations with countries like India, Pakistan, Libya, and North Korea. And because I struggled with the science part, I worked to find ways of learning it that made sense to me. Through this work, I learned about visual learning styles -- knowledge that continues to influence my teaching today.
Mostly, I learned that what I get out of a class is only partially dependent on the influence of the college, instructor, and textbook. The best classes were those that allowed me to explore the curriculum in ways specific to my understanding and interests. One of my science class peers was a nurse considering changing her specialty to nuclear medicine. Her final project was an exploration of trends in the field, and it helped her make an important career decision. My final project was an examination of how the atomic age was portrayed in film. I wrote one of my favorite essays as a result of that project and learned how to incorporate film critique into my academic work. This enables me to assist multimedia students in composition courses.
Students in GE 490 are also trying to answer questions about how liberal arts/General Education courses influenced their education and might be useful in life post-graduation. A Newsweek column last year entitled "The Death of Liberal Arts" laments the removal of some general education courses from college curricula. The author, Nancy Cook, says some colleges remove such courses in favor of offering more electives in professional programs that respond to marketplace trends. Cook argues that this kind of "market chasing" might be more profitable for the college if students are drawn to it because of a hot professional trend, but such a strategy does not guarantee the student a job in a market that might evaporate before the student graduates. She wonders if such trendy curriculum shortchanges students who do not get enough exposure to science and humanities to allow them to be active participants in civic life.
What do you think? Is it important that Gen Ed courses and instructors make a direct connection to your course of study? Whose job is it to make that connection? Is there value to science and humanities courses that try to make you a more aware citizen?
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