Curriculum Committee Minutes
March 7, 2000
Present: Barry, Cannon, Ives, Kerrick, Kontogeorgopoulos, Livingston, Mitani,
Neff-Lippman, Neshyba (chair), Pasco-Pranger, Stevens, Tomhave
Neshyba called the meeting to order at 4:03 p.m. The minutes for the meeting of February 29
were approved.
Announcements:
Barry announced that he had approved on behalf of the Committee slight changes in the
Comparative Sociology major. The department will drop the currently offered Social Services
track for the major. In addition, it will eliminate CSOC 190 (Foundations of Socio-Cultural
Studies) as a gateway course for the major and will substitute CSOC 204 (Social Stratification) as
the gateway course for the Sociology track and CSOC 200 (Cultural Anthropology) as the
gateway course for the Anthropology track.
Neshyba announced the establishment of a new subcommittee to consider revisions to the
Occupational Therapy program; assigned to this subcommittee are: Kirkpatrick,
Kontogeorgopoulos (chair), Warning.
Report of Special Interdisciplinary Major subcommittee:
Pasco-Pranger (subcommittee chair) reported that a proposal by student Scott Miller for a SIM in
Comparative Performance Studies Emphasizing Writing and Directing in Film and Theatre has
been withdrawn by the student. The subcommittee had communicated three serious concerns to
Miller: 1) The film side of the proposal was weak, in large part due to the lack of film offerings at
UPS. 2) The proposal did not make a strong argument for the interdisciplinarity of the proposed
program of study. 3) The proposal did not provide a clear statement and discussion of the
educational objectives of the proposed major. In withdrawing his proposal, Miller acknowledged
these issues as central to his decision.
Report of the Comparative Values Subcommittee:
ACTION: Barry M/S/P to reapprove the following courses for the Comparative Values Core area:
HIST 309 (European Peasants and Their World)
HIST 333 (Russia and the West: Search for Cultural Identity)
HIST 334 (Cross-Cultural Encounters: Europe and the World, 1492-1800)
HIST 348 (Japan’s Modern Century)
HIST 355 (African-American Women in American History)
HIST 375 (Women and Social Change in the U.S. Since 1880)
HUM 302 / FL 393 (Individuality and Transcendence in Medieval Literature)
HUM 306 (Cultural Identity in Japan and the United States)
HUM 307 (Shanghai and Tokyo in the 1920s)
FL 383 (Latino Literature: Borders, Bridges, and Fences)
FL 395 (Islamic Tradition)
REL 302 (Ethics of Responsibility and Difference)
REL 370 (Images of Evil in Twentieth-Century Fiction)
HON 401 (Some Classics of Islamic, Indian, and East Asian Civilizations)
CLSC 302 (Pagans and Christians)
CSOC 470 (Technology and Cultural Values)
EDUC 418 (Comparative Education)
Barry reported that the subcommittee was satisfied that all of the above courses fulfilled the
guidelines for the Comparative Values Core.
Report of the Natural World Subcommittee:
Kerrick (subcommittee chair) reported that the subcommittee was making progress in their
consideration of courses for reapproval for the Natural World Core. In considering the guidelines
for this core area, Kerrick reported concern that in the proposed new core, in which there is only
one required Natural Science course, some tightening of the guidelines or their application might
be in order. Neshyba commented that breadth of focus might be an additional concern in the new
core’s articulation of this category. Kerrick also reported that the brevity of many of the Natural
World syllabi makes an evaluation of their adherence to the core guidelines difficult.
Report of the Historical Perspective Subcommittee
ACTION: Cannon (subcommittee chair) M/S/P that the following course be reapproved as a Core
course in Historical Perspective:
REL 204 (Religions of the Book: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam).
Cannon reported that some concerns about the Method section of the Historical Perspective Core
guidelines had been answered by the instructor by an explanation of the course’s research and
analysis assignments. The subcommittee is satisfied that the course fulfills the Historical
Perspective Core guidelines.
Cannon also reported the withdrawal of the following Religion courses from this core category at
the initiative of the Religion Department: REL 106 (The Religious History of the United States),
REL 111 (Joan of Arc: A Freshman Seminar), REL 271 (Jewish Existence: History, Institutions,
and Literature). REL 106 and 271 are currently unstaffed; REL 111 is being withdrawn at the
request of the instructor, Jane Marie Pinzino. Neshyba inquired whether the issue with REL 111
was the Historical Perspective’s requirement for breadth of scope (in II.A of the guidelines).
Cannon affirmed that this was one of the issues that the subcommittee had discussed in relation
to this course and that the course offered an interesting test case for this ongoing question. Ives
asked whether the subcommittee interpreted the requirement temporally, geographically, or in
some other way. Cannon answered that requirements for temporal breadth appeared to be
covered elsewhere in the guidelines, which led him to believe that this requirement was asking for
something else. He also posited a trend towards student and faculty interest in non-survey
courses, which challenges the current guidelines. He also affirmed that issues of breath tend to
arise more often in Historical Perspective course not taught in the History Department. Finally, he
emphasized that guideline sections II.B and C (on Interdependence and Unity and Diversity) must
be considered as integrally connected with the section on Breadth and Continuity. Tomhave
asked whether the subcommittee had taken section III of the guidelines (Method) into
consideration in its deliberations. Cannon assured him that it had.
Report of the Science in Context Subcommittee:
Ives (subcommittee chair) reported that the Science in Context Subcommittee would be prepared
to wrap up its fallow year business in the next meeting or two.
Report of the Communications I Subcommittee:
Ives (subcommittee chair) reported that the Communications I Subcommittee would be prepared
to wrap up its fallow year business in the next meeting or two.
Report of the Humanistic Perspective Subcommittee:
ACTION: Tomhave M/S/P approval of a new course, REL 103 (Introduction to Ethics), for the
Humanistic Perspective Core.
Stevens M/S/P adjournment at about 4:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Molly Pasco-Pranger