St. Cloud State University
General Education Goal Area 6
Humanities & Fine Arts
Academic Affairs Use Only:
Response Date:
Effective Date:
1.
Proposal Number:
Prepared by: Carolyn Hartz
Phone: 308-5160
Email: cghartz@stcloudstate.edu
2.
Requesting Unit: Philosophy
3.
Department, Course Number, Title: Philosophy 251, History of Western Philosophy I
4.
New Course
5.
Will this course be flagged as a diversity course?
Already Designated as Diversity
6.
Will this course also satisfy another General Education Goal Area?
If “Yes” specify which goal area.
Existing Course
No
Diversity Proposal Accompanying This Form
No
Yes
7.
Course bulletin description, including credits and semesters to be offered:
Ancient and Medieval Philosophy. The Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle, Hellenistic and Roman
philosophers, Augustine and Aquinas. Prereq.: One of 111-194. 3 cr. F.
8.
Indicate the clientele for whom this course is designed. Is the course for general education only, or
does it fulfill general education and other program needs for this or another department? Obtain
signatures from any affected departments.
General education, Philosophy majors and minors.
9.
Indicate any changes that must be made in offerings or resources in your department or other
departments by offering this course.
None.
10.
For new courses or courses not yet approved for General Education, indicate any other SCSU departments
or units offering instruction that relates to the content of the proposed course.
None.
11.
Courses designated as General Education are included in the assessment plan for the Goal Area(s)
for which they are approved. Courses for which assessment is not included in the annual GE
assessment report for two years will be removed from the General Education Program.
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The Requesting Unit understands and recognizes the above conditions.
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12.
Provide a concise explanation of how the following goal is a “significant focus” of the proposed course.
Goal Area 6: Humanities & Fine Arts
Expand appreciation and critical understanding of changing modes of human expression and systems of
thought in the arts and humanities, and develop abilities in the creation and performance of meaning.
In Phil. 251 students read texts from the ancient world and are required to understand how these
perspectives embody theories and presuppositions on a wide range of topics that are very different from
our own. They are also required in discussion and in written work to critically evaluate these views and
to develop their own perspectives.
13. In order for a course to be designated as fulfilling Goal Area 6, it must address at least 5 of the 7 student learning
outcomes (SLOs) below. Check the SLOs below that are focused on in the proposed general education course.
1. Demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.
2. Describe and appreciate works in the arts and humanities as expressions of individual and collective values
within an intellectual, cultural, historical and social context.
3. Interpret and respond critically to works from various cultures in the arts and humanities.
4. Explore intellectually the ideas expressed in works in the arts and humanities.
5. Engage in creative processes or interpretive performance.
6. Articulate an informed personal response to works in the arts and humanities.
7. Analyze the diverse means of communication in the arts and humanities.
14.
Discuss how each Student Learning Outcome checked above is achieved in this course. (Note: Although
descriptions of typical assignments or types of assignments may be part of this discussion, it is not
appropriate to submit copies of actual assignments.)
1. Demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.
Although the works studied in the course are all philosophical texts, students are required to read texts
encompassing a diverse range of perspectives and interests and styles. Ancient philosophers wrote in
a wide range of styles reflecting a wide range of perspectives. What we have of the pre-Socratics is
largely fragments, and this gives students a chance to develop skill at reconstructing views from the
fragments and understanding the perspective of early thinkers, prior to intellectual developments that
we take for granted. Plato writes in dramatic dialogue, reflecting his convictions that intellectual inquiry
is dialectic and bound up with practical concerns. Aristotle writes in a precise, formal way, emphasizing
the logic and taxonomy of his subject matter. Western medieval philosophical texts usually presuppose
a religious perspective, whether Christian, Jewish or Islamic.
2. Describe and appreciate works in the arts and humanities as expressions of individual and collective
values within an intellectual, cultural, historical and social context.
This course traces the historical development of thought in the ancient Greek world and in medieval
Western Europe. The texts help students understand how these thinkers saw their place in the
universe, from the earliest explanations of natural phenomena to a religious conception. Throughout,
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these thinkers emphasize the value of rationality and understanding. All these thinkers write from a
perspective from which philosophy was not a separate specialized discipline but the heart of all
intellectual inquiry and this gives students a very different sense of the role of these texts.
3. Interpret and respond critically to works from various cultures in the arts and humanities.
Students are required in their written work and in class discussion to analyze and evaluate the
perspectives, views, and arguments of such ancient Greek thinkers as Plato and Aristotle and various
medieval Western philosophers. These responses must include articulating the students’
understanding of these views, comparing and contrasting them in various ways, and critiquing their
consistency and coherence.
4. Explore intellectually the ideas expressed in works in the arts and humanities.
Students engage with the ideas examined in these texts, such as the relationship between form and
matter, the distinction between substance and accident, and the nature of the soul. They do this in their
written work and in class discussion by drawing out and evaluating the implications of these views,
examining their presuppositions, and understanding their connections.
6. Articulate an informed personal response to works in the arts and humanities.
In their written work and in class discussion students are required to develop and explain their own
perspectives on the ideas, views, and arguments embodied in the works studied. At least part of their
written work requires students to defend their assessments of these views, such as the existence of an
ideal reality, the nature of justice and virtue, and the existence of God.
15.
List or attach the Course Outline (adequately described and including percentage of time to be allocated
to each topic). Curriculum Committees may request additional information. Topics larger than 20% need
to be broken down further. Indicate in your course outline where the Student Learning Outcomes
checked above are being met.
Presocratics: 10% (SLO 1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Plato: 30% (SLO 1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Ethical or political works: 15%
Metaphysical or epistemological works: 15%
Aristotle: 30% (SLO 1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Ethical or political works: 15%
Metaphysical or epistemological works: 15%
Hellenistic and Roman philosophers: 10% (SLO 1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Medieval Philosophers: 20% (SLO 1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
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St. Cloud State University
General Education Transmittal Form
Academic Affairs Use Only:
Response Date:
Effective Date:
Proposal Number
Department: Philosophy
Course or Course(s): Phil. 251 History of Western Philosophy I
Carla A. H. Johnson
Department or Unit Chair Signature
February 10, 2010
Date
Department forward to Academic Affairs for publication and electronically to Chair of General Education Committee, Chair
of College Curriculum Committee, College Dean
Recommendation of General Education Committee:
Approve
Remarks:
Disapprove
Chairperson
Committee
Signature
Date
Recommendation of University Curriculum Committee:
Approve
Remarks:
Disapprove
Chairperson
Committee
Signature
Date
Recommendation of Faculty Association:
Approve
Remarks:
Disapprove
FA Senate
Signature
Date
Action of Academic Vice President:
Approve
Disapprove
Signature
Entered in Curriculum Data File
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Remarks:
Date