哈佛大学核心课程 通识教育基于哈佛大学的经验

通识教育

基于哈佛大学的经验

PrograminGeneralEducation

ThenewProgramgoesintoeffectfortheClassof2013.TheHarvard

CollegeHandbookforStudentsstates:

Studentsmustcompleteoneletter-gradedcourseineachoftheeight

categoriesinGeneralEducation

(clickonthecategoriesfortheirrespectivedescriptions):

•AestheticandInterpretiveUnderstanding(A&I),

•CultureandBelief(C&B),

•EmpiricalandMathematicalReasoning(EMR),

•EthicalReasoning(ER),

•ScienceofLivingSystems(SLS),

•ScienceofthePhysicalUniverse(SPU),

•SocietiesoftheWorld(SW),and

•UnitedStatesintheWorld(US/W).

Oneoftheseeightcoursesmustalsoengagesubstantiallywiththe

Ingeneral,studentsshouldplantotakeoneGeneralEducationcourseper

term.Thereare,however,norequirementsregardingthetimingofthe

requirementsaslongasallarecompletedbygraduation.First-year

studentsoftenfindthatGeneralEducationcoursesareusefulfor

exploringpotentialconcentrations.OtherstudentsusetheGeneral

Educationrequirementstoaddsomevarietytotheircourseofstudy.

AestheticandInterpretive

Understanding

Oneofthegoalsofgeneraleducationistohelpstudentsunderstand

themselvesandothersasproductsofandparticipantsintraditionsof

cultureandbelief.Onesteptowardachievingthisunderstandingisthe

developmentofaestheticresponsivenessandtheabilitytointerpret

formsofculturalexpression——literaryorreligioustexts,paintings,

sculpture,architecture,music,film,dance,decorativearts.These

skillsallowstudentstoengageintelligentlyandcriticallywiththe

worldofartandideas,andtheyarenecessaryforunderstandinghow

meaningsareproducedandreceived.Readingapoem,lookingatapainting,

andlisteningtoapieceofmusicarecomplexcapacitiesthatbuildan

informedsensitivity,aninteractionbetweentheintellectandthesenses.

Andstudentsneedtoknowhowtointerpretculturalworks-toknow,for

example,howtodistinguishtheliteralandsymbolic,somethingthatis

crucialtoevaluatingandmakingsenseofeverythingfromreligioustexts

andlyricpoemstopopsongsandmotionpictures.Knowingsomethingabout

languageandperceptioncanheightenstudentsJaestheticresponsesto

andinterpretationofculturalobjects.Exploringtheoreticaland

philosophicalissuesconcerningtheproductionandreceptionofmeanings

andtheformationofaestheticjudgmentenhancesstudents'awarenessof

waysinwhichculturalobjectsacquirevalueandsignificance.

CoursesinAestheticandInterpretiveUnderstandingshould:

•Developskillsincriticism,thatis,aestheticresponsivenessand

interpretiveability;

•developskillsinunderstandingwritten,aural,visual,

kinaesthetic,orotherformsbyexaminingprimarytextsinany

language,linguisticstructures,and/orworksofartinoneormore

media;

•teachhowtoanalyzetheseworksinacontextualframework,such

ascriticaltheory,aesthetics,philosophyofart,rhetoric,

theoriesoflanguageandmeaning,ortheoriesofperception;and

•wherepracticableandappropriate,includeexperiencesoutofthe

classroom,suchasvisitstoexhibitions,performances,and

readings,orinteractionswithperformers,directors,andcurators,

orallowstudentstoundertakecreativework.

ListofcoursesthatsatisfytheAIcategory.

CultureandBelief

Indevelopinganawarenessofthemselvesandotherpeopleasproductsof

andparticipantsintraditionsofcultureandbelief,studentsneedto

domorethanacquireskillsininterpretingandrespondingtoartand

ideas-theaimofcoursesintheAestheticandInterpretiveUnderstanding

subjectarea,above.Theyneedtoputtheseworksincontext一toseehow

social,political,religious,andeconomic,andcross-cultural

conditionsshapetheproductionandreceptionofideasandworksofart.

Theyalsoneedtolearnaboutthewaysinwhichculturesandbeliefs

mediatepeople'sunderstandingofthemselvesandtheworld.

Theroleofcultureandbeliefinshapingidentitiesandcommunitiesis

notsimple:cultureandbeliefcancausechange,andtheycanalsobe

sourcesofresistancetochange.Culturalexpressionshaveneverbeenmore

widelydisseminated.Music,images,andliteratureofallkindsare

accessibletoanextentunheardofeventwentyyearsago,andthishas

alteredthewaywethinkaboutcultures.Wearemoreawarethaneverof

thedegreetowhichculturesfeedoffoneanotheracrossnational,

regional,religious,andethnicboundaries.Yetitisofteninthename

oftheirculturethatnationalandethnicgroupsengageinconflictwith

othergroups.

Religiousbeliefsandpracticesaretopicsthatsomecoursesinthis

categoryshouldaddress.Religionhashistoricallybeen,andcontinues

tobe,aforceshapingidentityandbehaviorthroughouttheworld.Harvard

isasecularinstitution,butreligionisanimportantpartofour

students'lives.(Ninety-fourpercentofHarvardsincomingstudents

reportthattheydiscussreligion“frequently”or^occasionally,“and

seventy-onepercentsaythattheyattendreligiousservices.)Whenthey

gettocollege,studentsoftenstruggletosortouttherelationship

betweentheirownbeliefsandpracticesandthoseoffellowstudents,and

therelationshipofreligiousbelieftotheresolutelysecularworldof

theacademy.Itisalsoimportantforstudentstohavetheopportunity

tolearnsomethingabouttheimpactthatreligiousbeliefandpractice

hasontheworld,aswellasonthemselves.

Therearemanytopicsofwidepracticalandintellectualinterestthat

coursesinCultureandBeliefmightaddress:problemsoftranslation,the

conceptofauthorship(itssignificanceforclaimsaboutplagiarismor

copyright),censorship,conflictinginterpretationsofreligiousand

othertexts,institutionalmediationofaestheticexperience(artmuseums,

themusicindustry,thechurch),canonformation,thetensionsbetween

modernityandreactionarythinking,violenceanditsrepresentation.

CoursesinCultureandBeliefshould:

•Developanunderstandingofandappreciationfortraditionsof

cultureandbeliefinhumansocieties;

•introducestudentstoprimarytextsinanylanguage,worksofart

inoneormoremedia,orethnographies,socialhistories,orother

secondarytexts;

•developtheabilitytoanalyzetheseworksinthelightoftheir

historical,social,political,economic,religious,and/or

cross-culturalconditionsofproductionandreception;

•examinewaysinwhichtraditionsofcultureandbeliefshapethe

identitiesofindividualsandcommunities;and

•drawconnectionsbetweenthematerialcoveredinthecourseand

culturalissuesofconcernorinterestthatarelikelytoarisein

students'ownlives.

LisiofcoursesthatsatisfytheCBcategory.

EmpiricalandMathematical

Reasoning

Aftertheygraduate,studentswillbemakingimportantdecisions,for

themselvesandothers,underconditionsofuncertainty.Theywillhave

todecide,forexample,whatmedicaltreatmentstoundergo,whena

defendantincourthasbeenprovenguilty,whethertosupportapolicy

proposal,andhowtomanagetheirpersonalfinances.Theyalsowillbe

calledupon,asindividualsandascitizens,toevaluateempiricalclaims

madebyothers.Coursesinempiricalreasoninghelpstudentslearnhow

tomakedecisionsanddrawinferencesinmatterslikethesethatinvolve

theevaluationofempiricaldata.Theyteachstudentshowtogatherand

assessinformation,weighevidence,understandestimatesof

probabilities,solveproblems,drawinferencesfromthedataavailable,

andalsohowtorecognizewhenanissuecannotbesettledonthebasis

oftheavailableevidence.Todeveloptheseabilities,studentsneedto

learnhowtoapplytheabstractprinciplesandconceptsofprobability

theory,statistics,decisiontheory,logic,andmathematicstoconcrete

problems.Ordinarily,theywilllearntodothisintheformofhands-on

exercises.Justasonedoesn,tbecomeamarathonrunnerbyreadingabout

theBostonMarathon,so,too,onedoesn'tbecomeagoodproblemsolver

bylisteningtolecturesorreadingaboutstatistics.Studentsshould

learnempiricalreasoningbypracticingit.

Empiricalreasoningisnotadiscretebodyofknowledge.Itisasetof

relatedconceptualskillsthatguidevalidreasoninganddecision-making.

Totakejustafewexamples,studentsmightlearnthestatistical

principlethatexceptionalcaseswillregresstothemean;thatrelaxing

thestandardsforreportinganuncertaineventwillincreasebothhits

andfalsealarms;thatapersonwiththetypicalsymptomsofarare

conditionprobablydoesnothavethatcondition;thatincertain

interactionsthebestoptionforeachindividualcanbringabouttheworst

outcomeforallofthem.Itisalsohelpfulforstudentstobecomeaware

ofthemanymistakesthathumanbeingsarepronetomakingintheir

reasoning,suchasmistakingcorrelationforcausation,ignoringbase

ratesinestimatingprobabilities,overinterpret!ngcoincidences,and

thelike.Knowingcommonpitfallsininference-makingcanhelpstudents

avoidthem.

Empiricalreasoningshouldbetaughtinthecontextofavarietyof

subjectssothatstudentscanworkontopicsofintrinsicinteresttothem,

suchasmedicineanddisease,publicpolicyandpoliticalbehavior,and

legaloreconomicdecision-making.Weexpectthatmanystudentswill

fulfilltherequirementwithcoursesinthestatisticalandanalytical

methodsoftheirfield.Mathematicsandlogiccoursesthatdemonstrate

theapplicabilityoftheirmethodstoconcreteproblemsshouldalsocount

towardthisrequirement.

CoursesinEmpiricalandMathematicalReasoningshould:

•Teachtheconceptualandtheoreticaltoolsusedinreasoningand

problemsolving,suchasstatistics,probability,mathematics,

logic,anddecisiontheory;

•provideexercisesinwhichstudentsapplythesetoolstoconcrete

problemsofwideconcern;and

•wherepracticable,familiarizestudentswithsomeofthemistakes

humanbeingstypicallymakeinreasoningandproblemsolving.

ListofcoursesthatsatisfytheEMcategory.

EthicalReasoning

Manyofthedecisionsourstudentswillmakeintheirpersonaland

professionalliveswillhaveethicalimplications:choosingapolitical

candidatetosupport;assessingpublicpolicies;negotiating

professionalinteractions;resolvingfamilydilemmas;and,ultimately,

choosingamongdifferentlifeprojects.CoursesinEthicalReasoning

teachstudentstoreasoninaprincipledwayaboutmoralandpolitical

beliefsandpractices,andtodeliberateandassessclaimsforthemselves

aboutethicalissues.Thesecourseswillexaminecompetingconceptions

andtheoriesofliberty,justice,equality,democracy,rights,

obligations,thegoodlife,andthelike,illustratinghowtheybearon

thesortsofconcreteethicaldilemmasstudentsmayencounterintheir

public,professional,andpersonallives.Becausetheyexplicitlylink

theoryandpractice,somecoursesinthiscategorymightprofitablyengage

professionalschoolfaculty.

Inlearninghowtowrestlewithethicalissues,itisoftenhelpfulfor

studentstoencounteravaluesystemverydifferentfromtheirown,one

thatcallsattentiontothemanyethicalassumptionsthattheymake

withoutrealizingit.Thisencountermaybewithavaluesystemfromthe

pastorfromadifferentculture,anditmaybewithinthecontextofa

religioustradition.

Bychallengingstudentstoevaluate,andpossiblychange,theassumptions

andvaluestheygrewupwith,thesecoursespromoteourstudents'

personaldevelopmentandbuildthecapacitiesforargumentand

deliberationessentialforeffectivecivicagency.Advancesinscience

andtechnologywillcontinuetoraisedifficultandunanticipatedethical

questionsintothefuture,andtheimpactofsocialandeconomic

globalizationisfeltperhapsmostkeenlywhenethicalconvictionsof

differentculturescollide.Studentsmustbeequippedtoengagewiththe

challengesthatthesetwenty-first-centuryrealitieswillraise.

CoursesinEthicalReasoningshould:

•Teachhowtoreasonaboutmoralandpoliticalbeliefsandpractices,

andhowtodeliberateandassessclaimsaboutethicalissues;

•examinecompetingconceptionsandtheoriesofethicalconceptssuch

asthegoodlife,obligation,rights,justice,andliberty;

•teachhowtoassessandweighthereasonsforandagainstadopting

thesevariousconceptionsandtheories;

•applytheseconceptionsandtheoriestoconcreteethicaldilemmas

ofthesortstudentswillencounterintheirlives,suchasthose

thatariseinmedicine,law,business,politics,anddailylife;

and

•whereappropriate,acquaintstudentswithvaluesystemsdifferent

fromtheirown,suchasthoseofdifferentreligionsordifferent

historicalperiodsandthoseexpressedindifferentlanguages,or

withempiricalstudiesofmorallife.

ListofcoursesthatsatisfytheERcategory.

ScienceofLivingSystems

Theexponentialgrowthofscientificknowledgehasbeenaccompaniedby

acorrespondingincreaseintheimpactofscienceandengineeringonall

membersofsociety,scientistsandnon-scientistsalike.Withinthe

spectrumofscienceandengineeringactivities,understandinglife-its

origins,thewayitchangesandischangedbytheenvironment,andthe

waysinwhichitsspaninhumanscanbeextended——continuestobeanarea

ofenormousactivity.Thescienceandengineeringthatstudyliving

organismshaveaffectedourstudentsinmanyways:suchstudieshaveled

tolife-savingmedicines,technologiesfordiagnosingandunderstanding

humandisease,geneticallyengineeredplantsandanimalsasnewfood

sources,andtheinventionofbiologicalwarfareagents.Thelifesciences

havealsostoodatthecrossroadsofmanyofthemostvigorouslydebated

andtransformingpublicissuesofthepastcenturies,includingthetheory

ofevolutionbynaturalselection,thelegalityofembryonicstem-cell

research,andtheethicsofhumancloning.

GeneraleducationcoursesinScienceofLivingSystemsteachcentralfacts

andconceptsinthelifesciencesandengineeringandrelatethemtolife

outsideoftheclassroomorlaboratory.Thesecoursesdonotstriveto

trainstudentstobecomefuturescientistsortoenablestudentstotake

moreadvancedscienceclasses;therefore,theyarenotexpectedtocover

indepthanyspecificscientificsub-discipline.Rather,general

educationcoursesinScienceofLivingSystemsshouldconveymaterialthat

isbroadlyapplicabletolifeaftercollege.Todoso,theyshould:

•Introducekeyconcepts,facts,andtheoriesrelevanttoliving

systems;

•teachthenatureofexperimentsonlivingsystems,ideallythrough

laboratoryexperiences;

•relatescientificconcepts,facts,theories,andmethodsto

problemsofwideconcern;and

•whererelevantandappropriate(asdeterminedbytheinstructor),

discussoneormoreofthefollowing:thehistory,philosophy,

contexts,andinstitutionsofthescientificworkbeingtaught.

Althoughmuchoftheconnectiontoreal-worldproblemsmaybepedagogical,

thecoursesshouldattempttoprovidestudentswithconceptualtoolsthat

theycanusecriticallytoevaluatescientificclaimsthattheywill

encounter.

Understandingthescienceoflivingsystemspreparesstudentstoadapt

tochangesintheirlivesthatwillbedrivenbyadvancesinthescience

andengineeringoflivingsystems.Knowledgeofwhatscientific

experimentationcan(andcannot)establishfurtherpreparesstudentsto

participateinsocietybyenablingthemtoevaluatescientificclaims,

toconsideralternativeaccountsforempiricalfindings,andto

appreciatetheambiguitythatoftensurroundssuchfindings.Moreover,

scientificknowledgeofthelivingworldcanprovidematerialessential

tounderstandingtheethicaldimensionofmanyissuesanddecisionsthat

ourstudentswillfaceintheyearsaftercollege.

ListofcoursesthatsatisfytheLScategory.

ScienceofthePhysicalUniverse

Advancesinourscientificunderstandingofthephysicaluniversethat

liesoutsideoflivingsystemshavehadaprofoundimpactonsociety.These

discoveriesandinventionshaveenabledthestorageandharvestingof

energy,thedevelopmentofnuclearpower,insightsintotheoriginsof

ourplanetandgalaxy,andtheinventionofcomputersandtheInternet.

Conceptsinthephysicalsciencesalsounderlieanumberofissuesthat

affectsocietiesacrosstheglobe,includingrelianceonfossilfuels,

theexplorationofspace,theproliferationofnuclearweapons,climate

change,andprivacyinanageofdigitalcommunication.Byenablingenergy

andmattertobestudiedandmanipulatedinnewways,thescienceand

engineeringofthephysicaluniversewillcontinuetoplayanimportant

rolethroughoutourstudentsylives.

GeneraleducationcoursesinScienceofthePhysicalUniverseteach

centralfactsandconceptsinthephysicalsciencesandengineering,and

relatethemtoissuesthatstudentswillencounterintheirdailylives.

Thesecoursesarenotintendedtoproducebuddingscientistsorengineers,

butrathertoprovideafirmgroundinginthenatureofthephysicalworld.

Generaleducationcoursesinthiscategoryshouldthereforeconvey

materialthatisbroadlyapplicabletolifeaftercollege.Inorderto

doso,theyshould:

•Introducekeyconcepts,facts,andtheoriesaboutthephysical

universethatequipstudentstounderstandbetterourworldandthe

universe;

•teachthenatureofexperimentsinthephysicalsciencesand

engineering,ideallythroughlaboratoryexperiences;

•relatescientificconcepts,facts,theories,andmethodsto

problemsofwideconcern;and

•whererelevantandappropriate(asdeterminedbytheinstructor),

discussoneormoreofthefollowing:thehistory,philosophy,

contexts,andinstitutionsofthescientificworkbeingtaught.

Althoughmuchoftheconnectiontoreal-worldproblemsmaybepedagogical,

thecoursesshouldattempttoprovidestudentswithconceptualtoolsthat

theycanusecriticallytoevaluatescientificclaimsthattheywill

encounter.

AnunderstandingofScienceofthePhyscialWorldiscrucialtoachieving

severalgoalsofgeneraleducation.Manyfeaturesofthephysical

environment,bothathomeandinothercountries,aresubjectsof

extensiveresearchinthephysicalsciences.Thesefeaturesarenot

constant:notonlydonaturalforcescontinuallyreshapeourworld,but

sodohuman-initiatedforces.Anunderstandingofkeyfactsandtheories

about,andconceptspertainingto,thephysicaluniverseisessentialif

studentsaretobepreparedtoadapttochange,aretofunctionasaware

citizens,andaretobeabletothinkcriticallyaboutmanyethicalissues

thatarerelatedtoworkinthephysicalsciences,suchasthecostsand

benefitsofalternativeenergysources.

ListofcoursesthatsatisfythePUcategory.

SocietiesoftheWorld

Harvardundergraduateshavegrownupinasingle-superpowerworld.The

influencearoundtheworldoftheUnitedStatesculturally,economically,

militarily,andscientificallyisunprecedented.Yet,forthatvery

reason,itisdifficultforstudentsinsidetheUnitedStatesto

understandthiscountryfromaninternationalperspective,asanation

incontinuousengagementwithsocietiesaroundtheworld,sometimes

cooperativelyandsometimesconfrontationally.Studentsmaybeeasily

persuaded,bythemannerinwhichothersocietiesarerepresentedinthe

pressandinthecultureofpubliclife,thatotherpeopleare,insome

universalsense,“essentially”Americans.Animportantaimofthe

coursesintheSocietiesoftheWorldcategoryistohelpstudentsovercome

thisparochialismbyacquaintingthemwithvalues,customs,and

institutionsthatdifferfromtheirown,andbyhelpingthemtounderstand

howdifferentbeliefs,behaviors,andwaysoforganizingsocietycomeinto

being.

Thesecoursesmaytakeavarietyofdisciplinaryapproachestothe

examinationofeconomic,political,andlegalsystems,andsocial

relations.Coursesmayalsoaddressculturalpracticesorreligious

traditions,andtheireffectonsocialstructures.Topicsmaybetreated

fromacontemporaryperspectiveorahistoricalone,aslongastheyhelp

studentsdevelopanawarenessofthediversityofwaysinwhichhuman

beingshaveorganizedtheirsocialexistence.Somecoursesinthis

categorymightconcentrateprimarilyonasinglesociety,pastorpresent,

buttheyshoulddemonstrateitsconnections,acrosstimeorgeographical

space,tooneormoreothersocieties(including,asappropriate,the

UnitedStates).Othercoursesmightaddressissuesorthemesthat

transcendnationalboundaries,analyzingtheflowandtransformationof

money,goods,people,resources,information,orideasbetweenandamong

differentsocieties.

Therearemanytopicsofwidepracticalandintellectualinterestthat

coursesinSocietiesoftheWorldmightexplore,includingimmigration

policy,ethnicidentityandstatehood,religionandgovernment,global

markets,constitutionalism.

CoursesinSocietiesoftheWorldshould:

•ExamineoneormoresocietiesoutsidetheUnitedStates;

•demonstrateconnectionsbetweensocietiesand/oracrosshistorical

periodsinasinglesociety;and

•relatethematerialstudiedtothekindsofsocial,cultural,

political,legal,linguistic,oreconomicissuesstudentsmight

encounterinaglobalcontext.

ListofcoursesthatsatisfytheSWcategory.

UnitedStatesintheWorld

StudentsneedtolearnsomethingaboutsocietiesotherthantheUnited

States,buttheyshouldalsoleaveHarvardwithasophisticatedand

nuancedunderstandingofAmericansociety.Coursesinthiscategory

examineAmericansocial,political,legal,andeconomicpracticesand

institutions,andtheymakeconnectionsbetweentheUnitedStatesand

societieselsewhere.Thesecoursesshouldchallengetheassumptionswith

whichmanystudentscometocollege一aboutwhatitmeanstobeanAmerican,

aboutthepersistenceanddiversityofAmericanvalues,aboutthe

re