PART 1:

A common misperception about the liberal arts is that it focuses little, if at all, on the sciences, and “the STEM fields… are where the action is.” Looking at the core handbook of UNE, we see that liberal arts do have a large focus on the sciences. It states: “Scientific literacy, including an understanding of scientific along with quantitative and qualitative approaches to comprehending the universe, is also central to our educational mission.” Liberal arts values the skills necessary for STEM fields, but some think that a more direct learning style would be better than studying other topics as well. In response, Ungar writes, “No evidence suggests, however, that success in scientific and technical fields will be greater if it comes at the expense of a broad background in other areas of the liberal arts.” I think the CAS handbook emulates the same idea. 

PART 2:

The two courses I chose to focus on in the last assignment were Philosophy and Introduction to Psychology. Philosophy is an “Explorations Course” and is considered one of the classic liberal arts courses. Explorations courses “encourage active learning, students acquire knowledge, develop skillful thinking, expand their expressive capabilities, and connect this learning to their broader experience.” I think Philosophy fits the key goal of critical thinking very well, as you are required to think deeply and without bias about very broad topics and connect them into your daily life. I also think it fits the key goal of citizenship, but not completely. I don’t think it fits the first two demensions of citizenship Sheuer calls, “tradtional” and “economic.” In the class, we don’t talk about the inner workings of the government or focus on being a good economic provider, but I think Philosphy has a large focus in cultural citizenship because we use mediums like the arts and religion to answer broad questions. My Intro to Psychology course is a social science and fits into the Social/Global Awareness core of the handbook. The handbook states that while studying these skills, “students will thus acquire disciplinary knowledge, develop critical thinking skills, and expand their expressive capabilities, while they expand their understanding of their place in the world.” I think this class fits the key goal of critical thinking, but does not fit the idea of citizenship very well. When referring to psychology and its relative fields, Sheuer writes “Those disciplines constitute the system for organizing and understanding the known world.” Fields like Psychology require the ability to make accurate judgements of a potential problem using various types of information which reinforces the use of critical thinking. For citizenship, Psychology contributes to the first demension because knowing how people tend to act in certain situations can breed better civil discourse. I also think it contributes to the second dimension of economy because this majoring in this subject can lead to a good job. But generally, since it is a science, Psychology doesn’t include much cultural development or civic responsibility.

PART 3:

As a way to ensure the promotion of critical thinking, in their third year, students at UNE are required to take a class that focuses on building the knowledge received studying their major in the first two years. The handbook states, “Each program requires its majors to enroll in a course designed to emphasize decision making and problem solving where students and faculty engage in informed critical and creative thinking about problems confronting professionals in that field.” General classes are already formatted in this way, but by focusing on critical inquiry in the third year, these skills can become stronger. This aligns with Ungar in his writing about the misconceptions of the liberal arts. He writes, “It is no surprise, then, that a growing number of corporations, including some in highly technical fields, are headed by people with liberal-arts degrees. Plenty of philosophy and physics majors work on Wall Street, and the ability to analyze and compare literature across cultures is a skill linked to many other fields, including law and medicine.” The CAS handbook seemes to be very much synchronsized with Ungar and Scheuer in its understanding of the positive aspects of a liberal arts education while also providing specific career oriented learning experiences.