Intellectual Foundations

Learning Outcomes | (Download)

SUNY Guidelines for Western Civilization

Learning Outcomes

1. demonstrate knowledge of the development of the distinctive features of the history, institutions, economy, society, culture, etc., of Western civilization; and
2. relate the development of Western civilization to that of other regions of the world.

Guidelines

In addition to generic, eponymously titled, courses on the history of western civilization, courses that are more specialized—in either chronology or theme—may be approvable. Information submitted for such specialized courses would have to demonstrate

1. a focus on an aspect of western civilization that is reasonably construed as foundationally important; and
2. relate that focus to the overall development of western civilization.

Thus, courses on specialized topics or periods—examples include: classical mythology, the Renaissance, the Bible, French civilization, the history of theater—are approvable so long as the materials submitted demonstrate that the primary focus of the course is related to larger cultural developments of western civilization.

Courses that focus narrowly on particular authors or figures are generally not approvable, even if the authors in question should be very important ones. The operative idea is that the core of the course must be central to western civilization and that the treatment of that core must be placed in a broader cultural perspective, so that it could reasonably be said that students will gain an acquaintance with western civilization and not just a specialized knowledge of one narrowly defined topic.