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LIBERAL STUDIES
Liberal Studies Interdisciplinary Studies FACULTY
Steven Simon, J.D., Co-Director Kevin Sullivan, Ph.D., Co-Director Ronald C. Brown, Ph.D. Kristen Collins-Breyfogle, Ph.D. Mary Ann Owoc, Ph.D. Meredith Bollheimer, J.D.
LIBERAL STUDIES
LIBERAL STUDIES MAJOR COURSE WORK
provide students with experience in the empirical methods of the natural and social sciences(e.g., observation and data collection, the formulation and testing of explanatory hypotheses), as well as the methods of historical and cultural analysis, artistic portrayal and expression and broad theoretical reflection that are characteristic of the arts and humanities. 3 credits.
LIBERAL STUDIES TRACK COURSES
LBST 420. Liberal Studies Research Seminar The Research Seminar in Liberal Studies will provide senior Liberal Studies students with an opportunity to undertake a directed research project, produce a thesis project, and present that research in an oral presentation both to the seminar group itself and to the larger university community. Student participants will explore readings and discussions that bear on topics pursued in the Liberal Studies concentration and will work to develop skills in the mechanics of writing and research in preparation for producing the finished thesis project. The objective of this course is to select and develop a specific thesis topic that will be fully investigated and completed in LBST 421. 3 credits.
ENG 334 Shakespeare HIST 315 American Material Culture PHIL 309 Postmodernism POLI/PHIL 400 Political Theory PSYC 237 Memory and Cognition Two (2) Foreign Language Courses
3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits
All Liberal Studies majors will choose an area of concentration that will serve as a “focal track” for their upper level course work in the major. This will not be a “minor” but an integral part of the student’s Liberal Studies major. Focal tracks will typically consist of five courses drawn from the discipline that reflects the student’s chosen area of concentration. Students may choose from among the following “tracks.”
INTRODUCTION
The Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies (LBST) degree transcends the boundaries of inquiry of any single department or discipline and fosters a broad, challenging, interdisciplinary inquiry that combines the study of the liberal arts and sciences with the vision and core values of Mercyhurst University, while catering to students’ particular interests or anticipated career paths.
1. Pre Law 2. Pre Health Sciences * 3. Pre Business 4. Interdisciplinary Inquiry
LBST 421. Directed Research Experience * Note: for Pre-Health Sciences only, “Track” course requirements will total 8 rather than 5 given the need for This course will provide senior Liberal Studies students with direction, advice and colleagueship of a faculty Students acquire a broad intellectual background, drawn effective pre-graduate school training in science areas. advisor/mentor to enable them to complete the thesis from LBST’s interdisciplinary courses, the Mercyhurst topic chosen during participation in LBST 420. The core curriculum, and particular interdisciplinary COURSE DESCRIPTIONS culminating objective is the completion of the thesis as electives, while developing skills in communication, well as a public presentation of the student’s research to critical thinking and reasoning. An Introduction to the university community. 3 credits. Liberal Studies course (LBST 201) introduces students to 3 courses the foundations of liberal studies, as well as its common LBST 300 courses: Courses taken in the focal track can be either: methods and modes of inquiry, through a focus on a “revolving” interdisciplinary topic. The LBST curriculum is (1) Existing upper level courses in the field of the developed around the key elements of the Mercyhurst student’s concentration track that can be “liberalized” by University mission, which stresses sustainability, ethical including additional, specialized research content; (2) Specially designed versions of existing courses in the integrity, students as global citizens, cultural diversity, field of the student’s concentration track. critical reflection, the dialectic of science and faith, and leadership. These courses will be designated by a number that lists both the concentration field and the Liberal Studies Students will also select an area of concentration that will function as a “focal track” within their Liberal Studies level as well. For example, a student in the Pre- Business major. Tracks available for selection will include business, track, may take the existing course Intermediate Macroeconomics which would appear on the student’s pre-law, pre-health sciences, pre-business, and a more transcript “cross listed” as ECON 305/LBST 305. generalized track in interdisciplinary inquiry. In addition to a rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum, the Liberal Studies Degree program incorporates the Mercy tradition of service to the community through a directed service commitment. An internship component, in which students can acquire first-hand experience in a professional environment, also forms part of the applied portion of the degree program. Students become true global citizens through foreign language study and a study abroad experience. Finally, each LBST senior completes a capstone research experience, in which their broadened outlook is brought to bear on a particular disciplinary question or problem. Liberal Studies students are required to maintain a 3.0 gpa. NOTE: All students will have an initial interdisciplinary experience during the first year at Mercyhurst in their core Interdisciplinary Studies (IDST) courses. The Liberal Studies “gateway” course will be LBST 201.
LBST 400 courses: 2 courses Courses taken in the focal track can be either: (1) Existing upper level courses in the field of the student’s concentration track that can be “liberalized” by including additional, specialized research content; (2) Specially designed versions of existing courses in the field of the student’s concentration track. LBST 420. Liberal Studies Research Seminar LBST 421. Directed Research Experience COURSE DESCRIPTIONS LBST 201. Introduction to Liberal Studies The “Gateway” course to Liberal Studies, this course will contain variable content designed to introduce students to the diversity of methods and modes of inquiry that characterize the various disciplines gathered under the umbrella of the liberal arts and sciences. This course focuses on a common issue or problem from three distinct liberal arts and sciences perspective and will
2013-2014 Mercyhurst University Course Catalog • www.mercyhurst.edu