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Core 2-5 - Heritage of the West
in World Perspective
Heritage provides an alternative to the sequence of Topics courses.
It is a full-year multidisciplinary course extending from prehistory
to the present. Team-taught by faculty from several departments,
Heritage focuses on major developments in Western culture while
incorporating pivotal events and seminal ideas from other cultures.
Comparisons with Eurasia, Africa and the Americas help to define
the origin and nature of Western civilization while fostering an
appreciation for cultural diversity and global interdependence.
If you choose the Heritage option,
you will attend four large group sessions and three small group
sessions per week. The entire class meets together for the large
group sessions, which consist of lectures or visual and musical
presentations by members of the Heritage staff. These sessions help
you organize, interpret, and gain perspective on the readings. The
small group sessions are devoted primarily to discussion. The purpose
is to give you an opportunity to express opinions, challenge judgments,
debate issues, and pursue questions raised by the readings and the
lectures. In addition to discussion, there is a substantial amount
of writing associated with this course.
The first semester of Heritage covers
the same historical period as the first two courses in the Topics
sequence, while the second semester is equivalent to the sophomore
Topics courses. These two approaches to the study of culture, Heritage
and Topics, are academically equivalent. Heritage has the advantage
of providing a connected narrative for the entire period from prehistory
to the present, while each Topics courses is limited to a single
subject explored in greater depth. Students who choose Heritage
will have fewer electives in their freshman year, but more electives
in their sophomore year. Whichever option you select, you are assured
a rich intellectual experience covering a broad expanse of history
and incorporating many different perspectives.
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Core 6-9: Science and Mathematics |
