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What
Heritage Does
The Heritage program covers the history
of ideas that have shaped the world and especially the West. We begin
with the earliest prehistoric evidence of human civilization we have,
including fossils, cave paintings, and Mesopotamian ruins, and over a
school year we work our way up the 21st Century. We look at the origins,
meanings, and influences of ideas and problems that have driven human
culture and see how they have been explored in art, literature, religion,
politics, philosophy, and science. This is not a "memorize dates"
kind of class. We study issues like: How did agriculture change the world?
Why did people start believing in one God? What is the history of love?
Where did the idea of the soul come from? What did reading and writing
do to culture? What do artworks reveal about people's beliefs? Why were
some philosophers and scientists treated like heroes and others put to
death? How did epidemic diseases affect religion and economics? --and
a thousand other questions.
How
Heritage Counts for Your Credits
All Millsaps students must complete a
series of central courses (called "Core Courses") that cover
certain time periods and the disciplines of history, philosophy, religion,
literature, and art (called "foci"). This Core
Curriculum contains 10 Core courses. Taking Heritage fulfills Cores
2, 3, 4, and 5 and takes care of all 5 foci. Your other option is to take
separate Core 2, 3, 4, and 5 courses (called "Topics Courses")
over a 2-year period. Since it covers so much material and counts for
so many distribution requirements, Heritage counts as 2 course each semester,
so that each semester of Heritage counts for 8 hours of credit, rather
than the normal 4 hours of credit for regular classes. What
is the Heritage Schedule Like?
Heritage students meet
4 times a week for presentations (as one large group) and 3 times a week
for discussions (in small groups) for two consecutive semesters.
See the weekly grid here. Should
You Take Heritage or Topics?
In general, the choice
depends on how you best learn and what sort of classroom experience you
want. Broadly speaking, there are 3 things to consider.
One, if
you like seeing the big picture rather than more detailed views of a single
subject, you might prefer Heritage. Whereas a Topics Course might spend
an entire semester on World War II, or Greek Drama, or Medieval Romance,
Heritage will cover such topics in a day or two, always asking questions
about what led to such phenomena and what they led to in turn. Because
it is so interdisciplinary, Heritage will also change speakers, topics,
and approaches often. You might have a philosopher explaining where the
concept of human rights came from one day, a movie on the Crusades that
night, and a historian lecturing on the Black Plague the next day.
Two, Heritage
will take up more of your time than most Topics courses because it counts
for two classes at a time. However, Heritage also finishes in one year
and takes care of your Core 2 through Core 5 and fine arts requirements,
whereas Topics courses are taken sequentially through your sophomore year.
If you like the idea of finishing lots of your requirements quickly, and
like the idea of a more intense learning experience, you might prefer
Heritage.
Three, Heritage
has a different social feel than Topics classes, which are more traditionally
organized. Because you meet in small discussion groups 3 times a week
in Heritage and the course lasts all year, you get to know your classmates
pretty well and spend a lot of time working together. Some students and
faculty have variously described Heritage as resembling a summer camp
or basic training experience. Students often study together, work on projects
together, attend special events together, and of course, debate, argue,
and laugh in and out of the classroom. If this sort of non-traditional
class sounds appealing, Heritage might be perfect for you.
One of the best ways to decide
whether you want to take the Heritage or Topics track is to talk to students
who have been through each program and find out what they liked and didn't
like. You can check out what some students who really liked Heritage have
to say about the course here.
How
Heritage Credits Transfer
Heritage (IDS 1118-1128)
is a 16-hour program, the equivalent of four courses. The evaluation of
transfer credits is always a matter to be determined by the school receiving
the credits and completely depends on that school's particular distribution
and major requirements. However, the recipient school usually accepts
the recommendations of the originating school. Millsaps College, in addition
to noting that Heritage fulfills the Millsaps core requirement in Fine
Arts, recommends the following equivalencies for the total 16-hour Heritage
program:
| History (World Civilization) |
4 semester hours |
| Literature (World Literature) |
4 semester hours |
| Philosophy |
4 semester hours |
| Religious Studies |
4 semester hours |
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