2007-2008 Academic Catalog

Interdisciplinary Studies 2007-08 Cedarville University 143 Interdisciplinary Studies Through the honors program, Cedarville University encourages superior scholarship, allows a thorough integration of the various disciplines, and provides the student an opportunity to better understand how all knowledge relates to its source in God. The honors program offers an adventure in the world of ideas, coupled with practical incentives for transcribing faith and learning into the larger culture for the glory of God and the benefit of men and women in His image. Course requirements for the honors program involve 16 semester hours including: I. Freshman Colloquia: 1 The Making of the Modern Mind................................... 10 hours HON-1010 The Classical and Medieval Ages........................5 HON-1020 Renaissance, Reformation, and Revolutions.......5 II. Honors Integrative Seminars....................................... 4 hours Two seminars, typically 2 hours each, taken in the sophomore and junior years. III. Honors Research Project/Thesis................................ 2 hours Participation in a one-hour interdisciplinary colloquium each semester (HON-4910, HON-4920) or an interdisciplinary research project (HON-4950). 1 If taken together, these two courses replace the following general education requirements: HUM-1400 Introduction to the Humanities.....................................3 Humanities Elective.......................................................................3 (or 2000-level philosophy course if required for the major) History Elective..............................................................................3 If either of these two courses are taken individually, the course may be designated as 5 semester hours of credit toward either the humanities or history general education requirements. Honors Course Descriptions Freshman Humanities Sequence: HON-1010,1020 The Making of the Modern Mind 10 hours HON-1010 The Classical and Medieval Ages 5 hours Explores those historical, religious, philosophical, and artistic beginnings that have shaped the modern mind or what some are now calling the “postmodern” mind. The story begins, naturally enough, at the beginning, in the mind of God and continues through the development of classical Greek and Roman culture. Concludes with a study of the rise of Christianity and its dominance of Western culture in the Middle Ages. HON-1020 5 hours Renaissance, Reformation , and Revolutions Explores the changing balance of power in Western culture: from church to state, from faith to reason, from religion to science, and from piety to humanism. Traces out the implications of these shifts for cultural expressions and revolutions in the arts, religion, science, and philosophy and culminates in a study of late twentieth century postmodernism. Honors Seminars (Seminar offerings vary from year to year.) HON-3040 Gender, Politics, and Communication 2 hours Study of the places in which American women have found themselves since 1860, the expectations made upon them, and the influences they have had upon American society. HON-3050 Communication in the Information Age 2 hours Survey of the “new media” in electronic communication with an emphasis on the structures of the new media, their use in such areas as politics, education, business, and health care, the resulting changes in communication patterns in society, and the social and ethical issues raised by their use.