Southwestern University
2003-2004 Catalog
Southwestern University: A Statement
The Academic Program
Degree Requirements
Academic Regulations
Course Descriptions
Brown College of Arts & Sciences
Biology
Chemistry
Classics
Communication
Economics & Business
Education
English
History
Kinesiology
Math & Computer Science
Modern Languages & Literatures
Physics
Political Science
Psychology
Religion & Philosophy
Sociology & Anthropology
Sarofim School of Fine Arts
Art
Music
Theatre
Interdisciplinary Programs
Special Academic Programs
Admission & Financial Aid
Student Life
Cultural Activities
History & Governance
Endowments & Scholarships
University Directory
Board & Officers
Faculty
Administration
THE ACADEMIC PROGRAM
ACADEMIC STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY
The academic and instructional program at Southwestern University is organized through The Brown College of Arts and Sciences and The Sarofim School of Fine Arts. The Brown College of Arts and Sciences is composed of three divisions: The Division of Humanities, The Division of Social Sciences, and The Division of Natural Sciences. The Sarofim School of Fine Arts is composed of the Department of Art, the Department of Music, and the Department of Theatre. In addition, the University supports a series of team-taught, interdisciplinary courses including fields represented both by The Brown College of Arts and Sciences and The Sarofim School of Fine Arts.
Divisions/School
The Brown College of Arts and Sciences, named in honor of the George R. and Herman Brown families of Houston for their generosity in supporting Southwestern’s academic program, is composed of 15 academic departments making up three divisions: Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. The Sarofim School of Fine Arts is named in honor of Fayez Sarofim of Houston for his generous support of Southwestern.
Division of Humanities
Classics Area
English
History
Modern Languages and Literatures
Religion and Philosophy
Division of Social Sciences
Communication Studies
Economics and Business
Education
Kinesiology
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology and Anthropology
Division of Natural Sciences
Biology
Chemistry
Mathematics and Computer Science
Physics
The Sarofim School of Fine Arts
Art
Music
Theatre
Interdisciplinary Programs
American Studies
Animal Behavior
Environmental Studies
Feminist Studies
International Studies
Physical Science
PLAN OF STUDY
General Education Program at Southwestern University:
Organization and Rationale
Southwestern University has adopted a comprehensive educational program with a dual set of commitments, both of which are of equal importance in the education of its students. 1) Through its program of majors, areas of concentration, and related subject areas of emphasis, the University is committed to providing a quality program of specialized training that will enable its graduates to enter leading graduate and professional schools or to enter directly into careers in a chosen profession or field. 2) Through its general education program, especially (but not limited to) the all-University requirements, the University is committed to the goals of a liberal arts education.
Stated simply, the goals of a liberal arts education are to develop literate, informed persons capable of making the world more humane and civilized. To become such persons, students must acquire the skills of communication: reading and thinking critically, writing and speaking cogently. Because cumulative learning develops their powers of reasoning and analysis, they must achieve depth in some field of knowledge. They also need to acquire breadth by becoming familiar with the different specialized modes of acquiring knowledge of themselves and their social and natural environments. Such persons should understand their own cultural heritage and the values that underlie their history, preferably in an international context. Further, they should develop moral, religious, and aesthetic awareness that will enable them to make informed and discriminating decisions. Southwestern has the resources to maintain the strength and the integrity of both specialized and general education.
Objectives of General Education
The University’s general education program is designed:
A. To help students develop a set of basic academic skills that are the marks of an educated person and are fundamental to the successful completion of any program of study, namely:
1. Fluency in written and spoken English.
2. Competence in analytical and critical thinking.
3. The ability to do mathematics and carry out quantitative analysis.
4. An understanding of electronic computers, their operation, and their role in problem solving.
5. The ability to use bibliographic and other systems of stored data or information to seek out new information and assess its relevance.
6. The ability to relate diverse information and techniques from different subject areas in order to understand and assess problems.
7. Proficiency in a classical or modern language other than English at the fourth-semester level.
B. To introduce students to the various perspectives on knowledge and the modes of reasoning, thinking, and acquiring knowledge that are fundamental for under-standing personal existence, human community, and the natural environment and that are necessary for continuing self-education in the modern world, namely:
1. An understanding of our cultural past and an appreciation of its impact on the present.
2. An understanding of other cultural traditions in order to expand students’ cultural experience and to provide fresh perspectives on their own cultural assumptions and traditions.
3. An appreciation of the impact of religious ideas and traditions on the development of human consciousness.
4. An understanding of the place of value questions in human knowledge and the development of skills to assess value considerations within one’s own life.
5. An understanding of how knowledge of the natural world is acquired by the use of scientific methods of inquiry and application of experimental techniques.
6. An appreciation of the creative dimension of human existence and of aesthetic experience as a distinctive mode of understanding.
7. An understanding of the relationship between the individual and the social environment and of the ways in which that relationship can be understood.
Program of General Education
The general education program contains two components requiring 13 general education courses and a third component fulfilled as students pursue their areas of specialization and concomitant degree requirements and electives. This program is described below in terms of guidelines that are intended to create a framework for defining and developing general education courses in each area. These courses are normally three semester hours each.
I. AREA ONE: FOUNDATION COURSES (To be completed in the first year)
A. First-year Seminar (1 course)
The purpose of the First-Year Seminar is to provide an introduction to the Southwestern University liberal arts learning environment by making the primary experience of Orientation week an academic one. It involves investigation of a special topic in a mentoring relationship with a faculty member that continues into the first part of a student’s first regular semester. Seminars are special topic courses that provide stimulating and challenging academic experiences to help prepare incoming students to be successful in a rigorous liberal arts college environment. In particular, seminars focus on developing the student’s abilities in the following areas: reading, writing, critical thinking, research, informed discussion and creativity. Additional academic socialization components prepare students for the challenging intellectual demands of college-level course work.
B. Writing and Critical Thinking (1 course)
Writing is considered a significant form of thinking, a process of discovering and communicating ideas. This course is designed to involve students directly in this process of writing as thinking, to stimulate them to develop their ideas, and to increase their facility with the English language and the use of bibliographic sources. Readings from the work of good writers expose students to effective writing and encourage them to respond accurately and intelligently to the language and ideas of others, but the emphasis of this course is on the students’ own writing of expository prose, including the research paper.
C. Mathematics (1 course)
The mathematics requirement is designed to insure that students have an appropriate mastery of computational skills as well as an appreciation of the nature of mathematical reasoning. Any three or four credit-hour mathematics or computer science course taught at Southwestern University satisfies this requirement.
II. AREA TWO: PERSPECTIVES ON KNOWLEDGE (No more than two courses in one academic department may be counted by a student toward the general education requirements in this Area except as noted below.)
A. American and Western Cultural Heritage (1 course)
This requirement is designed to aid students in understanding the forces of the past that have influenced the West and the United States today. Courses meeting this requirement assist students to view their life experiences in a wider context and help them provide historical orientation to issues in the contemporary world. Appropriate courses are concerned with, although not limited to, political thought, international conflicts, literary and artistic movements, social organization, economic theory, and intellectual history.
B. Other Cultures and Civilizations (1 course)
The aim of this requirement is to expand the student’s cultural experience through the study of different cultural traditions. Through the study of other cultures’ histories, social systems, religious and ethical values, intellectual trends, and literary and artistic achievements, these courses seek to identify the distinctive patterns of thought, belief, and action that account for a culture’s particular configuration or ethos.
C. The Religious Perspective (1 course)
Courses satisfying this requirement introduce students to reflections on the meaning of human existence, community, and the universe from the perspectives of the major religious traditions of humankind. Specific courses may focus upon a segment of religious and philosophical tradition or on several religious traditions in comparison. These courses show how religious tradition molds and shapes human consciousness and provides individuals with self definition and meaning.
D. Values Analysis (1 course)
Courses that satisfy this requirement accomplish two aims: 1) they expose students to an appreciation of questions of value in the assessment of human activity and knowledge; 2) they develop in students the analytical and critical skills necessary to assess value considerations within one’s own life. Courses designed for this purpose introduce students to the analysis of value presuppositions and normative relations within human thought and activity and make students aware of the intricacies of ethical arguments, so that they can come to grips with individual questions of choice and value.
E. The Natural World (2 courses)
Courses that satisfy this requirement help students gain an appreciation for science. In this context, “science” refers to both methodology and a body of information. Thus, these courses consider not only what scientists believe to be true (this involves in-depth treatment of selected principles), but also include how those principles have been developed, tested, and confirmed. Students will complete two laboratory science courses, each dealing with a volume of information and with the methodologies used in obtaining that information, one from the physical sciences and one from the life or experimental behavioral sciences.
F. Aesthetic Experience (2 courses, at least 1 from The Sarofim School of Fine Arts) See Academic Structure of the University for a list of departments in The Sarofim School of Fine Arts. Courses designed to satisfy this requirement have three purposes: 1) to develop in students an understanding and appreciation of the arts as one of humanity’s principal ways of perceiving and understanding the world, 2) to instill in students an understanding of the significant role of the arts in the development of civilizations, and 3) to develop a sense of discipline that can be used throughout a student’s life. From a variety of courses in literature, music, theatre, dance, and the visual arts, students should select one course in the classroom/lecture format, concerned with significant artistic achievements of individuals or cultures, and one which involves the student more directly in the creative processes of performance or production of artworks (or the equivalent hours in Ensemble or Applied Music).
G. Social Analysis (2 courses, at least 1 from the Social Sciences) See Academic Structure of the University for a list of departments in the Division of Social Sciences. The objective of this requirement is to acquaint students with the ways of developing knowledge about individuals, social environments, and social processes. Students will take two courses, each of which develops at least one of the important perspectives in the social sciences. Each course should include a discussion of the background assumptions on which the theoretical perspective is based, the types of evidence that may be used to support the theoretical perspective, and relate the theoretical perspective to at least one significant social issue. The two courses taken will represent at least two different departments.
III.
AREA THREE: OTHER GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS Rather than being
satisfied
by specified courses as in Area One and Area Two, the requirements of Area Three
are fulfilled with already existing courses as students pursue their areas
of specialization and
concomitant degree requirements and
electives.
A. Computer Skills
Persons who are to function effectively in today’s society must have some knowledge of computers and how they can be used to organize, analyze, and communicate information. Courses within majors may accomplish this through assignments which require the use of word processing, web-based resources for research, spreadsheets, e-mail, or other kinds of discipline-related software.
B. Continued Writing Experience
In order to achieve the goals of a liberal arts education, students must not only learn to write cogently but must also practice and refine communication skills as they progress through their various courses of study. Different majors or areas of concentration have different writing styles and requirements, and liberal arts graduates should be able to communicate effectively in their own and other fields. Ordinarily, courses in Area Two, Perspectives on Knowledge, and some courses in all major fields of study have writing components.
C. Integrative or Capstone Experience
One of the objectives of the study of a subject in depth is the development within students of the ability to organize and integrate their knowledge and experience within the field. A major or area of concentration is not simply a collection of courses; it involves the mastery of the subject and the ability to interrelate that knowledge. Each department and major program shall design its major(s) to include an appropriate summary or capstone experience. This may be a special course, a project in which students are expected to bring together and apply what they have learned, a comprehensive written and/or oral examination, or other experience appropriate to the area of specialization.
D. Fitness and Recreational Activity
The objective of the Fitness and Recreational Activity program is to develop knowledge, skills, and physical abilities that contribute to the enjoyment of various sports and leisure time activities throughout life as well as to acquire techniques in developing and maintaining personal physical fitness. Students are encouraged to develop and practice a lifestyle that promotes wellness, physical fitness, and incorporates recreational activities on a regular basis.
See General Education Requirements Common to All Degrees for an outline.
Majors and Minors Available at Southwestern
The depth of understanding achieved through “majoring” in a discipline is a characteristic of the well-educated person. Southwestern requires that students achieve competence within a particular field. Most majors involve study in a subject area within a particular academic department; some majors are interdisciplinary and are so indicated in the list below. Majors and minors regularly available are below.
Majors
All majors require at least 30 semester hours (18 above the introductory level); however, some majors may require from 48 to 60 semester hours. Students are cautioned to check these requirements when considering a double major as certain combinations of majors cannot be completed in four years, and no course may satisfy hours requirements in more than one major. The exception is paired majors (see Paired Majors).
Accounting page 55
American Studies (Interdisciplinary) page 144
Animal Behavior (Interdisciplinary) page 145
Anthropology page 111
Art page 118
Art History page 119
Biology page 39
Business page 54
Chemistry page 45
Child Study and Language Development page 62
Classics page 49
Communication Studies page 51
Composite Science (teaching field) page 62
Composite Social Studies (teaching field) page 62
Computational Mathematics page 86
Computer Science page 86
Economics page 54
English page 68
Environmental Studies (Interdisciplinary) page 146
Feminist Studies (Interdisciplinary) page 149
French page 92
German page 93
History page 72
Independent Major (Interdisciplinary) (Area of Concentration) page 15, 144
International Studies (Interdisciplinary) page 153
Kinesiology page 80
Latin page 49
Mathematics page 86
Music page 125
Philosophy page 107
Physical Science (dual-degree program) page 160
Physics page 95
Political Science page 97
Psychology page 101
Religion page 105
Sociology page 110
Spanish page 94
Theatre page 134
Minors
A minor requires at least 18 semester hours in a subject area (12 above the introductory level). Please check the requirements for each minor, as some may exceed the 18 semester hour minimum.
Anthropology page 111
Architecture and Design Studies page 119
Art page 119
Art History page 119
Biology page 40
Business page 55
Chemistry page 45
Chinese page 92
Communication Studies page 52
Computer Science page 86
Dance page 137
Economics page 54
English page 68
Environmental Studies page 146
Feminist Studies page 152
French page 92
Generic Special Education page 63
German page 93
Greek page 49
History page 72
Kinesiology page 80
Latin page 49
Mathematics page 86
Music page 130
Philosophy page 107
Physics page 96
Political Science page 97
Psychology page 101
Religion page 105
Sociology page 111
Spanish page 94
Theatre page 137
Areas of Emphasis
Certain majors require students to choose from prescribed sets of course offerings in the subject area that focus on an “area of emphasis” within the major. The majors with “areas of emphasis” are listed below:
Art
Art History
Studio Art
Kinesiology
Athletic Training Education Program (optional)
Human Performance (optional)
Sport Management (optional)
Music (Bachelor of Music only)
Music Education
Music Literature
Music Theory
Performance
Sacred Music
International Studies
East Asian
European
Latin American
Paired Majors
Certain departments and programs have agreed to “pair” majors, which allows up to six hours of specified courses to count in both majors. Contact the chairs of the applicable department or programs for details about these paired majors. The approved majors are:
Communication Studies/Feminist Studies
Economics/Accounting
Economics/Business
English/Feminist Studies
History/Feminist Studies
International Studies/French
International Studies/German
International Studies/Spanish
Philosophy/Feminist Studies
Psychology/Child Study and Language Development
Religion/Feminist Studies
Sociology/Feminist Studies
Theatre/Feminist Studies
The Independent Major (Area of Concentration)
The independent major (area of concentration) within the Bachelor of Arts degree is an alternative to a regularly offered major and minor. It gives students greater freedom to design an interdisciplinary course of study focusing on a theme or career plan. It must consist of no fewer than 48 semester hours, chosen in accordance with an overall plan that gives unity and coherence to the integrated course of study: 1) 24 semester hours from one subject area (defined as one group of courses sharing a numerical prefix, e.g. 70-XXX-Studio Art), 18 of which must be above the introductory level; and 2) 24 additional semester hours from other subject areas, 18 of which must be above the introductory level.
Students’ programs must be designed in consultation with the chairpersons of the division/School and the departments involved and must be approved by the division/School in which the first 24-hour block falls. The capstone experience is dictated by the requirements of the subject area in the first 24-hour block.
General
A student may credit no more than 42 hours in a single subject area to his or her degree plan (excluding the three hours used to meet the General Education English requirement for English majors). Of the 121 semester hours (minimum) required for any degree, 60 semester hours must be above the introductory level.
Degrees Available at Southwestern
Southwestern University offers four degrees: the Bachelor of Arts, the Bachelor of Science, the Bachelor of Fine Arts, and the Bachelor of Music. Requirements for earning specific degrees vary, and details are given in summary form in the section entitled University Degrees.
