At the beginning of the second decade of the twenty-first century, a new vision for college learning is clearly in view. Through its Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) initiative, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has outlined what contemporary college students need to know and be able to do--in…

Describes an interdisciplinary humanities curriculum developed by a consortium of three community colleges. The curriculum consists of a general core course based on the classical humanistic studies of history, philosophy, and the fine arts and three "optional" courses designed to appeal to special interest students. (DC)

In the late 1970s, it became clear to a group of Kirkwood Community College (KCC) faculty and administrators that fewer and fewer students were taking humanities courses, that students' selection of courses was usually imbalanced, and that most had little idea of what the term "humanities" embraced. With a grant from the National…

Designed as a forum for views on issues concerning the humanities in two-year colleges, this journal begins with "A Call for Common Learning," in which Ernest Boyer discusses the goals of education and outlines six themes which students should study to understand themselves, their society, and the world in which they live. Responding to…

In 1988, 11 faculty members at Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC), Michigan, taught a customized honors class at KVCC focussing on connections between disciplines. It soon became clear how little faculty members understood and appreciated their colleagues' fields and perspectives. Following the course, faculty participants concluded that…

The target of present-day curriculum revivalists is the curriculum that came into being in the late 1960s. The purpose of the reform is to restore a sense of a shared or common culture among undergraduates and thus among the leaders of American society. (MLW)

An extensive study of humanities education in the nation's public schools, commissioned by the United States Congress, concludes that history, literature, and languages are inadequately taught, and most students fail to learn important knowledge about their shared past and culture. Data from a nation-wide survey reveal gross ignorance of major…

Discusses the importance of historical study within general education. Reviews the rise and fall of the Western Civilization course as the core of general education in the humanities. Suggests ways a revised version of this course can be restored to a central place in the curriculum. (AYC)

Presents an overview of the Advancing the Humanities Project, which provides 24 community colleges with assistance in developing and improving the study of the humanities on their campuses by having them work with the directors of exemplary programs. Offers profiles of the 8 exemplary programs. (DMM)

Pacific Lutheran's integrated studies program includes eight courses and one seminar, all with "dynamics of change" as the theme. Courses are related to each other in pairs or sequences, each sequence having its own unifying and controlling topic expressed in the particular subjects of each course component. (Author/LBH)

Described is science content within an interdisciplinary core curriculum at the New School of Liberal Arts, Brooklyn College. The first two years of undergraduate work consist of art, literature, history, and science within a choice of five time periods. Also offered is a science and humanities course. (DS)

Rather than return to a core curriculum that reflects the structures of knowledge and education developed for other contexts and needs, the humanities should create new structures appropriate to the students', culture's, and faculty's needs today, particularly through interdisciplinary collaboration. (MSE)

The individual element of multicultural education needs to be recognized. The Association of American Colleges' national project, "Engaging Cultural Legacies: Shaping Core Curricula in the Humanities," helps colleges develop curriculum that challenge students to explore the humanities as reflected in their own social values, ideas, and…

A 2-year seminar (jointly funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Pew Charitable Trusts) explored ways faculty at La Salle University in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) might integrate the emphasis on self-awareness as well as the historical, political, and ethical insight common in humanities courses with courses in other…

Reports on five National Endowment for the Humanities seminars held in Texas to exchange ideas concerning a law mandating a core curriculum in the state's college and university system. Questions centered on the ramifications for the curriculum, selection of courses for revision, and the role of the humanities in such a curriculum. (KO)