Explore New Ways of Thinking, and Living

 

At the heart of Elmira College's liberal arts curriculum are two interdisciplinary freshman courses. Drawing upon literature, the arts, and the natural and behavioral sciences, the program introduces students to the history of ideas in the Western tradition as those ideas were and are in dialogue with the cultural traditions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. A focus of the program is on the ways in which human beings come to know themselves, others, and the world in which they live. The program provides opportunities for enhancing students' skills in reading and written and oral communication.

Core Program Course Descriptions
FRS 1010 
When Worlds Collide 
3 credits
This course examines episodes of cultural collision, moments when different world views—ideas about human origins, cultural values and practices, systems of politics, theories of science—come into contact with one another. We will study instances of cultural collision and exchange in order to consider some fundamental questions: How are human knowledge, values, and beliefs shaped? How do they evolve and spread? What can we learn about the values and belief systems of different cultures when they come into contact with one another? What can we learn about ourselves by exploring our encounters with other cultures? Distribution Requirement: LAS. Offered Term I. 

FRS 1020 
Order and Chaos 
3 credits
This course examines the human quest to find order in the sometimes chaotic array of sensations that surround us: How does the world work? Why do people behave the way they do? We will study the interplay of order and chaos within three interrelated quests: the quest to understand how the world works (ideas about nature), the quest to understand individual human behavior (ideas about justice, spirituality, gender, free will, and motivation), and the quest to understand human social behavior (ideas about social and political organizations.) Distribution Requirement: LAS. Offered Term II.