UNCA Catalog: Courses of Instruction
UNCA Catalog: Table of Contents

Liberal Studies (LS)

Associate Vice Chancellor Katz (Director)

A liberating education: one that emphasizes humane values in thought and action and promotes the free and rigorous pursuit of truth, creates good citizens, individuals who assume responsibility for their thoughts and actions and their impact on the world. Their personal development is inextricably linked to the contributions they make to their scholarly, social and political communities. To be good citizens, people must be able to think critically and to communicate their ideas. In serving UNCA's liberal arts mission, the ILS Program works alongside the majors to help people develop and improve these skills by immersing them in an interdisciplinary community of mutually supportive scholars.

At the heart of the ILS Program lies the philosophical conviction that liberal arts students should experience how the disciplines investigate, understand and construct bodies of knowledge differently, through a range of concepts and methods. A liberal arts education exposes the student to the ways that individual disciplines approach those topics, problems, and issues that inform the human condition. Such an education creates opportunities for students to experience the many points of contact and divergence across the curriculum.

179 Liberal Studies Introductory Colloquium (DEPT 179) (3)

A writing-intensive topical seminar for students in their first semester in college or transferring in fewer than 24 semester hours that introduces the study and construction of knowledge in the liberal arts setting. The responsibilities, challenges and rewards of college life, as well as the culture and opportunities specific to life in Asheville and at UNC Asheville will also be emphasized. May not be used to fulfill major requirements. No credit given if credit received for LS 379. Fall and Spring.

379 Liberal Studies Introductory Colloquium for Transfer Students (DEPT 379) (3)

A writing-intensive and information literacy-intensive topical seminar for students with prior college experience who are in their first semester at UNC Asheville, which introduces the study and construction of knowledge in the liberal arts setting that is UNC Asheville. The culture and opportunities specific to life in Asheville and at UNC Asheville will also be emphasized. Prerequisite: 24 or more transferable semester hours (36 quarter hours or more). May not be used to fulfill major requirements. No credit given if credit received for LS 179. Fall and Spring.

479 Liberal Studies Senior Colloquium (DEPT 479) (3)

A topical capstone seminar, ordinarily taken in the final semester, that asks students to address an issue or a group of related issues of current and future importance from an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary perspective. Students will be expected to integrate the knowledge they have acquired through their major with the wider perspectives provided in their integrative liberal studies. The issue(s) will be explored through reading, lecture, discussion, and through the presentation of a self-directed project. This requirement must be fulfilled in residence. Prerequisites: 90 semester hours, HUM 324, and completion of the ILSA requirement. May not be taken in the major department or be used to fulfill major requirements. No credit given if credit received for HUM 414. Fall and Spring.

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