Saint Mary's College General Education

Present: Chris Cobb, Patricia Fleming, Janet Fore, Joe Incandela, Michael Kramer, Nancy Nekvasil


Guest: Jessica Ickes

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1. The minutes of the June 24, 2009 meeting were approved as corrected.

2. The committee briefly discussed the meaning of the outcomes for philosophy. We will trust the Philosophy Department to help refine and possibly reword portions of the outcomes. We may need to actually use the words epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics in the second learning outcome.

3. The committee discussed the phrase “formation of human identities” and recognized that it may be problematic for some social scientists. The committee also discussed the outcomes relative to the various social science disciplines, looking especially at the Intro. to Women’s Studies course (WOST 207). It was decided that the General Education outcome will determine where the course is placed based on the current outcomes of that course.

4. The committee drafted the following outcomes for the Social Science I category:

1. A Saint Mary's student will be able to identify and explain social science concepts and theories about human systems and cultures.
   
   
2. A Saint Mary's student will be able to apply social science concepts and theories in her analysis of human systems and cultures.
   
   
3. A Saint Mary's student will recognize and explain effects of diversity in areas such as culture, religion, values, sexuality, and privilege.
   

5. The next meeting will be July 8 at 8am in the library.

6. Future meetings are as follows: July 8, July 29, Aug. 5 and Aug. 12. We decided to look at calendars and schedule another day-long meeting either the last week in July or the first week in August.