New 'Discovery Courses' Embody Liberal Arts

Discovery Courses video (requires free QuickTime Player)

The College of Letters & Science at UC Berkeley is committed to the ideals of a liberal arts education, an education that gives students the intellectual tools not just for making a living, but for living itself. No student can graduate from the college without gaining a breadth of knowledge in each of seven designated areas of intellectual activity that, overall, may be said to constitute the essence of a liberal arts education:

Arts and Literature
Biological Science
Historical Studies
International Studies
Philosophy and Values
Physical Science
Social and Behavioral Sciences

Although the breadth requirement was reconceived in the early 1990s, the College made no effort to develop a full-scale breadth-related curriculum at that time. To fulfill the requirement, students took courses already available through departments, which typically were designed for students majoring or intending to major in the discipline. Convinced that this approach could be improved upon, Dean Robert Holub has created the L&S Discovery courses. The program’s goal is to offer students a truly meaningful liberal arts experience. Holub believes students should have the opportunity to take courses from distinguished teachers on topics that have been designed to add genuine breadth to their undergraduate education.

The idea clearly resonates with the faculty: most of the outstanding teachers whom Dean Holub contacted about the program have agreed to participate, either in the pilot year or later. Nineteen courses have been lined up for 2005-06, nine of which will be taught by recipients of the campus’ Distinguished Teaching Award. Among the participants are also five winners of either the Noyce Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching or the Distinguished Teaching and Service Award in the Social Sciences.

Most of the courses will be offered exclusively under L&S. Others will be existing courses that already fulfill breadth in an exemplary way: these will be cross listed with L&S.

New L&S Discovery Courses in development for the pilot year include the following:

• The Value of Poetry—Professor Stephen Booth
• Biblical Controversies: Archaeology, History, and the Hebrew Bible—Professor Carol Redmount
• New World Jealousy: Othello in the Americas—Professor José Luiz Passos
• Archaeology of Sex and Gender—Professor Rosemary Joyce
• Global Transformation and Cultural Change: NGO’s, AIDS and Sub-Saharan Africa—Professor Anne Swidler

Existing courses that will be cross listed as Discovery Courses in the coming year include Professor Richard Muller’s Physics for Future Presidents course and Alex Filippenko’s Astronomy course. Muller and Filippenko exemplify the missionary ardor that characterizes the ideal breadth course instructor: they wholeheartedly believe that all students, regardless of major, would benefit from an engaging exposure to scientific principles, methods and concepts.

In mid-April, when students began signing up for their fall classes, the College launched an ambitious promotional campaign. The goal is to attract students from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines, all drawn together by their intellectual curiosity. The resulting mix of teachers and learners promises to be rewarding for all involved.

For more information about the L&S Discovery Courses, visit the program’s website or watch the short video (requires free RealPlayer) featuring a handful of the faculty members slated to participate in the pilot year.