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Linfield Facts

Liberal Arts Curriculum

The purpose of the general education requirement called the Linfield Curriculum is to foster the development of wholly-educated persons by providing a coherent experience spanning the arts and humanities, natural sciences, and social-behavioral sciences. The Linfield Curriculum seeks to enable students to communicate effectively; appreciate literary, artistic, and historical works; be conversant with various philosophical and religious conceptions of humanity; understand the role of diversity both globally and nationally; analyze how human beings behave individually and socially; understand, formulate, and critique quantitative arguments; and comprehend the methods and accomplishments of modern science.

The Linfield Curriculum (general education requirements) consists of four major parts.

The Inquiry Seminar

At the center of the Linfield Curriculum is the Inquiry Seminar, taken by each first- or second-year student. A collaborative investigation of a compelling subject, the Inquiry Seminar builds upon and deepens the relationship between thinking and communication, both oral and written. It models the goals of the entire Linfield Curriculum by developing the critical thinking skills common to every discipline and vital to becoming an educated person. Inquiry Seminars are taught by faculty from many fields and offer a wide range of topics varying from semester to semester.

Six Modes of Inquiry

The Modes of Inquiry offer six conceptual frames of reference central to the pursuit and construction of modern knowledge: Creative Studies; Individuals, Systems, and Societies; Natural World; Quantitative Reasoning; Ultimate Questions; and Vital Past. While resembling the traditional distributional arrangements of general education, these categories also transcend them by asking students and faculty to focus on the distinctive cross-disciplinary questions underlying each Mode of Inquiry. The Linfield Curriculum encourages intellectual breadth by introducing students to a wide variety of academic experiences.

A. Creative Studies (CS)
Courses with this designation are dedicated to the study of theory and practice in music, theatre, literature, and the visual and plastic arts. They foreground creative theory, or creative practice, or integrate the two. These courses study the making of art and how meaning—sometimes tense or contradictory—rises out of the interaction between artists, artworks, and audiences.

B. Individuals, Systems, and Societies (IS)
Courses in this area examine how members of societies organize themselves to satisfy individual needs/wants and collective goals. They foster an understanding of the complexity and interconnectedness of individuals, systems, and/or societies across local, regional, and/or global contexts. They also encourage students to think critically about themselves and their relationships to other individuals, institutions, and/or social systems.

C. Natural World (NW)
Courses in this mode explore science as a way of knowing about the natural world, highlighting the process of scientific inquiry and the interplay between theoretical and experimental analysis. They focus on fundamental principles that illuminate the study of our surroundings, including matter, energy, and living things. Emphasis is placed on students making connections between science and their daily lives.

D. Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
Courses in this category explore contextual problems involving quantitative relationships by means of numerical, symbolic, and visual representations. These courses foster critical analysis of the uses and constraints of quantitative information and its representations. Finally, they focus on discussing models; making appropriate assumptions; and deducing consequences or making predictions.

E. Ultimate Questions (UQ)
Courses with this designation are designed to encourage students to articulate and evaluate unexamined assumptions and paradigmatic ways of acquiring knowledge through a critical analysis of fundamental beliefs, cultural practices, and competing truth claims with the aim to develop greater self-knowledge and wisdom, the ability for meaningful dialogue, social responsibility and understanding, and an appreciation for questions that lead to deeper insights into our actions and the reasons for them.

F. Vital Past (VP)
Courses in this mode of inquiry explore the human past and offer an opportunity to reflect on the continuities, change, and diversity in human experience across time. They investigate social, cultural, political, and other dimensions of human historical experience. They introduce students to various methods that scholars in different disciplines have developed to study the human past. These courses also encourage students to think critically about the interconnections between past and present.

Diversity Studies

Diversity Studies within the Linfield Curriculum is meant to ensure that all students examine the cultural and individual differences produced by such factors as gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, and sexual orientation. The college thus affirms the benefits of mutual tolerance and civil discussion fostered by a deepened understanding of and respect for human complexity.

Students must take two courses which address facets of cultural diversity such as gender, race, national or geopolitical allegiance, religion, sexual orientation, and cultural mores. One of the two required courses must address Global Pluralisms (GP), and one must explore U.S. Pluralisms (US).

1. Global Pluralisms (GP)
   Courses with this designation focus students’ attention beyond their own national boundaries. The use of analytical frameworks challenges students to address and understand the social, political, ethical, cultural, religious, and/or policy discourses of other countries from a global perspective. These courses also include a consideration of multicultural perspectives within other countries. Curricular offerings focusing on the history or culture of a given nation, group, or region may meet this requirement by including a comparative component for the course. This focus may include comparisons between or among countries, as well as comparisons of different time periods. Through the process of examining Global Pluralisms, students prepare for their participation and citizenship in an increasingly diverse world. Global Pluralisms courses are designated GP in this catalog and in each semester’s registration materials.

2. U.S. Pluralisms (US)
   Courses with this designation explore the diverse experiences among those living in the United States. Students pursue inquiry into the varied dimensions of human diversity such as age, disability, ethnicity, gender, language, politics, race, religion, sexual orientation, and/or social class. These courses examine how the dominant traditions of American culture have marginalized the voices of those who have typically fallen outside those traditions, using analytical frameworks, or discussion that addresses the social, political, ethical, cultural, philosophical, and/or policy discourses among those groups. Through the process of examining U.S. Pluralisms, students prepare for their participation and citizenship in an increasingly diverse society. U.S. Pluralisms courses are designated US in this catalog and each semester’s registration materials.

Writing-Intensive Requirement

Each student is required  to complete both writing-intensive courses specified below. Beyond these, the college extends students opportunities to perfect their writing skills in many courses offered across the curriculum, designated WI in departmental listings.

Learn more about the Linfield Curriculum