Liberal Arts Methodology

This course is designed to introduce students to the principles and methods of valid research, critical analysis and effective writing in the general area of the liberal arts. Guiding students from the first steps in research work to the finished written product, the course will not only provide students with the skills they need to develop and master at each level, but will also help them to understand the underlying ideas, issues and problems involved in research and writing in the different fields and disciplines included in the liberal arts. Further, this course serves to introduce students to the liberal arts tradition in general; to the specific disciplines that are included in the study of this tradition at Champlain-Lennoxville (history, art, religion, philosophy, literature, and science); and to the historical periods into which the sweep of Western civilization is often divided. But above all, Liberal Arts Methodology aspires to generate among students abiding enthusiasm for learning that comes from scholarly research and writing in the Liberal Arts. As a first semester Liberal Arts course, Liberal Arts Methodology introduces students to knowledge and skills that will be especially relevant to their other program specific courses — in first semester and beyond.