The Core Curriculum

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Goals and Objectives General Description

Primary Level: 16-28 credit hours Secondary Level: 12 credit hours: Capstone Level: 6 credit hours

“A Liberal Arts education is a celebration of learning that encompasses pretty much everything: the arts and the humanities, the social sciences and the ‘hard’ sciences, business training and other professional studies. It grounds us in a sound understanding of our own culture and history, but also makes us aware and tolerant of the histories and cultures of others. Liberal learning seeks to emphasize the growth of intellectual self-reliance and independence while encouraging co-operative endeavor. It is the competence to think, analyze and understand independently.” - Former AUC President Thomas Bartlett

The primary aim of AUC’s Core Curriculum is to ensure that all students, regardless of major, receive a strong grounding in the traditional liberal arts and sciences. The Core Curriculum is a body of courses designed to provide a broad liberal arts base for students. It aims to develop basic academic and intellectual traits while enhancing students’ writing skills, as well as their ability to reason and construct a logical argument. It strives to familiarize students with a diverse body of knowledge and intellectual tradition, and helps them understand themselves, in addition to their culture, society and place in the world. It encourages them to address the patterns of rational thought and argumentation that underpin the world’s great intellectual traditions, and introduces them to the ways in which science seeks to comprehend the natural world. In sum, the Core Curriculum lies at the heart of AUC’s commitment to the liberal arts. It is, first and foremost, an education in the fundamentals of learning itself.

The Core Curriculum is a body of 10 to 15 courses (30 to 46 credit hours) that all students are required to complete, regardless of major. It is divided into three components.

The Primary Level consists of a set of English and Arabic language requirements (3 to 15 credit hours) and four arts and science courses (13 credit hours). They are designed for AUC freshman and most will complete them during their first three semesters. The four courses include Scientific Thinking, Philosophical Thinking (all students must take both), a natural science course and a freshman requirement in the humanities or social sciences. All students majoring in the fields of science and engineering (except actuarial science) are exempted from the general science elective. In addition, students who demonstrate the appropriate competence may be exempted from up to six credit hours of Arabic language and up to six credit hours of English writing courses.

The Secondary Level consists of four requirements in the social sciences and humanities (12 credit hours) including one course in the general humanities and social sciences; one that deals with world history, culture, society, politics and economics; and two that deal with the history culture, society, politics and economics of the Arab world. Most students will complete one of these four requirements in each semester of their junior and senior years.

The Capstone Level consists of two requirements that students are intended to meet in their senior year or beyond. The goal is to ensure that students meeting the requirements in their senior or fifth year take courses that are designed for seniors, challenge them to the highest level of their ability and prepare them for life after graduation.

Category 1: English Composition and Communication (3-9 credit hours)

Rhetoric and Composition

Students must fulfill this requirement by following one of the following ways:

a. RHET 101 Approaches to Critical Writing
    RHET 102 Effective Argument
    RHET 201 Research Writing
or
b. RHET 102 Effective Argument
    RHET 201 Research Writing
    any RHET 300 or 400 level course
    (320, 321, 322, 323, 325, 332, 334, 342, 399, 340, 341, 345, 400, 410, 480, 490)
or
c. RHET 201 Research Writing
    any 300 or 400 level course
   (320, 321, 322, 323, 325, 332, 334, 342, 399, 340, 341, 345, 400, 410, 480, 490)
or
d. Any 300 or 400 level RHET course
   (320, 321, 322, 323, 325, 332, 334, 342, 399, 340, 341, 345, 400, 410, 480, 490)

Category 2: Arabic Language (0-6 credit hours)

All entering students, except those who have passed the Thanawiya Amma exam or its equivalent, will take an Arabic placement exam. Based upon the exam results, students may be required to take up to two modern standard Arabic courses.
 

(ALNG 101, 102, or 103; 201, 202 or 203).

Category 3: Information Literacy

LALT 101

(non-credit)

Category 4: Fundamental Intellectual Skills Requirement (6 credit hours)

PHIL 220		Philosophic Thinking
SCI 120		Scientific Thinking

Category 5: Natural Sciences or Quantitative Thinking (3 credit hours plus 1 lab credit)

Restriction: Students majoring in any of the fields of the School of Sciences and Engineering are exempted from the natural science requirements. Actuarial science students should take a lab.

(Choose one course with lab)
BIOL 102 & SCI 150L		Essentials of Environmental Biology
BIOL 103		Introductory Biology
BIOL 104		Unity of Life
BIOL 105		Diversity of Life
CHEM 103 & SCI 150L		Chemistry and Society
		(for students with no Chemistry background)
CHEM 104 & SCI 150L		Man and Environment
CHEM 105 & SCI 115L		General Chemistry I
PHYS 100 & SCI 150L		Physics for Poets
		(for students with no physics background)
SCI 105 & SCI 150L		Science and Technology of Ancient Egypt
SCI 109 & SCI 150L		Exploration of the Universe
SCI 240 & SCI 150L		Chemistry, Art and Archaeology
SCI 250 & 251L		Introduction to Geology and Lab
MACT 112 & SCI 150L		Statistical Reasoning
MACT 199 & SCI 150L		Selected Topics for Natural Sciences

Category 6: Humanities or Social Sciences (3 credit hours)

(Choose one course from the two sub categories: a humanity or a social science course)

Sub-Category 1: Humanities Option
ARIC 100		Arab and Muslims Encountering the Other
ARIC 101		Children’s Literature and Cultural Representations
ARIC 199		Selected Topics in the Humanities
ARTV 199		Selected Topics in the Humanities
CREL 135		Dimensions of the Sacred: Exploring Religious Experience
ECLT 123		Experiencing Creativity: Texts and Images
ECLT 199		Selected Topics in the Humanities
FILM 199		Selected Topics in the Humanities
HIST 110		World Cultures
HIST 111		Big History (for freshman)
HIST 112		History and Historical Fiction
HIST 114		A History of Modern Imperialism
HIST 122		Words that made History: Great Speeches of the Twentieth Century
HIST 123		Family History in the Modern Middle East
HIST 124		Eve and the Serpent: Witches and Witchcraft in History
HIST 199		Selected Topics in the Humanities
MUSC 199		Selected Topics in the Humanities
PHIL 100		Reading Philosophy
PHIL 199		Selected Topics in the Humanities
RHET 199		Selected Topics in the Humanities
SEMR 111		The Human Quest: Exploring the “Big Questions”
SEMR 112		Who Am I?: Explorations in Consciousness and Self Across the Disciplines
SEMR 199		Celebrating Ideas: A Voyage Through Books, Art, Film and Theatre
THTR 130		The World of the Theatre
THTR 199		Selected Topics in the Humanities
Sub-Category 2: Social Science Option
ANTH 199		Selected Topics in the Social Sciences
ECON 199		Selected Topics in the Core Curriculum
EGPT 199		Selected Topics in the Social Sciences
POLS 101		Introduction to Political Science
POLS 199		Selected Topics in the Social Sciences
PSYC 199		Selected Topics in the Social Sciences
SOC 199		Selected Topics in the Social Sciences

Most students will complete these requirements in their first three semesters.

Category 1: Humanities and Social Sciences (3 credit hours)

Sub-Category 1: Humanities Options

Every student must choose and complete one course from the following sub-category lists. The requirement should be completed by the end of the student’s sixth semester. If the student chooses to meet the primary level humanities/social science requirement by taking a humanities course, she/he must choose from the list of social science options below to meet this requirement. If the student chooses to meet the primary level humanities/social science requirement by taking a social science course, she/he must choose a course from the humanities options below to meet this requirement.
 

ARIC   206   Art and Architecture of the City of Cairo
ARIC   270   Introduction of Islamic Art and Architecture I
ARIC   271   Introduction of Islamic Art and Architecture II
ARIC   305   Arabic Literature and Gender
ARIC   306   Arabic Literature and Film
ARIC   307   The Writer and the State
ARIC   320   Introduction to Sufism
ARIC   335   Introduction to Islam
ARIC   336   Studies in Ibn Khaldun
ARIC   337   Shi’I Muslims in History
ARTV  200   Art Foundations
ARTV  211   World Art Survey I
ARTV  212   World Art Survey II
ARTV  222   Architecture: Art or Engineering
ARTV  299   Special topics in the humanities
ARTV  310   Modern Art
ARTV  314   Modern and Contemporary Architecture
ARTV  370   Personal and Political Contemporary Art, Video Art Theory
ARTV  370   The Body as Concept, Material and Representation
ARTV  370   Photography: History and Critique
ARTV  370   Art as Critical Practice
CREL  299   Special topics in the humanities
ECLT   200   Introduction to Literature
ECLT   201   Survey of British Literature
ECLT   202   Global Literature in English
ECLT   299   Special topics in the humanities
FILM    220   Introduction to Film
FILM    299   Selected topics in the humanities
HIST    200   Introduction to History Theory and Methodology
HIST    203   Western Civilization from Antiquity to the Middle Ages
HIST    204   Early Modern Europe
HIST    205   Europe in the Age of Revolution and Reform (1789-1914)
HIST    211   History in the Making
HIST/CREL 212 The Quest for the Historical Jesus
HIST    299   Selected Topics in the Humanities
HIST    307   The Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation
HIST    308   Europe in the Age of Reason
MUSC  220   Introduction to Music
MUSC  240   Western Music Theory1: Music Theory in the Western Tradition
MUSC  299   Selected topics in the humanities
PHIL     221   Informal Logic
PHIL     224   Self and Society
PHIL     226   Philosophy of Religion
PHIL     230   Introduction to Ethics
PHIL     299   Selected topics in the humanities
PHIL     344   Literature and Philosophy
RHET   299   Selected topics: Public Speaking
RHET   323   Changing Words Changing Worlds
RHET   325   The Rhetoric of Argument in the Humanities and Social Sciences
RHET   340   Life Stories: Reading as Writers
RHET   345   Life Stories: The Writer’s Workshop
RHET   380   Poetry Writing
RHET   399   Selected topics: Advanced Style
THTR   203   The Art of the Theatre
THTR   230   Play Analysis
THTR   299   Selected topics in the humanities
THTR   350   Survey of Dramatic Literature
THTR   351   History of the Theatre
THTR   360   Play Writing I
THTR   361   Play Writing II
SEMR  200   Core Seminar
SEMR  299   Selected topics in the humanities
SEMR  300   Core Honors Seminar
SEMR  310   Cross-Cultural Perceptions and Representations

Sub-Category 2: Social Sciences Options

ANTH   202   Cultural Anthropology
ANTH   299   Selected Topics in the Social Sciences
ARIC    323   Marriage and the Family in the Medieval and Early Modern Middle East
ARIC    324   Non-Muslim Communities in the Muslim World
ARIC    325   On the Fringes of Society: Marginals in History
ECON  201   Introduction of Macroeconomics
ECON  202   Introduction of Microeconomics
EGPT  202    Ancient Egypt
EGPT  299    Selected Topics in the Social Sciences
LING   252    Introduction to Linguistics
LING   268    Principles and Practice of Teaching English
PHIL   242    Philosophical Anthropology
PHIL   234    Philosophy of the Social Sciences
PADM 308    Management of Government
PSYC  201   Introduction to Psychology
PSYC  299   Selected Topics in the Social Sciences
RHET  320   Business Communication
RHET  321   Technical Communication
RHET  322   Writing in the Social Sciences
RHET  330   Writing and Cognition
RHET  332   Presentation and Persuasion in Business
RHET  334   Digital Rhetoric
SOC    201   Introduction to Sociology
SOC/PSYC/ANTH 240 Introduction to Community Organizing and Development
SOC   299    Selected topics in the social sciences

Category 2: Arab World Studies (6 credit hours)

Every student must choose and complete two courses from the following list. The requirement should be completed by the end of the student’s sixth semester.

ANTH//SOC    210   Arab Society
ANTH              312   Peoples and Cultures in the Middle East and North Africa
ANTH              390   Selected People and Culture Areas (when appropriate)
ARIC               201   Introduction to Classical Arabic Literature
ARIC               202   Introduction to Modern Arabic Literature
ARIC               203   Classical Arabic Literature in Translation
ARIC               204   Modern Arabic Literature in Translation
ARIC               205   Islamic Architecture from the Beginnings to the Present Day
ARIC/HIST      246   Survey of Arab History
ARIC               299   Special topics in Arabic Literature
ARIC               299   Special topics in Arab History
ARIC               305   Arabic Literature and Gender
ARIC               306   Arabic Literature and Film
ARIC               307   The Writer and the State
ARIC               308   Colloquial and Folk Literature
ARIC               309   Selected themes and topics in Arabic Literature
ARIC               310   Selected themes and topics in Arabic Literature in Translation
ARIC               314   The Arabic Novel
ARIC               315   Arabic Drama
ARIC               316   The Arabic Short Story
ARIC               321   Social Cultural History of the Middle East, A.D. 600-1800
ARIC               322   Land, Trade and Power: A History of Economic Relations in the Middle East, A.D. 600-1800
ARIC               343   Birth of Muslim Community and Rise of the Arab Caliphates
ARIC/HIST      344   Caliphs and Sultans in the Age of Crusades and Mongols
ARIC/HIST      345   Gunpowder Empires: Ottomans, Safavids and Mugho
ARIC/HIST      357   Selected topics in Middle East History
CREL              299   Selected topics for the core curriculum
ECON             239   Economic History of the Modern Middle East
HIST               247   Making of the Modern Arab World
HIST               299   Selected topics in Arab History
HIST               330   Urban Landscapes in the Modern Middle East / North Africa
HIST/CREL     333   Zionism and Modern Judaism
MUSC             342   Understanding Arab Music
SOC                203   Social Problems of the Middle East
SOC                206   Arab Family Structure and Dynamics

Category 3: International/World Studies (3 credit hours)

Every student must choose and complete one course from the following list. The requirement should be completed by the end of the student’s sixth semester.

AMST             299    Selected topics in the core curriculum
ANTH             302    Kin and Family in the Global World
ANTH             320    States, Capital and Rural Lives
ANTH/LING    352    Language in Culture
ANTH             360    Gender, Power and Social Change
ANTH             372    Applied Anthropology
ANTH             382    Peoples and Cultures of Sub-Saharan Africa
ANTH             384    Peoples and Cultures of Latin America
ANTH             386    Peoples and Cultures in Asia
ANTH             390    Selected People and Cultures Areas
ARIC              299    Special Topics for the Core Curriculum
ARIC              345    Gunpowder Empires: Ottomans, Safavids and Mughols
CREL/HIST    210    Religions of the World
CREL             220    Hinduism and Buddhism in India
CREL             230    Pilgrimage Traditions in the World’s Religions
CREL             299    Selected Topics for the Core Curriculum
CREL             320    Masters, Saints & Saviors: Sacred Biography in the World’s Religions
ECLT/HIST    209    Introduction to American Studies
ECLT             299    Selected topics for the core curriculum
ECLT             301    Medieval Literature
ECLT             302    Literature of the Renaissance
ECLT             332    World Literature
ECLT             333    African Literature
ECLT             346    Third World Literature
ECLT             347    The Orient in Western Imagination
ECLT             353    Modern Drama. Illusionary Worlds - False Identities
ECON            224    Economic History
HIST              201    History of American Civilization to the 19th Century
HIST              202    History of Modern American Civilization
HIST              206    Global Politics in the 20th Century
HIST              207    World History
HIST              225    East Asian History
HIST              299    Selected topics for the core curriculum
HIST              309    History of American Political Thought
HIST              320    Big History
LING              200    Languages of the World
MUSC            225    World Music
MUSC            240    Western Music Theory 1: Music Theory in the Western Tradition
MUSC            255    The Songs of America
MUSC            360    Music in the Western Tradition
PHIL               238    World Philosophy
PHIL               319    Development and Responsibility
PHIL               356    American Philosophy
POLS             299    Our Political World
RHET             333    Cross-Cultural Writing and Speaking
RHET             341    Travel Writing
SEMR            310     Cross-Cultural Perceptions and Representations
SOC/ANTH    303     Social Movements
SOC/POLS    304     Development Agencies
SOC               306     Sociology of Literature
SOC               307     Social Class and Inequality
SOC/ANTH    321     The Urban Experience
SOC               322     Rural Sociology
SOC               323   Fundamentals of Population Studies
SOC/ANTH 332 Social Constructions of Difference: Race, Ethnicity and Class
SOC/ANTH 370 Environmental Issues in Development

The requirement may be met by selecting two courses from a variety of options, including a senior thesis, senior seminar, supervised internship, community-based learning courses, study-abroad courses and special Seminars.

ACCT             403           Contemporary issues in Accounting
AENG            490/491     Senior Project I/II
ANTH/SOC    422/01       Religion in a Global World
ANTH/SOC    460            Development Studies Seminar
ANTH/SOC    495-01       Senior Seminar
ANTH/PSYC/SOC 440/441 Practicum in Community and Social Development
ARTV             370             Teaching Kids Art
ARTV             470             Advanced Seminar
BIOL              495/496      Senior Research Thesis
CENG            490/491      Senior Project I/II
CHEM            495             Senior Thesis and Seminar
CSCE             491/492      Senior Project I/II
CSCI              491/492       Senior Project I/II
ECLT              409              Greek Classics in Translation
ECLT              410              Classics of the Ancient World
ECLT              411              History of Literary Criticism
ECLT             412              Modern Literary Criticism
ECLT             447             The Politics of Writing in the Middle East
ECLT             447             Literature and Human Rights
ECON           308             Labor Economics
EENG           490/491      Senior Project I/II
EGPT           440              Ancient Egyptian Religion and Ethics
EGPT           499              Selected topics
HIST             401             Selected topics in World History of the United States
HIST             415             The Marriage Crisis and the Middle East
HIST             425              Food in World History
HIST             454              Modern Movements in Islam
JRMC           425              Integrated Marketing Communication Campaigns Capstone
JRMC           480              Multimedia Reporting Capstone
JRMC           482              Media Convergence Capstone
MACT           495              Senior Thesis
MACT           497              Practical Internship
MENG          490/491       Senior Project I/II
MGMT         480               Business Planning and Strategy
MKTG         480               Marketing Strategy
PENG         490/491        Senior Project I/II
PHIL           418                Philosophical Masterpieces
PHIL           420                Philosophical Figures
PHYS         401                Senior Thesis and Seminar
POLS         430                Seminar: Special Topics in Political Science
PSYC         302                Personal Growth and Adjustment
PSYC         430                Advanced Community Psychology: Applied and Service
PSYC         442                Clinical Psychology
RHET         342                 Writing Children’s Literature
RHET         400                 Writing and Editing for Publication
RHET         410                 Grant Writing for Community Building
RHET         450                 Imagining the Book
RHET         480                 Research and Writing Internships
RHET         490                 Advanced Scientific and Technical Communication
SEMR         310                Cross-Cultural Perceptions and Representations
THTR          490                Senior Thesis
THTR          495                Senior Honors Project