http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/1070284581

Graduate general humanities programs

This study was undertaken as a report on a relatively new kind of graduate program. It is intended to present the characteristics of existing general education programs in the humanities for comparison and appraisal. Since this study deals with a relatively new and still experimental field, it should be regarded as a status report, or perhaps even an interim report. It may also be considered a companion piece to papers in the series "New Dimensions in Higher Education," published by the Programs Branch of the Division of Higher Education, insofar as it points to the newer concepts of curriculum, organization, and procedure. The purposes in undertaking this study were to present such programs in the humanities in terms which would permit observation of comparable characteristics as well as differences; to provide information useful to institutions considering such programs; and to furnish a basis for determining their extent and significance as a phenomenon in graduate education. The programs described in this bulletin, although there are great differences among them in content, purpose, and organization, have the following characteristics in common: (1) all take the whole range of humanistic study for their domain; (2) all aim to provide either a broad background perspective of humanistic studies, or cross-departmental avenues of study in the humanities, or both; and (3) all have administrative identity and formal curricular requirements, and lead to a degree in Humanities. Thirteen programs--six doctoral and seven master's programs--are described. Within these two groups, the programs are arranged in alphabetical order by the full name of the institution involved. A general characterization of the program is provided, and each chapter is prefaced by an overview of the program to which it is devoted. The reader is referred to these sections for an accurate introduction to the peculiar scope and approach of individual programs. It is hoped that this report will be useful to all those who are concerned with graduate education, with the staffing of undergraduate general education programs, with the maturation of the humanities as a major discipline, or with other current problems in the changing field of higher education. A selected bibliography is included. (Contains 6 footnotes.) [Best copy available has been provided.].

Open All Close All