The Department of Liberal Studies is an interdisciplinary department offering courses in humanities, comparative cultural studies, and the academic study of religion. The humanities are the study of the significant and recurring themes and issues which concern human beings contemplating their place in the universe, as expressed in language and literature, music, and the visual arts. In the Department of Liberal Studies these large questions are approached historically in the context of both western and other cultures, primarily through the direct study of significant texts. Comparative cultural studies emphasize humanistic concerns in several cultures. They are also concerned with the study of cultural diffusion and cultural change, and especially with the tensions that arise when traditional societies encounter modern urbanized, industrial culture.
Courses bring insights from several scholarly fields to bear on the subject at hand.
Liberal Studies seeks to educate students in the contents of major cultural traditions, in important modes of intellectual inquiry, and in tolerance and sympathy for different points of view. See Liberal Studies Faculty . These courses, along with the 300 level GUR courses are primarily lecture format, with varying amounts of discussion. All require essay exams. Some require short papers.