EXPANDING THE INTEGRATION OF GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES IN A FIRST YEAR WRITING PROGRAM

FAIN: AC-50119-11

Whittier College (Whittier, CA 90601-4446)
Charles Eastman (Project Director: June 2010 to September 2015)

A three-year project for twenty university faculty to design twenty interdisciplinary writing courses with humanistic content for first-year students.

The integration of global perspectives into college curricula serves to prepare students best for the complex, interdependent world of many cultures they will enter after graduation. Whittier College plans to integrate such perspectives into its First Year Writing Program—building upon a successful pilot effort. Led by the Writing Program Director with aid from expert consultants, 20 faculty participants will engage in a series of seven workshops over the spring, summer and fall, designed to help them plan, develop, execute and evaluate 20 new writing seminars centered around global humanistic themes, ultimately impacting ¾ of the student body. The course development template utilized will be followed in subsequent years to continue introducing such courses in the Program. Assessment and dissemination paradigms will grow out of existing relationships and models. Los Angeles' leading museums & cultural organizations will contribute to the humanities content of new course offerings.