1996 College Course Catalog
The Baccalaureate Program
The Five Collegiate Divisions
The Curriculum
Concentration Programs
In the Biological Sciences Collegiate Division:
Liberal Education
at Chicago
The College of the University of Chicago has set the standard for liberal
education throughout its history; many of the courses and programs described
in this catalog are special to Chicago. The educators whose ideas and visions
shaped the College--figures such as William Rainey Harper and John Dewey,
Robert Maynard Hutchins and Edward Levi--possessed a genius for posing fresh
questions and for educational innovation. Throughout its history, the College
has undertaken a "new plan" every ten or fifteen years. At the
same time, the College has always displayed a self-conscious traditionalism.
With clarity of purpose, the faculty has held on to ideas that seemed fruitful.
From the Common Core to interdisciplinary concentrations, and from orientation
to the advising system, what were once our new ideas in collegiate education
are now our traditions.
In 1930 the University, under Robert Maynard Hutchins, moved to overcome
the fragmentation of modern academic life by grouping its forty or so departments
into four main Divisions--Biological Sciences, Humanities, Physical Sciences,
and Social Sciences--each responsible for granting degrees. This divisional
structure represents a quest for understanding that resists the confinement
of inquiry to any particular department. At that time the College was defined
as a fifth Division and charged "to do the work of the University in
general higher education." The role of the College was to complement
the specialization of graduate faculties by discovering ways to connect
the entire universe of knowledge. The outcome was a series of broadly conceived
general education courses that came to constitute Chicago's distinctive
Common Core.
In 1965 the faculty created five Collegiate Divisions, responsible for concentration
programs (majors) as well as Common Core offerings. The new structure ensured
that the tension inherent in contemporary academic life--between the demand
for specialization and the need to provide common learning for members of
a democratic society--would be resolved in a way consonant with the College's
established mission. The faculty at Chicago is committed to achieving the
finest scholarship that specialization can produce while bringing the disciplines
into a broader exchange that benefits new generations of learners. The College
is the place where all the disciplines of the University come together in
a common dialogue, a dialogue which takes place, to a very great extent,
in the form of discussions in small classes.
While Chicago faculty design and teach the curriculum, they do so with the
expectation that students will play an active role at every stage of the
educational process. A superior education can be obtained by all students
who attend the College of the University of Chicago--but it's up
to the individual student to secure it. The Chicago curriculum is designed
to give students access to the entire world of knowledge and to lead them
to an appreciation of the possibilities of human achievement. A Chicago
education develops individual powers of judgment and expression and equips
students to ask fresh questions and to pursue them on their own. The challenge
of a Chicago education is not only to acquire tools and knowledge but also
to raise questions about the ends for which they should be used. This is
what Chicago means by "liberal education": it is an education
for free persons.
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The Baccalaureate Program
The faculty of the College has created a program of liberal education that
emphasizes cultural breadth, intellectual depth, and independence of mind;
such an education will enable our students to lead productive lives in a
rapidly changing world.
Breadth is assured by the Common Core, which engages students with
the natural languages of ordinary communication, the mathematical sciences,
the fine arts, the observational and analytical methods of the natural and
social sciences, physical education, philosophical issues, and historic
civilizations.
Depth is provided by programs of concentration that immerse students
in one of the methods of inquiry and direct them to apply it to pertinent
subject matters and problems.
Independence is promoted by free electives drawn from hundreds of
course offerings as well as by asking students to exercise choice in constructing
their general education and concentration programs. Students also have ample
opportunities to engage in independent study, research, and other individualized
projects.
The Five Collegiate Divisions
The masters and the faculties of the Collegiate Divisions are responsible
for planning and staffing both the general education courses and the concentration
programs in their respective areas. Here is a brief description of what
each Division offers.
The Biological Sciences Collegiate Division. Biology is the
study of living things. The faculty of the College believes that a sound
knowledge of biology is essential for understanding the natural world we
live in and for intelligent involvement in solving the most pressing problems
of modern life. Therefore, the Biological Sciences Collegiate Division
provides a variety of yearlong sequences designed to introduce all students
to the language of biological inquiry and acquaint them with the four core
features of all living things: continuity (genetics), organization, regulation,
and evolution. Although most of the courses beyond the introductory year
are meant to serve students concentrating in biology, many will appeal to
the nonbiologist who wishes to study some aspect of modern biology in greater
detail; some have been explicitly designed for this purpose. The Division
offers a broadly conceived concentration program that permits a variety
of special emphases from ecology and organismic development to molecular
biology.
The Humanities Collegiate Division. The disciplines of the humanities
examine the principal forms of human expression: natural language, literature,
music, visual art, history, and philosophy. Their goal is to open students'
lives to significant human problems and pleasures while sharpening their
perceptions and their capacities for analytical thinking.
Humanities Common Core courses give students access to characteristic genres
of literary, historical, and philosophic texts and of musical and visual
forms. They are specifically designed to enhance careful reading, analysis,
writing, and argumentation. The Division also offers introductory and advanced
training in more than thirty languages. Its nineteen concentration programs
are organized around particular disciplines, cultural traditions, or interdisciplinary
exploration.
The New Collegiate Division. The role of the New Collegiate Division
is to provide a place for diverse collegiate experiments unconstrained by
those boundaries that separate the several departments and divisions of
knowledge. The Division's principal concern is to locate and define coherent
areas of study that cut across the familiar academic lines and which can
form the basis for a rigorous educational program aimed above all to make
the mind inventive and the sensibility exact.
The Division assumes that there are many ways to form such coherences. Each
of its programs is specialized in that each is designed to equip students
to approach a certain range of problems with advanced competence. Nonetheless,
each is developed with a breadth and vision that make the program a liberal
education in itself.
The Physical Sciences Collegiate Division. The work of the
Physical Sciences Collegiate Division encompasses two major areas of intellectual
endeavor, the disciplines concerned with observational and experimental
studies of the inanimate environment, from the submicroscopic to the cosmic,
and those concerned with the languages of quantitative reasoning--computer
science, mathematics, and statistics.
The Division provides five sequences that introduce students to the empirical
physical sciences as well as yearlong sequences in chemistry or physics
required of students who choose to concentrate in one of the natural sciences.
It also provides a wide range of basic courses in the mathematical sciences.
It offers six concentration programs leading to the B.A. degree and four
leading to the B.S. degree. One degree program, biological chemistry, is
offered jointly by the Physical Sciences and Biological Sciences Collegiate
divisions.
The Social Sciences Collegiate Division. The social sciences examine
human phenomena at a number of levels: from that of the thinking and feeling
individual, through those of economic, political, and cultural systems,
to the level of large-scale societies and their relations.
The Division offers to all students in the College five yearlong sequences
that introduce modes of discourse and analysis that deal with human phenomena.
Students explore writings that exhibit central concepts, theories, and modes
of inquiry that form the foundation for work in the social sciences. The
Division also sponsors general education sequences on the major civilizations
of the world. Its concentration programs include seven in traditional disciplines
and seven in interdisciplinary fields of study.
The Curriculum
The curriculum has three broad components: general education (the Common
Core), a concentration program, and free electives. All students are encouraged
to round out their programs by completing a senior project.
General Education: The Common Core
(21 quarter courses)
Humanities (4 quarters)
A. Interpretation of Historical, Literary, and Philosophical Texts
(3-quarter sequence). All the following sequences are designed to enhance
the capacity to interpret various genres of humanistic texts and to strengthen
skills in expository writing:
Humanities 110-111-112. Readings in World Literature
Humanities 115-116-117. Philosophical Perspectives on the Humanities
Humanities 120-121-122. Greek Thought and Literature
Humanities 123-124-125. Human Being and Citizen
Humanities 130-131-132. Strategies of Interpretation: Form, Problem, and
Event
Humanities 140-141-142. Reading Cultures: Collecting, Travelling, and Capitalist
Cultures
Humanities 150-151-152. Perspectives on Language in the Humanities
B. Musical and Visual Arts (1 quarter). The following courses
provide an introduction to methods for analyzing, comprehending, and appreciating
works of musical or visual art by examining their formal vocabularies and
how these vocabularies are used to create meaning. These objectives are
met either by the intensive study of selected masterpieces or by producing
original works of music or art.
NOTE: Only the courses that follow fulfill the Common Core requirement in
the musical and visual arts; higher numbered courses may not be substituted
unless students have received a score of 4 or 5 on the AP art history examination.
These students may satisfy this requirement with an upper-level art history
course.
Art and Design 101. Visual Language I
Art and Design 102. Visual Language II
Art History 101. Introduction to Art
Art History 150-151-152. Art of the West
Art History 161. Art of the East: China and Japan
Art History 170-179. Art in Context
Music 101. Introduction to Western Music
Music 102. Introduction to World Music
Music 103. Introduction to Music: Materials and Design
Music 121-122. History of Music for Nonmajors
Foreign Languages (3 or 4 quarters)
Students are required to gain experience of sufficient depth in a second
language to enable appreciation of structural complexity and diverse possibilities
of communication in natural languages. That experience may take the form
of written and oral communication in a modern spoken language, an ancient
language, or communication in a modern manual language.
Students meet the foreign language requirement by demonstrating competency
equivalent to four quarters of French, German, Latin, or Spanish; or
three quarters of
Akkadian
American Sign Language
Arabic
Assyrian
Babylonian
Bengali
Chinese (literary or modern)
Czech
Dutch
Ancient Egyptian
Greek (classical)
Hebrew (modern, Biblical,
or post-Biblical)
Hindi
Hittite
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Norwegian
Persian
Polish
Portuguese
Russian
Sanskrit
Swahili
Swedish
Tamil
Turkish
Urdu
Mathematical Sciences (2 quarters)
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Only courses beyond the level of precalculus
may be used to fulfill the mathematical sciences requirement. In other words,
students must first take Mathematics 100-101-102 or 105-106, or place into
Mathematics 131, 151, 161, or 110, before taking any of the courses listed
below.
The courses listed below are designed to develop the powers of formal reasoning
through use of precise artificial languages as found in mathematics, computer
science, statistics, or formal logic. These courses present broadly applicable
techniques for formulating, analyzing, and solving problems, and for evaluating
proposed solutions.
Students who anticipate concentration programs in the physical or biological
sciences, economics, or public policy studies must satisfy this requirement
with the first two quarters of a calculus sequence. Other restrictions may
apply, so students should consult with a College adviser or departmental
counselor about course choices.
Computer Science 105. Introduction to Computer Programming I, II
Computer Science 110-111. Computer Programming as a Liberal Art I, II
Computer Science 115-116. Introduction to Computer Programming I, II
Mathematical Sciences 120-121-122. Mathematical Sciences
Mathematics 110-111. Studies in Mathematics I, II
Mathematics 131-132. Elementary Functions and Calculus I, II
Mathematics 151-152. Calculus I, II
Mathematics 161-162. Honors Calculus I, II
Statistics 200. Elementary Statistics
NOTE: Mathematics 131, 151, and 161 may be used to satisfy the Mathematical
Sciences requirement only if Mathematics 132, 152, or 162 are also taken.
Students who choose courses other than calculus may combine any two of the
courses above to meet the requirement, subject to prerequisites.
Natural Sciences (6 quarters)
Course sequences in this area are designed to explore significant features
of the natural universe and to examine the exciting process of scientific
inquiry. These courses consider the powers and limitations of diverse forms
of scientific observation, scientific reasoning, and natural laws. All sequences
include laboratory experience.
Students may fulfill the natural sciences requirement by taking a three-quarter
sequence in the physical sciences and a three-quarter sequence in the biological
sciences or by taking an integrated six-quarter (two-year) sequence in the
natural sciences.
Students who concentrate in the physical or biological sciences (with the
exception of statistics) must fulfill the physical sciences requirement
with physics or chemistry. All students, except those taking precalculus,
should normally have finished their physical sciences requirement by the
end of their second year. Students are urged to complete their natural sciences
requirement by the end of their third year.
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A. Physical Sciences and Biological Sciences
1. Physical Sciences (3-quarter sequence)
a. Physical and biological sciences concentrators must complete one of the
following sequences to fulfill their general education requirement.
Chemistry 111-112-113. General Chemistry I, II, III
Chemistry 121-122-123. General Chemistry I, II, III (Honors)
Physics 121-122-123. General Physics I, II, III (Variant A)
Physics 131-132-133. General Physics I, II, III (Variant B)
Physics 141-142-143. General Physics I, II, III (Honors Variant)
b. These course sequences are designed for students who do not plan to concentrate
in the physical or biological sciences.
Physical Sciences 108-109-110/134. Science and the Earth (available only
to first- and second-year students)
Physical Sciences 111-112-113. Foundations of Modern Physics I, II, III
(offered winter, spring, autumn)
Physical Sciences 118-119-120/122. Introduction to Astrophysics I, II, III
2. Biological Sciences (3-quarter sequence)
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All sequences in the biological sciences provide a strong foundation in
biological concepts, through attention to the fundamental core concepts
of biological continuity, organization, regulation, and evolution. See the
biological sciences section of this catalog for more information on the
approved sequences. The approved natural sciences sequences are listed below.
B. Natural Sciences (6-quarter sequence)
These sequences are designed for first- and second-year students planning
to concentrate in the humanities and social sciences.
Natural Sciences 101-102-103-104-105-106. Evolution of the Natural World
Natural Sciences 151-152-153-154-155-156. Form and Function in the Natural
World
Social Sciences (3-quarter sequence)
The following sequences are designed to cultivate an understanding of fundamental
concepts, theories, and philosophies in the social sciences and to demonstrate
how the social sciences formulate basic questions and inquire about the
nature of social life through acts of imagination as well as through systematic
analysis.
Social Sciences 101-102-103. Wealth, Power, and Virtue
Social Sciences 109-110-111. Power
Social Sciences 121-122-123. Self, Culture, and Society
Social Sciences 141-142-143. Mind
Social Sciences 151-152-153. Classics of Social and Political Thought
Civilizational Studies (3-quarter sequence)
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Each of these course sequences provides an in-depth examination of the development
and accomplishments of one of the world's great civilizations through direct
encounters with some of its most significant documents and monuments. Students
normally undertake one of these sequences after completing one of the required
social sciences Common Core sequences.
Classical Civilization 208-209-210. The Ancient Mediterranean World I, II,
III
Early Christian Literature 201-202-203. Religion in Western Civilization
History 131-132-133. History of Western Civilization
History 135-136-137. America in Western Civilization
History 173-174-175. Science, Culture, and Society in Western Civilization
Humanities 200-201-202. Judaic Civilization
Near Eastern History 201-202-203. History of the Ancient Near East
Near Eastern History 211-212-213. Near Eastern Civilization
Social Sciences 220-221-222. Introduction to Islamic Civilization
Social Sciences 225-226-227. Introduction to African Civilization
Social Sciences 230-231-232. Introduction to the Civilization of South Asia
Social Sciences 235-236-237. Introduction to the Civilizations of East Asia
Social Sciences 240-241-242. Introduction to Russian Civilization
Social Sciences 261-262-263. Introduction to Latin American Civilization
Physical Education (3 quarters)
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The physical education program is designed to cultivate physical fitness,
basic athletic skills, and an appreciation of the value of recreational
physical activity. Courses available to fulfill this requirement include
Archery
Badminton
Ballet
Community First Aid and Safety (American Red Cross--ARC)
CPR for the Professional Rescuer (ARC)
Emergency Response (ARC)
First Aid--Responding to Emergencies (ARC)
Golf
Jazz Dance
Lifeguard Training (ARC)
Modern Dance (elementary, intermediate)
Movement Improvisation
Personal Fitness (conditioning, step aerobics, jogging, walking, water aerobics,
weight training)
Racquetball
Social Dance (elementary, intermediate)
Swimming (novice, elementary, intermediate)
Tennis (elementary, intermediate, advanced)
Students normally take three quarters of physical education in their first
year. A physical fitness classification test and swimming test will be given
during Orientation. Depending on their physical fitness classification test
scores, students may place out of one, two, or three quarters of physical
education. Students who do not pass the swimming test must take one quarter
of swimming. Although physical education is required for graduation, it
is not included among the forty-two academic courses counted toward a degree.
Concentration Programs
(9 to 13 quarter courses)
Concentration programs provide an opportunity to focus on a particular area
of inquiry. As a rule, these programs comprise from nine to thirteen courses.
Programs that specify thirteen courses require completion of eight electives;
programs that specify twelve courses require nine electives; and so on,
so that the combination of concentration and electives equals twenty-one
courses. More than half of these courses must be taken in the College. A
concentration program may consist of more than thirteen courses if it entails
work in two or more disciplines or subject matters. Students may be asked
to fulfill such additional requirements by taking specified courses either
as part of the general education program or as electives.
The following concentration programs are available.
In the Biological Sciences Collegiate Division:
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Biological Chemistry
Biological Sciences
In the Humanities Collegiate Division:
Art and Design
Art History
Cinema and Media Studies
Classical Studies
Early Christian Literature
East Asian Languages and Civilizations
English Language and Literature
General Studies in the Humanities
Germanic Studies
Jewish Studies
Linguistics
Medieval Studies
Music
Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Philosophy
Religion and the Humanities
Romance Languages and Literatures
Russian and Other Slavic Languages and Literatures
South Asian Languages and Civilizations
In the New Collegiate Division:
Environmental Studies
Fundamentals: Issues and Texts
Law, Letters, and Society
Tutorial Studies
In the Physical Sciences Collegiate Division:
Biological Chemistry
Chemistry
Computer Science
Geophysical Sciences
Mathematics
Applied Mathematics Mathematics
Mathematics with Specialization in Computer Science
Physics
Statistics
In the Social Sciences Collegiate Division:
African and African-American Studies
Anthropology
Economics
Geography
History
History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine
Latin American Studies
Law, Letters, and Society
Political Science
Psychology
Public Policy Studies
Russian Civilization
Sociology
South Asian Studies
Electives
(12 to 8 quarter courses)
Elective courses may be taken in any subject matter or discipline, including
those falling within the student's concentration program. A minimum of eight
elective courses are generally required. When four courses of foreign language
are required, one of these may be counted as an elective. When Mathematics
100-101-102 or Mathematics 105-106 are required, no more than one may be
used in a student's program. Up to six credits earned by examination may
be used as electives. (See the Course Credit and Credit by Examination section
elsewhere in this catalog.)
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Go to Course Credit and Credit
by Examination