Program of Liberal Studies

Some people say that jazz is America’s only original art form. How did jazz develop from Scott Joplin’s ragtime to the free-form repertoire of Charles Mingus? In Jazz History, you’ll study the evolution of jazz from its beginnings among African-Americans in 19th-century New Orleans to the jazz-rock fusion we hear today. You’ll come to understand, if not appreciate, the roots and progression of a wide range of jazz styles like Dixieland, swing, bop, progressive, cool, free-form, and third-stream. (Aesthetic Perspective)

Watching a movie is easy, but how do you critique a film and write for a particular audience? In Writing About Film: Methods of Film Analysis, watch weekly films with a professional filmmaker and writer, then learn how to apply major critical approaches. Practice writing everything from journalistic film criticism to analysis based on film theory. (Verbal Expression)

How did life evolve into a wide range of species, from microorganisms to whales? How are other living things affected when species become extinct? How might we conserve and protect species? In Biodiversity, explore these questions and more. Even if you’re not a biology major, but are interested in evolution and extinction, this course is for you. (Natural Scientific Perspective)

In Food Justice and Food Movements, you’ll explore the role of the industrial food system in the United States and beyond, and learn about its ecological, cultural, social, economic, and moral impacts. You’ll also work on the national student-led Real Food Challenge, through which Clark aims to serve 20 percent “real food” by 2020. (Values Perspective)

Exercise your French while exploring the multiple manifestations and transformations of French popular culture, from the 1940s to today, as disseminated in film, music, the media, cartoons, bande dessinée, and popular literature. In Popular Culture in France, you’ll examine aspects of French culture such as youth culture, slang, sports, food, and humor, and the common portrayal of topics like family, love, foreigners, and other social issues in the media. (Language and Culture Perspective)

Since Colonial times, Americans have looked to free public education as the means by which its citizens access economic opportunity, achieve equality, and develop political maturity. In Public Schools and Democracy, you’ll explore how free public education has evolved over four centuries, and assess the effectiveness of today’s schools in carrying out this mission. (Historical Perspective)

In most cultures, war traditionally has been perceived as a strictly male domain. But in fact, women have assumed both active and passive roles in violent conflict since the beginning of time: occasionally as combatants, more often as civilian supporters, and, all too frequently, as “collateral damage.” In Women and War, you’ll examine the impact of war on women as part of an attempt to gain a broader understanding of women’s role in society, both domestic and international. (Global Comparative Perspective)

Explore the art of finance and why it matters. What do you need to know to assess an organization’s financial health — or your own? Do you know how to calculate the return on your investments? The best way to maximize your cash flow? How a business can make a profit but run out of cash? In Financial Intelligence, you’ll learn how to answer these kinds of questions, and acquire the vocabulary and knowledge to better understand “what the numbers mean.” (Formal Analysis)