Elaboration of Knowledge Domains
Of the three domains, the two that have proved most difficult to distinguish consistently are Arts, Letters and Values (ALV) and Culture, Society and the Individual (CSI). A general rule of thumb is that the former deals with "text" and the latter "context." For instance, you can study literature, art, philosophical ideas, etc. for their intrinsic qualities and for their place in the development of literary/artistic/philosophical trends. You can also employ literature or art or philosophical ideas as a means of understanding the particular social and historical context in which they were created. Courses that focus solidly on the former are clearly ALV. Courses that spend a lot of time on the latter could be CSI or could be anchored in both domains (ALV&CSI), but…
- For courses that have titles like "Circassian Literature..." or "Circassian Film..." or have course descriptions or syllabi that focus predominantly on literature/film/etc., EPC’s presumption will be that they are predominantly ALV rather than CSI or (ALV+CSI). Historical and cultural contextualization is nowadays a normal part of the way scholars of film/literature/etc. approach their topic in the ALV realm, so performing that sort of analysis does not in itself make a course CSI (though it may be a good example of reaching out to CSI). CSI should be reserved for courses that deal primarily with how scholars study particular cultures and periods (for which the methodologically conscientious use of literature, film, etc. is often essential).
- If you are demonstrably doing both in equal measure your course may qualify for both ALV and CSI.
COLL 200s in Math and Computer Science that deal with the application of those disciplines to ALV and CSI topics (e.g., Economics) are anchored in those domains rather than NQR. Such classes that focus on natural science applications belong in NQR.
