1. Going Beyond Gen Ed at the Associate’s Level The AA History Option and Paired Courses

2. How do we share with our colleagues, our students, and the public the distinctive value that we see in the study of history? How do we encourage our college and our students to see history as a vital part of their education and not just one of a variety of possible “gen ed” requirements?

3. History within Gen Ed Bergen Community College – Prioritization of transfer degrees including AA Liberal Arts degrees – Feeder school for surrounding 4 year colleges – Most popular degree is AA LA GEN (Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts General Education) History (6 credits) is a requirement in and of itself at BCC, not one of many humanities or social science options Considered essential for transfer to a liberal arts program at a 4 year college

5. BCC also has a diversity requirement for all degree programs History courses feature prominently there too

6. VIII. DIVERSITY COURSES ANTHROPOLOGY ANT100 Intro to Anthropology ANT101 Cultural Anthropology ARTS and MEDIA CIN160 Women in Cinema COMMUNICATION COM114 Intercultural Communication GEOGRAPHY GEO101 World Geography GEO102 Human Geography HISTORY HIS105 Women in History HIS116 Women in American History HIS121 Modern Asian History HIS124 African American History HIS126 Modern African History HIS130 Latin American History to Independence HIS131 Latin American History since Independence HIS132 Spanish Speaking Caribbean and Central America since 1898 HIS 146 Genocide and Holocaust LITERATURE LIT203 World Lit to 1650 LIT204 World Lit, 1650-Present LIT215 Black Literary Voice in America LIT218 American Ethnic Lit LIT223 Contemporary Latin American Literature LIT224 Topics in Internatl Lit LIT228 Women in Literature PHILOSOPHY and RELIGION PHR106 Eastern Philosophy PHR121 Religions of the World PHR122 Women and Religion PHR124 Christian Scriptures PHR125 Hebrew Scriptures PHR126 Islamic Scriptures PHR127 Buddhist Scriptures PSYCHOLOGY PSY110 Psychology of Sexuality PSY123 Cross-Cultural Psychology PSY207 Psychology of Women PSY210 Social Psychology SOCIOLOGY SOC120 Soc of Gender Roles SOC121 Changing Roles of Women

7. Both requirements provide visibility and exposure for History at the college Because we see every liberal arts degree student at least twice, we are able to then promote history “beyond Gen Ed”

8. History “Beyond Gen Ed” Part 1 “AA LA GEN With History Option” Our version of a history major – Typically about 115-120 per year enrolled in the major Similar to a Pre-Major at 4 year college? Goal is to serve this “pre major” purpose for 4 year college transfers– providing “historical literacy,” including both basic historical “knowledge” (content) and introduction to more advanced “skills” (competencies)

10. Requires 2 semester survey sequence (6 credits) 1 Geography (3 credits) 3 history electives (9 credits) 2 Free electives that can be history courses (6 credits) _________________ 24 history credits possible out of 63 needed

11. Debate within our department: – Is it better for a 2 year college to provide only basic history skills in its “major” with all courses being taught at an introductory level? – Or should the program be tiered so that majors are exposed to more challenging material and expectations for skill levels as they move through each semester? Perhaps even providing a capstone course at the end? – Which more closely resembles the experience they would have as freshmen and sophomores at a 4 year college? Which experience is preferable?

12. Going “Beyond Gen Ed” Part 2 Pairing Courses with History New initiative for our department HIS 130 Latin American History paired with Latin American Cinema HIS 146 Genocide and Holocaust paired with English Composition (genocide theme) Encouragement from college to pair History courses with English basic skills and American language courses

13. Why pair courses? – Show the value of history for comprehending/ contextualizing literature, cinema, etc more fully and for providing substance for composition – Show how history can be valuable outside the history classroom… part of an organic education not isolated requirements – Provide insight into the “distinctive” perspective and approach that history offers even when offered alongside other humanities disciplines

14. What is the overarching goal of paired courses? Similar to Kenneth Pomeranz’s reflections on Lumina’s goals for "broad, integrative knowledge" in Perspectives: “The hope, with which I sympathize, is to make general education a reservoir of skills and perspectives that are in dialogue with those stressed by a particular major, rather than a separate, stand-­alone dimension.”

15. paired history courses help us to – communicate the utility of historical study even for students who choose other disciplines/ professions/pursuits and emphasize its unique and vital contribution to a student's general education. And perhaps even attract a new major or two along the way!