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About General and Liberal Education
General and Liberal Education is part of the liberal education curriculum available to all undergraduates at Doshisha University, and is comprised of a large number of stimulating subjects covering a broad range of academic fields. Based on the three educational ideals of “Christian principles,” “liberalism” (autonomy and independence), and “internationalism,” and carrying on the traditions of a liberal arts education, Doshisha University’s founding spirit of “conscience-oriented education” is carried forward today. It is through this liberal education that the university aims to fulfill the hopes of the founder of Doshisha, Joseph Hardy Neesima, of nurturing many individuals who are filled with the spirit of good conscience, autonomy, and independence, and capable of making contributions to the international community. In order to realize these hopes, Doshisha has set out to enhance and improve its General and Liberal Education through the establishment of subjects in the area of career development and international liberal education. These newly-established subjects will be offered from the 2009 academic year.
Today’s world demands human resources that are capable of being actively involved on the world stage and playing a leading role in society, and possess intellectual leadership supported by a thorough general knowledge and a high degree of specialization. In meeting such demands, it is apparent that the role liberal education must fulfill is growing ever-greater. It is hoped that through studies in General and Liberal Education, students will be able to acquire the basics for their studies at the university, as well as come to better understand the depths of academic learning, leading them to freely and actively pursue further and broader studies on their own initiative. What the students learn here is of great importance and will also be indispensable to the research activities they carry out in their specialized fields.
Furthermore, in order to give back to the community the fruit gained from academic study, it is necessary to have “comprehensive strength” and real “human power,” and to acquire the human background knowledge needed to take an active part in society. Through diligent study of General and Liberal Education, it is hoped that students will not simply be given pre-packaged knowledge in a one-way flow, but will instead change to a more proactive approach enabling them to seek out issues and find the solutions on their own, and make “knowledge” comprehensive in acquiring the human power needed to proactively carry out actions among a broad diversity of people.
It is hoped that the human foundation obtained through liberal education will enable students to take an active part in society in the future.
Subject Groups and Subject Categories of General and Liberal Education
General and Liberal Education is divided into “Subject Groups” and “Subject Categories.”
There are three Subject Groups, comprised of the Doshisha Studies Group, offered from the 2005 academic year; and the Career Development Group and the International Liberal Education Group, which will be offered from the 2009 academic year. A Subject Group is made up of General and Liberal Education subjects that are organized together to provide a cohesive and easy-to-understand grouping and systematically taught. The Doshisha Studies Group consists of subjects related to the founding spirit of Doshisha, Joseph Hardy Neesima, and Christianity; subjects in the Career Development Group are related to self-development and career development; and subjects in the International Liberal Education Group are related to understanding different cultures, as well as foreign language education.
Subject Categories include all the subjects in General and Liberal Education, with each subject classified into a group by its particular features or field, and then given the label “OO Subject.”
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