Human Issues Studies is an interdisciplinary, experiential program that provides students with the opportunity to engage in study, reflection, and action on a significant human issue. Human Issues Studies cultivates in students the habits of and an enduring commitment to intellectual engagement, reflective practice, and responsible citizenship.

The Human Issues Studies program is administered in the School of Integrative Studies.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE HUMAN ISSUES STUDY
(Approved by the Academic Assembly, April 5, 1984.)

The objectives for students engaged in a Human Issues Study are to:

1. Relate intellectual life to their particular concerns and to the contemporary world;
2. Discover methods of inquiry useful in examining their own particular concerns;
3. Understand liberal education through awareness of differing academic perspectives;
4. Integrate and synthesize bodies of knowledge and relate these to their professional interests;
5. Assess their talents in relationship to their goals in life; and
6. Confront broad human issues and questions with intelligence, good judgment, and integrity.

HUMAN ISSUES STUDIES COMPONENTS

Completed in the junior or senior year, the Human Issues Study is a requirement for graduation (minimum of three credits) that can be fulfilled in one of three ways: (1) an independent study conducted under the supervision of a faculty advisor and approved by the Human Issues Studies program; (2) completion of a Human Issues seminar; (3) completion of an academic department course cross-listed with Human Issues.

Regardless of the method chosen for completing this requirement, students’ experiences in the program will be characterized by the following six components:

• Interdisciplinary Inquiry: Disciplines (e.g., Psychology, Biology, Business, etc.) represent different “ways of knowing”–different ways to approach and study issues in the world. Students will identify and integrate scholarly sources from at least three disciplines into their Human Issues Study. This interdisciplinary approach allows students to develop a more complete understanding of the complexity and depth of their topic.

• Exploration of Values: Values affect decisions and actions, and they are present in the exploration of any human issue. Students’ own personal values, Dominican values (community, truth, compassion, justice, and partnership), and the values in society that surround the topic are identified at the beginning of the study or course, and reflection on these values and related ethical implications are integrated into the project.

• Engaged Learning: A unique part of Human Issues is the active, experiential component. Experience is a powerful teacher, especially when that experience is closely linked to study and reflection. Community-based service or research, travel around the world, or another type of involvement that demonstrates students’ personal commitments are examples of experiences that will give students insights into their projects.

• Intellectual and Ethical Growth: Through the integration of the disciplines, exploration of values, and engaged experience–all focused on the topic chosen by students–students are able to see the relevance of their education to real-world issues.

• Critical Judgment: By the end of their Human Issues experience, students are expected to take a stand on a human issues topic. Students’ stances and ideas for change or action will be grounded in scholarly work, values, and their experience. Students’ critical judgment in their project is reflective of the informed approach that engaged citizens in our society must take to be responsible leaders.

• Presentation of Work: Students’ Human Issues Studies culminate in a presentation of their project. For Independent Studies, this often takes the form of a final paper and exit interview with Human Issues Studies staff and students’ Human Issues advisor, but other options, such as a performance, are encouraged, with prior approval.