History Major at Penn?

45_Percenter
Tue, 08 Aug 2017 18:06:00 +0000

@Cue7 I actually think we’re in agreement at this point (which is a good thing since you and I are probably the only ones still following the discussion ). But to the extent there is still a difference in our views, it’s that while I agree that Penn offers a broader experience than its peers in terms of the classes and fellow students available to liberal arts students in the College, it ALSO offers a more traditional liberal arts curriculum and experience to those undergrads who seek it, and a substantial portion of the students in the College pursue just that. And while interdisciplinary studies are truly a hallmark of Penn, that interdisciplinary aspect can simply include the combination and intersection of 2 or 3 traditional liberal arts fields (e.g., the quite popular interdisciplinary majors of Biological Basis of Behavior; Health and Societies; Philosophy, Politics, and Economics; and International Relations), and doesn’t necessarily involve the more professional undergraduate schools.

Plus, many if not most of the liberal arts departments in the College each have their own comprehensive and diverse faculties and class offerings WITHOUT the need to rely on professors or classes from other departments. As I said, a major in most of the liberal arts departments in the College COULD rely solely upon the faculty and courses in those departments to complete the major, with a focus on any number of specialties within those majors. And many undergrads in the College do just that. But as you point out, the interdisciplinary opportunities are also there to a degree not matched at most of Penn’s peers.

So I guess what I’m saying is that both types of liberal arts study–interdisciplinary AND a more traditional and compartmentalized approach–are readily available in the College. In other words, the interdisciplinary opportunities at Penn are ADDITIVE to the more traditional liberal arts experience available at Penn, and do not supplant it. Both types of liberal arts experience and curriculum are readily available and pursued by undergrads in the College.

And to assuage your concerns about my and my child’s undergraduate experiences at Penn, I was a Wharton student who actually majored in the liberal arts field of Economics (when Wharton undergrads could still do that) and took several classes each in Political Science, Sociology, History, History and Sociology of Science, and even Music! And my daughter was, as I said, a Humanities major, who also took a couple of classes in the Nursing School and Wharton. But I appreciate your concern nevertheless.