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MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE CLASS OF 2008

I. DISTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS

All students must complete two sets of distribution requirements: (A) academic categories, and (B) cultures and civilizations. Courses that count toward the major and the minor may be used to satisfy distribution requirements. Winter Term courses, first-year seminars, and College writing courses may also be used to satisfy distribution requirements. Students must take at least one course in seven of the eight academic categories described below. Single courses can be listed with two distribution categories. A student may count a single course in no more that one academic category requirement.

A. ACADEMIC CATEGORIES

1. Literature: Literature has been a central form of expression for many societies. Analysis and appreciation of literary texts give students insight into the minds and lives of other human beings, both their own cultural predecessors and people of different traditions, and into the process whereby human experience is imaginatively transformed into art. By studying literature in English and in other languages, students also sharpen their ability to express their own ideas with grace and precision. Courses that fulfill this requirement are designated LIT.

2. The Arts: The understanding of the history, theory, and practice of the arts is an integral part of a liberal arts education. Courses in this category emphasize either the creative process through the making and performing of works of art (ranging from paintings and sculpture to plays, dances, creative writing, film/video, and musical compositions) or the place of such works of art within a particular historical, cultural, or aesthetic context. Courses that fulfill this requirement are designated ART.

3. Philosophical and Religious Studies:Courses in this category examine philosophical systems and religious traditions from a variety of viewpoints, including analytical, systematic, historical, sociological, anthropological, and phenomenological perspectives. Some courses deal with specific philosophical problems or theological issues; others trace the history of philosophy or of religious traditions; still others examine philosophical schools of thought or religious traditions during specific periods of history. Courses that fulfill this requirement are designated PHL.

4. Historical Studies: History is that branch of knowledge that seeks to account for the diverse ways in which human beings in different cultures and societies have all responded to temporal change. Courses in this category study the development of societies and cultures over time. Courses that fulfill this requirement are designated HIS.

5.Physical and Life Sciences: Courses in this category study inductive and deductive processes of science. Emphasis is on the methods used to gather, interpret, and evaluate data critically, and the placement of this information into a larger context. Fundamental principles of each discipline are discussed in a manner that illustrates the evolving relationship of science, technology, and society. Courses that fulfill this requirement are designated SCI.

6. Deductive Reasoning and Analytical Processes: Courses in this category deal with one or more of the following: (a) basic principles of reasoning and the axiomatic method; (b) statistical methods for analyzing and interpreting data; (c) key mathematical concepts; and (d) abstract symbolic manipulation or reasoning. Courses that fulfill this requirement are designated DED.

7. Social Analysis: This category deals with the analysis of the individual in society. Courses involve the systematic study of human behavior and the processes and results of human interaction through organizations and institutions, both formal and informal. Social analysis can be undertaken from a variety of perspectives: inductive (using data to make generalizations about human behavior), deductive (using principles to search for and develop new theories), and normative (using values to recognize important questions and evaluate alternative answers). Courses that fulfill this requirement are designated SOC.

8. Foreign Language: Speaking, listening, reading, and writing in a language other than one's own exercise and expand the mind. Because of the close interdependence of language and culture, study of a foreign language helps one gain insights into other societies and ultimately one's own. Courses in this category include those taught in a foreign language or focused on texts in a foreign language. Courses that fulfill this requirement are designated LNG.

B. CULTURES AND CIVILIZATIONS (Applicable to the Class of 2007 and Beyond)

Middlebury College believes that students should have broad educational exposure to the variety of the world's cultures and civilizations. Because cultural differences are based upon, among other factors, geography as well as history, and ethnicity as well as gender, issues pertaining to cultural difference are integral to most of the academic disciplines represented in the curriculum. Accordingly, Middlebury students are required to complete a cultures and civilizations requirement consisting of one course in each of the following four categories:

1. AAL-courses that focus on some aspect of the cultures and civilizations of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

2. CMP-courses that focus on the process of comparison between and among cultures and civilizations, or courses that focus on the identity and experience of separable groups within cultures and civilizations.

3. EUR-courses that focus on some aspect of European cultures and civilizations.

4. NOR-courses that focus on some aspect of the cultures and civilizations of northern America (United States and Canada)

A single course may be listed as fulfilling no more than two of the four categories above (as determined by the Curriculum Committee). If two of the four categories are listed for a single course, a student may choose which category the course will fulfill, but a single course cannot count for two categories. A student may, however, count the same course toward both an academic category requirement, and the cultures and civilizations requirement. Courses that count toward the major and the minor, winter term courses, and first-year student seminars may be used to satisfy the cultures and civilizations requirement.