Inequality in the core

Posted by admin on Nov 3, 2009 in Academy | 0 comments

I love Trinity Western University. I love that the liberal arts focus gives me incentive to take classes outside of my major and to stretch my abilities and intelligence. I love the Christian atmosphere and direction taken by the school and the community that I find within it.

What I don’t like is that a student needs six semester hours of science courses to graduate from TWU.

“What?” you say, clearly believing that I wish to see science removed from the core requirements. “But science is important to our holistic understanding of the world!”

This is precisely my concern. Can someone take Math 101 and an intro Geography course and claim to have acquired a holistic understanding of the world?

As an evangelically based university, TWU gravitates towards a humanities-centred education. Core requirements include six semester hours of literature studies, three of History and Philosophy, four of Christian thought (spelled IDIS), three of Fine Arts and 12 of Religious Studies. Yet a student must take only six semester hours in the Natural Sciences. 

While an arts student can be done with science in their first year, I – a science student – have taken eight humanities courses over the past four semesters.

I’m thankful for this, as I recognize that each has taught me something important and has stimulated my intellect in non-scientific ways. Sciences and humanities offer two different styles of learning: one interacts with information and scientific concepts, while the other interacts with ideas and speculation. 

There persists a belief that religion and naturalism find themselves at odds; they offer opposing brands of truth. This is true to an extent; the reality presented by science cannot be explained in the language of theology, and vice versa. Yet, they are not opposed, but complementary.

If we have only one lens, how can we understand the reality as seen through the other? The truth found in both disciplines will add to our understanding of the universe, but only if we give ourselves the basic tools to understand both types of truth. 

I’m not making an appeal to the university’s administrators so much as an appeal to the students. This liberal arts education is yours and will be what you make it.

Consider further study in the sciences in order to better understand the cultural issues at play and to broaden your understanding of the physical world.

My hope is that TWU graduates will be able to understand the causes of environmental degradation, the origin of the universe and the scientific method, in addition to being able to understand society, humanity and theology.