Culture and Expression consists of two yearlong, team-taught courses designed by a hand-picked team of Hofstra's distinguished full-time faculty. It fits into every Hofstra degree program by partially satisfying University-wide distribution requirements in the humanities and social sciences.
Each year humanities and social science faculty teams select unique sets of primary texts and other objects of study from the ancient (fall) and modern (spring) periods. Via class-wide lectures and small group discussions students experience the breadth of University learning in microcosm and discover how disciplines approach cultural artifacts differently and thus produce different kinds of knowledge.
Why C&E?
It's about establishing a particular kind of community through shared readings and conversations. All entering Stuart and Nancy Rabinowitz students begin their Hofstra careers with Culture and Expression (C&E). It is our primary tool for establishing a community among the students of each entering class. Together, they follow a common reading list, attend class-wide lectures, and take ownership of the materials via small group discussions with some of Hofstra's best faculty.
It's about life's biggest questions. Situating ourselves in a pluralistic world where there are so many competing claims and values is not easy. C&E focuses students' attention on some of the greatest works in literature, history, philosophy, religion, the social and the behavioral sciences from the ancient through the modern periods, stimulating genuine reflection about who we are and what values ought to guide us in our lives.
It's about rigor, complexity, and seeing the world from multiple perspectives. C&E introduces our students to a set of core values – intellectual rigor, disciplinary diversity, and a close-knit academic community. It takes traditional materials and presents them in a dynamic environment that results in individual discovery, critique, and new connections.
It's a starting point. Our goal is to launch Rabinowitz Honors College students' collegiate careers with a rich, empowering academic experience. Combining study in the arts – including literature, music, and fine art – with history, philosophy, behavioral sciences, and other disciplines – C&E provides Honors College students with the tools they need to succeed at Hofstra and beyond. With these issues in mind C&E stresses participation and the development of writing skills.
Past Syllabi
[PDF format]