About CAT
This one-year sequence integrates discussion sections, lectures, course readings, papers, and project assignments in order to help students think about how writing, like culture itself, is a process of exploring and creating solutions to problems. The Core Sequence is later followed by the Practicum, which enhances students' understanding of culture and of themselves through hands on experience. The Sixth College Writing Program, fulfilling the University Writing Requirement, is an integrated part of the Core Sequence.
This one-year sequence integrates discussion sections, lectures, course readings, papers, and project assignments in order to help students think about how writing, like culture itself, is a process of exploring and creating solutions to problems. The Core Sequence is later followed by the Practicum, which enhances students' understanding of culture and of themselves through hands on experience. The Sixth College Writing Program, fulfilling the University Writing Requirement, is an integrated part of the Core Sequence.
|
Central Questions
How does culture shape our behavior and our environment?
What values and assumptions are embedded in things humans create? How does someone's experience and cultural surroundings influence how he or she sees the world? How can solutions to problems sometimes lead to unintended consequences? What can we learn by using the viewpoints and tools of different disciplines to study a single problem? |
Trajectory of Courses
CAT 1 Fall Quarter First-year (4 units)
Our introductory course examines from multiple angles how cultural assumptions are embedded in art and technology, thus reflecting and shaping the choices humans make. We prepare students for the writing-intensive CAT 2 and 3 by emphasizing questions and argumentation as the key to learning.
CAT 2 Winter Quarter First-year (6 units)
Here we analyze specific technological and artistic developments during a given historical period and consider how their intended -- and unintended -- consequences affect our lives today. Our writing discussions focus particularly on how to form thesis statements and arguments.
CAT 3 Spring Quarter First-year (6 units)
In the third quarter we examine how potential solutions to today's problems fit into cultural systems of values and assumptions. Students concentrate on voice and the details of writing effective sentences, and they complete projects applying course concepts to real-world issues. Sophomore and Junior Year Starting in their second year, students focus on completing other university requirements. For more information, see Academic Advising.
Practicum Project Junior or Senior Year
The Sixth College Practicum requires each student to propose and carry out an individual project related to a community on or off campus, which may involve taking a CAT 124 course on a special topic.
CAT 125 Junior or Senior Year
In the last stage of the Practicum, students use writing to explore what their own experience has taught them about the challenges of identifying and implementing solutions to cultural problems. |