The Threefold Gaze
Meaning-Making Curriculum
A NARRATIVE EXAMPLE
Manchester Community College in New Hampshire is currently in the process of revising its Liberal Arts Degree program to align with the three-fold gaze. Here's what that looks like in practice.
The Objective:
The proposed Liberal Arts Degree Program revision aims to invite students into a coherent narrative around their degree, framing it as a period of personal development and vocational discernment. Vocational discernment is defined in terms of reflecting on who they are and responding to the needs of their community and the larger world. This inward/outward gaze is traced throughout the program of study by means of four touchpoint courses, one per semester, and the compilation of a cumulative portfolio.
The Rationale:
It is no secret that undergraduate college students are experiencing a surge in mental health challenges. A December 2023 article citing a survey from the American College Health Association states almost 75% of students “report experiencing moderate or serious psychological distress" (Ceballo, 2024). One aspect of this distress is what Brown et al. call the “existential anxiety” (EA) of college students (Brown et al., 2023). A recent study measuring student anxiety around meaning and purpose found “participants did not claim to know the purpose of life. If anything, participants expressed how individual purpose is constantly changing" (2023). Ceballo points out that the large number of vocational choices students are faced with is contributing significantly to the “stress culture” of undergraduate campuses. She notes that this uptick in distress is occurring simultaneously with a general devaluing of liberal arts courses and majors. Ceballo writes,
A liberal arts education, with its commitment to exposing students to disciplines across the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences, is rooted in the practice of discernment… Discernment is the process of seriously pondering and reflecting upon whom you are supposed to be and what you are supposed to do. It is fundamentally about searching for your personal path and purpose in life. (Ceballo, 2024)
By refocusing the Liberal Arts Program to align with its historical purpose, MCC will be addressing the pressing mental health and existential needs of its students, not through auxiliary services, but where they spend the majority of their time: in the classrooms.
Retention Impact:
In addition to being good for students, this revision is likely to enhance degree completion and retention. Data shows that college students “feel empowered and thrive within learning environments that encourage personal reflection that is valued” in the context of a more holistic approach to their learning (Galbally & Christodoulidi, 2023). It is intuitive to assume students will be more inclined to see a program through to completion when it is framed with a coherent narrative structure that encourages personal goal setting, practical reflection, and a meaningful synthesis of learning in a tangible portfolio.
Four Milestones
FIRST YEAR ESSENTIALS
A Liberal Arts education is about more than acquiring skills to do a job. It is about developing as a human being and engaging with our humanity in the context of community, scholarship, and profession. This course will invite students to embark on a journey of reflection and exploration, laying the foundation for their Liberal Arts education. We will explore the difference between work and vocation, asking ourselves, who am I, and where do I fit into my community and my world? We will examine our own values around finances and work-life balance. We will explore the concept of being part of a learning community, asking what do I need, and what do I have to offer to others? In addition to providing a philosophical framework around the degree, this course will provide students with practical skills, including academic and career planning, financial literacy, and accessing campus resources.
FOUNDATIONS IN LIBERAL ARTS STUDIES
A Liberal Arts education provides students with the opportunity to engage interdisclipinary coursework with the goal of discovering who they are, what they value, and how they might might contribute to the human community through meaningful work. With that goal in mind, this course creates practical points of entry into Liberal Arts scholarship. Students will be introduced to the way language functions, how scholarship is produced, how canons are formed, and the integration of generative Artificial Intelligence into their academics and vocation.
THE SELF, THE OTHER, & THE ARTS
The premise of this course is the belief that the capacity to feel empathy for the Other, begins with a secure sense of identity in the Self. In this course, students will be exposed to a wide assortment of the arts. We will treat these works as mirrors through which to gain insight into ourselves and windows through which to gain insight into the world. For the liberal arts student, this course contains a strong interdisciplinary component that will provide a unifying thread to their studies, while modeling the significance of the humanities across the curriculum. Students will engage in a series of guided reflections in journals, complete a research essay focused on an author/composer/artist or theme of their choosing, and compile a thoughtfully curated digital gallery making thematic connections among various genres of art.
COMMUNITY, SCHOLARSHIP, & PROFESSION
A popular criticism of academia is summed up in the term “Ivory Tower.” The image is one of distance and aloofness, and implies that a college education, particularly in the Liberal Arts, has little real world application. Students will trace the throughline across their interdisciplinary courses and connect concepts to the communities in which they will live, vote, and work. They will reflect upon coursework, applications of education, and investigation of career paths. Faculty will also mentor students through the process of setting future-oriented goals for continued personal and professional development.