Some Thoughts on the Teaching Design of “Arts, Humanities and Science” General Education Courses in Colleges and Universities

Abstract

It is a long-standing non-controversial issue whether science can bring beauty and whether art and humanities can promote human understanding and transformation of the world. And throughout the history of human civilization, it is indisputable that beauty is an important guiding principle in the process of inquiry into universal laws. Behind the laws of science, there is always profound beauty. This paper discusses the need for a general and comprehensive liberal arts course in China's higher education, especially in the era of fast development and quick commercial utilization of modern technology. Several teaching subjects and open-ended questions for discussion are proposed. The main purpose of this paper is to clarify that through offering similar courses, students can develop better aesthetic skills, and richer, fuller worldviews and values.