Western Heritage

Heritage Goals

Western Heritage is an all-college program. But why does Carthage view Heritage as so important? What does it provide our students?

As a liberal arts college, Carthage is in the business of turning out well-rounded individuals. Well-rounded means that when you graduate, you will be able to converse about a variety of topics both socially and professionally. Heritage accomplishes this by using literature based on the themes of identity, community, and cultural interaction. Well-rounded also means that you will have the skills necessary to carry you through the rest of your life as a life-long learner. These skills are laid out in the Heritage Guide: reading, writing, cultural literacy, and oral communication.

Proficiency at these skills requires practice. There is no short cut. The Heritage sequence is designed to help you polish these skills.

Read Critically, Write Engagingly

Let's begin with the skills of reading and writing. Some of you are saying to yourselves, "But I read and write well now, so why do I have to do more? What can Heritage possibly teach me about reading and writing?"

Reading and writing are skills that demand practice. Our Carthage athletes know to stretch their muscles and practice shots, patterns and routines before a game. Players always warm up before a game. Would a basketball player dare to not practice his or her jump shot or free throw before a game?

In many ways, college is a way for you to warm-up before you go on to your chosen career. Reading and writing are skills that you will need no matter what you do after college. And Heritage is the first step in helping you to become a skilled writer who can write in a variety of formats.

Communicate Effectively

In addition to reading and writing skills, while you may not always remember the content from the classes you take here at Carthage, one of the skills that will serve you well is knowing where to find the information you need. Knowing how to find information, and being able to evaluate its worth, will definitely help you down the road, both in your other college courses and in your life after college. Yes, Virginia, there is a life after college.

After you find this information, at some point either with friends or for business, you will want to be able to communicate your knowledge effectively to others. Another goal of Heritage is to help you polish your oral communication skills. The basic skills are the same for giving an oral presentation in front of your peers or the executives of your company. Heritage can place you on the path to success to help your team.

The final goal of Heritage, but by no means the least important, is cultural literacy. The world we live in demands that we continually interact with individuals from a variety of ethnic groups, cultures and religions. In every career path there will be situations where you will need to interact with people from other cultures. And in order to interact well with these people, you must understand how cultural differences might lead to misunderstandings, on your part or theirs, and may prevent you from effectively communicating with others.

See Possibilities

If you sum up these skills you come up with the final product — an increase in your analytical ability. This is your ability to explore multiple options, to see different possibilities, and to understand the many facets that may be involved in the issue you are considering. This is the heart and soul of a liberal arts education. And this is why Carthage views the Heritage program as so important.

At the end of the day, you cannot put the hockey puck in the net without a lot of practice. Heritage is the beginning of your ice time.

Academic Resources

Prospective Students

Hannibal Lectures

Popular lecture series draws professors and students deeper into Western Heritage texts. Read more.

J-Term in Israel

Unearthing the Past. Annual study tour in northern Israel transforms Carthage undergrads into archaeologists.

Carthage In-Depth

Carthage Symposium

Art Meets Biology. Students photograph biodiversity in Tucson, Ariz.