MA in Individualized Studies (IMA)

The Education and Human Development specialization is specifically designed to address the changing social structures of contemporary society and their impact on the growth of individuals and families in various cultural contexts.  As traditional roles, lifestyles, and conceptions of identity have evolved, so too has public policy regarding the social concerns and issues experienced by infants, children, adolescents, adults, and elders. Educational institutions, public policies, and social service agencies struggle to keep up with transitional changes that impact the lived experiences of millions whose lives are mediated through educational community structures. Consequently, this specialization seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the processes that underlie the relationship between education and human development and the way these issues are created and addressed so that their attendant problems can be effectively remediated.

This specialization emphasizes deeper investigations into the varieties of factors that contribute to the emergence of conflicts at the structural, interpersonal, and intercultural levels.  Those factors include social, political, and economic challenges brought about by cultural, linguistic, religious, international, ecological, and political stresses.  In addition to studying the deeper structures through which conflict emerges, this specialization also introduces methodologies for addressing conflicts as opportunities for social, cultural, and individual change and growth.

This specialization has been designed with five comprehensive learning goals in mind.  These goals guide the structure, function, and implementation of the program, serve the students as guideposts of their learning, and may be used to clarify the kind of learning our students have engaged in. Students will be able to explain how systems work, identify sources of conflict or disruption within systems, and show how to intervene in a system.  Students will demonstrate the ability to approach problems from a holistic perspective and apply scientific, sociological, economic, and ethical considerations in evaluation and problem solving.  Students will also be able to show how energy flows through systems. Students will be able to apply multiple perspective thinking and draw conclusions using multiple disciplinary approaches. Multiple perspective thinking includes appreciation of diverse cultural, ideological, ideational, technical and biotic standpoints, as well as attempting to think through philosophical differences and how they arise.

The Transformative Learning Community (TLC) specialization offers a low-residency interdisciplinary program with a distributed and relational learning model grounded in learner-driven inquiry. TLC provides an interactive learning experience that responds to the personal and professional lives of learners. Faculty mentors are accessible and available after facilitating courses for questions and consultations. The TLC community of scholar-practitioners addresses personal, societal, educational, and ecological concerns in pursuit of a more sustainable world. TLC aims to nurture each learner’s authoring of his/her learning and life within a learning community of scholar-practitioners.

The Creative Writing Specialization allows students to develop the craft of writing in multiple genres and explore literary expression in order to achieve greater proficiency in their own craft as writers.  Students will also be able to apply foundational skills of a creative writer in a larger societal context.  This specialization cultivates students’ ability to examine the craft of other writers (both historical and contemporary), and to name, describe, and critically examine the formal elements of their work, including the elements of language, character, story, theme, rhythm, and tone.  Coursework will call upon students to consider the impact that creative writing has in our world.   Students are encouraged to consider the importance of writers in our larger communities, our society, and our culture in order to move toward a contextual understanding of one’s own voice in a continuum of writers. These skills include the ability to comment on the work of other writers, participate in a writing community, and apply best practices of editing and grammar.

This specialization provides an overview of intercultural communication concepts, placing them in the context of a constructivist paradigm and relating them to other theories of human flourishing.  Specific topics include cultural patterns of language use, perception, communication style, nonverbal behavior, and value orientations due to cultural differences or different ways of perceiving reality that stem from one’s way of living or being in the world.  Intercultural communication perspectives enrich one’s understanding of the processes of stereotyping, group prejudice, antiracism, multiculturalism, and intercultural adaptation.

This specialization will primarily focus on the lived experiences of individuals and groups from oppressed, marginalized, or invisible communities in the Americas, including African American communities, Latin communities, LGBTQI communities, and communities of disability.

The principal goal of the I.M.A. specialization in Interdisciplinary Humanities incorporates Philosophy, Literature, History, Art, and Religious Studies is to produce critical thinkers and researchers of high quality who describe and research the problems central to the human condition. The courses and fields in this area cross several different areas of the Humanities from various historical eras and schools of thought. Individuals informed by the great Eastern and Western intellectual traditions can apply the methods of philosophical, historical, literary, spiritual, or aesthetic analysis to a broad range of current existential problems, and who can carve their own pathway in their chosen field. Courses cover various media and time periods in arts, styles of music, and instruments from other cultures. Projects allow for personal interpretation and application in an interdisciplinary/cross-curricular learning environment. This specialization also readies students who plan to pursue a doctoral program in the Humanities or other related fields, or a terminal degree in Law.

The Masters portfolio is used as a reflection tool to not only gauge learning over the course of a student’s tenure at Antioch but also to serve as a useful collection that demonstrates what one has learned to outside agencies or graduate schools. Portfolios are required for graduation.

There are three required components.

Student must provide examples of work that demonstrate fulfillment of the following program outcomes:

• Demonstrate critical thinking, writing, and communication skills by developing a specific point of view and defending it clearly with arguments and evidence.
  Adopt an interdisciplinary, foundational approach to one’s program by synthesizing understanding, perspectives, and research skills from one’s field of study and applying them to one’s area of focus within one’s field.
• Design and Implement a research-oriented program of study that synthesizes information from one’s chosen field of study.
• Apply appropriate mastery of the relevant content in the disciplinary approaches brought to bear on one’s individualized area of study.
• Advance social, economic, or environmental justice through a culminating project that integrates theory and practice through written work, a work of art, or work in one’s community.

Three critical reflection papers or conversations with the Colloquium Coordinator related to the three Colloquia attended.

Final reflection. Students are required to write a 3-5 page reflection on their personal, social, and intellectual journey at Antioch. Reflections should include a description of what students have learned, a discussion of any internal changes they experienced as a learner, and any final thoughts on the program