
Courses Open to First-Year Students by Department with Descriptions
Africana Studies
AFS 211 - Black Earth
Writing about nature - whether from the tradition of the sublime or as an expression of American potentiality or from the perspective of eco-criticism - has excluded considerations of the contributions of African-Americans. What concepts of nature and one's interaction with nature that survived the Middle Passage, the relationship of slavery, migration, and rural and urban life, as well as contemporary appraisals of the environment, will be among the topics considered. In particular, through literary works - whether essays, novels, or poems - environmental concerns and approaches to nature are addressed. The course proposes there is a decided and profound tradition within the African-American community of addressing nature that both parallels and is quite distinct from European traditions. Secondly, the course proposes to examine the conjunction of discrimination and environmental degradation, that the bifurcation of humans from nature is intrinsically linked to social injustice and inequality. (McCorkle, alternate years relative to AFS 230)
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; McCorkle
American Studies
AMST 101 - Topics in American Studies: Inequality, Power, & Violence
These introductory courses in American Studies engage questions central to the field by focusing on how questions of power and difference shape tensions and contradictions in American culture. Students will examine American paradoxes such as the "American Dream," freedom and equality, immigration and reconstruction as well as infrastructures like consumer culture, the urban built environment, and national borders through an interdisciplinary lens. The courses also introduce students to American Studies methods through a close interdisciplinary analysis of a variety of cultural artifacts such as popular fiction, leisure, music, architecture, performance, propaganda and social practices. Readings are drawn from a range of sources including politics, history, popular culture, literature, media studies, and contemporary theory. Specific topics will vary based on the instructor. Offered each semester. Prerequisite: Open to First Year or Sophomore students only.
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Mukherji
- 02 LEC TR 2:50-4:20 PM; Mukherji
Anthropology
ANTH 102 - Archaeology & World Prehistory
This course seeks to replace myths of "killer apes" and "ancient astronauts" with archaeological reality. A broad survey of archaeological knowledge of both New and Old World prehistory provides a framework for analysis of major transitions in cultural evolution and of selected archaeological puzzles, such as the enigmatic markings of the Peruvian desert near Nazca. This course is designed for non majors who want a general understanding of what "happened" in prehistory. The course is also suitable for prospective majors who need an overview of the archaeological record against which to set more specialized courses in archaeology. (Clark, offered annually)
- 01 LEC TR 2:50-4:20 PM; Clark
ANTH 110 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
This course explores the anthropological understanding of human society through ethnographic case studies of particular societies. In the holistic approach of anthropology, the interrelations of kinship, economics, politics, and religion are stressed. Special emphasis is also placed on anthropological theories of human behavior and the wide range of creative solutions to the problem of social living devised by various cultures of the world. (Staff, offered each semester.) Prerequisite: Open to First Year or Sophomore students only, or ANTH majors or minors, or SOC or SOC/ANTH majors.
- 01 LEC TR 2:50-4:20 PM; Maiale
ANTH 225 - China in Africa
What does it mean to be Chinese in Africa or Zambian in a country increasingly transformed by the growing presence of China in economy, politics, food security, and cuisine? Does the presence of Chinese political officials and aid money in African countries make China a humanitarian donor or neocolonial power? The Chinese Belt and Road Initiative has transformed Zambia's physical infrastructure over the past two decades, building hospitals, paving roads, and reinvigorating moribund copper mines. It also now owns one-third of Zambia's debt. Some Zambian academics have charged the Chinese government with diminishing its democratic institutions and there is a widespread American view that China is claiming African resources for unpaid debt. Preconceptions notwithstanding, in this course we will explore how Chinese actions in African spaces (with a focus on Zambia) actually impact food systems, access, and cuisine. (Annear, offered alternate years.) Prerequisite: One ANTH, AFS, ASN, or IRL course, or permission of instructor.
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Annear
arabic
ARAB 101 - Beginning Arabic I
This course will introduce students to the Arabic alphabet and script, phonetics, and elementary grammar and conversation. Students will develop the ability to communicate in the present tense, to employ different grammatical forms, to carry out and understand basic conversations. Multimedia technologies will be employed to improve listening comprehension and oral expression. Attendance at a weekly language table is required. (Staff, offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 8:30-9:30 AM; Philbrick Yadav
- 11 DRL MWF 8:30-9:30 AM; Philbrick Yadav
ARAB 202 - Intermediate Arabic II
In this course students, who have already taken three semesters, or the equivalent, of Arabic will continue to study more complex grammatical structures that will enable them to develop their communication skills. They will also expand their vocabulary and engage in speaking and understanding culturally relevant texts. Multimedia technologies will be employed to improve listening comprehension and oral expression, Attendance at a weekly language table is required. (Staff, offered annually.) Prerequisite: ARAB 201 or the equivalent, or permission of instructor.
- 01 LEC MWF 12-1 PM; Philbrick Yadav
Architectural studies
ARCH 110 - Introduction to Architectural Studies
An introduction to architecture and design culture, this course introduces students to the aims, methods, and issues of the design and planning disciplines with architecture at the core of our studies. This course also encourages students to think, look, and read critically about designed objects, places, and spaces through drawing, although no prior experience with sketching is expected. With these tools, the student will have a basic understanding of design, and will be prepared to undertake more specialized study. (Blankenship, Piersol, offered each semester)
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Blankenship
ARt History
ARTH 101 - Ancient to Medieval Art
This course offers a chronological study of principal monuments and developments in paintings, sculpture, and architectures from prehistoric to medieval times in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Islamic world. (Tinkler, offered annually.) Prerequisite: Open to First Year or Sophomore students only, or ARTS and ARTH majors and minors, or permission of instructor.
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Tinkler
ARTH 103 - Introduction to Asian Art
This course presents a topical study of the arts and architecture of East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. We will examine developments in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, architecture, ceramics, prints, and installations, through a series of case studies. Broad topics will include connections between art, politics, philosophy, and religion; text-image relationships; artistic practice, patronage, and collecting; and international art movements in the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, students will learn to analyze two- and three-dimensional works of art and architecture. (Blanchard, offered annually.) Prerequisite: Open to First Year or Sophomore students only, or ARTS and ARTH majors and minors, or permission of instructor.
- 01 LEC MWF 12-1 PM; Blanchard
ARTH 205 - Gender and Display
Through an examination of both media and art production from the late twentieth-century until the present, this course will ask students to critically engage with questions of how visual culture works to either confirm or reject the often violently oppressive concepts of masculinity and femininity that have come to shape Western ideology and lived experience. As they are inextricably linked to multiple formulations of masculinity and femininity, issues surrounding race, class and sexuality are also taken into account as we consider not only how images reflect gender norms but how, as viewers, we are continued to view them as such. (Szymanek, offered occasionally)
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Szymanek
ARTH 210 - Women Artists, 1300-1750
Written histories of art before the modern era have too often overlooked or marginalized women artists, even though they worked in the same media as men (painting, printmaking, illustration, calligraphy) and depicted similar subjects (portraits, religious themes, still lifes, and nature). This course examines European and Asian women artists between 1300 and 1750, with particular attention to the cultures of Italy and China after 1500. Topics will include the reasons for women's omission from the canon of art history; women's status as amateur or professional artists; and their identities as court artists, members of artistic families, courtesans, or nuns. (Blanchard, offered alternate years)
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Blanchard
ARTH 248 - Love & Death in Ancient Egypt
This course explores Egyptian paintings and reliefs from temples and tombs to reveal the strong sensual qualities encoded in the symbolism and iconography of funerary art. A careful analysis of artifacts will help us understand how encoded images were seen as a form of power and a means to obtain immortality. While the course will provide a chronological survey of Egyptian art, it will mostly focus on the New Kingdom period because most of the tomb wall paintings to have survived belong to that specific period. (Leopardi, offered alternate years)
- 01 LEC MW 1:10 PM-2:40 PM; Leopardi
ARTH 252 - Japanese Art and Culture
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the arts and culture of Japan from the Neolithic period through the twentieth century. Students consider examples of visual media in the context of Japanese literature, history, society, and religions. Topics include Shinto architecture, Buddhist art (including Pure Land and Zen), narrative picture scrolls, traditional and western-style paintings, shoin architecture, gardens, tea ceremony ceramics and ukiyo-e prints (pictures of the floating world). Students read primary sources in translation, including Shinto myths, Buddhist texts, and selections from literature. (Blanchard, offered alternate years)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Blanchard
Studio Art
ARTS 105 - Color and Composition
A perceptual approach to the study of color interaction and compositional dynamics, students work through a carefully structured series of problems designed to reveal empirically the nature of color interaction and relatedness and the fundamentals of good visual composition. Projects range from narrowly focused color problems to ambitious, expressive compositional inventions. (Ruth, offered each semester.) Prerequisite: Open to First Year or Sophomore students only, or ARTS and ARTH majors and minors, or permission of instructor.
- 01 LEC MW 9:40 AM-12:35 PM; Ruth
- 02 LEC TR 9:50 AM-12:35 PM; Ruth
ARTS 115 - Three Dimensional Design
An introduction to three-dimensional concepts, methods, and materials with an emphasis on design. Project assignments involve investigations of organization, structure, and creative problem solving. Materials generally used in the course include cardboard, wood, metals, fabric, and plexiglas. This course is offered primarily, but not exclusively, for students with an interest in the architectural studies program and they are given first priority with enrollment. (Aub, Blankenship, D'Angelo, Piersol, offered each semester)
- 02 LEC MW 9:40 AM-12:25 PM
ARTS 165 - Introduction to Imaging
In this studio-based course in photography, students will explore the camera as a medium for artistic expression while building a foundation of photographic skills. Topics covered include camera controls, natural and studio lighting, photographic composition, wet darkroom and digital darkroom techniques. As inspiration and to broaden our understanding of the medium, we will look at a wide range of photographic practices from the camera obscura to the photographs of living, working artists. Through discussion and critique of creative projects, we will discuss how a photographic image works to communicate visual and conceptual ideas. (Chin, offered each semester.) Prerequisite: Open to First Years, Sophomores, and Juniors only, or open to ARTH and ARTS majors and minors, or open to ARCH minors.
- 01 LEC MW 9:40 AM-12:25 PM; Chin
Asian Studies
ASN 101 - Trekking through Asia
Welcome to the "Asian Century." Asia has re-emerged as the center of the world, after a brief hiatus that started in the 18th century. With histories and religious traditions stretching back three millennia, today as we see cultures across Asia have transformed in ways to meet the demands of our rapidly changing world. China, Japan, and India are three of the world's top economies. Asia contains six of the world's ten largest countries, and is home to over half of the world's population and two of the world's major religions, Hinduism and Buddhism. For decades Asian countries have been leaders in global manufacturing, and Asian universities are now renowned centers for scientific and medical innovation. Fifty percent of the declared nuclear-weapon states are also in the region. Simply put, Asia matters a great deal! In this course, we trek through the Asian past and present, exploring this vast and vibrant region. Through writings and travelogues that documented the peoples and lands of places stretching from the Sea of Japan to Persia, and from Java to the Mediterranean Sea, we will learn about the cultural systems that helped shape Asian societies. We will consider how these traditions contributed to and were changed by historical interactions in Asia itself and in relationship to the rest of the world. Join us on the journey! (Yoshikawa, offered annually.) Prerequisite: Open to First Year and Sophomore students only, or open to ASN, HIST, and INRL majors and minors, or permission of instructor.
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Yoshikawa
- 02 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Yoshikawa
ASN 102 - Ottoman Worlds
The modern Middle East as it is configured today is the byproduct of the particular circumstances and set of governing practices that characterized the Ottoman Empire. Far from a medieval monolith, this was an adaptive, modernizing empire that stitched together peoples of different languages, religions, ethnicities, and political commitments. Yet well before it was formally dissolved in the defeat of the First World War, the coherence of Ottoman rule was disintegrating along its periphery. This course maps both the construction and disintegration of the empire, showing how both jointly made the network of states that replaced it. As an interdisciplinary course drawing from the humanities and social sciences, the course asks students to map and critically understand a variety of cultures of resistance through which Ottoman subjects worked to fashion their lives and their empire. (Philbrick Yadav, offered occasionally)
- 01 LEC TR 2:50-4:20 PM; Philbrick Yadav
ASN 103 - Introduction to Asian Art
This course presents a topical study of the arts and architecture of East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. We will examine developments in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, architecture, ceramics, prints, and installations, through a series of case studies. Broad topics will include connections between art, politics, philosophy, and religion; text-image relationships; artistic practice, patronage, and collecting; and international art movements in the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, students will learn to analyze two- and three-dimensional works of art and architecture. (Blanchard, offered annually.) Prerequisite: Open to First Year and Sophomore students only, or ASN majors and minors.
- 01 LEC MWF 12-1 PM; Blanchard
ASN 211 - Buddhism
This course covers the rise and historical development of Buddhism in South Asia and its spread into Southeast, Central, and East Asia. Through regular writing exercises, extensive use of visual and audio materials, and some fieldwork, students will acquire a basic vocabulary for discussing the ritual practices, ethical systems, and scriptures of Buddhism (e.g., selections from the Pali Canon); situate the major branches of Buddhism in their historical and geographical contexts (e.g., Theravada in Sri Lanka, Vajrayana in Tibet, Zen in Japan); and explore important concepts in each of the traditions and locations in view of significant sociohistorical processes, events, and institutions (e.g., the interaction of Buddhists with Daoists and Confucians in China and the associations of Shinto practitioners and Buddhists in Japan). No prior knowledge of Buddhism is required. (Krummel, offered alternate years.) Prerequisite: Open to sophomores and juniors only.
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Krummel
Bidisciplinary
BIDS 234 - Ghibli & Anime Cultures
This course will explore the cultures of Japanese animation, or anime, by way of examining the animated outputs of the world-famous Studio Ghibli. Specifically, the course will perform a guided investigation of the work of Hayao Miyazaki and how his animated cinematic construction, methods of adaptation, and genre variation highlight anime's potential for providing unique perspectives on the concepts of folklore, landscape, race, gender, identity, and human relations. The course will also incorporate basic animation production assignment as a hands-on practice to get students familiar with the nuts and bolts of Japanese animation production (e.g. character design and use of narrative space). While this course involves a focused study of Japanese animation and culture, the course does not have any prerequisites. So, no prior experience in animation, Japanese studies, or Japanese language is required. Offered occasionally.
- 01 LEC TR 2:50-4:20 PM; Holland
BIDS 293 - Racial Utopias
With the continued hunt of black lives and the rising social unrest that the hunt has engendered, this course asks: what would an ideal racial world look like? What would equality or equity be like in such a world? How do visions of the sacred have to compromise with the realities of the profane in such utopias? Utopian visions often include a message of oneness/sameness. How do questions of oneness and sameness apply to questions of race? Do they separate people? Do they homogenize people? How have they changed over time? What is the role of the religious leader in fashioning these ideal visions? For the economist interested not only in behavior but motivations, racial utopias present the opportunity to study how conflicts between worldview (religion) and habit/behavior (racism) are or are not resolved. For the scholar of religion, racial utopias are unique products of a religious imagination that seeks the Kingdom of God on earth. Interrogating racial utopias will allow all students to examine aspects of their own lives including their image of God, what they hope for, and what they can do to help create their ideal world. We will investigate a number of utopian projects that included racial components, including The People's Temple (Jim Jones), Father Divine, the Black Hebrew Israelites, and Star Trek. (Salter and Grayson, offered occasionallly)
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Salter
biology
BIOL 150 - Topics in Biology: Evolution of Flight
This introductory course provides a conceptual framework for non-majors to learn biology through contemporary topics such as human diseases, climate change, food systems, conservation, or human reproductive technologies. Each section of this course introduces key biological principles including the process of evolution through natural selection; the central role of DNA, RNA, and proteins in living organisms; and the inheritance of genetic information. Through course readings, discussions and assignments, students will develop skills of scientific thinking and literacy. Typical readings: Campbell Biology: Concepts & Connections or equivalent biology texts, scientific articles and media content. (offered occasionally)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Jensen
BIOL 167 - Introductory Topics
These courses, while focused on a range of topics, are designed to help students (1) distinguish between scientific inquiry and other modes of inquiry; (2) articulate in general terms the central concepts of biology, including the process of evolution through natural selection; the central role of DNA, RNA, and proteins in living organisms; and the inheritance of genetic information; (3) ask relevant biological questions, develop scientific hypotheses, and design experiments to test hypotheses; and (4) explain the relevance of biological knowledge to society. Lab is required, but which lab section you register for is independent of the lecture section. Prerequisites: none. (offered every semester)
- 01 LEC Biology of Environmental Change MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Cushman
- 02 LEC Evolution of the Human Body MWF 12-1 PM; Fischman
- 11 LAB M 1:10-4:10 PM; Fischman
- 12 LAB T 1:10-4:10 PM; Fischman
- 13 R 9:50 AM-12:50 PM; Fischman
- 14 LAB R 1:10-4:10 PM; Fischman
chemistry
CHEM 110 - Introduction to General Chemistry
This course presents a survey of chemical concepts in the context of understanding technology that impacts our lives. Fundamental chemistry is illustrated by applications to air pollution (including global warming and ozone depletion), water pollution, energy production, nutrition, and drug design. Three lectures per week. This course prepares students for CHEM 120 and CHEM 240. No prerequisites. (Offered each semester)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Church
- 02 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Pelkey
- 03 LEC MWF 12-1 PM; Miller
CHEM 190 - Accelerated General Chemistry
This course is designed for first year students with a strong high school background in chemistry. The course will begin with a brief review of the material covered in high school chemistry and then move on to more advanced topics. Questions such as (1) whether a reaction will occur and at what rate, (2) does a reaction require heat or liberate heat? (3) To what extend will a reaction proceed? and (4) How fast does a reaction proceed? will be explored. (Fall, offered annually)
- 01 MWF 8:30-9:30 AM; Pelkey
chinese
CHIN 101 - Beginning Chinese I
An introduction to modern Mandarin Chinese, this course teaches the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students receive solid training in pronunciation, writing, grammar, vocabulary, and other fundamentals of general communication. The principal text is Integrated Chinese, Level 1 Part 1, Simplified Character Edition, which is used along with multimedia resources to help students learn approximately 250 characters. (No prerequisite. Zhou, Fall, offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Wu
CHIN 201 - Intermediate Chinese I
This course continues CHIN 102 and instruction is conducted primarily in Chinese. They speak and write frequently in class and after class, acquiring a higher level of language proficiency in all four skills. The principal text is Integrated Chinese, Level 1 Part 2, Simplified Character Edition, which is used along with multimedia accompanying the text. (Wu, Fall, offered annually.) Prerequisite: CHIN 102 or permission of instructor.
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Wu
cLassics
CLAS 286 - Ancient Epigraphy
This advanced course in Ancient Greek and Roman Epigraphy examines the use and significance of inscriptions in the ancient world. Focusing on Greek and Latin texts found on monuments, tombstones, public buildings, and more, students will learn to analyze these artifacts in their historical, social, and linguistic contexts. The course emphasizes the development of paleographic and linguistic skills, as well as methods for interpreting inscriptions to understand ancient politics, religion, and daily life. With a foundation in Greek and Latin, students will engage with primary sources to explore how epigraphy reveals the complexities of ancient civilizations. Prerequisite: LAT 102 or GRE 102 or the equivalent.
- 01 LEC MWF 8:30-9:30 AM; Capreedy
computer science
CPSC 120 - Principles of Computer Science
Designed to appeal to a diverse audience, this course examines some of the fundamental ideas of the science of computing within a particular topic area, which varies from semester to semester. Past topics have included Graphics and Animation, Multimedia, Robots, and Web Site Development. This course is intended for students with no previous programming experience, and is appropriate for those who are interested in computer science as well as those who might not have considered computer science but are interested in a particular topic area. This course counts towards the major and minor in computer science but cannot be taken concurrently with or after completion of CPSC 124. No prerequisites.
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Bridgeman
CPSC 124 - Introduction to Programming
An introduction to the theory and practice of computer programming, the emphasis of this course is on techniques of program development within the object-oriented paradigm. Topics include control structures, objects, classes, inheritance, simple data structures, and basic concepts of software development. Currently, Java is the programming language used in the course. This course has a required lab component, and is required for the major and minor in computer science. No prerequisites. (Offered every semester)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM
- 11 LAB T 1:10-2:40 PM
CPSC 220 - Introduction to Computer Architecture
This course reveals how hardware executes software. Students design digital logic circuits to work with binary data, develop programs using both assembly language and machine language, and analyze operations of the central processing unit during program execution. This course has a required lab component and is required for the major in computer science. (Offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 12-1 PM; Hu
- 11 LAB R 1:10-2:40 PM; Hu
dance and movement studies
DAN 101 - Introduction to Dance: Body & Self
This introductory movement course will focus on the development of both functional movement skills and the body's expressive capacities. Course content will include: developmental movement patterning, introductory Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis, and other somatic approaches, all of which will be applied to the lived, adult, movement experience. Students can expect to move fully during class time and have reading and writing assignments in which they are asked to relate theoretical movement material to their classroom learning and experiences. No prior dance experience is required. (Davenport/Staff, offered alternate years)
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Davenport
DAN 107 - Intro to Jamaican Dance
This course introduces students to dances and rhythms from the island of Jamaica. In this studio-based dance course, students gain the historical grounding associated with each dance so they may embody the movement with a responsible approach to embodied research. The many manifestations of Jamaica's dance traditions and how dance continues to play a critical role in defining Jamaican national identity and artistic expressions guide each unit. Students develop a theoretical framework for the dances through movement experiences, weekly reading, viewing and writing assignments, class discussion, and witnessing live performance. No prior dance experience is required. (Johnson, offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 11:20 AM-12:50 PM; Johnson
DAN 250 - Dance Improvisation
This course is devoted to movement improvisation, the ability to create movement spontaneously, responding to one's inner impulse to move, the presence and actions of others, or to environmental stimuli. Many types of movement improvisation are explored, with a particular emphasis on the form called Contact Improvisation, which, as its name implies, involves physical contact with a partner or partners: finding, initiating, traveling through points of contact with self and other(s). The course is designed to explore the practice and art of improvisation physically, intellectually, and emotionally. Each class involves participation in the practice of improvisation; each class will demand your total participation as a thinking, breathing, moving, and emoting self. Dance improvisation doesn't require any formal dance training; but our home base is the body. Students participate in a variety of structured improvisations throughout the semester that are designed to improve their sensitivity to group dynamics, individual movement creativity, and recognition of the expressive capacities for movement expression. While movement is the media, prior dance training is not required. (Williams, spring, offered alternate years)
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Williams
DAN 922 - Contemporary Ballet II
This studio-based course offers intermediate to advanced level student dancers instruction in the contemporary ballet technique, and therefore focuses on learning non-traditional ballet positions and movement sequencing, as well as performing the contemporary vocabulary with greater precision and clarity. Developing a more nuanced understanding of balance and off-balance, direction changes in center work, complex musical phrasing and meters, and the differences between contemporary and classical ballet is emphasized. Somatic and kinesiological sound approaches to learning contemporary ballet technique are prioritized. Contemporary ballet sequences serve as an inspiration for barre and center combinations so that students gain deeper understanding of the aesthetic developments and artistic trends of ballet technique. A solid foundation in ballet technique is required. (Offered annually)
- 01 LEC TR 9-11 AM; Oakes
DAN 944 - Mod Dance II: Performance Tech
This is a studio-based course designed to further students' performance and understanding of the technical, stylistic, and expressive aspects of modern dance. A central focus is on providing a rich array of dance experiences that support students¿ growth as dance artists by helping every individual dancer discover and uncover their movement habits and patterns. Complex and diverse movement experiences will emphasize breath support, movement clarity, versatility, body connectivity, and self expression in order to develop greater technical acuity and enhance performance artistry. Movement content will include classical and contemporary modern dance styles, contemporary partnering techniques, and somatic perspectives as students further develop their sense of personal agency and artistic identity. (Iklé, offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-11:10 AM; Iklé
DAT 955 - Dances African Diaspora II
This is an upper level studio-based technique course that builds upon prior knowledge of African and Caribbean dance aesthetics and aims for sophistication and nuance in both theory and practice. This course builds upon information presented in the introductory course. Students are encouraged to investigate how the body is used as a tool for expression and definition of cultural voice. Students generate individual research topics and further develop their artistry as composers and performers of African Diasporic dance. (Johnson, offered annually.) Prerequisite: DAN 107 (formerly DAN 907) or DAN 110.
- 01 LEC MWF 1:10-2:40 PM; Johnson
data analytics
DATA 101 - Introduction to Data Analytics
IIntroduction to Data Analytics introduces students to answering questions with large datasets. We explore data types, obtaining data, integration, management, visualization, and examples of data modeling. We will also explore questions of data privacy, the ethics of collecting, storing and manipulating data, and the specter of bias. Students will also begin to acquire fluency in the R statistical computing language and will fine tune professional skills including effective communication, presentation, and storytelling with data. Students will develop a working knowledge of data analytics through hands-on projects and case studies in a variety of domains. Class sessions will be a combination of lecture, demonstration, independent coding work, and group collaboration. This introductory course is open to all students interested in the applications of data analytics and is the first course in the Data Analytics minor. The course partially satisfies the quantitative reasoning goal. (Staff, offered each semester)
- 01 LEC MWF 12-1 PM ; Capreedy
economics
ECON 120 - Introduction to Economics
Introduction to economics through the application of different analytical tools and perspectives to a variety of contemporary policy issues, such as inflation, unemployment, the environment, regulation, urban problems, economic development, and the role of women and minority groups in the economy. (Offered occasionally)
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Grayson
ECON 122 - Economics of Caring
There is more to economics than the wealth of nations. A good society is more than its wealth; it has the capacity and is willing to care for those who cannot completely provide for themselves. In this course students explore, analyze, and assess how our society cares for those who cannot provide all of the necessities of life for themselves; including children, the infirm, and the elderly. They examine public policies and debates concerning poverty, health care, education, child protection, and adoption. (Waller, offered annually)
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Waller
ECON 160 - Principles of Economics
This course is the first course in economic theory. Microeconomic topics include supply and demand, comparative advantage, consumer choice, the theory of the firm under competition and monopolies, and market failure. Macroeconomic topics include national income accounting, the determinants of national income, employment and inflation, the monetary system and the Fed, and fiscal policy. This course is required for all majors and minors in economics. Open to First year or Sophomore status; ECON or INRL Major or Minor. (Offered each semester)
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Tessendorf
- 02 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Tessendorf
ECON 293 - Racial Utopias
With the continued hunt of black lives and the rising social unrest that the hunt has engendered, this course asks: what would an ideal racial world look like? What would equality or equity be like in such a world? How do visions of the sacred have to compromise with the realities of the profane in such utopias? Utopian visions often include a message of oneness/sameness. How do questions of oneness and sameness apply to questions of race? Do they separate people? Do they homogenize people? How have they changed over time? What is the role of the religious leader in fashioning these ideal visions? For the economist interested not only in behavior but motivations, racial utopias present the opportunity to study how conflicts between worldview (religion) and habit/behavior (racism) are or are not resolved. For the scholar of religion, racial utopias are unique products of a religious imagination that seeks the Kingdom of God on earth. Interrogating racial utopias will allow all students to examine aspects of their own lives including their image of God, what they hope for, and what they can do to help create their ideal world. We will investigate a number of utopian projects that included racial components, including The People's Temple (Jim Jones), Father Divine, the Black Hebrew Israelites, and Star Trek.
- 01 DIS TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Salter
educational studies
EDUC 115 - Introduction to Linguistics
This course provides an introduction to the scientific study of language. We will address questions related to the nature of language as a means of communication, and then focus on the core areas in linguistic analysis, including phonetics and phonology (the structure and patterns of sounds), morphology (word structures), syntax (sentence structure), semantics (meanings of words), and pragmatics (words in use). We will also briefly discuss topics in language variation, consider the importance and types of data in linguistics, and identify implications for education. This course is required for the certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Languages (TEFL). (Roberson, offered alternate years)
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Roberson
EDUC 221 - Understanding Autism
This course provides an introduction to the complexities and controversies surrounding Autism Spectrum Disorders. The course begins with an examination of behavioral, social, language, and cognitive characteristics of Autism. The controversy surrounding possible causes of autism is discussed. The course also involves an in-depth study of research regarding current educational and behavioral intervention strategies for Autism, including the controversies surrounding various treatment approaches. (Baker, offered alternate years)
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Baker
EDUC 230 - Teaching English Language Learners
While the number of school children speaking a language other than English at home has been growing exponentially over the last few decades, their level of academic achievement has lagged significantly behind that of their language-majority peers. This course aims to contribute to preparing future teachers for working in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. One of its major goals is to give students a better understanding of the cognitive, linguistic, and emotional challenges involved in being schooled in a second language. In the first part of the course, therefore, through readings and discussions, students will become acquainted with some key theoretical frameworks for understanding second language and literacy development as well as sociocultural issues particularly relevant to the education of English language learners. The second major goal of the course is to provide students with pedagogical strategies for adjusting instruction to meet the needs of English language learners in the mainstream classroom. This goal will be achieved in the second part of the course, which will consist predominantly of lesson planning workshops and teaching demonstrations. The course will have a service learning component consisting of 15-20 hours of tutoring an English language learner, and it is required for TESOL certification in the TEP and for the TEFL certificate. (Roberson, offered alternate years)
- 01 LEC TR 2:50-4:20 PM; Roberson
english and creative writing
ENG 106 - The Short Story
This course introduces the short story genre, including attention to its history and development. Students read a broad range of examples, including at least one single-author collection or cycle. Assignments allow students to learn the fundamental skills of literary criticism through the practice of formal analysis. (Basu, Staff)
- 01 LEC MWF 12-1 PM; Basu
ENG 151 - New York Literature
This course will explore the literature created in New York and by New Yorkers. It will focus on the 1800s, when the state and city became a center of American culture, though we will also consider its place in global culture in the 1900s and 2000s. We mostly will read literature, though we may study other art forms, like music or film. (Black; offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Black
- 02 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Black
ENG 175 - Travel Literature
The mobilities of populations have been crucial to the ways in which human beings have been organized across the planet - in empires, in nations, on continents, in hemispheres. Several factors encourage or deter mobility or travel - technological, economic, demographic, and so on. But travel inevitably introduces an encounter with otherness. We begin and end the course with an encounter with "America." We will encounter embodiments of racial and gendered otherness, but we will also examine the encounter between the human and the machine, the technological otherness of the android. The texts typically include Shakespeare's "The Tempest," Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe," Phillip Dick's "Blade Runner/Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?," Octavia Butler's "Kindred," and George Orwell's "Burmese Days." (Basu)
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Basu
ENG 200 - Critical Methods
This course is required of all majors and minors to prepare students for upper-level study in English and Creative Writing, and may not be exempted. This course will train students in the concepts, vocabulary and research methods required for advanced textual analysis and writing in the discipline. Required books include core reference texts in the discipline and will be supplemented by individual professors. (Staff)
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Hamilton
ENG 236 - Shakespeare
What has made Shakespeare the most influential writer in history? This class offers an introduction to his work and also to the various critical practices we employ in the field of Shakespeare studies. It presupposes no background with the subject - English majors, potential English majors, and non-majors alike are welcome. Through a series of collaborative activities and projects, we will develop a set of critical skills to help us not only to appreciate Shakespeare's works, but also to engage with their language and dramaturgy, to contextualize them historically, and to push back against them politically, and to play with them creatively. (Carson)
- 01 LEC TR 2:50-4:20 PM; Carson
ENG 247 - Irish Lit Renaissance
This course is designed as a sustained and extensive study of the major texts (poetic, novelistic, dramatic, essayistic) of the "Irish Renaissance" and an Irish Modernism in which thematic concerns with cultural and political nationalism converged with an abiding interest in radical forms of literary experimentation. We will look at these texts in terms of what Seamus Deane has called "Irish Renaissances": those periods of Irish literary flourishing that both inspired and were inspired by Irish Modernism. (Cope)
- 01 LEC TR 2:50-4:20 PM; Cope
ENG 252 - American Women Writers
This course focuses on a selection of women writers who have made important contributions to U.S. literature. Authors, genres, and periods will vary depending on the instructor's area of interest and expertise. (Creadick)
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Creadick
ENG 267 - American Poetry: 1945 to Now
An introduction to contemporary American poetry, this course emphasizes both the close reading of poems and the placing of recent American poetry within its social and literary contexts. (Cowles)
- 01 LEC MW 1:10-2:40 PM; Cowles
ENG 274 - Stories That Heal
The course examines the power of storytelling for healing and change. How do we heal from painful experiences - mental illness, physical injury, incarceration, or trauma? Philosopher Cathy Caruth calls trauma "an experience without experience": it is an event that unsettles a person's life causing a rupture seemingly beyond repair. To turn a traumatic event into an event that can be processed and eventually put to rest, one needs to tell a story. The work of narrative meaning-making is an act of healing. In this course, we'll discuss how 20th- and 21st-century writers from all over the world harnessed the power of stories to heal from trauma and to regain a sense of identity and agency. The course addresses the cultural difference goal and the English Department's global requirement.
- 01 LEC MW 8-9:30 AM; Ivanchikova
ENG 290 - Creative Writing
This course offers introductory techniques in the writing of both fiction and poetry. The workshop format emphasizes group discussion of the writings of class members. Readings of modern authors supplement discussions of form and technique. This course is normally required as a prerequisite for fiction and poetry workshops. (Staff)
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Babbitt
- 02 LEC MW 2:50-4:20 PM; Cowles
- 03 LEC TR 2:50-4:20 PM; Hamilton
environmental studies
ENV 102 - Introduction to Environmental Studies
This class introduces numerous questions and perspectives regarding global climate change. While the media now reports daily on climate change, understanding its causal mechanisms and effects are exceptionally complex. Is the climate changing and how do we know? What are climate change's causal forces? What are some ways that climate change affects ecosystems and human life? How do we imagine and plan for futures that may look and feel dramatically different from the present? What is being done to mitigate climate change and its effects? And why is more not being done? Addressing these questions requires an interdisciplinary approach, spanning the natural and social sciences as well as the humanities. In this course, we will scratch the surface of multiple approaches to the problem of global climate change and techniques of environmental studies, paying particular attention to the ethical dimensions of climate action. (Staff, offered each semester)
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Kinne
french and francophone studies
FRN 101 - Beginning French I
For students with no French experience, or placement. This is an immersion course that teaches speaking, listening, reading, writing, and French body language through a creative combination of interactive materials that introduce students to French culture as well as language. This course uses French as the principal language of instruction in the classroom. Students will work weekly in an integrative way with interactive materials online such as online exercises, movies, music and cultural readings. It is open only to students with no prior experience and students who have been placed in FRN 101, or students who have permission of the instructor. (Offered every semester)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM
FRN 201 - Intermediate French I
This course is for students who have successfully completed the elementary sequence or equivalent. Students practice oral/aural skills, and review fundamentals of French grammar, vocabulary, and conjugation, while improving their understanding of French and Francophone culture through reading, and films. Prerequisite: FRN 102, placement test, or permission of instructor.
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Wells
FRN 225 - Parlons Francais
This course is designed as an intensive training in oral expression for semi-advanced students. It course focuses on the practice of speaking and aims to help students develop pertinent vocabulary, as well as conversational or idiomatic expressions used in everyday life by French speakers. Students will gain greater fluidity and confidence and improve their oral communication skills by exploring contemporary issues in films and the media and reading and discussing short stories, plays, and articles from French and Francophone magazines and newspapers. This course will prepare students linguistically for 240-level French topics courses through a wide variety of challenging conversational activities. Prerequisite: FRN 202 or equivalent, placement, or permission of the instructor.
- 01 DIS MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Dahouda
FRNE 155 - Exile and Identity
This course taught in English serves as introduction to the study of the French Caribbean literatures, from tradition to modernity. Students explores the interface between exile and identity, and examines how gender, race and class, memory, violence, and language inform the works of French Caribbean writers who define their colonial and postcolonial conditions and reactions in terms such as Négritude, and Antillanité, Créolité and Diaspora. Considering essays, literary works, and films, the course will offer an understanding of how these literary movements reflect the difficult process of the Caribbean identity in construction. Students will also discuss literary and historical relations of French Caribbean authors with Black writers of the Harlem Renaissance who moved to Paris to escape their predicament in the American society. We will take this opportunity to discuss aesthetical, and ideological reasons why White American writers like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and many other writers, also left America and chose Paris as the centre of their literary activities in the 1920s. Typical readings: Césaire, Zobel, Depestre, Glissant, Condé, Danticat, Kesteloot, Freire, Fabre, Jules-Rosette, Wright, Baldwin, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald. (Dahouda, offered occasionally).
- 01 LEC MW 1:10-2:40 PM; Dahouda
geoscience
GEO 143 - Earth & Life Through Time
Is Earth's current condition - with a global ocean, polar ice caps and an oxygen-rich atmosphere - an inevitable consequence of the planet's size and position in the solar system? Should we expect all such Goldilocks Planets to have the same habitable environment? Or has our planetary home been shaped by the chance events of history? This course will begin with an examination of history. What makes a system like the Earth historical? Then we will explore how scientists ask and answer questions about historical systems and understand how this method differs from the classic "experiments" that most students performed in science class. Finally, we will study a series of moments in Earth's history where everything really did change. These may include the origin of life, the transition to an oxygen-rich atmosphere, the origin of animals, land plants, flowering plants, dinosaurs, mammals, and consider why our species - Homo sapiens - is the last bipedal ape standing. We will consider ice ages, wandering continents, meteor impacts and titanic volcanic eruptions. We will examine episodes of mass extinction when life hit the reset button. And we will conclude with a final question: If chance events can change the course of Earth's history, can we? (Kendrick, offered occasionally)
- 01 LEC MW 8-9:30 AM; Kendrick
GEO 184 - Introduction to Geology
We will explore the form and function of the solid Earth, using plate tectonics as a central paradigm. From this framework, we investigate minerals and rocks, volcanoes, earthquakes, the rise and fall of mountains, the origin and fate of sediments, the structure of our landscape and geologic time. We analyze geological resources such as minerals and fossil fuels, and the many other ways human society interacts with our restless planet. We work extensively in the field and typically take one mandatory weekend field trip. This course is a prerequisite for many geoscience courses. (Arens, Kendrick, offered each semester)
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Kendrick
- 11 LAB T 1:10-4:10 PM; Kendrick
- 12 LAB W 1:10-4:10 PM; Kendrick
GEO 186 - Introduction to Hydrogeology
Water and water resources are critical issues for the sustenance of every society. This course is an introduction to hydrogeology and explores water in the atmosphere, lakes, oceans, and other reservoirs found on land and the movement among reservoirs. Discussion of the role of water in natural systems results in an exploration of (1) atmospheric moisture; (2) floods and stream processes; (3) the physical , chemical, and ecological characteristics of lakes and oceans; (4) aquifers and groundwater processes; and (5) wetlands. We will use quantitative reasoning to examine the characteristics and importance of water across environmental and geophysical sciences. This course is a prerequisite for many geoscience courses. (Curtin, Finkelstein, offered fall)
- 01 LEC MWF 8:30-9:30 AM; Finkelstein
- 12 LAB T 1:10-4:10 PM; Curtin
- 13 LAB W 1:10-4:10 PM; Finkelstein
german area studies
GER 101 - Beginning German I
German instruction endeavors to foster inter-cultural competence by infusing historical knowledge, cultural artifacts, and social structures into the very first lesson. Auf geht's!, the instructional materials for German 101 through 201, is a communicative-based text that offers many opportunities for intercultural investigation. Instruction is designed to improve all skill areas of language acquisition through level-appropriate reading, writing, listening, and oral assignments. (Offered every semester)
- 01 LEC MWF 12-1 PM; Klaus
GER 102 - Beginning German II
This course is a continuation of GER 101 and continues to pursue the goals established above. [Prerequisite: GER 101 or permission of instructor.] (Offered every semester)
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Klaus
GER 301 - Introduction: German Area Studies I
This course represents students' first exposure to the field of German Area Studies. In addition to improving the students' ability to express their thoughts clearly, concisely, and correctly in spoken and written German, the class will introduce students to core issues of the field, i.e. the culture of German-speaking Europe in various forms and expressions. Besides learning about canonical texts and figures, students will also explore film, music, politics, and pop-culture as contributors to the culture of central Europe. In addition, the skills that constitute intercultural competence are also developed and honed via projects, for example the role of geography in the construction of German culture. [Prerequisite: GER 202 or permission of instructor.] (Offered annually)
- 01 LEC TR 1:20-2:50 PM; Klaus
institute for global studies
GLS 101 - Introduction to Global Studies
This gateway course is designed as an introduction to ways of understanding "the global" in the 21st century. As a course designed collaboratively by faculty from across the Institute of Global Studies, students will encounter diverse tools and ways of knowing drawn from the humanities and social sciences as they learn to think across time and space about questions of concern in our shared world. These may include questions of how and why people join with others to form community, what different forms of belonging mean and do, and how these relate to institutions and systems of power. The substantive questions and themes will vary by section, but the course's focus on interdisciplinary tools and ways of knowing will prepare students to engage in more advanced coursework across the various departments and programs in the Institute of Global Studies. Offered each semester.
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Galloway
- 02 LEC MWF 8:30-9:30 AM
gender, sexuality, and intersectional justice
GSIJ 100 - Introduction to Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectional Justice
Race. Gender. Sexuality. Ability. How do these intersectional social categories determine access to rights, resources, and power? In this course, we examine the notion that sex, gender, sexuality, ability, race, and other categories of identity shape the social world in a myriad of ways, from how we organize our families and communities and how we spend time, to how we conceptualize the self and make meaning, to how we interact with our environment and create and re-create the body. This class seeks to challenge conventionally held "truths" and offer creative alternatives, including even how we conceive of and practice classroom learning itself. The course serves as a gateway to three justice-oriented majors: LGBTQ+ Studies, Gender and Feminist Studies, and Bodies, Disability, and Justice. Students are encouraged to think through the histories and impulses of each of these overlapping fields, and to raise their own questions about the meaning and practice of justice and how we can achieve it. The course invites students into a collective dialogue about how we can utilize critical theory and feminist, queer, and crip critique as a method of creatively re-imagining a more just world. No Prerequisites. Offered each semester. This course substantially addresses the Social Inequalities and Ethical Judgement Goals.
- 01 LEC MW 1:10-2:40 PM; Hayes-Conroy
- 02 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM
GSIJ 213 - Transnational Feminism
Is woman a global category? How is gender performed differently across the globe? How do representations of first, second, and third-world women circulate transnationally? In this course, we will investigate how gendered bodies travel, perform, and are understood in a wide variety of national, diasporic, and global media contexts, from theater and film, to politics and popular culture. (Formerly WMST 213) (Martin-Baron, offered alternating years)
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Martin-Baron
GSIJ 218 - Queer Theatre & Film
How have LGBTQ artists explored the construction and contestation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer personhoods? How has the mainstream media explored - and exploited - queer identities? This course explores the interplay between representation and identification via the rapidly developing fields of queer performance and media studies. Throughout, we will investigate the meaning of 'queer,' as well as its intersections among and across a wide range of identifications. We will consider the role of theater, film, and performance not only in the creation of queer histories, communities, and identities, but also as a means of resetting what counts as normal and normative. Central to his course will be a number of dramatic and filmic texts. Methodologically, we will draw from both performance and film theory as well as the theoretical demands of queer and feminist scholarship. While sharpening their writing skills through a variety of shorter writing assignments, students will also engage in sustained semester-long original research project. (Martin-Baron, Formerly WMST 218, offered alternating years)
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Martin-Baron
history
HIST 107 - Trekking through Asia
Welcome to the "Asian Century." Asia has re-emerged as the center of the world, after a brief hiatus that started in the 18th century. With histories and religious traditions stretching back three millennia, today as we see cultures across Asia have transformed in ways to meet the demands of our rapidly changing world. China, Japan, and India are three of the world's top economies. Asia contains six of the world's ten largest countries, and is home to over half of the world's population and two of the world's major religions, Hinduism and Buddhism. For decades Asian countries have been leaders in global manufacturing, and Asian universities are now renowned centers for scientific and medical innovation. Fifty percent of the declared nuclear-weapon states are also in the region. Simply put, Asia matters a great deal! In this course, we trek through the Asian past and present, exploring this vast and vibrant region. Through writings and travelogues that documented the peoples and lands of places stretching from the Sea of Japan to Persia, and from Java to the Mediterranean Sea, we will learn about the cultural systems that helped shape Asian societies. We will consider how these traditions contributed to and were changed by historical interactions in Asia itself and in relationship to the rest of the world. Join us on the journey!
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Yoshikawa
- 02 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Yoshikawa
HIST 111 - Topics in Introduction to American History: American Conflict
These courses investigate different topics, but they all explore critical episodes or themes in American history to help you: 1) understand the complex nature of the historical record; 2) engage in historical inquiry, research, and analysis; 3) craft historical narrative and argument; and 4) practice historical thinking in order to better understand and engage with present-day society. Open to all students. (Offered every semester.)
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Free
HIST 151 - Food Systems in History
This course traces the historical emergence of the contemporary world food system. Students briefly examine the transition from hunter-gathering to Neolithic village agriculture, the differentiation between steppe agriculture and steppe nomadism in ancient Eurasia and the medieval agricultural systems of East Europe and Asia. In the second half, students examine the development of the present-day global food system since 1500. An important course goal is to understand the meaning of changes in the food systems for individual lives.
- 01 LEC MWF 8:30-9:30 AM; Whitten
HIST 227 - African-American History I
This course traces the history of Africans and their descendants in America from the 17th century through the Civil War. Topics include the slave trade from Africa to the English colonies in North America; establishment of the slave system and slave laws in the 17th century; the evolution of slavery and slave culture in the 18th century; transformations in African American life during the Revolutionary age; the experience of free blacks in the North and South; black society in the Old South; black abolitionism; the Civil War; and Emancipation. (Offered annually)
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Gayle
HIST 235 - Civil War America
In America's mid-nineteenth century, rising tensions over slavery's expansion, diverging ideas about federalism, and polarizing sectional identities erupted into violence, leading to four years of protracted, brutal war. The outcome was nothing less than revolutionary: the nation's political structures, economic systems, and social hierarchies were transformed. Paying careful attention to Americans' lived experiences, in this course we will seek to understand how and why the Civil War began, what changes it wrought, whether or not its fundamental conflicts were solved by Reconstruction, and finally, why it continues to have such a profound impact on America's vision of itself even today.
- 01 LEC MW 2:50-4:20 PM; Free
international relations
INRL 140 - Introduction to Comparative Politics
An ambitious introductory course, aimed at teaching students basic theoretical and empirical concepts necessary for comparison across the world's political systems. Student will be introduced to the fundamental tenets of diverse political and economic systems and ideologies, explore the foundations of political order and disorder (including discussions of nationalism, state-building, globalization, revolution, and more), and consider the myriad ways in which relationships between state, society, and market are ordered. Theoretical discussions will be supplemented with empirical case studies from around the world. Combining theoretical insights with political, social, and economic history and current events will help students as they endeavor to understand just why it is that the world's political systems are organized the way they are. (Philbrick Yadav, offered each semester)
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Philbrick Yadav
- 02 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM
INRL 180 - Introduction to International Relations
As a broad introduction to the study of international relations (IR), this course is designed to give students an understanding of the basic concepts of world politics, an appreciation of the evolution of the current state system, and a sampling of various approaches and theories of IR. Readings come from primary documents, as well as a standard text. The course is grounded in an awareness of current events. Students examine how the lens used to view the world shapes understanding of the world, its problems, and possible solutions. (Dunn and Yadav, offered each semester)
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Dunn
- 02 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Yadav
INRL 281 - South Asia
This course provides an introduction to the major contemporary political issues and trends in the region of South Asia (i.e. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). This course is organized thematically to address issues of finance, production, trade, poverty an inequality, regional integration, and environmental concerns. (Yadav, offered alternate years)
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Yadav
italian
ITA 101 - Beginning Italian
This course is designed for absolute beginners who have never been exposed to Italian. Students will learn basic pronunciation, grammatical structures and vocabulary for everyday use. Students' exposure to the language will be enhanced by music, films, short literary texts and other authentic cultural materials. By the end of the course, students should be able to understand simple dialogues and passages and to express themselves with simple sentences using the present and past tenses.
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Lucci
ITA 102 - Beginning Italian II
This course is designed for students who have already taken one semester of Italian and are able to express themselves in the present and in the past using limited vocabulary. Students will be introduced to more complex tenses (like future and conditional), as well as more advanced vocabulary. They will improve their listening and reading comprehension skills and oral proficiency. Students' exposure to the language will be enhanced by music, films, short literary texts and other authentic cultural materials.
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Lucci
japanese
JPN 101 - Beginning Japanese I
This course provides an introduction to modern spoken Japanese. (Klaus, offered each fall)
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Klaus
latin
LAT 101 - Beginning Latin I
This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of Latin grammar, accompanied by some practice in reading the language. The aim is to equip students to read the major Roman authors. No prerequisite. (Fall, offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Capreedy
mathematics
MATH 100 - Elementary Functions
Intended for students who plan to continue in the calculus sequence, this course involves the study of basic functions: polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric. Topics include a review of the real number system, equations and inequalities, graphing techniques, and applications of functions. A problem-solving lab is an integral part of the course. Permission of instructor is required. This course does not count toward the major or minor in mathematics. (Offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 8:30-9:30 AM
- 11 LAB R 11:30 AM-1 PM
MATH 130 - Calculus I
This course offers a standard introduction to the concepts and techniques of the differential calculus of functions of one variable. A problem-solving lab is an integral part of the course. This course does not count towards the major in mathematics. (Offered each semester)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM
- 02 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Bell
- 03 LEC MWF 12-1 PM; Bell
- 11 LAB R 9:50-11:20 AM
- 12 LAB T 9:50-11:20 AM; Bell
- 13 LAB T 11:30 AM-1 PM; Bell
MATH 131 - Calculus II
This course is a continuation of the topics covered in MATH 130 with an emphasis on integral calculus, sequences, and series. A problem-solving lab is an integral part of the course. (Offered each semester)
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Biermann
- 02 LEC MWF 8:30-9:30 AM; Biermann
- 11 LAB R 11:30 AM-1 PM; Biermann
- 12 LAB R 1:10-2:40 PM; Biermann
MATH 204 - Linear Algebra
This course is an introduction to the concepts and methods of linear algebra. Among the most important topics are general vector spaces and their subspaces, linear independence, spanning and basis sets, solution space for systems of linear equations, and linear transformations and their matrix representations. It is designed to develop an appreciation for the process of mathematical abstraction and the creation of a mathematical theory. (Offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Biermann
MATH 232 - Multivariable Calculus
A study of the concepts and techniques of the calculus of functions of several variables, this course is required for the major in mathematics. (Offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 8:30-9:30 AM; Rusinko
media and society
MDSC 100 - Introduction to Media & Society
This course provides an introduction to various media and their modes, methods, and themes. We will explore the role of the media in shaping social consciousness, global economies, and material culture. Examples drawn from film, television, print media, and digital environments will be contextualized, analyzed, and theorized as crucial elements of our media culture. Students will gain an appreciation for the social, cultural, economic, and political influences of global communications while performing close readings of conventional media objects. Writing assignments, exams, and projects will help to cement insights gained through close investigation of films, TV shows, advertisements, video games, music videos, and more. (Offered every semester)
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Burditt
- 02 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Zulkarnain
- 03 LEC MW 1:10-2:40 PM; Zulkarnain
MDSC 208 - American Cinema
American Cinema is an historical survey of the Hollywood studio system from its formation in 1914 to the present. It also surveys the complex, fluid interrelationships between the nonprofit and for profit sectors of the film industry by exploring documentary and experimental work. The course analyzes ways that the economic practices, organizational structures, management hierarchies, marketing strategies, exhibition strategies, labor issues, and aesthetic formations of the studio system, documentary, and experimental film have changed over different historical periods and formations. The course investigates the rise of Hollywood, the golden age of the studio system, the advent of the Production Code, the relationship between Hollywood and the US government during the second World War, the Paramount decree and the break up of the studio system, the rise of the New Hollywood, the development of global Hollywood, and the corporatization of 'independent' cinema in the 1980s and 1990s. The course explores how Hollywood, documentary and experimental film are intertwined. (Offered every other year)udents to understand and appreciate the circulation of animation as a global media culture.
- 01 LEC T 1:10-4:10 PM; Shafer
- 02 LEC R 1:10-4:10 PM; Shafer
business management and entrepreneurship
MGMT 101 - Entrepreneurial Leadership
As technology and globalization continue to spur interconnectedness, leaders must navigate tumultuous environments where change is rapid, discontinuous and unpredictable. Innovation, ingenuity and an ability to add value by solving problems are necessary. This course will examine the attributes required of successful entrepreneurs in contemporary leadership roles. Students will learn how to take an idea to impact. They will consider important concepts, such as ethics, sustainability, economic Darwinism, and managing uncertainty. They will discuss product invention, service implementation, economic choice, risk and return, scale and scope, value creation, and small business generation. As a significant course assignment, students will develop a strategic plan for a product, service, startup or organization that is worthy of implementation. No prerequisites required. (Forbes and Hamilton, offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Dun Moodie
- 02 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Dun Moodie
- 03 LEC MW 1:10-2:40 PM; Kubrich
- 05 LEC TR 11:30 AM 01:00 PM; Brookstein
MGMT 120 - Economic Principles
The course seeks to provide students with the foundational understanding of microeconomic theory necessary to pursue entrepreneurial enterprises in contemporary markets. Students will acquire the analytical tools for solving complex organizational or policy issues. Key topics will include: economic principles guiding various types of organizations; rational behavior; competition vs. monopoly power; simple game theory; pricing strategies; and production costs and behavior in the short and long-term. This course will be more applied than a traditional intro to economics class, relying on entrepreneurial case studies and news reports as appropriate.
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Miles
- 02 LEC TR 2:50-4:20 PM; Talmage
music
MUS 120 - How Music Works
How much of your day revolves around listening to music? Do you ever wonder why you can't stop singing the melodies to your favorite songs? What exactly are the reasons that one musical style sounds so different from another? Why do certain pieces of music evoke melancholy and nostalgia, while others make you want to get up and dance? This course seeks to answer these kinds of questions through a hands-on approach, showing students how music works by focusing on listening, analyzing, and playing music. Students 1) learn the basic elements of music and how they can be combined to form patterns and styles, 2) develop the theoretical knowledge and aural skills necessary to perceive musical details and concepts, 3) listen to music critically and play it musically, and 4) think artistically about musical form and content. By the end of this course, students will be actively integrating thinking, hearing, and playing, and they will be developing skills in musical notation, songwriting, keyboard proficiency, and musical analysis. (Offered each semester)
- 02 LEC MW 2:50-4:20 PM; Potter
MUS 190 - History of Rock & Roll
This course provides a survey of rock and roll from its roots through contemporary times. Beginning with a study of the development of rock from earlier sources, such as mainstream popular music, rhythm and blues, and country and western, the course proceeds by considering the artists and trends that serve to define rock music through the decades. The course places a strong emphasis on hearing the music that is discussed: students receive guidance in listening to basic musical features such as form, rhythm and meter, and instrumentation. Attention is also given to content of lyrics and to the role that rock music plays as a general, sociological phenomenon. (Offered annually)
- 01 LEC TR 2:50-4:20 PM; Cowles
MUS 214 - Rock, Pop & the Written Word
This course invites students into the professional world of music critics, journalists, agents, and publicists, who use language as a tool to characterize and promote music of all kinds. As emerging critics, students will learn to generate and articulate intellectually grounded responses to a variety of examples from the popular music canon, including commercial pop, indie, rock, hip hop, jazz, blues, and R&B, in dialog with the aesthetic principles studied over the course of the semester. As developing agents, publicists, and promoters, they will learn to harness the resources of social media, create one-sheets for record releases, gather content for crowdfunding, and draft press releases, bios, and website content. Through these combined efforts, students will deepen their appreciation and understanding of music, while enlisting that knowledge in a broader study of cultural and commercial enterprises that support it. (Offered annually)
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Walker
MUS 920 - Jazz Ensemble
The Hobart and William Smith Colleges Jazz Ensemble is a student group providing a performance opportunity for talented student jazzers. Arrangements are found to accommodate a variety of instrumental combinations.
- 01 LEC M 7-9 PM; Olivieri
MUS 930 - Chorale
The Colleges Chorale is a mixed ensemble comprising the finest student vocal talent on the campus. The 35-voice group performs a wide range of a cappella choral literature - repertoire from the Middle Ages to the present day. In addition to a formal concert at the end of each term, the Colleges Chorale performs at a variety of campus events throughout the year. Each spring the group takes a four-day tour. Tour destinations have included Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Boston; and New York. In addition, members of the Chorale have the occasional opportunity to embark on an international tour; past tours have taken the group to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland, including performance at the Estonian National Song Festival.
- 01 LEC TR 5-6:30 PM; Mott
MUS 935 - Community Chorus
The Colleges Community Chorus comprises students, faculty and staff at the Colleges, and members of the surrounding community. The fifty-voice ensemble performs major works from the standard repertoire, as well as lesser-known works deserving wider familiarity. Past programs have included extended works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Gabriel Fauré, Ottorino Respighi, Sir Edward Elgar, Aaron Copland, Benjamin Britten, and Randall Thompson. The Colleges Community Chorus performs two concerts per year, often with orchestral accompaniment.
- 01 LEC M 7-9 PM; Mott
MUS 945 - String Ensemble
The Colleges String Ensemble is a student chamber group providing a performance opportunity for talented string players.
- 01 LEC W 7-9 PM; Gray
MUS 950 - Community Wind Ensemble
- 01 LEC W 7-9 PM; Zugelder
public health
PBHL 100 - Introduction to Public Health
Drawing from interdisciplinary sources as well as key scholarship from within the field of public health, this course provides an introduction to the core functions of public health, covering both US and global contexts. The course uses historical and contemporary examples to highlight the role of public health in promoting the health status of different populations, and the relationship of public health to other forms of health promotion in clinical and community settings. Focal topics include issues of global health, environmental health, health justice, and clinical health. Students are encouraged to think critically and reflexively about what it means to intervene in human health in such contexts, and to consider how social inequality and structural injustice plays a significant role in health outcomes. (Offered every semester)
- 01 LEC MWF 8:30-9:30 AM; MacPhail
philosophy
PHIL 100 - Introduction to Philosophy
This course seeks to provide an understanding of what philosophy is by discussing some of the main problems that philosophers examine and by developing skills in the methods used in philosophy. Among the kinds of problems considered in this course are: Is it always wrong to break the law? Can we prove God's existence? What is 'personal identity'? What distinguishes knowledge from mere belief? (Staff, offered every semester)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Frost-Arnold
- 02 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Frost-Arnold
- 03 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Leininger
PHIL 151 - Crime and Punishment
This course explores the relationship between moral responsibility and criminal responsibility. It looks at some perennial problems in ethical theory, such as: What makes an act wrong? When is a person morally responsible for their actions? When is punishment an appropriate response to behavior that violates social norms? It also looks at some problems in legal theory and in public policy, such as: What sorts of acts ought to be criminal? When is a person legally responsible for her actions? Why should insanity be a defense to criminal charges? The following general question links all these problems: Which forms of behavior control are morally justifiable responses to which forms of social deviance? (Staff, offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Brophy
- 02 LEC MWF 12-1 PM; Brophy
PHIL 154 - Environmental Ethics
This course explores the ethical and philosophical issues that arise when we consider the relation between humans and the natural environment - issues made urgent by our current environmental crisis. Among questions examined are: Is the value of nature intrinsic or only instrumental? Do humans have obligations toward nonhuman animals? Why are animal species worth preserving? Is it individual animals or ecosystems that should be of moral concern? What can feminism tell us about our treatment of nature? Are economic efficiency and cost/benefit analysis adequate criteria for assessing our relation to the environment? (Ward, offered annually)
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Ward
- 02 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Ward
PHIL 205 - Ideas of Self
This class examines the nature and identity of persons. As a person, I am different from other animals. The same goes for you. But what is it that makes us different? In addition, I am the same person as I was when I was a baby, but what is it that makes me the same person over time? Is it having the same body? Would I be able to inhabit a different body? Is it my mind? Would I survive having all of my memories erased? What makes me me? Last, what kinds of things shape my unique identity and outlook on life? Am I fated to believe certain things due to my culture, economic status, or religion? In sum, this class focuses on three main issues: what it means to be a person; what makes me the same person over time; and what constitutes my self-identity. (Leininger, offered alternate years) [Area 1: Knowledge & Reality]
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Leininger
PHIL 238 - Philosophy of Natural Science
We take up several questions central to the philosophy of science: What distinguishes science from non-science? When is data evidence for a theory? What is a law of nature? How does a scientific community modify theories or reject one theory and replace it with another? What role, if any, do values play in the scientific enterprise? Is science fundamentally biased? (G. Frost-Arnold, offered alternate years) [Area 1: Knowledge & Reality]
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Frost-Arnold
physics
PHYS 150 - Introduction to Physics I
This is a calculus-based first course in mechanics and waves with laboratory. (Offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Allen
- 02 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Allen
- 11 LAB M 1:10-4:10 PM; Dumitriu
- 12 LAB T 1:10 PM-4:10 PM; Dumitriu
- 21 LAB W 1:10-4:10 PM
- 22 LAB R 1:10-4:10 PM
PHYS 160 - Introduction to Physics II
This course offers a calculus-based first course in electromagnetism and optics with laboratory. (Offered annually)
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Hebbs
- 11 LAB W 1:10-4:10 PM; Dumitriu
- 12 LAB R 1:10-4:10 PM; Dumitriu
politics
POL 130 - Introduction to Law & Politics
This course provides an introduction to law and politics focused on the United States. What ideas underwrite the concept of constitutional government? What is the role of the Supreme Court in United States politics? What should it be? What are the intended constitutional responsibilities of Congress and the Executive Branch? How do they function today? What constitutional roles should the people play? Do the American people play that role today? This course will consider a variety of historic and more contemporary legal controversies in this light. Controversies may include slavery. women's suffrage, civil rights, freedom of speech, abortion and reproductive autonomy, and right to bear arms, among others. Reading may include works by John Locke, Frederick Douglass, and Larry Kramer, in addition to legal documents (Constitution and Supreme Court cases), legal commentaries, and speeches (Passavant, offered annually, subfield: LG)
- 01 LEC MW 1:10-2:40 PM; Passavant
POL 160 - Introduction to Political Theory
This course reads classical political theory from the Ancient Greeks through the early modern period in England. The class introduces students to some of the major themes through which politics and political life have been understood. Beginning with Thucydides, it examines the virtues and values of the ancient world with attention to the dilemma between justice and expediency. Continuing with Plato and Aristotle, it considers justice, reason, and the good in the context of life in the polis. The course ends with the challenges Machiavelli's and Hobbes' notions of power present for the presumption of an original human sociality, for the emergence of liberal ideals of individual autonomy and national sovereignty. (Dean, Quish offered annually, subfield: FT)
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Dean
POL 190 - Intro to Power and Movements
This course introduces students to theories of power and practices of social movement organizing. Throughout the course, we ask: What kinds of power do ordinary people possess? How do social movement actors diagnose the ideological, economic, and political power that shapes our societies? Building on these diagnoses, how do movements develop strategies and tactics to catalyze action and achieve their goals? How and why might movements intervene in elections, use non-violent resistance, or resort to violence as they seek change? In addition to reading classical and contemporary texts in political and social movement theory, we will also connect theory to practice, conducting our own organizer training exercises and applying our analyses to contemporary case studies. (Quish, offered annually, subfield: PM)
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Quish
POL 211 - Visions of the City
This course examines the changing and contested meaning of urban life in the United States. Cities have been cast as disordered spaces that corrupt our most fundamental attachments. But cities have also been presented as well-ordered cosmopolitan spaces in which the American experience could be almost perfectly expressed. In interrogating the tension between these two depictions of urban life, we will specifically discuss: attempts to inform daily practices through the design of the city; anxieties about immigration and mobility; architecture's relationship to nature and democracy; the origins of housing reform and urban planning movement; and the significance of gender, race, and class in the American experience. (Mink, offered alternate years; subfield: AMER)
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Mink
POL 222 - Political Parties
Despite early skepticism and modern contempt, political parties have become integral components of the American political and legislative processes. This course examines the historical and contemporary functions of American political parties in the context of representing the wishes of the American public, the desires of political officials, and the needs of the nation. It outlines the operational, theoretical, functional, and electoral factors that shape the role of modern American party system. The course also explores the role and challenges of third parties in the U.S. (Lucas, offered annually, subfield: LG)
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Lucas
psychological science
PSY 100 - Introduction to Psychology
This course offers a comprehensive survey of the methodology and content of present-day psychology. Emphasis is placed on the development of a critical evaluative approach to theories and empirical data. (Fall and spring, offered each semester)
- 01 LEC MW 1:10-2:40 PM; Belcher
- 02 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Muscalu
- 03 LEC TR 2:50-4:20 PM; Muscalu
religious studies
REL 105 - Religion, Peace, and Conflict
What is religion? What counts as peace? How do religion and other social institutions contribute to, and are influenced by, peace or conflicts? This course explores on humans' search for meaningful and peaceful life and on the role of religion in such pursuit. It will first of all investigate the meaning, elements, and functions of religion in humans' pursuit of peace and meaning. It will then examine the meaning of peace and conflicts and the conditions that contribute to peace or conflicts. In turn, the course will look at the ways in which peace or conflicts may influence religion. Finally, the course will examine the role religion plays in peacemaking efforts.
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Kafrawi
REL 211 - Buddhism
This course covers the rise and historical development of Buddhism in South Asia and its spread into Southeast, Central, and East Asia. Through regular writing exercises, extensive use of visual and audio materials, and some fieldwork, students will acquire a basic vocabulary for discussing the ritual practices, ethical systems, and scriptures of Buddhism (e.g., selections from the Pali Canon); situate the major branches of Buddhism in their historical and geographical contexts, beginning in South Asia, through Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan, and ending in the West (e.g., Theravada in Sri Lanka, Vajrayana in Tibet, Zen in Japan); and explore important concepts in each of the traditions and locations in view of significant sociohistorical processes, events, and institutions (e.g., the interaction of Buddhists with Daoists and Confucians in China and the associations of Shinto practitioners and Buddhists in Japan). No prior knowledge of Buddhism is required. (Krummel, offered alternate years)
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Krummel
REL 253 - Creation Stories: Why They Matter
This course fosters educational conversations on the nature of the world from theistic and non-theistic perspectives. It will elaborate on the world's origin (creation, emanation, and the worlds' eternity), the law of nature, freedom and predestination, ethics, religious devotion, and eschatology. Some of the questions in this course will include: What is the origin of the universe? Is the world a product of creation, emanation, or evolution? How do religious traditions characterize the nature of the universe? How does religion relate to the world? Are religion and science in conflict or complementary? In what way can we relate religion and science? How does our view of the world influence our discourse in ethics, politics, science, and religion?
- 01 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Kafrawi
REL 286 - Islam and Environment
The course offers an overview of key concepts in Islamic environmental ethics, Muslim responses to environmental catastrophes, and the link between local and global forces in Islamic societies and their impacts on environment. The course will begin with a comparative ethical approach on the relationship between humans and their environment by introducing the concept of the sacred. The foundations of Islamic ethics will follow. The course will also evaluate Muslims' treatment of their environment, as well as their responses to climate change and natural disasters using theological, ethical, textural, political, cultural, and civic approaches. Such discussions will be contextualized in the interplay between local factors that shape Muslims' attitudes and behaviors toward their environment and global forces, such as colonialism and capitalism, that exacerbate the use and abuse of nature. Social justice, sustainability, Islamic socialism and anti-capitalism, and disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of tsunamis are also key topics in the course.
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Anwar
REL 292 - Deviance & (De)Medicalization
Is a school shooter an evil sinner, an ordinary criminal, or just mentally ill? Is homosexuality a natural mode of loving and living, an expression of moral weakness, a punishable criminal offense, or a sign of biological or psychological :inversion"? Is "hearing voices" a sign of madness to be shunned and locked away from society, or to be revered as proof of being chosen by the gods? The way in which a society or individual answers these kinds of questions can help us to understand the ways in which that society medicalizes (or demedicalizes) different forms of deviance. In this course we will explore various arenas in which forms of deviance have shifted around on the spectrum from sin to crime to sickness (and back again) through processes of medicalization and demedicalization. We will explore medicalization in connection with sexual, mental, and moral forms of deviance as well as the medicalization of identity in terms of race, gender, class, disability, and age in order to ask questions such as: How is medical knowledge and authority constituted? How and why do certain behaviors come to be framed as medical problems, rather than moral or legal ones? Who decides? What people, forces, or systems shape the way we view deviant behavior? What is at stake in such processes of (de)medicalization, and how do such processes impact the lives of those involved? Finally, we will conclude the course with an analysis of medicalization in the Covid era. This course has no prerequisites however it will be of particular interest to students in the pre-health, pre-law, and sociology tracks, as well as students interested in critical gender and sexuality studies, religious studies, ethics, and political science.
- 01 DIS MW 2:50-4:20 PM; Gervais
REL 293 - Racial Utopias
With the continued hunt of black lives and the rising social unrest that the hunt has engendered, this course asks: what would an ideal racial world look like? What would equality or equity be like in such a world? How do visions of the sacred have to compromise with the realities of the profane in such utopias? Utopian visions often include a message of oneness/sameness. How do questions of oneness and sameness apply to questions of race? Do they separate people? Do they homogenize people? How have they changed over time? What is the role of the religious leader in fashioning these ideal visions? For the economist interested not only in behavior but motivations, racial utopias present the opportunity to study how conflicts between worldview (religion) and habit/behavior (racism) are or are not resolved. For the scholar of religion, racial utopias are unique products of a religious imagination that seeks the Kingdom of God on earth. Interrogating racial utopias will allow all students to examine aspects of their own lives including their image of God, what they hope for, and what they can do to help create their ideal world. We will investigate a number of utopian projects that included racial components, including The People's Temple (Jim Jones), Father Divine, the Black Hebrew Israelites, and Star Trek.
- 01 DIS TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Salter
REL 294 - Religion and Sports
This course explores the many relationships of religion and sports. Can sports be considered a religion? In what sense(s)? For example, are sports a vehicle for transcendence, fostering the ability of humans to rise above what they may think are their limits? Does pain in sport blur the boundaries of the self and allow us to unify with something larger than ourselves? Do sports like surfing, mountain climbing, or fly-fishing, foster a connection to nature that might lift us into harmony with the cosmos? Or are sports a religion because of how they function socially? Are sports a ritual that bonds us as a community? Are sports a vehicle for inscribing the values and norms that make us who we are as a collective? Can sports be said to be a 'civil religion' that helps to define the American sacred? And what of the educational and psychological functions of sports? Are sports part of our social training? Do they always reinforce our social norms, or can they also be part of the transformation of our communities?
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Salter
REL 295 - Sustainablty Fashion & Justice
The clothing industry's "fast fashion" paradigm has continued to perpetuate ethical and environmental dilemmas. This industry model condones the use of cheap labors and materials and often outsources production to underdeveloped Muslim countries, exposing underrepresented groups such as women to unsafe, violent working environments where their human rights are curtailed. This phenomenon compels customers, governments, and companies to address "fast fashion" and its environmental and socioeconomic impacts by pivoting towards more sustainable industry models. In elaborating sustainable fashion, this course examines questions, such as: In what ways does fashion impact the environment? Why does sustainable fashion matter? How are fashion companies regulated with respect to environmental degradation? How can customers accelerate change for sustainable clothing? The problem of fashion ethics will be approached from a multidisciplinary perspective, including approaches from religious studies, gender studies, and environmental studies. Students will be exposed to fashion ethics from both Western and Islamic perspectives.
- 01 LEC TR 2:50-4:20 PM; Anwar
russian area studies
RUS 101 - Beginning Russian I
An introduction to the Russian language designed to develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, with particular focus on speaking and understanding basic Russian. Class sessions will include brief videos, games, and short readings. In addition to gaining basic understanding and mastery of the Russian language, students will learn about Russian history and culture, as well. By the end of the semester, you'll be able to hold some basic conversations about yourself, your interests, and your family. Weekly laboratory hour is mandatory.
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Lemelin
RUSE 204 - Russian Film 1917-2001
This course is an introduction to the most important trends, directors, and films in Russian cinema from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Students are exposed to a wide range of movies, including early silent films, experimental films of the 1920s and early 1930s, socialist realist films, films on World War II and Soviet life, and films from contemporary Russia. All readings are in English and all films shown with English subtitles. Because of the rich heritage of Russian cinema, this course does not claim to be an exhaustive treatment of all the great Russian films, but rather aims to acquaint students with the overall contours of Russian filmmaking and with the fundamentals of reading film. Required film screenings TBD.
- 01 LEC MW 2:50-4:20 PM; Lemelin
sociology
SOC 100 - Introduction to Sociology
An introduction to the fundamental concepts of sociology, this course focuses on such central issues as the social nature of personality; the effects of social class, race, and gender on social life; the interactional basis of society; and the place of beliefs and values in social structure and social action. A fundamental concern is to analyze the reciprocal nature of social existence, to understand how society influences us and how we, in turn, construct it. Typically, the course applies the sociological perspective to an analysis of American society and other social systems. (Freeman, Kosta, Monson, Sutton, offered every semester) Note: All upper level sociology courses require SOC 100 as a prerequisite.
- 01 LEC MWF 10:50-11:50 AM; Sutton
- 02 LEC MW 8-9:30 AM
spanish and hispanic studies
SPN 101 - Beginning Spanish I
Designed for students who have not taken Spanish before, this course develops the basic skills in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing the language, and introduces the student to a variety of cultural aspects of the Spanish-speaking world. Beginning Spanish I, as well as the other courses in the beginning and intermediate levels, use a combination of three weekly master classes with the regular instructor and an additional hour of laboratory practice or the equivalent, using the multimedia materials accompanying the text. This course is the first part of the beginning sequence; students who take SPN 101 in the Fall are highly advised to take SPN 102 in the Spring of the same academic year. (Offered Fall semesters)
- 01 LEC MWF 8:30-9:30 AM; Travalia
SPN 201 - Intermediate Spanish I
This course is designed for students who have been placed in SPN 201, or students who have completed SPN 102. The course further develops the basic language skills acquired in the beginning sequence including grammar review, conversation, writing, and reading. Cultural awareness is emphasized through an exposure to authentic materials from the diverse cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Students who complete the intermediate course will meet the language criteria to apply for the department's off-campus programs in Spain and Chile. (offered annually)
- 01 LEC MWF 9:40-10:40 AM; Travalia
SPN 260 - Spanish Writing Workshop
This course focuses on grammar review through diverse activities, such as writing, reading and speaking about films, campus events, and authentic cultural materials from the Spanish speaking world. Class activities will examine challenging aspects of Spanish, while emphasizing the importance of context and grammar structures. Students will refine their language skills by composing different types of texts. (Rodriguez-Mansilla, offered annually)
- 01 LEC TR 8:10-9:40 AM; Rodriguez-Mansilla
- 02 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Rodriguez-Mansilla
theatre
THTR 130 - Acting I
This course will introduce students to the craft of acting through the use of theatre games, acting exercises, monologues and scene work. Instead of simply relying on their instincts, students will learn how to craft a performance through careful analysis of the character and the script with a special emphasis placed on objective/action-based acting. Time will also be spent discussing how the techniques we learn about acting can help us in our pursuit of accomplishment in other professional settings such as job interviews, business presentations and public speeches. This course is a prerequisite for all other courses in acting. (Hatch, Woodworth, offered each semester)
- 01 LEC MW 1:10-2:40 PM; Hatch
- 02 LEC MW 2:50-4:20 PM; Hatch
- 03 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Woodworth
THTR 160 - Introduction to Stagecraft
This is a lecture/laboratory course which will provide students with a practical overview of the technical production aspects of live theater and performance. Students will work in the classroom, scene shop and off-stage developing an aptitude in set construction, props, introductory lighting and stage effects as determined by production need. The class focuses on the non-performative aspects of theatre from hands-on skill building to production budgeting. A wide breath of topics are presented through weekly readings, assignments, video and lecture/discussions. All students complete a weekly lab (and two weekend labs) in which they will work in the McDonald Theatre and scene shop working on the current faculty-directed productions (Hallborg, offered annually)
- 01 LEC TR 1:10-2:40 PM; Hallborg
writing and rhetoric
WRRH 100 - Writer's Seminar
This course is for students in any major who want to become successful as college writers. By honing skills in critical reading and thinking, students are introduced to analysis and argumentation in order to consider their ideas within the context of academic writing and their own lives. Students develop writing techniques through composing and revising narratives, analytical essays, and guided research projects. The course focuses on writing individually and in collaboration with peers, the instructor, and other student (Writing Colleagues or CTL Writing Fellows) support through an emphasis on the process of invention, drafting, and revision. Course times and themes vary with instructor. (Repeatable, offered every semester)
- 01 LEC TR 9:50-11:20 AM; Dickinson
- 02 LEC TR 11:30 AM-1 PM; Dickinson
- 03 LEC MW 2:50-4:20 PM