Approaches to American Studies will provide practice learning about America through a variety of historic and contemporary sources such as autobiography, literature, photography, painting, film, music, fashions, environments, and events of everyday life. While this is a required course for American studies majors, it should interest anyone who is curious about the commonality, complexity, and diversity of cultures in the U.S.
Values and SocietyThemes in Global Art 3 s.h.
Themes in Global Art is designed for students with no art history background. It is a cross-cultural course that explores key themes in art from a global perspective. We will be comparing and contrasting the many ways that different nations and ethnic populations throughout history have expressed their social, political, and religious values in visual form. Some of the international themes in art that we will study include: propaganda and power, social functions of art, ritual and self-expression (such as tattoos and body mutilation), and religion and the divine realm. The course requirements include unit assessments that are partly multiple-choice and true/false questions and partly short-answer essays.
This course has online proctored exams, all of which will be administered via Proctorio, an online proctoring service. Generally, students will need: a computer with 2 GB of free RAM a reliable internet connection a webcam capable of scanning the testing environment a working microphone a quiet, private location the Google Chrome browser with the Proctorio extension installed. More information will be available on the syllabus.
This course will offer an introduction to the diverse ways in which people living in Asia (India, Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan) bring a broad range of religious ideas to life through practice. The course is designed to give students an opportunity to encounter a variety of religious beliefs, rituals, and practices, and to help them build the foundation of cultural knowledge required for future work on and in Asia. We will focus on Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Shinto, and various systems of popular religious beliefs; exploring how individuals often participate in a number of different religious practices even though such practices may seem to belong to several different religious and philosophical systems.
The course will specifically address the gendered, racist, and colonialist history of the study of Asia and Asian religions, and how this still affects the field today. Attention will be paid to practices that are meaningful to most people, and especially to women, and we will discuss how such practices have often been ignored or disparaged by scholars of religion –and sometime by religious leaders too. We will work with images, videos, historical documents, interviews, religious/philosophical texts, scholarly articles, and fiction. Course grades are based on in-class tests, participation, a writing assignment, peer review of other students’ writing assignments, and a final exam.
Values and SocietyChina Beyond Walls 3 s.h.
Asian Humanities: China is a general introduction to the various aspects of Chinese humanities from antiquity to the present, including philosophy, religion, literature, art, music, and history. This course will examine a selection of historical documents in different genres, such as stories, poems, novels, and plays, as well as the foundational documents of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. Students will examine key facets of Chinese civilization, ranging from identity, family, self and society through these literary and philosophical documents. Primary sources will be analyzed to understand the similarities and differences between the East and the West, the changing interpretations of the religious and philosophical documents over Chinese history, and the evidence of the impact of historical values on current Chinese society.
This course will promote critical thinking and advances rhetorical and writing skills by prioritizing active learning via classroom discussion, supplemented with lectures. Students will be assessed on active class participation and preparation, their knowledge of the course materials, and their critical engagement with the sources and themes through interpretation and analysis. Class format will be at-home reading, in class lecture and discussion, and short answer assessments.
Readings are in English, and no prior knowledge of Chinese language or culture is expected.
Introduction to historical development of Chinese script; Chinese character formation; fundamentals of Chinese character writing (stroke sequence, character structure); Chinese calligraphy theories and representative calligraphers; appreciation of Chinese calligraphy as an art form; hands-on practice on writing Chinese script styles including seal style, clerical style, regular style, running style, and cursive style by using a Chinese writing brush. The course is taught in English. No prerequisites are required.
Values and SocietyFew (if any) contenders challenge the Christian Bible as the most significant book in Western civilization. For many contemporary Christians, the New Testament is the inspired Word of God and a central component of their faith. But even non-Christians cannot escape its influence and impact on literature, art, law, language, and popular culture.
Throughout this course, we will explore the content of the New Testament through reading and applying a variety of scholarly methods to the text itself. We will explore the context from which the writings emerged, both religious and cultural. We will situate the text in our contemporary context by asking questions about the place of the New Testament in America today.
Grades for the course will be determined by 2 exams (one midterm & one final), 4 short response papers, and classroom participation.
At the end of this course, students will be able to...
- understand the different religious and non-religious viewpoints regarding the New Testament.
- demonstrate knowledge of some the principle beliefs, goals, and practices of the New Testament authors.
- view the New Testament as not only a religious text, but as literature and artistry, too.
- understand the scholarly methods and approaches to the study of the books of the New Testament.
- analyze the ways in which culture influenced the composition of the text, continues to influence its interpretation, and has been, in turn, influenced by the writings of the New Testament,
- engage in meaningful and respectful dialogues with individuals who hold competing, or even contradictory, views about the New Testament and Christianity.
Magic in the Ancient World 3 s.h.
In this course, we will study ancient Greek and Roman magical beliefs and practices from Homer to the rise of Christianity. Topics covered in this course will include: Greek and Roman Mystery Religions (e.g., Orphism, the Eleusinian Mysteries, and the Cult of Isis); Greek and Roman witches and sorcerers (e.g., Circe, Medea, and Canidia); Greek and Roman sages and miracle-workers (e.g., Pythagoras and Apollonius of Tyre); Greek and Roman views on ghosts and the afterlife; and Greek and Roman texts that purport to describe how to perform spells and curses. Ultimately, the aim of this course is to give students a basic understanding of the complex ways in which magic worked in Greek and Roman society.
Values and SocietyClassical Mythology 3 s.h.
Hercules, Odysseus, Achilles and Oedipus all share one major characteristic: they are all heroes whose adventures and stories are chronicled in timeless Greek and Roman sacred stories, or myths. This course looks at these heroes (and more!), in addition to the gods and goddesses whom these peoples believed ruled their world. The study of Greco-Roman mythology offers an excellent window into the past by providing us with a unique opportunity to examine how the Greeks and Romans attempted to answer questions about the nature of the universe and mankind’s place in it. The myths of any people betray attitudes concerning life, death, life after death, love, hate, morality, the role of women in society, etc.; we will pay particular attention to how Greco-Roman mythology addresses these important issues.
This course is designed to offer a general introduction to the myths of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Because ancient myths have come down to us in various works of literary and physical art, this course will also introduce you to some of the most influential works produced in ancient Greece and Rome. Moreover, because the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome have exercised such an influence in the shaping of the modern western world, we will equip ourselves with the background necessary to make modern literature, philosophy, religion, and art intelligible and meaningful. By examining and scrutinizing the myths of the ancient Greeks and Romans, we will learn not only a great deal about their cultures, but we will also put ourselves in a position from which to question, criticize, and (hopefully) better understand the foundations of the world in which we find ourselves.
This course meets the Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts general education requirement, as well as the Values and Culture requirement, through its use of ancient works of art (literary and visual) and focus on the ways in which ancient Greek and Romans managed the human experience.
Media and Society 3 s.h.
COMM:1174 is an introductory course about the media in the context of the transformation from a mass society into a surveillance society. When new media technologies are invented, observers incorporate them into their visions of the future, though the precise contours of the future prove to be elusive. This class will focus on the social role of the media from a variety of perspectives to integrate visions about new media technologies with the subsequent development of the institutional and legal frameworks shaping them and the cultural practices that emerge around them. We’ll examine fears about a mass society, address the development of the commercial television industry and trace the transition to a fragmented media environment with its fears about a surveillance society in the wake of the popularity of the Internet. Requirements include papers, a midterm and a final and productive participation.
Social Sciences Values and SocietyThe Arts in Performance 3 s.h.
This course explores the role of the performing arts in the human experience, and examines the nature of the creative impulse in different performance media, cultures, societies and historical contexts. Much of the class work is based on attendance at live performances of theatre, music, and dance on campus and in the community. Readings, films and videos will augment live performances. Emphasis is on analyzing performance and the experience of the audience through writing and in-depth class discussions.
Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts Values and SocietyBeing in Civic Dialogues 3 s.h.
Students learn the skills and practices that will develop the resilience necessary to engage in challenging civic dialogues about organizational, community, and/or societal change. Students develop leadership skills, cultivate personal stamina, and reflect on how they can be part of a civic society through taking daily actions that engage across differences.
Values and SocietyThe focus of this course, which is required for teacher certification, is on social factors such as discrimination, diversity, equity, racism, sexism, and ethnic and socioeconomic pluralism and their influence on American schools and classrooms. The class is limited to persons who plan to obtain a teaching certificate or who are required to have the course because they will be working in schools. The class is organized with a lecture/discussion section format. The lectures are given by faculty and guest speakers; the discussion sections are taught by TAs and faculty members. Papers, individual and group projects and presentations, reports, and tests are among the class activities and assignments. There is a final exam on the lectures in addition to the exams for each discussion section. Several texts and a book of readings are required.
Values and SocietyImages of Modern Italy 3, 4 s.h.
The Italian nation was created in 1861. Prior to this date the Italian peninsula was a patchwork of states, each with its own history and traditions. Consequently, the construction of a national identity in Italy is a fairly recent process, and some of the problems that beset such a process at its inception still remain unresolved. In fact, while a variety of landscapes and traditions greatly contribute to Italy’s famed charm, differences such as those between the prosperous, industrialized North and the poor, rural South have been a persistent source of divisiveness and political instability. The aim of this course is twofold: to offer a survey of Italy’s history since Unification, and to familiarize students with diverse aspects of modern Italian culture and society through various visual and textual materials. Focusing on ethnicity, religion, politics and gender as means with which people define themselves and others, we will examine notions of the Italian nation, the “South,” and the family expressed through cinema, literature, and the media. Topics for discussion also include the following: the role of cinema and literature in shaping both collective memories and the understanding of contemporary realities; cultural policy and cultural consumption; political identities and Catholic culture; migrations and multiculturalism; and the new myths of sport, fame, fashion, and style. Class is taught in English, with a discussion session in Italian for students enrolled for 4 sh. Readings are in English (for students of Italian, some readings are in Italian); films are in Italian with English subtitles. Requirements include an oral presentation on one of the main topics headlined on the syllabus, a final project (to be presented in class) expanding upon or complementing topics covered in the readings and films, two written tests, and class participation. Grades will be calculated as follows: participation 20%, first oral presentation 20%, final project 20%, midterm 20%, and final 20%. The plus or minus grading system will be adopted.
for students earning 4 s.h.—ITAL:2204
Italian Food Culture 3 s.h.
The course will introduce students to Italian food culture and will be comprised of two parts. The first part of the course will explore how the Italian culinary tradition was born and evolved over time, often reflecting historical and economic developments in the country. Students will explore the different geographical regions of Italy and examine how each region established its own food culture, while at the same time being part of a national one. The first part of the course will also examine current culinary trends in Italian foodways, and how they are influenced by current social changes in Italy. The second part of the course will look at how Italian food has become a defining element of Italiannes in the world. This part will focus on the birth of Italian-American foodways and Italian American food culture through the analysis of images of food in literature and films.
Requirements include class attendance and participation, 4 short writing exercises, a group project, a midterm and a final project.
Values and SocietySport and the Media 3 s.h.
In this course we will examine sport and media's intimate relationship. Sports’ rich meanings cannot be separated from media. In fact, sports are most commonly experienced and consumed through some form of media (newspapers, televisions, radios, computers, phones, etc.). Rather than merely “showing” us sports and sporting events, media create many of the values, beliefs, feelings, and problems commonly connected to sports. Sports cannot be properly understood, then, without taking into account their relationship to media - from early 20th century newsreels to Twitch. As such, consumption of sports via media are unavoidable in today’s world. More Americans annually watch the Super Bowl than celebrate Thanksgiving, and the World Cup generally breaks its own records for global viewership every four years. But why is sport so profoundly popular and what roles do media play in building its meanings, uses, and problems?
This course will explore these questions across different media and over time. We will consider how elite sport is encoded in television, film, journalism, video games, and advertising. We will learn about the forces shaping sport media production and consider the meanings audiences make of them. This course considers both scholarly and popular readings, with the goal of improving your ability to read and interpret scholarly arguments about sport and media. The assignments in this class are designed to help you think through these issues in a critical way. They aim to sharpen your critical thinking, as well as your skills in research, writing, and multimedia expression. To assist this process, students will actively participate in regular class discussions, complete various in and out of class assignments, and complete a group research project.
Introduction to Social Media 3 s.h.
Most of us use social media every day. Some of us use it a lot. But there is a difference between being on social media and being an informed, critical social media user who understands how to navigate social media platforms intelligently and ethically. This course is designed to help you become such a user. Throughout the semester, we will discuss a variety of topics (e.g., identity, privacy, speech, politics, branding, etc.) that are essential features of our digital society.
This is a survey course with no prerequisites, intended for students of any major and interest. This course offers an overview of our current understanding of a wide range of social media phenomena from the point of view of researchers, professionals, and critics. We will begin with a brief history of communication technologies, including the first instances of social engagement on the Web. Next, we will discuss key conceptual and theoretical developments that ground informed discussions of social media. We then will examine what the rise of social media means for contemporary culture and society, focusing on a range of topics including. Finally, we will consider future possibilities for digital and social media.
Values and SocietyEnvironmental Communication 3 s.h.
In this course we will examine how the media, public relations practitioners, scientists, and decision makers in governments, corporations and other organizations talk about environmental and sustainability issues and how that influences public understanding of these issues. We will analyze strategies to get scientific knowledge to the public arena in ways that inform, educate and empower the public. We will also examine how individuals and organizations can communicate in ways that might mislead or confuse the public.
Sustainability Values and SocietyGhostly Japan 3 s.h.
This course is an introduction to 1300 years of Japanese literature and culture with special attention paid to the relationship of classical texts to contemporary novels, short stories, manga, anime, music, and film. Throughout this course we will consider the relationships of textual and visual cultures, of high art and low art, of moments of crisis and the everyday, of the sacred and the profane, and of men and women. All readings for this class will be in English translation; no knowledge of Japanese is necessary. This course includes screenings of film and anime with English subtitles.
Values and SocietyThis course surveys selected folk and popular musical traditions within their historical and social contexts in Latin America and the Caribbean. Students examine the three principal musical sources of indigenous America, Europe and Africa, and the ensuing stylistic mixtures and combinations through select music cultures from the region, including the indigenous music of the Andean highlands, musics of the Afro-Hispanic Caribbean (Cuba and Puerto Rico), Trinidadian calypsos and steel pan, and samba and bossa nova in Brazil. The course is designed to broaden students' exposure to other musical systems and explore the interrelationship of music and its social meaning.
Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts Values and SocietyIntroduction to growing literary production of varied Latinx communities (e.g., Chicano, Puerto Rican American/Nuyorican, Cuban American) that have a strong presence in the United States; recent literary production from borderland transcultural spaces with physical, cultural, economic, political, and mythical elements; visions of the United States from contemporary Latin American writers who recently have become U.S. residents. Class will consist of short lectures, class discussions, various class and group activities, reading responses to the assigned readings, two short analysis papers, and a final individual project. Taught in English.
This course counts toward the Latina/o/x Studies minor. See the Latina/o/x Studies website for more information about the minor.
Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts Values and SocietyLanguage and Gender 3 s.h.
Gender is a central human characteristic that influences many facets of our experience including daily language use. The course explores the connection between language and gender using current interdisciplinary approaches influenced by research in linguistics, sociology, anthropology and psychology. Some specific questions include: How is gender encoded in human languages? Why do some languages develop gender-centered vocabulary (e.g. gender-specific terms) and some don't? What language patterns do we observe in various gender-based communities (e.g. male, female, LGBT, mixed-gender, etc.)? The course requirements include weekly short assignments, self-check quizzes, three mini-research projects/papers and two exams. This course should be of interest to students from a variety of majors, including (but not limited to) humanities, human relations, marketing, business, law, and many others. No previous background in linguistics is assumed.
Values and Society
Since World War II, jazz has spread to every corner of the globe producing unique interpretations and practices as it interacts with local traditions. Similarly, jazz musicians in America have found musical sources for their compositions outside of the traditional jazz mainstream. This course will investigate a number of ways that jazz music is interpreted with particular attention to the contexts in which music is created, transmitted and received. Each year the class compares the American jazz tradition to a unique international region that has a strong jazz scene.
History of Jazz 3 s.h.
This course is a survey of Major 20th-century styles, artists, seminal works, and recordings; developments between 1900 and today. Course materials include a written text, ICON listening list, films and live performances. Requirements include online quizzes, two exams and writing assignments.
Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts Values and SocietyMatters of Life and Death 3 s.h.
Contemporary ethical controversies with life and death implications; topics may include famine, brain death, animal ethics, abortion, torture, terrorism, capital punishment.
In this course, we will evaluate some of the most difficult moral problems facing individuals and society today. We begin by examining theoretical questions about morality: What constitutes a good or valuable life for a human being? What is it for an action to be right or wrong? Is morality relative to culture? Does it depend on God’s authority or command? Is the rightness/wrongness of actions determined solely by the consequences of actions? What role, if any, do agents’ motives or intentions play in determining the rightness or wrongness of actions? We then turn to applied ethics, examining the following topics: poverty, immigration and refugees, gun control, animal ethics, and abortion.
Values and SocietyIntroduction to Philosophy 3 s.h.
Varied topics; may include personal identity, existence of God, philosophical skepticism, nature of mind and reality, time travel, and the good life; readings, films.
Have you ever wondered who you are? Whether you are a physical body or an immaterial mind? Have you ever asked yourself what makes you the same person you were ten years ago? Have you sometimes worried that you cannot know anything with certainty? Have you ever wished that someone would provide a decisive argument for the existence of god? Have you ever been concerned with how you ought to act towards others? In this course, we will explore these and other important philosophical questions through a selection of classical and contemporary readings. We will engage in lively class discussions and writing; we will learn to analyze others’ philosophical arguments and build our own; and we will gain a better understanding of our own philosophical outlook and the philosophical questions that matter most to us.
Values and Society
Introduction to Ethics 3 s.h.
Analytical and historical introduction to ethical theories; issues such as the nature of the goodness, distinction between right and wrong.
We argue with each other about what kinds of things are good and bad, what kinds of actions are right or wrong, permissible or obligatory. But in philosophy we also seek to become clearer about the very meaning of such judgments, the nature of ethical disagreement, and the means, if any, for the rational resolution of ethical disagreement. Are value judgments in some important sense subjective, or are such judgments objectively true or false? When we wonder what we ought to do are we really just wondering about which of the alternatives open to us would have the best consequences? Or, by contrast, should we agree with those who often seem to insist that the ends don’t justify the means? We’ll critically evaluate proposed answers to these and other questions, often by thinking about the implications of proposed views for contemporary controversies over how we ought to behave.
Religious backgrounds and unique spiritualities of Maya Angelou (an African-American Christian), Black Elk (a Lakota Sioux medicine man), and the Dalai Lama (a Tibetan Buddhist monk); forms of oppression that humans can experience as obstacles to happiness, and forms of liberation that are possible (social, political, economic, mental, emotional, spiritual).
Everyone wants to be happy. For many people, being happy involves gaining freedom from factors in their lives that keep them from realizing their full potential and feeling connected to others. Is religion a help or a hindrance in the search for freedom?
This introductory course seeks wisdom from three iconic figures. It focuses on the religious backgrounds and unique spiritualities of Maya Angelou (an African American Christian), Black Elk (a Lakota [Native American] medicine man), and the 14the Dalai Lama (a Tibetan Buddhist monk).
The course encourages students to ponder the many forms of oppression that humans can experience as obstacles to happiness, and the forms of liberation that are possible: social, political, economic, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
Main course requirements include joining in discussion, two short papers (5 pages each), two unit exams (multiple choice), and a final exam (essay and multiple choice).
Values and SocietyPersuasive Stories 3 s.h.
Critically examine historical and current practices to address social injustices including poverty, discrimination, and other threats to human rights and well-being; evaluation of personal and professional values within the context of one’s culture; exploration of roles and responsibilities to enhance society for future generations; dialogue with professionals working in topic areas. Topic areas may include poverty, homelessness, mental and physical health, criminal justice, education, aging, and interpersonal violence.
Values and SocietyThe American Family 3 s.h.
In this course, we will study American families from a sociological perspective. First, we will look at how American families have changed over time. Second, we will develop an understanding of the theories and methods employed by sociologists to examine issues related to the family. Third, we will examine specific aspects of family life including cohabitation, marriage, divorce, parenthood, and work-family conflict. In the process, we will learn to think objectively and open-mindedly about many controversial aspects of the family and family change, an ability that will enable you to critically evaluate popular portrayals of family-related issues.
Values and SocietyIntroduces the current state of sports participation and physical activity and how increasing both will lead to positive economic, human, and environmental outcomes. Learn the social-ecological model as a framework for understanding sports participation and physical activity; address strategies relevant to coaches and organizational administrators to create and deliver positive sport and physical activity environments.
The course informs students of the current state of sports participation and physical activity and how increasing both will lead to positive economic, human, and environmental outcomes. Students will learn the social-ecological model as a framework for understanding sports participation and physical activity. Furthermore, students will learn strategies relevant to coaches and organizational administrators (such as national sport governing bodies) to create and deliver positive sport and physical activity environments. As a result, students are equipped to contribute to sport participation framework roles such as coach, administrator, community member, and/or policy maker, leading to sustainable communities.
Unit 1 discusses the current state of sport and physical activity in the U.S., benefits of sport and physical activity, and the financial barriers many people encounter. Unit 2 discusses Long-Term Development for Sport and Physical Activity and emphasizes the importance of Physical Literacy. Unit 3 discusses effective coaching frameworks as encouraged by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Sport-Based Youth Development. Unit 4 discusses opportunities at multiple levels of the framework for effective sport participation and physical activity to reduce the environmental impact of the sport industry and improve mental health outcomes of athletes and participants.
Sustainability Values and SocietyComedy and Society 3 s.h.
Examines leisure behavior and play's impact on the human experience from social, psychological, cultural, and economic perspectives. Uses historical and contemporary literature and research to study the influence of leisure on a person's health and well-being, connections to society, and life satisfaction. Encourages learners to examine their own values and connections to leisure from a systems approach to culture and community. Economic topics include work ethic, overwork, and retirement.
This course examines leisure and play from a social science perspective. Psychology, sociology, economic, and political science literature is used to inform the phenomenon of leisure behavior. Psychological readings emphasize individual motivation for play. Sociological literature informs how social groups use leisure and play as part of culture. Economic topics include the work ethic, overwork, and retirement. Political aspects of leisure behavior are examined through consideration of the prospects for a better society.
Values and Society