First-Year and Intermediate Seminars

The courses listed here are part of the general education curriculum for students in the Colleges of Liberal Arts, Management, Nursing and Health Sciences, and Science and Mathematics. They are offered through a number of CLA, CNHS, and CSM programs and departments. “G” courses are seminars satisfying the Critical Analysis Requirement, and are designed for students in their first two years at the university (with 60 credits or less) and for advanced transfer students in their first semester. Enrollment is therefore limited to students in these two categories. The seminars are taught at two levels:

1) First-year Seminars, required of all students entering with fewer than 30 credits in Fall 2000 and thereafter; and

2) Intermediate Seminars, also required of those students, and required of transfer students entering with 30-89 credits in Fall 2001 and thereafter.

Courses satisfying the Critical Analysis requirement examine a topic or problem in some depth while addressing such academic capabilities as

• critical reading,

• critical thinking,

• clear writing,

• academic self-assessment,

• collaborative learning,

• information technology, and

• oral presentation.

First-year Seminars

Unless otherwise noted, first-year seminars carry 4 credits and meet for 4 hours a week.

More information on these seminars is available from the University Advising Center.

Academic Skills

SEM G114

Investigations Across the Curriculum

Working in teams and individually, students conduct library research; analyze and orally present arguments; and write and revise essays. Students ultimately evaluate the effectiveness of their own and others’ arguments. Topics vary by section.

Section I: Reality and the Americas

This section examines how reality and fantasy are understood and constructed by, across, and in the Americas. Materials drawn from across the curriculum (e.g., from history, psychology, media, and communication studies) are used to question definitions of reality, fact, truth, fiction, fantasy, magical realism, myth, virtual space, reality TV, and corporeality. Students gain the ability to defend their positions about how categories such as reality and fantasy differ and overlap.

Section II: Court Cases

This section is about arguments, particularly legal and related arguments that are used in the courtroom. Students follow court cases in the news, undertake library research, and write about the issues and arguments in Supreme Court transcripts.

Prerequisite: CRW Z111.

SEM G120

Mind-Body Connections

The course examines traditional and modern views of the mind and body, for example the interaction between physical awareness and mental functions, and connects these views to study strategies. Physical exercises–adaptable for students with disabilities integrated into most class sessions.

SEM G122

Communication Technology

This course explores historical and contemporary issues in communication technology. How have social, economic, and political interests influenced the development and use of communication technology? How has communication technology been used as a tool for education? What impact does the new communication technology have on the accessibility of information? Assignments include the use of the computer as a tool for critical analysis.

Ms Jahn

SEM G123

Cuba Today and Yesterday

Why do we have neither trade, tourism, nor political relationships with a country forty minutes away? Why fight over a six-year-old boy? Why has Fidel Castro been in power for forty years? To raise and answer such questions, this course makes use of material from literature, history, journalism, film, economics, and even comic strips.

SEM G125

Defining Freedom

By examining issues of race, class, and gender, participants look at what freedom has meant to different people in the United States. They are also asked to reflect on and write about their personal definitions of freedom, and to broaden and deepen the understanding they bring to their own historical situations.

Ms Welsh

Africana Studies

AFRSTY G115

Black Consciousness

This course examines the social, economic, cultural and political implications of the development of Black consciousness in twentieth-century United States. It considers the role played in these developments by Ida B Wells, WEB DuBois, Marcus Garvey, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights/Black Power movement, the Nation of Islam, and the Black Arts Movement. This course may count toward the Africana studies major.

American Studies

AMST G110

US Society and Culture since 1945

The course focuses on three broad themes: work, family, and (im)migration, using all three to explore the diversity of American experience with regard to race, class, gender, and ethnicity (culture). This course may count toward the American studies major. Please note: Students may receive credit either for this course or for AMST 100 (American Identities), but not for both.

Diversity Area: United States.

Ms Rubin

Anthropology

ANTH G112

Understanding Human Behavior

The course addresses issues of diversity through the use of cross-cultural/US-based readings and lectures. This material provides students with a backdrop against which they can begin to understand how culture (including their own) creates and sustains belief systems, including but not limited to constructions of race, class, and gendered systems of knowledge. Please note: Students may receive credit either for this course or for ANTH C100 (Culture and Human Behavior), but not for both.

Diversity Area: International.

ANTH G113

Food and Society

This course explores how food is related to culture. Discussion topics include the origins of agriculture, food taboos, the social organization of eating, festivals, and feasting.

Art

ART G165

Art, Image, and the Media

Our exposure to visual imagery is unprecedented and images created by means of camera-based media–photographs, digital images, film, television and video–have a profound influence on our lives. Through lecture/discussion, readings, critical viewing, and projects, this seminar examines these media while providing students with skills to critically assess them and their impact on society.

Mr Polito

Classics

CLSICS G175

Athenian Democracy

The Athenians of the fifth century BC were the first to develop a form of government that allowed all citizens to participate in decision-making. This course examines the historical developments that led to this democracy and its fruitful consequences in art, comedy, and philosophy. Please note: Students may receive credit either for this course or for CORE C110 (Cultural History), but not for both.

Mr Rothwell

Communication Studies

COMSTU G102

Personal Information and Privacy: Others Gathering Personal Information About You

This course explores ways companies and the government gather personal information about you. It examines definitions and issues of personal rights and privacy. Topics may include compilation/building demographic databases; coding/grading customers; routing/using codes; sharing/selling customer data; surveillance/monitoring transactions; protection/your choices and your legal rights.

Ms Nelson

Economics

ECON G110

Economic Ideas

This course introduces students to fundamental economic concepts used by economists and other social scientists to analyze social problems. It addresses controversies in modern economics, including views of income distribution, and focuses on the market: how it functions to allocate scarce resources; its role in the distribution of income; and markets in social context. This course may count toward the major in economics. Please note: Students may receive credit either for this course or for ECON 100 (Introduction to Economic Issues), but not for both.

Mr Millman

English

ENGL G180

Women Between Cultures

This course examines issues facing women balancing more than one cultural tradition as they navigate family expectations, gender roles, and schooling in the US. Participants read and write about literature and autobiographical accounts by multicultural women as well as research by educators, social scientists, and historians in order to explore their own paths between cultures.

Ms Auerbach

ENGL G181

Literature and Visual Arts

This is a course about the artistic aspects of literature. Students consider the nature of art-what it is, what it does, why it matters. The course analyzes a variety of works drawn from three genres-the short story, poetry, and drama. Topics include censorship, public funding for the arts, and contemporary critical theory.

Ms Shaner, Ms Smith

ENGL G182

“Race” and “Ethnicity” in 20th Century US Literature

Students read 20th century literature by writers from diverse cultural backgrounds to (a) explore authors’ views of community insiders and outsiders, and (b) investigate representations of “race” and “ethnicity” as depicted in this literature.

ENGL G183

Literature and Society

Introduction to the ways in which literary works represent a particular aspect of society, such as work, education, aging, or war. Close analytical reading of literary works with special attention to a writer’s social milieu and choices of form (including figurative language and representations of speech), and how readers in varying social contexts have read and used the work.

ENGL G184

Technology and the Soul

A contemporary focus on the pervasive effects and influence of electronic technology on our lives. This course looks briefly at the past and ponders the future through fiction and non-fiction, group projects, and guest speakers with diverse views on this subject.

ENGL G187

Examining Consciousness

Participants study the representation of the brain by reading scientific writings, popular essays, personal narratives, fiction, and poetry. Discussions explore the history of the study of consciousness, current scientific research, mental illness, and the sociopolitical issues and cultural attitudes surrounding these. This is not a traditional science or psychology course.

Ms Brown

French

FRENCH G150

Self and Other in French Literature

A study of individual identity within communities of other selves, through close reading and analysis of literary works by major modern French writers (Gide, Mauriac, Camus, Sartre). These works represent a broad range of viewpoints, from atheist to agnostic to believer. The essential human questions they pose challenge students to re-examine their own education, beliefs, and actions. All readings are in English.

Mr Thompson

History

HIST G190

Modes of Inquiry

This course focuses on the central activity of all academic fields: inquiry. Participants investigate the major approaches to understanding employed in the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. The course should be of particular interest to students undecided about their major.

Mr Smith

Honors

HONORS 101

Honors First Year Seminar

This course addresses directly, in an introductory fashion, questions of how knowledge is created and communicated in a variety of situations: within academic disciplines, in different cultures, and under changing social and technological conditions. Concrete exercises allow students to explore their own creativity in relation to the opportunities and constraints posed by such situations. Individual instructors may introduce a central topic or theme as well. All sections provide focused instruction in active reading, convincing writing, critical thinking, and oral performance. This course may be used to satisfy the University’s First-year Seminar requirement.

Prerequisite: Honors standing or permission of the program director.

3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

Mr Cluster, Ms Jahn

Music

MUSIC G103

Music as Experience

An introduction to the art of music including musical elements and the creative process, historical styles, forms and composers. Participants study the cultural significance of representative works, as well as music’s relationship to the other arts. Please note: Students may receive credit either for this course or for MUSIC C110 (Listening Experience), but not for both.

Mr Mitchell, Mr Walters

MUSIC G105

Music of the World

This course examines the power and function of music in pan-human context. Drawing on a wide variety of sounds and texts, students investigate the relationship between music and intellect, spirit, community, and environment. Special attention is given to how terms, concepts and values from various world musics illuminate and amplify our essential understanding of this human phenomenon. Please note: Students may receive credit either for this course or for MUSIC C110 (World Music), but not for both.

Mr Stubbs

Nursing

NURSNG G107

Understanding HIV Disease

This course provides a comprehensive overview of HIV disease. Scientific perspectives from virology, immunology, medical and epidemiological literature are presented. Selected works from the humanities describing the lived experiences of persons with HIV are also examined. The relationship between HIV disease and society is studied, including social, cultural, economic, policy, and moral/ethical issues. A comprehensive understanding of HIV is attained through the integration of multiple perspectives of this disease.

3 Lect Hrs, 1 Sem Hr/Wk, 4 Credits

Ms Smith

Philosophy

PHIL G104

Justice, Punishment and Reparation

This course explores three topics: (1) Crime, Punishment, and Responsibility; (2) Truth, Historical Injustice, and Reparations, and how they converge; and (3) Transitional Justice. Topics include moral justifications of punishment, criminal responsibility and blame, the memory of historical injustice, reparations to historically wronged groups, affirmative action, and truth and reconciliation commissions.

PHIL G105

Contemporary Moral and Social Problems

This course explores a number of important moral and social issues in the second half of the 20th century, including the bombing of Hiroshima to end World War II, and such issues as abortion, gun control, capital punishment, and mercy killing. This course may count toward the philosophy major with the permission of the Department.

Mr Swartz

PHIL G106

Justice and Money

Does money buy justice? If it seems to, then is this really justice? The course begins with the question of distributive justice: How should the resources of society be allocated if that society seeks to be morally just? Participants study three major theories of justice, and also investigate who has what, and why, and how they got it. This course may count toward the philosophy major with the permission of the Department.

Ms Tirrell

PHIL G107

Self and Society

This course studies moral reasoning and the moral dilemmas we face as individuals and members of society. It examines philosophical theories of moral reasoning, and applies them to actual and literary situations. Studies focus first on moral problems associated with lying and deception, then on the development of moral character and its role in decision-making. This course may count toward the philosophy major with the permission of the Department.

Ms Rivera

PHIL G109

Moral Debate in Society

This course studies some contemporary problems of social ethics, particularly abortion, the death penalty, affirmative action, and world hunger and global justice. It introduces various positions on these issues, and the justifications that have been offered to support them. This course develops each student’s ability to articulate a position clearly and defend it persuasively. This course may count toward the philosophy major with the permission of the Department.

Mr Wingo

PHIL G110

Equality and Justice

This course examines several forms of inequality: oppression and exclusion based on race and gender; the differences between born and unborn humans, and between humans and non human animals; and inequality in access to social goods such as health care. Participants examine issues of moral inclusion, justice and rights that underlie these inequalities.

PHIL G121

Mind and Reality

This course introduces a number of the “big” questions that philosophers grapple with: Do the objects that we seem to see and touch really exist? Does each of us possess a non-physical mind that is distinct from our brain, or is consciousness nothing more than a brain process? Are all things that happen, including all of our behaviors, causally determined? Do we have free will?

PHIL G130

Privacy

This course examines several of the current threats to privacy in the computer age related to drug testing, the assembling of personal information dossiers, genetic screening, privacy on the Internet, medical records, and workplace concerns. It makes use of philosophical, legal, and privacy rights. This course may count toward the major in philosophy.

Political Science

POLSCI G110

Controversial Political Issues

This course uses case studies of conflict to build reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. The course aims to increase political literacy-the ability to analyze political problems. Participants study US and foreign controversies about the rights of citizens, minorities and immigrants; about the division of wealth and power; and about how legislatures, courts, and citizens resolve conflicts. Please note: Students may receive credit either for this course or for CORE C120 (Controversy), but not for both.

Mr Spence

POLSCI G113

Issues of Political Identity at the Turn of the Century

This course addresses the question of how and to what ends people choose a political identity, what it means to them, and what kinds of political commitments follow from it. Drawing on readings from across the disciplines, from fiction and the press, it examines political identity and some of the conflicts it can produce.

Ms Fine

Psychology

PSYCH G140

Measuring Intelligence

This course focuses on the broad topic of the measurement of intelligence. It looks at where the field of psychology has been in the past as well as how intelligence is quantified now. Participants discuss what measuring intelligence means for us personally and culturally, considering both the potentially positive and negative effects that this type of assessment can have. This course may not be counted toward the psychology major.

Ms Wainwright

Study of Religion

RELSTY G112

Religion, Politics, Sex, and Violence

This course covers three themes-religion and public life, violence and non-violence, sexes and sexualities. Students become familiar with a range of major religious thinkers and formulate their own constructive positions. This course may count toward completion of the Study of Religion Program.

Ms Sands

Sociology

SOCIOL G110

Insiders/Outsiders

This course examines issues of identity that prevent people from being part of communities and that interfere with those communities’ abilities to embrace all of their potential members. Issues of class, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, and sexuality are examined in the context of power and inequality. Readings include autobiographical materials, scholarly articles in sociology and other fields, and analytical essays.

Diversity Area: United States.

Ms Disch, Ms Struzziery

Spanish

SPAN G125

Understanding Language

This course explores the workings of human language, addressing such questions as how do we learn our native language, how do we use it? What is good language? Why is it so hard to learn a second language? Who makes the rules of a language? Social and scientific language issues are discussed, making this course a tool for general learning.

Ms Torrego

SPAN G150

Travel Narratives: Latin America

This course examines the ways in which travelers to Latin America have described their impressions of the region. Participants analyze a series of readings beginning with Columbus’ account of his first voyage to America, looking at both the information they convey about the continent and its people, and the ideology they promote.

Ms Estow, Ms Blum

SPAN G160

Exile: The Latin American Experience

Written from afar, Latin American literatures of exile offer alternative representation of home and nation. This course examines the impact of exile on literary writing and personal and collective identities. Topics include: exile in literature/film, the imagined communities abroad, and exile and its impact on the global community.

Ms Sierra

SPAN G165

Marvelous Fictions: The Latin American Novel

This course examines such concepts as cultural production, identity development, and politics as portrayed in the Latin American novel. We will study different regions of Latin America as well as some representative works.

Mr Cortes

Theatre Arts

THRART G102

Contemporary Issues in Theatre

This course introduces students to the world of the theatre from a practical perspective, including script and scene study, elements of theatrical design, writing about theatre, and developing an appreciation of plays from a performance perspective. Performance is required. This course may count toward the theatre arts major as a course in dramatic literature.

Mr Conlon

THRART G105

Multicultural Drama in the U.S.: 1956-Present

In this course we will read and discuss some of the most exciting and challenging plays written in the U.S. in the last 40 years. We will pay particular attention to how play writers assert their sense of identity, exploring various notions of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation.

3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

Mr Lublin

THRART G108

Plays from Page to Stage

Playwrights create works that get produced. How? By whom? Participants study how directors develop concepts; how collaboration with designers, actors, and technicians bears fruit; and how productions are promoted. The course also examines the rehearsal process, and looks behind the scenes to where sets and costumes get built, lights are hung, and tech rehearsals begin and build to opening night.

THRART G110

Opera as Drama

Designed for students with little or no experience with opera. Participants explore the nature of drama; tragedy; melodrama; comedy; tragicomedy. Discussions also include the presentation of opera in terms of costume, spectacle, “acting” style, and other elements.