UI-400 Business and Ethics
UI-401 American Cultural Landscapes
UI-402 Music in World Cultures
UI-403 Aesthetics and Human Values
UI-406 Transforming the Female Experience
UI-407 Rational Endeavor
UI-410 Manufacturing Research in a Global Society
UI-412 American Health Care System
UI-414 The American Temper
UI-415 Science and Religion
UI-416 Planetary Exploration
UI-417 Images of Britain
UI-418 The European Mind
UI-422 Scientific Reasoning
UI-423 Political Communications
UI-425 Persuasion: Understanding, Practice and Analysis
UI-427 Service and Community
UI-429 Environmental Ethics
UI-430 Aging Successfully: Critical Issues Facing the Individual in the 21st Century
UI-431 Shakespeare's Tragedies and the Human Condition
UI-432 Shakespeare's History: Plays and Comedies and the Human Condition
UI-433 Aesthetics of Movement: Athletic Dancers and Artistic Athletes
UI-435 Literature of Sport
UI-436 Agricultural Ethics
UI-438 The Nature and Growth of Mathematical Thought
UI-440 The Holocaust
UI-443 Professional Experience in Chemistry
UI-444 Americans and Their Institutions
UI-446 The Civil Rights Movement
UI-447 Social Justice and the Global Economy
UI-448 American Revolution Experience
UI-450 Capstone Experience
UI-500 History of the English Language
UI-501 Principals of Language
UI-503 Age of Alexander the Great

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

A study of the ethical questions that arise in the context of doing business in modern society. Prerequisites: Senior standing and completion of all lower division University Studies courses, or consent of instructor. (3)

Course Content

This course involves a detailed study of the ethical problems that arise in business, along with methods and techniques for analyzing and evaluating proposed solutions. The course is divided into four sections. The first is an overview of ethical concepts and theories, and of the importance and role of ethics in business. Distinctions are drawn between the legal and ethical dimensions of business, and between consequentialist and non-consequentialist theories in ethics.

The second section examines the concept of responsibility, with emphasis on the view that discussions of responsibility make sense only within the context of well defined social roles. Different kinds of social roles are examined, as is the claim that the activity of business is itself a social role. Two different types of social responsibility often ascribed to business, beneficence and non-malevolence, are examined.

The third section examines problems of honesty and deception in business. The wrongness of deception itself is examined, along with specific problems involving deception in accounting, finance, management and marketing. Problems surrounding employee rights, privacy and whistleblowing are also examined.

The fourth section examines problems of economic and social justice. Theories of distributive justice and the role of business in achieving it are presented, along with broader questions of social justice and affirmative action.

Nature of Course

The course is discussion oriented rather than traditional lecture, and students will be expected to do a good deal of reading in preparation for class. Much of the reading material is analytical and argumentative, and students will be called on to analyze and discuss the reading material in class. The course requires a significant amount of writing, involving the preparation of case studies and a written research project. At least six hours of study time per week, apart from class time, should be devoted to this course. Essay questions are a component on all exams.

Student Expectations

Students are expected to read assigned texts, attend class regularly, participate in class discussion, and participate in a group debate on a question of ethics and business policy. Students are also expected to analyze at least five case studies involving ethical issues in business and complete a 10-15 page interdisciplinary research project. Students will demonstrate achievement on midterm and final examinations.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

Study of American regional landscapes including house types, barns, and other folk structures. Prerequisites: Completion of courses in the University Studies categories: Development of a Major Civilization, Social Systems, and Artistic Expression. (3)

Course Content

The purpose of this course is to develop a greater awareness by students of the cultural landscapes of America. The course will examine the processes by which the architectural forms and settlement systems began to be developed in the colonial period. The discussion will be organized by regions such as New England and the South. Discussion of later evolution of American housing and structures will be based on such architectural styles as the Victorian Italianate or Queen Anne. The course will end with contemporary house types.

Nature of Course

There is an emphasis on reading in this course. Reading assignments will be based on articles in the library as well as in the textbook. A major project in the course is an analysis of a rural or urban area's cultural landscape. One feature of the project will be an oral presentation to the class, using illustrations. Lectures and discussion about relevant topics will be used.

Student Expectations

Examinations will be worth approximately 75-80 percent of the grade. The exams will be composed of objective questions such as multiple choice answers, and short essays or paragraph questions. Class projects will be used to determine the remaining percentage. The class project will require student access to a camera to be used for landscape interpretation. Photographs and slides will be used by the student for a presentation.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

A study and comparison of the music, instruments, style, and the music-making process of diverse world cultures.  Prerequisites:  Junior or senior standing (completion of 60 credits or more); completion of 100, 200, and 300 level University Studies courses; ability to read music; or permission of the instructor.  (3)

Course Content

Music in World Cultures is an investigation of the art and artifacts of music and music-making as they have developed and been implemented in various cultures.  Using the tools of the ethnomusicologist, students will consider the social, religious, political, and aesthetic influences on music in a number of cultures.  While some basic content will be considered for each musical culture studied, this course is not a survey.

Music in World Cultures uses the interdisciplinary tools of ethnomusicologists who approach their subjects--music and music-making--through musicology, cultural anthropology, iconography, organology, linguistics, and history.  Ethnomusicology is the study of musical behaviors and its students investigate a myriad of factors, including aesthetic philosophy, cultural technologies, and the historical evolution of musical styles.

Nature of Course

The semester will be broken roughly into three segments:  Materials and Methodologies, Musical Cultures and Experiences, and Final Research Presentations.  This is not a survey of world musics, but an ethnomusicology seminar using musics of specific cultures as study subjects.  Each semester, two or three musical cultures outside of the mainstream Western European fine art tradition will be considered.  The investigation of each culture will include reading and listening assignments as well as in-class listening, videos, and lectures.  The class will function as a seminar, with specific topics covered over the course of several weeks.

In the first two sections of the semester, classes include lectures, listening analysis, and video presentations.  Students will write short (up to 4 pages) response or reaction papers every two or three weeks.  These papers will be presented for discussion in seminar sessions.

Two tests will be given.  These tests are essays and will be based on readings, listenings, lectures, and discussions.  They will allow the student to demonstrate his/her control of the subject matter as well as his/her critical thinking and writing skills.

As this is a capstone course, especially for music majors, the final research project and presentation are major components of the semester's work.  The thrust of the semester is to equip the student with the tools to do musicological/cultural research and to hone his/her critical and writing skills.  The final project should demonstrate the students' ability to apply these research critical and writing skills to a specific topic.

Student Expectations

1. Attend all classes.
2. Participate in classes by contributing to discussion with observations, questions and responses that are germane to the subject at hand.
3. Complete all reading and listening assignments prior to class.
4. Complete all writing assignments, including response papers and classroom presentations, on time.
5. Complete a major research project according to guidelines issued for the project.
6. Make an oral presentation summarizing and describing the results of the Final Research/Field Work Project.
7. Pass two examinations.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

An examination of aesthetic experience, aesthetic objects, and aesthetic qualities in various aspects of culture, learning and the arts. Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and completion of lower division University Studies courses, or permission of instructor. (3)

Course Content

The course examines the nature and sources of aesthetic experience, its development and expression in art, religion, morality, history, politics and other human activities. Traditional, modern and cross cultural conceptions of the aesthetic will be explored with the aim of understanding the role and importance of the aesthetic in human life.

The course also investigates the forms, media, structures and categories of art, as well as the nature of beauty, creativity, expression, representation, meaning and artistic truth. These topics will be studied in both historical and contemporary contexts.

The course assumes that an understanding and appreciation of the aesthetic influences how we experience the world, how we interact with one another, how we think about ourselves and others, what we take to be meaningful and valuable, good and evil. Many of the attitudes, beliefs, practices and institutions which define a culture can be found to have an aesthetic component. By identifying and examining these components the course aims to expand the awareness and importance of the aesthetic in our lives, from individual sensory delights to the understanding of institutions such as religion, morality and art, to the understanding of culture, economic activity and political society.

Nature of Course

The format of the course is lecture and discussion. Students will be expected to do a good deal of reading outside of class, and will be asked to synthesize materials from diverse fields of study. In addition students will be required to identify and criticize value concepts implicit in different areas of human activity, and to summarize and discuss conceptions of values related to their own field of study or experience. Essay questions are a component in all exams.

Student Expectations

Students are expected to read assigned texts, attend class regularly, and participate in class discussion. Students should also expect to write one or more discussion papers on assigned topics, complete an interdisciplinary research project, and demonstrate achievement on midterm and final examinations.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

Examination of multidimensional issues involved in current actions and potential strategies for transforming the human experience of women. Prerequisites: Oral Expression course and Written Expression course, The Female Experience or permission of the instructor. (3)

Course Content

A seminar studying the multidimensional issues involved in the current status of women and potential strategies for transforming women's experiences related to those issues. Topics to be covered may include women's health and safety; economics, including comparable worth, women's management styles, the work environment and the feminization of poverty; women's culture and spirituality; women and the political system; women and the law; as well as topics determined by the class. During the discussion phase of each presentation, faculty and students will integrate material from their disciplines and other experiences.

Nature of Course

This class will be taught in a seminar format: a faculty/student presentation followed by discussion. There are no examinations. Students are expected to attend class and participate actively in class discussions. They are expected to complete assigned readings.

Student Expectations

All writing exercises will be evaluated on both content (75%) and technical skills (25%). Each student or student pair will, with the assistance of a faculty mentor, prepare a referenced term paper on one of the course topics. The paper will address the topic from several perspectives and speak to their interconnectedness. Each student will write reaction papers for selected topics that address a question devised to highlight one or several controversial issues relevant to the topic under discussion. In these papers, the student will also propose a program or series of action steps to improve the status of women in the area of the topic in Southeast Missouri or the person's home area, with an emphasis on practicality as well as creating an ideal solution. Students will be expected to integrate material from several perspectives in developing their proposals. Students will gather statistics as background to selected topics. Additional short papers may be assigned. Each will research background statistics on one topic.

Each student or student pair, with the assistance of a faculty mentor, will prepare an oral presentation on the same topic as the written report. The student(s) will provide the class a minimum of two papers or web sites, bring/develop a short dilemma/valuing exercise relevant to the topic to act as stimulus for discussion, and lead the class discussion of the topic.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

Study of rationality and its role as a framework for evaluating beliefs, actions and decisions in general. Prerequisites: Completion of University Studies Core Curriculum. (3)

Course Content

`What is it to be rational?', `Why be rational?', `Are we as rational as we like to think we are?' - these are the fundamental questions which are discussed in this course.

The course is divided into three sections. It begins with a detailed examination of the traditional framework which is commonly taken to underpin the rational justification of beliefs and actions. The problem of the justification of the traditional framework will be introduced, together with the attendant question of what to do with the skeptic who refuses to accept this framework.

The second part of the course considers a number of recent psychological studies which suggest that the traditional view is descriptively inadequate, in the sense that `real-life' decision making violates certain of its fundamental principles. Two reactions to this research will be explored: i) it shows that human beings are fundamentally irrational creatures; ii) on the contrary, it is the traditional view which must be rejected.

The third, and final, section will discuss the further threat to the traditional framework which springs from work in anthropology and the history of science. On the basis of detailed research into the belief-systems of other cultures it has been argued that rationality is context-dependent. The deficiencies in such an approach will be examined and the course will conclude with some speculations on possible alternative conceptions of rationality.

Nature of Course

This course involves a significant amount of reading and writing. Homework assignments will typically be based on original readings from a variety of disciplines. Class sessions will be oriented towards informed discussion of these works and the issues they raise rather than lectures. The two essays and more extensive research project will be based on material which is not directly covered in the course and will therefore involve a certain amount of independent research in Kent Library. At least six hours of study time per week, apart from actual class time, should be devoted to this course.

Student Expectations

1. Attend class regularly and participate in class discussions.
2. Complete all homework and reading assignments.
3. Complete two essays and one longer research project.
4. Prepare a brief oral presentation based on the research project.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

The nature of research and development in relation to product, process, productivity, human engineering, oral and written communication of results. Prerequisite: Completion of University Studies Core Curriculum. (3)

Course Content

Research in an international (global) manufacturing and production environment is a concept which cannot be ignored in the highly technological society of today. Activities in major manufacturing countries, and some in the Third World nations, demand investigation by students with the intent of comparative analysis with that of the United States.  Manufacturing Research in a Global Society is a course that places students in actual manufacturing and production facilities where they, working in teams, have an opportunity to conduct research and develop solutions to "real world" problems. Students will also be taught the fundamentals of working with "high performance work teams," including the function, organization, and optimization with emphasis on listening and influencing skills.

Nature of Course

The course is communication skill development intensive. Students will conduct research activities in a variety of areas. Several industries have been contacted and have agreed to allow students to conduct research activities within their manufacturing plants. The students will then develop both a written and oral presentation of materials developed during the research process.

Student Expectations

1. Attend class regularly.
2. Complete written research report.
3. Present research activities to the proper representatives.
4. Prepare and present a brief class presentation on research activities.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

This course focuses on the full spectrum of the American health care system. This includes the current health care concerns of diverse populations and legal/ethical issues. Prerequisites: junior or senior standing and completion of 100, 200 and 300 level University Studies courses, or permission of instructor. (3)

Course Content

This is a study of current concerns of the health and well-being of populations. Consumer concerns, bioethical issues, and health professional functions are addressed. Attention is given to the integration of previous knowledge into a broad understanding of health care in America.

Because the American health care system is very complex, various external and internal influences will be examined in depth. This includes ethical and legal issues, diverse perspectives of health care utilization, costs of health care, and the latest research and technology as related to health care.

This course is intended to address questions from a broad perspective with utilization of current events, historical studies, and primary references.

Nature of Course

This course is both reading and participative intensive. Students will be expected to do a great deal of diverse reading, and develop a reading list for other students in the course. Students will complete abstracts related to the readings on a weekly basis, and direct a seminar topic. Class sessions will primarily be directed discussions.

Student Expectations

1. Attend and participate in seminar activities.
2. Lead a seminar on one assigned topic in written and oral form.
3. Prepare a reading reference for other students regarding their health care systems topics.
4. Complete weekly abstracts of materials/readings researched on different health care systems' topics.
5. Satisfactorily complete all exams.
6. Complete a formal paper on an assigned topic.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

An examination of conflict in the religious, social, political, scientific, philosophic, and economic ideas of American civilization.  Prerequisites:  Junior standing and completion of Literary Expression; Physical, Living, Behavioral, Social, Political, or Economic Systems; and Development of a Major Civilization categories.  (3)

Course Content

This course investigates the main currents of American religious, political, social, economic, literary, philosophical, and scientific thought from the founding of the colonies to the postmodern era.  Each of these ways of seeing the world and the human condition is studied in its historical context.

The American Temper concentrates on the connections between historical forces and modern ideas and intellectual systems.  It examines the efforts of intellectuals who lived in the various periods of the American past to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate ideas regarding the nature of the deity, humanity, society, and the world.  This course presents exemplars of critical thinking in religion, philosophy, political and social theory, and literature.  It also provides explanations about how the ideas developed in American history have influenced the life and society of the United States.

Nature of Course

The primary instructional methods employed in this course are lecture, large- and small-group discussions.  Lecture provide the historical and, where appropriate, philosophical background for the life and ideas of American intellectuals.  Large and small group discussions examine excerpts form the writings of the intellectuals who dealt with the issues of their day.  They require students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the ideas of those intellectuals.  Students will regularly share the results of their readings of primary sources with their classmates.  Together, the members of the class will then attempt to discover the themes in the various sources.  In addition, students will have opportunities to compare the ideas on an issue from different periods, including the present.  In order to engage in the study of the history of ideas, one must think critically.  Thus, the very nature of this course entails critical thinking, analyzing, and reasoning.

The major project for this course is a biographical essay.  Students will participate in a guided bibliographical research activity in Kent Library in which they will be introduced to the tools for gathering biographical information.  Following their decision to study a particular intellectual, they will examine biographies about that person, studies of the period in which the intellectual lived, studies of the intellectual's work, and samples of that work.  Students will then write a biographical essay in which they attempt to connect the life and times of the intellectual to his or her ideas.  This task will require students to use the historical method of research and interpretation, and the method of interpretation relevant to the intellectual's field of work.  Following completion of the biographical essay, students will share the results of their research with their classmates in a brief oral presentation.

Student Expectations

Students will be expected to complete reading assignments for each class session and participate in discussion of those readings.  They also will be required to present brief oral summaries of primary sources from an anthology of such sources, to write four biographical sketches that connect an intellectual's life to a primary source in the anthology, to research and write a biographical essay, and to make an oral presentation on the results of their research.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

An integration of scientific and religious knowledge through reading and discussion related to epistemology, origins, and process.  Prerequisites:  Completion of lower division University Studies curriculum or permission of instructor.  (3)

Course Content

The course is designed as a vehicle through which each student may explore the possibility of deriving an integrated world view incorporating scientific and religious perspectives.  The content and focus of the course will vary for each student, depending on the student’s personal background and world view.  Students will come to understand similarities and differences in the nature and methodology of scientific and religious inquiry, and to appreciate the variety of approaches by which science and religion may be related to each other.  The course is divided into three sections.  In each, a major question is examined and the scientific and religious viewpoints relating to it are compared.  An attempt is made to determine whether the scientific and religious perspectives are in conflict, are complementary, or can be synthesized.  The issues, and some sample questions that arise in each are:

• Epistemology: How do we know what we know?  How are scientific and religious ideas evaluated?
• Origins: How did we get here?  Why is there something rather than nothing?
• Process: How do events occur?  Are they random or determined?  Do humans have free will?

Nature of Course

The course is organized as a series of learning cycles.  For each of the major topics, each student will first write a brief position statement outlining his or her present ideas.  In class, students will discuss each other’s viewpoints, and the instructor(s) will respond to each student’s position statement.  Students will then read a variety of viewpoints in essays and articles from the scientific and theological literature relating to the topic.  For each reading, students will write a brief summary and suggest discussion questions, and discuss the reading in groups.  At the end of each section, students will discuss their views on the relationship between scientific and religious viewpoints, and each student will write a paper explaining how his or her view was affected by the information and arguments presented.

Student Expectations

Students are expected to read assigned texts, write brief summaries of reading assignments, attend class regularly, and participate in class discussions.  Three brief position papers and three longer, five-page papers incorporating material from additional sources will be required.  No particular world view is required of any student, of course; however, students must be willing to constructively consider views other than their own, and critically examine their own views, in order to succeed in this class.

UI-416    Planetary Exploration: From Galileo to the Present and Beyond

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

Examination of major developments contributing to our understanding of the solar system and their impact on the future of mankind. Prerequisites: Completion of the University Studies core curriculum. (3)

Course Content

This course documents and explains how our knowledge of the solar system has progressed rapidly from myth, mystery and misconceptions to dramatic scientific understanding. It focuses on the advancements made in planetary exploration, from the advent of the telescope to recent space probes and human missions. It also addresses the impact of these advancements upon society and considers its future as the potential for mankind to leave its home planet and pioneer the solar system becomes more real.

The course is divided into three major themes centered on telescopic views and interpretations, the use of planetary probes and humans in space, and future activities planned for solar system exploration and their significance to human development. Subject matter from the natural environment is integrated with that from literary, artistic, and human institution perspectives.

Nature of Course

To inform students about the major developments in solar system exploration, use is made of a variety of historical and current materials ranging from early scientific and popular publications, charts, and drawings to recent maps, photographs, and the vivid images obtained from spacecraft missions to the planets. These materials serve to exemplify the role that physio-psychological factors play in the transformation of an observed image viewed in a telescope to its representation as an illustration. The difficulties that arise due to such factors led to much mis-interpretation of early scientific data, and this persisted for several centuries until the advent of more recent observing equipment and techniques. Oral discussion activities and a written course paper will enable students to examine and analyze these and other particular aspects of planetary exploration or its ramifications upon historical, contemporary, and future society.

Student Expectations

Students should attend all class meetings and participate in classroom discussions. Participation in an in-class oral presentation, such as a debate or panel discussion, is required and constitutes 20% of the course grade. Completion of an 5-7 page typewritten course paper on a chosen topic related to planetary exploration, along with oral presentation of the findings, is also required and is worth 20% of the total grade. Finally, satisfactory performance on four examinations featuring objective, short answer, and essay questions is expected and these comprise the remaining 60% of the course requirements.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

Evolution of the cultural and aesthetic landscapes of the British people from the Celts to the Industrial Revolution. Topics include: British architecture and literature. Prerequisites: Completion of lower division University Studies courses. (3)

Course Content

This course combines perspectives from cultural geography and British literature to describe the British cultural landscape, i.e. the visual environment built by humans including settlement systems (e.g. field patterns), aesthetic systems (e.g. houses and architectural styles) and urban planning. The course outline is as follows:

1. Pre-Celtic Landscape, e.g. Stonehenge
2. Celtic Culture and Landscapes, e.g. hillforts
3. Roman Britain Landscapes, e.g. Hadrian's Wall
4. Anglo-Saxons Landscape, e.g. Devil's Dyke
5. Viking Conquest, e.g. town building
6. Medieval England Landscapes, e.g. Cathedrals and Castles
7. Black Death, e.g. village abandonment
8. Tudor British Landscapes, e.g. Brick Building
9. Georgian Landscapes, e.g. symmetrical aesthetics
10. Industrial Revolution, e.g. slums
11. Romantic Reaction, e.g. the English thatched cottage
12. Contemporary Britain, e.g. the semi-detached

Nature of Course

The course requires the ability to integrate discussion of the cultural landscape to reading assignments in British literature. A series of writing assignments are required discussing and describing landscape issues and interpretation.

Student Expectations

1. Class attendance.
2. Allotment of time for out of class work.
3. Ability to write.
4. Performance on three examinations at an adequate level.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

An examination of the origin and development of modern European thought and culture. Prerequisites: Junior standing and completion of Artistic or Literary Expression, Physical or Living Systems, Social or Political Systems, and Development of a Major Civilization. (3)

Course Content

This course investigates the main currents of European scientific, philosophic, religious, political, social, and economic thought from the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century to the present. In addition, it examines modern European thought through its art, music, and literature. Each of these ways of seeing the world and the human condition is studied in its historical context.

The European Mind concentrates on the connections between historical forces and modern ideas and intellectual systems. It examines the efforts of intellectuals who lived in the modern era of European history to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate ideas regarding the nature of humanity, society, and the world. This course presents exemplars of critical thinking in science, religion, philosophy, political and social theory, as well as art, music, and literature. It also provides explanations about how the ideas developed by modern Europeans have influenced life and society in the United States.

Nature of the Course

The primary instructional methods employed in this course are lecture, large and small group discussions. Lectures provide the historical background of the life and ideas of European intellectuals. In some cases, they also serve as a means of philosophical analysis of the ideas under study. Large and small group discussions deal with readings about the intellectuals and excerpts from their works. They also will require students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the ideas of those intellectuals. Students will regularly write brief commentaries on the reading assignments in class and share them with their classmates in discussion groups. In addition, they will have opportunities to compare ideas on a particular issue from different periods, including the present. In order to engage in the study of the history of ideas, one must think critically. Thus, the very nature of this course entails critical thinking, analyzing, and reasoning.

The major project for this course is a biographical essay. Students will participate in a guided bibliographical research activity in which they will learn to use the tools of gathering biographical information. Following their decision to study a particular intellectual, they will examine biographies about that person, studies of the period in which the intellectual lived, studies of the intellectual’s work, and samples of that work. Students will then write a biographical essay in which they attempt to connect the life and times of the intellectual to his or her ideas. This task will require students to use the historical method of research and interpretation and the method of interpretation relevant to the field of the intellectual’s work. Following completion of the biographical essay, students will share the results of their research with their classmates in a brief oral presentation.

Student Expectations

Students will be expected to complete reading assignments for each class session and participate in discussions of those readings. They also will be expected to perform satisfactorily on two essay examinations, to research and write a biographical essay, and to make an oral presentation on the results of their research.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

Critical study of the reasoning used in the discovery and justification of scientific theories. Prerequisites: Completion of the University Studies Core Curriculum. (3)

Course Content

1. Introduction
2. The Nature of Theories
   
   1. Models, Hypotheses and Laws
   2. Explanation and Prediction
   3. Realism and Empiricism
3. Discovering Theories
   
   1. Discovery and Justification
   2. Heuristics
4. Justifying Theories
   
   1. Inductivism
   2. Deductivism
   3. Naturalism

Case Studies
Celestial Mechanics - Ancient and Modern
Newton's Synthesis
Mendelian Genetics
Mendeleer and the Periodic Table

Nature of Course

The aim of this course is to introduce students to a range of fundamental issues in the philosophy of science. The central question around which these issues revolve is 'How does science work?'. In exploring the various answers which have been given to this question, extensive reference will be made to episodes drawn from the history of science (detailed knowledge of the fields concerned will not, however, be presupposed). Class sessions will be oriented towards informed discussion of a variety of original readings, many of which will be set as homework assignments. The research project will be based on material, not all of which is directly covered in the course and will therefore involve a certain amount of independent research in Kent Library. At least six hours of study time per week, apart from actual class time, should be devoted to this course.

Student Expectations

1. Attend class regularly and participate in class discussions.
2. Complete all homework and reading assignments.
3. Complete one essay and one longer research project.
4. Complete one mid-term essay exam and one final essay exam.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

The study of the exchange of symbols or messages that to a significant extent have been shaped by or have consequences for the functioning of political systems, i.e., an examination of the relationship between communication processes and political processes. Prerequisites: Oral Expression (SC-105) and Political Systems (PS-103 or PS-104), or consent of instructor. (3)

Course Content

Over two thousand years ago, Aristotle underscored the fact that politics and communication are inseparable parts of human nature when he observed (in his Politics) that human beings are political animals and pointed out (in his Rhetoric) that human beings alone possess the capacity for speech. In democratic cultures like our own, the relationship between these two essential aspects of human nature has never been more symbiotic. Especially with the advent and growth of the mass media, politics and communication have become intertwined. Thus, today to fully comprehend how power is wielded in democratic societies requires more than an understanding of political institutions and their operation, but also a thorough understanding of the process of using symbols to influence others, i.e., rhetoric. In this course, by focusing on political campaigns both past and current, students will have the opportunity to actively explore the connection between politics and communication through units of study that deal with political communication technology, political advertising, political debates, and political speechmaking.

Nature of Course

This course emphasizes "active" learning strategies wherein students learn through experience rather than through straight lecture. For example, students will write and produce political commercials, participate in debates, and write and deliver political speeches. A high percentage of course material will involve videotape and other non-print sources.

Student Expectations

In addition to regular classroom attendance, participation in classroom discussion, keeping up with reading, and taking a mid-term and final examination, each student will be expected to complete the following assignments: write and possibly produce a political commercial, participate in a mock presidential debate, ghostwrite a political campaign speech, keep a journal chronicling a national, state, or local campaign, prepare a 12-15 page term paper on a campaign from history. Students may be asked to participate in other activities and field trips as opportunities arise.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

Principles, techniques and theories used to influence the behavior of others through oral communication, with special emphasis on the analytical tools necessary to evaluate persuasive appeals more responsibly. Prerequisites: Junior standing and completion of the University Studies core curriculum. (3)

Course Content

1. Perspectives on the Study of Persuasion
2. Advocacy and Language: Symbol Manipulation
3. Social Bases of Persuasion: Identification and Audience Analysis
4. Persuasion and Reasoning
5. The Psychology of Persuasion: Attitudes, Beliefs and Values
6. Power, Credibility and Authority
7. Persuasion Contexts and Arenas
   
   1. Advertising
   2. Politics
   3. Public and Mass Communication
   4. Interpersonal Persuasion
8. The Construction and Presentation of Persuasive Messages
9. Evaluating Persuasive Messages/Campaigns

Nature of Course

1. Investigative goals of the course include: the nature and importance of persuasion in human decision making, the theories and concepts of persuasion which relate to successful influence, the methods of the rhetorical process of selection, analysis, presentation and evaluation of persuasive appeals.
2. Performance goals of the course include: the criticism and analysis of rhetorical examples which reflect successful persuasion, the discovery, analysis and presentation of potential influence appeals through team assigned campaigns, and the development and enhancement of skills necessary to make reasoned, reflective and critical responses to persuasive appeals.

Student Expectations

1. Complete two formal oral presentations:
   
   1. Midterm presentation: A rhetorical analysis of a promotional ad.
   2. Presentation of the final project (described in item 2 below).
2. Complete a highly structured, extensive rhetorical analysis dealing with a persuasive campaign or movement.
3. Complete a series of quizzes, short papers, and one comprehensive final exam.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

This course provides theoretical investigation of and the opportunity for community service through volunteerism.  Includes a 1 hour integrated lab.  (3)

Course Content

The course emphasizes learning through service by incorporating experiential learning through volunteerism.  Emphasis is placed on the contributions of volunteerism in meeting essential needs of people and improving the quality of life in communities.  The course content explores theories that promote the idea that human beings are interconnected, interrelated, mutually interdependent, and become involved in reciprocal interactions and exchanges in the process of living.  Emphasis is placed on essential preparations for successful volunteering and a 32 hour volunteer service requirement is used as a springboard to deepen understanding of human need and the power of one individual or groups of individuals in meeting those needs.
 
Nature of Course

This course is primarily taught as a seminar.  It is interdisciplinary in nature using theories from several disciplines to promote understanding of the human experience. The course is designed to encourage students to make a difference in their communities by identifying needs and providing service.  The required volunteerism is intended to provide the stimulus for reflection and deeper understanding of the needs of people in communities as well as the difference that volunteering can make in the life of the volunteer and those being served.
 
Student Expectations

This course conforms to the rigor of UI 400 and 500 level courses.  There is extensive reading and discussion.  Much of the discussion and sharing connected to this course occurs in the online environment.  Students are expected to use the online bulletin board to respond and interact reflectively to assigned readings.  Students are expected to be introspect and reflect on the course content and their volunteer experience.  In addition to a cumulative exam, there is a scholarly research paper that explores the relationship of their chosen volunteer setting to the larger picture of human needs, programming to meet needs, and community well being.  Students are required to make a scholarly presentation of their research and writing to their classmates.  The reflective journal and written assignments as well as written and verbal responses to videos allow students to explore their values, ethics, and attitudes.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

Comprehensive study of the ethical, social, scientific, and cultural problems associated with the use and abuse of natural resources. Prerequisites: Completion of University Studies courses in Logical Systems, and either Physical or Living Systems categories. (3)

Course Content

Everyone recognizes the human need to live in the environment, and to use it to survive. The problem, however, is understanding the right way to use natural resources. Should resources be overconsumed, or do we have a moral obligation to conserve and to recycle? Do we envision the world as an inert collection of material resources here for human dominion? Is it a sacred, indeed a living, place which should be used only with careful reverence? Are there other alternatives? Do we as human beings have a responsibility to the rest of nature, if not for its own sake, then for future generations? Environmental Ethics is one of the hottest new topics in philosophy today. It casts its nets widely, analyzing the ethical, socio-economic, political, scientific, and cultural problems associated with the use and abuse of natural resources. The course is divided into the following units:

• Unit I: Primer in Ethical Theory (An introduction to traditional approaches to human ethics)
• Unit II: Primer in Environmental Ethics (an introduction to the differences between environmental and human ethics)
• Unit III: The Science of Ecology and the Ethics of Interconnection (An analysis of the extent of interconnection between the science of the environment and an ethics of the environment)
• Unit IV: Readings in Environmental Ethics (An in depth study of the leading theories in environmental ethics)
• Unit V: New Frontiers in Environmental Ethics (An analysis of eco-feminism, Gaia theory, "green" politics and other new concepts in environmental ethics)

Nature of Course

The solutions of environmental problems are, by their very nature, interdisciplinary. As a result, this course will reflect that very definition. Students will be expected to both read and actively engage the course material. By this, the student will be involved in many in class activities, from hands-on demonstrations to discussions and debates. One fully understands the ethical dimension of environmental problems when their complexities are encountered first hand. A simple "readings and lecture' format discourages such encounters. Thus, the course will be active, and as "hands-on" as possible. Through a combination of free-flowing interdisciplinary discussion, and hands-on demonstration and computer simulations, we will attempt to understand the rich diversity of the environment and the ethical role of humans within it.

Student Expectations

1. To attend class regularly.
2. To be prepared to participate in class discussions based on sets of discussion questions.
3. To be prepared to hand in critical journals on a semi-weekly basis.
4. To read the assigned texts and articles, and be prepared to participate in class discussions and demonstrations regarding them.
5. To complete preliminary independent research culminating in a proposal for a final position paper.
6. To present a summary of the term paper for class round table discussion.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

A study of the interaction of historical, economic, and political influences upon the biological and psychosocial nature of individuals aging into the twenty-first century. Prerequisites: Completion of University Studies requirements in the following categories: Natural Systems and Human Institutions. (3)

Course Content

This course will provide students with a historical and cultural background for understanding why aging is conceptualized as it is and how one's social, psychological, and biological aging is profoundly affected by political and economic forces that are tied to the history and culture of a society. The focus will be to show how these systems are interrelated by understanding how past and present political, social, and economic forces interact with the nature of public programs and policies, the functioning of various institutions (e.g., medicine, government) and are ultimately reflected in the attitudes and behaviors of aging individuals and their families. One of the major emphases of this course will be the development of students' ability to critically examine the multidimensional forces affecting the everyday life of all aging individuals.

Nature of Course

This course is designed to be a seminar in which students, both individually and in small groups, discuss their analyses of the interconnections among areas that determine the nature of aging. A significant amount of reading of research materials relating to biological, psychological, social, economic, and public policy issues will be required. Students will be required to participate in and lead discussion of the materials and relate their understanding of the application of these materials. A major research project as well as small writing assignments and quizzes will be required.

Student Expectations

• Attendance and participation in all course-related activities.
• Effective involvement in group research activity.
• Satisfactory performance on quizzes over readings.
• Seminar leadership on an assigned topic.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

An interdisciplinary study of 9 plays by Shakespeare as they relate to contemporary issues and events. Prerequisite: Completion of any course in the Literary Expression category. (3)

Course Content

Shakespeare's characters and his themes are timeless. Hamlet, and Brutus, and King Lear, and Macbeth still exist and may be found anywhere from Wall Street to Main Street. Shakespeare's plays provoke timely questions: What rights and responsibilities does one generation have in its relationships to other generations? What is the effect of racial prejudice? Does power corrupt? Does civilization save us or destroy us? How can modern man find harmony in an imperfect world? This class is designed to encourage students to find their own answers to these and many other questions.

The course requires close reading of the assigned plays and some use of critical material. It also requires that students be moderately well informed on current events that are newsworthy.

Nature of Course

This is a course based on discussion and performance, with students participating in both. Guest lecturers from other disciplines will present some plays from their own perspectives. For example, one lecture on Hamlet might be presented by a psychologist. Or an instructor from music might present Verdi's opera Otello as the class studies Shakespeare's Othello. Films or excerpts from films will be shown or made available to students.

Student Expectations

1. Regular class attendance.
2. Research paper or creative project.
3. Close reading of material.
4. One examination for each play, both objective and essay, with the lowest grade to be dropped.
5. Active participation in class discussions.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

An interdisciplinary study of five history plays and four comedies by Shakespeare. The plays will often be studied in the light of contemporary issues and events. Prerequisite: Completion of any course in the Literary Expression category. (3)

Course Content

The five history plays will cover the period of the War of the Roses, from the abdication of Richard II, through the Lancaster and York kings, ending with the arrival of the Tudors. For the remainder of the semester, the class will cover The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Much Ado About Nothing.

The course requires close reading of the plays and some use of critical material. It also requires that students be moderately well informed on current events that are newsworthy. Historical background will be provided as part of the course.

Nature of Course

This is a course based on discussion and performance, with students participating in both. Students are encouraged to relate the plays to their own lives and to contemporary events. Films or excerpts from films will be shown often.

Student Expectations

1. Regular class attendance.
2. Research paper or creative project.
3. Close reading of material.
4. One examination of each play, both objective and essay, with the lowest grade to be dropped.
5. Active participation in class discussions.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

A critical investigation into the aesthetic difference, function, significance, and value of the movement disciplines of dance and sport. Prerequisite: 45 credit hours. (3)

Course Content

This course includes: a developing understanding of the definition, history, inter-relationship and distinction of the terms aesthetics, dance, and sport; an ability to locate, organize, and examine information on those three topics; written and oral critical thinking skills in examining sociological perspectives of aesthetics of movement, artistry vs. athleticism, the role of creativity, and movement as a cathartic experience; and developing the ability to construct a defensible personal philosophy towards the aesthetics of movement.

Nature of Course

The Aesthetics of Movement integrates subject matter in the category of Artistic Expression (Perspectives on Individual Expression) with the category of Social Systems (Perspectives on Human Institutions). Through dance and other movement forms such as athletics, consideration of the aesthetic component of expression can enhance students' perceptions, analyses, interpretation, and judgments of their own and society's perspectives. Readings in philosophy, aesthetics, poetry, literature, and criticism inform the student's understanding of dance and sport. As manifestations of oral traditions, dance and sport require kinesthetic and intellectual knowledge of a specialized kind, involving respective vocabularies, rules of conduct, and feats of coordination which are handed down by choreographers and coaches alike through an elaborate verbal/physical communication system. Facility in both dance and sport has often been characterized as the apprehension of unique oral and physicalized "languages," or forms of communication (Cohen, 1984; Sheets-Johnstone, 1983). Experiential learning involving different dance styles and sports from a variety of social systems around the world will provide students with the comparative skills necessary to appreciate, understand, and intelligently discuss the rich diversity and complexity of cultural attitudes and identity inherent to these movement forms. It will be demonstrated that dance and sport both serve as manifestations of humankind's need and desire for meaningful expression.

Student Expectations

Attend class regularly with an active, engaged, and informed attitude. Demonstrate a sophisticated, critical thinking capacity while satisfactorily completing all reading, writing, discussion, and active learning movement assignments. Demonstrate an interdisciplinary analytical research ability in the generation, investigation, and elaboration of questions, issues, and projects.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

The literary and sociological study of the role, both positive and negative, sport plays in American society. (3)

Course Content

Readings and discussions in this interdisciplinary class focus on the various ways that sport interrelates with specific subject matter areas such as literature, sociology, philosophy, history, economics, and psychology. Topics will be examined in terms of functionalist and conflict theories of sport. Functionalists argue that sports create and sustain feelings of good will and solidarity among members of a community or nation. Conflict theorists believe that sports, like other social orders, are based on exploitation and coercion, particularly with regard to gender, race, ethnicity, and social class. These contrasting views will be traced in representative essays, stories, novels, poems, plays, and movies. Sample topics include; Roles of Athletes, Coaches, and Spectators; Sport as a Social Institution; Sport, Race, and Gender; the Business of Sport; Sport and Politics; Sport as Metaphor and Myth; and Sport and Aesthetics.

Nature of Course

This course, which involves a considerable amount of reading, writing, and discussion, challenges students to examine sports seriously and critically from the perspectives of opposing viewpoints--some positive, some negative. Interdisciplinary in nature, the course will require students to integrate the study of sports with other interests or disciplines.

Student Expectations

1. Class participation, including completion of all homework and reading assignments (20% of total grade).
2. Completion of an interdisciplinary research project (30%).
3. Three additional short written/oral presentations, one of which will be a book review (30%).
4. Midterm and Final exams (20%).

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

A study of agricultural issues and public policy using knowledge and methods from agriculture and social ethics. Prerequisite: Senior standing. (3)

Course Content

The first third of this course will examine the principles and applications of four ethical systems. The remainder of the course will use these to approach case studies concerning the environmental issues of agriculture, food safety issues, foreign food aid and trade, the treatment of animals, the preservation of family farms, biotechnology, agricultural sustainability, and other issues. Throughout the semester a single issue of concern in Southeast Missouri agricultural systems will be studied through readings, guest lectures, field trips, discussions, and by other means.

Nature of Course

The objectives of this course are (1) to help students learn how to use principles and methods from social ethics and information from agriculture to understand agricultural issues and the various values-based perspectives people have about these issues; (2) to help students learn how to gather information and learn about complex agricultural issues; and (3) to help students make informed value decisions about critical agricultural issues and public policy.

Class time will be used primarily for discussion, guest lectures, field trips, and other activities; lectures will be rare.

Student Expectations

Preparation for and participation in class discussions (10% of grade), seven quizzes (25%), one take-home examination (25%), and one paper (40%).

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

This course emphasizes mathematics as a human endeavor. It traces the growth of ideas from different societies and cultures from the earliest to the modern times. Prerequisites: GH 100-level University Studies course, and MA-139 or MA-140. (3)

Course Content

The course examines development of mathematical ideas over the past 5000 years. It covers mathematical thought in all countries and all cultures. It explores forces that hindered and/or helped this process -- geographic location, commercial growth, social isolation, political persecution, and religious bias.

Mathematics transcends time, geography, society, culture and religion. The contributions to mathematics came from all eras, from all cultures, and from all religions. Mathematics is a universal language, and mathematical thinking is a part of human activity. The universality of mathematics is emphasized.

The knowledge of mathematics today is the sum total of creative efforts of many mathematicians from many centuries. The course offers a road map for a student's journey through the thought processes that took place and the ideas that flourished or fizzled with wrong turns and dead ends. It is a journey over the mathematical highways and side lanes, of proofs and suppositions, conjectures and contradictions.

It offers glimpses into the lives of great men, who were giants of mathematics, and great women mathematicians who were deprived of formal education. The course treats the nature of modern mathematics and the impact of technology on the learning and teaching of mathematics.

To understand the idea of a limit and to appreciate Greek geometers, knowledge of calculus and geometry is essential. Some experience with computers, graphing calculators, and software programs like Derive and Mathematica will be helpful.

Nature of the Course

The most essential requirement is the desire to learn how mathematics came about, how mathematicians lived and worked, and how the different areas of mathematics -Algebra, Non-Euclidean Geometry, and Calculus grew. Students will do a fair amount of writing as well as class presentations. Oral and written assignments will be made. Much library work is involved. Discussions and problem solving are important activities of the course.

Student Expectations

1. Attend class regularly and actively participate in class discussions.
2. Solve problems and turn in solutions and other class assignments.
3. Write a course paper of moderate (less than 20 pages) length.
4. Make two oral presentations.
5. Take two tests and the final exam.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

A critical analysis and examination of some of the fundamental political philosophical questions, normative concepts and ethical problems of the Holocaust. Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and completion of University Studies Core Curriculum, or consent of instructor. (3)

Course Content

This course consists of a critical examination of the intellectual, cultural, philosophical, political and historical origins and development of the Holocaust. Extensive analysis of several major philosophical political, intellectual historical, literary and autobiographical works that have made a contribution in providing deep insights and raising significant questions on the Holocaust. In particular, analysis of key normative concepts and issues that stimulated such writers: anti-Semitism, intentionalism v. functionalism (i.e., the origins of the Holocaust), the "uniqueness" of the Holocaust, the political ideology of Nazism, Jewish resistance, the articulation of experiences of the Holocaust, the problems of memory and representation, theological and religious consequences of the Holocaust, the ethical issue of choices, Nazi propaganda, the plight of victims, and the roles and motivations of bystanders and perpetrators. This particular course will analyze political philosophical concepts, normative principles and issues from the interconnected perspectives of politics (political systems), culture, religion, and social philosophy (social systems), and ethical theory (behavioral systems).

Nature of Course

This course consists of a conceptual analysis of the most significant political philosophical, moral, and intellectual historical ideas, issues and themes of the Holocaust. Students will be encouraged to develop competency working in the area of ethical justification by applying moral principles and logical arguments to normative problems and issues in conjunction with the political theories of the Holocaust. Students will be encouraged and required to participate in an active Socratic dialogue with the instructor and with other students. At the end of each session, a series of analytical questions will be posed to students. Students will be required to respond orally to such questions in the following session. Consistent oral participation is not only a particular requirement of each individual student, but a necessity for the intellectual progress and understanding of the Holocaust for the entire class.

Student Expectations

1. To attend consistently all scheduled classes and be prepared in all assigned work.
2. To participate and engage actively in class discussion and dialogue with other students and the instructor.
3. To maintain diligently a systematic set of class notes and to finish all required reading assignments on time.
4. To take three major examinations (including a final exam), that will be composites of objective questions (multiple choice and/or identification) and analytical essay questions in which they clearly demonstrate comprehension of the critical thinking skills and substantive material of the course.
5. To prepare and orally respond to a series of analytical questions posed at the end of each prior session.
6. To prepare an oral presentation on a Holocaust political philosophical issue of normative concept.
7. To prepare an interdisciplinary (15-20 page) written research paper.
8. To comprehend the diverse conceptual frames of reference by which various theories and interpretations of the Holocaust are designed and articulated.
9. To be able to evaluate critically scholarly research in the study of the Holocaust.

Catalog Description

Individualized study of and experience with the effective and appropriate design, execution, and reporting of chemical investigations.  Prerequisite:  CH-180, CH-181, or CH-185.  (3)

Course Content

"Professional Experience in Chemistry" explores four important ways that chemists communicate with one another as professionals:  written reports, oral presentations, personal conversations at professional meetings, and published chemical literature.  These modes of communication are studied and practiced as the student investigates a problem of the student's choice in basic or applied chemistry.  Working with a faculty mentor, the student will develop and defend a proposal for a project intended to make progress toward the problem's solution.  To increase the likelihood that the student's professional interactions will indeed result in one or more problems solved, the course seeks to bring the student more fully into the scientists' culture through application of the scientific method and sound principles of experimental design, including consideration of safety and environmental issues, as well as moral and ethical concerns.  Application of these concepts to an investigative experience will enhance the proposal's credibility and improve the possibility of the investigation's success.

Nature of Course

The course emphasizes problem solving and communications skills applied to an investigative project.  Each student will develop and practice skills and knowledge needed to access the chemical literature.  The nature of scientific truth will be discussed, and case studies will be used to explore environmental and safety issues, as well as moral and ethical questions in science.  The application of presentation software, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, to scientific presentations will be explored through computer lab exercises.

Student Expectations

Each student will:

1. Attend class meetings.
2. Complete reading assignments to facilitate student participation in class discussion.
3. Participate in class discussion and collaborative activities.
4. Select a Mentor for the Experiential Learning (EL) Project from the Chemistry Department faculty.
5.  Prepare an Abstract for an EL Project.
6. Prepare a written Proposal for an EL Project.
7. Orally defend the Proposal before the Chemistry Department's EL Committee.
8. Attend a professional meeting jointly selected by the student and the Mentor.

Catalog Description

Study of the interdependence between basic psychological processes and the opinions of Americans toward their public institutions.  Prerequisites:  completion of University Studies requirement in the Natural Systems and Human Institutions areas.  (3)
 
Course Content

Americans seem to be expressing more and more dismay and distrust regarding the social institutions of their society (e.g., family, school, religion, law enforcement and courts, and government).  This course will examine the opinions of Americans toward several of the basic institutions in their society.  The class will attempt to understand how or why those opinions have been formed and what basis individuals might have for their different perspectives that individuals have toward specific institutions.  This investigation will be aided by a preliminary review of the nature and measurement of public opinion, psychological attitudes, and human thinking and cognition.  It is expected that this inquiry will provide students with a new perspective on their institutions and on the different opinions that Americans have toward their institutions.

Nature of Course

This course will emphasize a seminar format.  Presentation and discussion of general information on a public opinion, attitudes, and cognition will occur in the first half of the semester.  Then, each student will present a seminar covering information that he/she gathered on a specific American institution and public opinion toward that institution.  The seminar will include a student-led class discussion of the institution.  The discussion will focus on an understanding of the basis for different beliefs about the institution, how those beliefs shape the institution, and what the future of the institution may be.

Student Expectations

1. Attendance and participation in all course-related activities.
2. Effective participation in course demonstrations and projects.
3. Effective participation in classroom seminars and leadership of one seminar (which will require research on the nature and function of a specific institution, on opinions of individuals toward that institution, and on psychological forces that are related to that opinion).
4. Satisfactory completion of a course paper on a topic of the seminar which was led by the student.
5. Satisfactory completion of all quizzes.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

A study of the American Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s to the present.  Prerequisites:  completion of courses in University Studies categories: Development of a Major Civilization, Social Systems, and Artistic Expression.  (3)

Course Content

This course examines African American' continuing struggle for civil rights in America.  Concentrating on the period extending from the desegregation battles of the 1950s and 60s to the battles over affirmative action of the present day, this course will look at the issues and events which define the movement, examine the role of both leaders and followers in pushing the movement forward, and explore the role of music and the arts as a tool to resist oppression.  Students will assess the achievements gained in the movement to date, and ascertain the status of the Civil Rights Movement at the beginning of the twenty-first century.  The course will also place the African American struggle for civil rights in its larger context by examining the 19th and early 20th century antecedents of the struggle, as well as some of the subsequent movements for obtaining equality for minority groups in America, including women, Native Americans, Latinos, Gays and Lesbians, and the Disabled.

Nature of Course

The format of the course will be lecture and discussion.  Students will read extensively, discuss the implications of their reading in class, take several essay exams, and complete a research paper.

Student Expectations

Students will be expected to attend class regularly, participate in class discussions, read all assigned materials, complete all written and oral assignments, including a research project, in a timely manner, demonstrate mastery of course content on examinations.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

An exploration of the global economy from a social justice orientation emphasizing the exploitation and disempowered status of the world's poor.  Prerequisite:  Completion of University Studies Core Curriculum.  (3)

Course Content

This course examines the global economy from a social justice and human rights perspective.  A primary purpose of the course is to acquaint students with the values of human dignity and worth, social and economic justice, diversity, service and other related concepts.  The course also incorporates basic economic theory related to international business and trade.  Using the social justice values as a guiding orientation, there is an exploration of colonialism, third world debt, sweatshops, food and land distribution, environmental issues, the consumer culture, the erosion of indigenous cultures, immigration, international policy institutions, foreign policy, and human rights.  The ascent of transnational corporations and the effects of international policy related to trade liberalization, privatization, and related subjects, are examined with emphasis on the plight of the poor and also related inequities in the distribution of resources and wealth occurring at the global level.

Nature of Course

This course is taught using an Internet seminar model.  Students are required to read, analyze, and discuss books and articles using bulletin board technology.  Much emphasis is given to integrating diverse material from a variety of sources and to the analysis of numerous, specific situations from a social justice perspective.  Class time is utilized primarily for lectures and films.  The major assignment is an individual research paper analyzing the economic situation of a particular country in the Global South from a social justice perspective.  Students also give a short, formal presentation of their research at the end of the semester.

Student Expectations

Students are expected to complete all readings on time and to participate in ongoing writing and discussion assignments.  Students are expected to attend every class. Students are expected to write well and to engage in serious research and ongoing critical thought.  Most important, students must be willing to look at the various situations under study from the values base of human dignity and worth, social and economic justice, respect for diversity, and service.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

Study of the American Revolution from the perspectives of the ethnic, cultural and political groups that experienced it.  Prerequisites:  Courses in Development of a Major Civilization, Artistic Expression and Literary Expression.  (3)

Course Content

This course will examine the struggle that resulted in the birth of the United States of America.  Although American culture is a conglomeration of indigenous and immigrant cultures, the experiences of these peoples and of preceding generations have shaped the development of the American civilization.  A paramount event in the physical and ideological construction of the American civilization has been the American Revolution.  This event not only marked the beginning of United States as a political entity, but also created an opportunity in which a new civilization could be constructed.  The defining elements of the revolution--liberty, self-determination and freedom--have been enshrined as key values of the American civilization with which it judges both itself and other civilizations.  Because the majority of those persons who experienced the American Revolution were illiterate, the visual arts and music offered essential mediums through which to express the ideals and agendas associated with this momentous event.  This course will utilize such objects as painted portraits, flags and satirical prints along with music and ballads written during and for the occasion.  This course will also examine examples of writing connected to the period in their various forms.  Included will be dairies of the common soldiers and officers who fought on both sides of the conflict, the political tracts distributed to persuade the colonists for and against rebellion, plays and novels that were both influenced by the movement and sought to influence it, and the published declarations and proclamations of the national government during its earliest stages.

Nature of Course

This course will integrate subject matter and approaches to Developing Perspectives on Human Institutions from the area of Development of a Major Civilization with materials and approaches to Individual Expression by examining the ways in which artistic and literary expressions affected and were influenced by the American Revolution.  The soul of the course is an evaluation of this crucial point in human history based on an informed understanding of the ideological, practical and contextual issues involved.  Students will explore different perspectives of the human experience during the American Revolution, especially those based on geography, race, ethnicity, class and gender.  Students will examine who each of these groups engaged with the revolution and expressed their perspectives and positions both as groups and as individuals.

Student Expectations

1. Regular class attendance.
2. Participation in class discussions.
3. Read all assigned materials.
4. Timely completion of all reading, written and oral assignments.
5. Timely completion of an assigned research project, which includes an oral and written component.
6. Demonstration of mastery of course content on examinations.
7. Demonstration of the ability to locate and gather information independently in both the research project and regular class assignments.
8. Critical thinking.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

Group-based solution of open-ended problems based on cases or scenarios from the "real world," requiring interaction among students with diverse training.  Prerequisites: Completion of the University Studies Core Curriculum and senior standing in one of the disciplines specified for the particular section.  Additional prerequisites may be required for particular sections.  (3)

Course Content

The course is intended to provide students with an experience simulating that of professionals in their major disciplines, whether in industry, business, or academic research.  Each section proposal will be evaluated both for its requirement of rigorous application of scientific or mathematical skills and knowledge as well as the extent to which the project is interdisciplinary. Individual sections will have purposes and objectives specific to the content areas addressed and the nature of the particular problem.  Every section, however, will address these common objectives:

1. Oral communication: 
   
   1. Students will use effective oral communication skills to communicate with group members. 
   2. Students will make presentations appropriate to a lay audience regarding their progress and proposed solutions to problems.
   3. Students will orally present design alternatives or questions to a lay audience and solicit necessary input.
2. Written communication:
   
   1. Students will compose written progress reports that are suitable to a lay audience.
   2. Students will use written memos to record progress, solicit information, and suggest approaches within their groups.
3. Natural systems or Logical Systems, depending on section:
   
   1. Students will apply background knowledge from their major disciplines to identify issues pertinent to the problem.
   2. Students will apply content and methods from their major disciplines to propose possible solutions to the problem.
   3. Students will apply content and methods from their major disciplines to develop a solution for the problem.
   4. Students will devise experimental, modeling, application, or verification approaches and test the efficacy of proposed solutions.

Nature of Course

Students are presented with a real-world problem that requires a solution combining skills appropriate to one or more scientific or technical disciplines and possibly others such as business, the humanities, etc.  Each section offered will have a specific theme and integrate specific disciplines, which will vary from section to section.  Students then work in groups to solve the problem by applying the required skills.

Student Expectations

Each student will:

1. Attend class meetings and group meetings.
2. Complete assigned tasks within the group in a timely manner.
3. Participate effectively in the preparation of written reports and presentations.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

Origin and development of the English Language, including grammatical forms, principles of sound change, and growth of English vocabulary. Prerequisite: Completion of lower division University Studies courses. (3)

Course Content

1. Basic linguistic concepts and interrelationship of language and culture.
2. English phonology and phonemes.
3. The Indo-European languages - a brief history of the people and their languages.
4. Old English
5. Middle English
6. Early Modern English
7. Present Day English

Nature of Course

Students will acquire

1. An understanding of the systematic nature of historical linguistic principles and the specific changes characterizing the English language at its various stages.
2. Knowledge of the intimate connections between language and culture.
3. Understanding and appreciation of English literature through investigation of the linguistic context producing literary works.
4. Ability to pursue directed research into the linguistic aspects of a particular discipline or subject.

Student Expectations

1. Class attendance and participation.
2. Completion of assigned readings and work sheets as required.
3. Completion of brief, informal writings as required.
4. Completion of extensive research project.
5. Oral presentation of research findings.
6. Satisfactory performance on 5-6 examinations.

Catalog Description (including prerequisites)

Principles of Language is a study of the nature of language including its systems, role in society, historical and social changes, the development of writing systems, first and second language acquisition process, the biological foundations of language, and artificial or machine languages. (3)

Course Content

Student review the nature of language (origins, human and animal), the systems of language (morphology, syntax, semantics, phonology), sociology and linguistics (dialects, genderlect, the evolution of language families and of language, the role of slang and jargon), the development of writing systems around the world, psychology and linguistics (how people acquire a first, second, third, etc. language), animal "language", the brain's role in processing language, and the development of synthetic languages (e.g. computerized language, audix or voice mail messages).

Nature of Course

Emphasis is placed upon the general themes of language, its role in society and its psychological bases rather than on the specific discussion of any one language. Comparisons across languages, dialects, and societies are made. The role of language in the student's discipline is explored. Cooperative Learning groups in which students actively apply the content of the readings and the lectures to solve problems forms the basis of the presentation of material. Assigned readings and lectures are designed to highlight areas of discussion. Oral presentations followed by questions and answers is required.

Student Expectations

Students are expected to complete all readings, to participate actively in their assigned groups, and to write brief reports on topics and problems covered. The mid-term exam involves the analysis of a piece of writing related to the student's discipline. An oral presentation and a final paper on a topic of the student's choice which integrates the topics of the course is required.

Catalog Description (including prerequisities)

The civilization and physical geography of the world of the Age of Alexander the Great.  Prerequisites: Students should have completed their basic University Studies Core, especially the Physical Systems, Literary Expression and Development of a Major Civilization, and have Junior standing.  (3)

Course Content

This course combines the two perspectives, Human Institutions and Natural Systems, specifically the categories Development of a Major Civilization and Physical Systems.  The civilization approach will examine the primary sources using not only the historical data, but will also employ archaeology, numismatics and epigraphic material that supplement the literary sources.  As such, students will be able to understand the Age of Alexander not only within its own historical setting, but also within our own history and educational system.  The physical approach will at the same time explore the physical geography of areas of the world in which Alexander not only traveled and his successors established Hellenistic civilization, but that are in the very forefront of today's news: Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Arabia, Egypt, and the Middle East.

Nature of Course

This course uses a seminar approach where students discuss the readings and report on their individual geographic regions.

Student Expectations

Students are expected to attend class and actively participate in the class discussion, oral and written reports and make instructive comments on their peers' work.  Students will write a 20 page paper on an aspect of the Age of Alexander where they examine a particular geographic region, what Alexander or his successors accomplished, what impact Alexander had on this region, and if the region still shows evidence of Alexander's age.  Students will present this paper in an oral report to their colleagues.  Students will critique their fellow classmates reports both orally and written.

Graduate Student Expectations

Graduate students are expected to attend class and actively participate in the class discussion, oral and written reports and make instructive comments on their peers' work.  Graduate students will write a 25-30 page paper on an aspect of the Age of Alexander where they examine a particular geographic region, what Alexander or his successors accomplished, what impact Alexander had on this region, if the region still shows evidence of Alexander's age.  Graduate students will present this paper in an oral report to their colleagues.  Graduate students will critique their fellow classmates' reports both orally and written.  Graduate students will prepare two critical analytical studies on two different primary sources and will present them to the class.

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