PR-400 Love, Life, and LibertyCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
An examination of the historical and philosophical aspects of love and the assertion for freedom, starting from the biological concept of life. Throughout history, the various interpretations of these ideas have shaped the world. Students will be introduced to some of the most important, related works that are the fiber of History, Philosophy, and Science. The analysis of revered, cultural traditions will show the impact of love on the rational thinking and artistic creation. Also listed as RS-400.
PR-401 PerceptionsCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP, GS
An in-depth visual study dealing with the various ways that artists perceive the world around them as it relates to specific subject matter, aesthetics, and to cultural, historical, and psychological implications. Beauty and reality will be examined in all categories studied, with emphasis on the personal perceptions of the student.
PR-403 Roma/Gypsies in Literature, Pop Culture, and HistoryCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): ISP
Offers an interdisciplinary introduction to the people known as Gypsies (though the preferred term is Roma or Romani), whose ancestors left northern India by the Eleventh century, and who presently live dispersed in a world-wide diaspora. We will examine representations of Gypsies in world literature, pop culture, and history, and investigate this people's position at the confluence of myth, metaphor, and reality. We will discuss the particulars of Roma's history, including origins, migrations, experiences with slavery and the Holocaust, and their position within the New Europe. Special attention will be paid to the relation between historical and non-historical representations, and to the production of stereotypes and tropes associated with Gypsies/Roma.
PR-404 Ethnic LivesCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
Institutional racism in America, its effect on intergroup relations, and the response of ethnic group members to it. Ethnicity in America is examined from a global perspective. Readings in Sociology and Literature.
PR-406 The Individual and SocietyCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Course Type(s): ISP
The impact of two cultural ideologies; the influence of individualism and collectivism on individual thought and behavior, social interaction, societal values, and global order. The disciplines represented include Psychology, Ethics, Cultural Anthropology, and Sociology.
PR-407 Morality and CommunityCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): GS, ISP
Problems involved in making moral decisions in complex situations. Focuses on lying and deceit, deleterious effects on the life of the community, and also on clarifying codes of ethical behavior. The disciplines represented include Literature and Ethics.
PR-411 Gender and Global CultureCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): GS, ISP
Examines how gender influences cultural beliefs and practices around the world. Examines how gender shapes culture, particularly in ways that restrict and limit our lives. Uses an interdisciplinary approach to examine how gender and culture shape individual lives, as well as the larger global communities in which we live. Throughout the course, students will examine ethical and social issues concerning gender and culture.
PR-418 Eastern-Western Approaches to Wellness, Health, and HealingCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): HE.EL, HEPE, ISP
Exploration and comparison of Eastern and Western approaches to wellness, health, and healing, known currently as the "mind/body question." Examination of how beliefs inherent in these traditions influence concepts of health and disease.
PR-422 AIDS and the Global SocietyCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): HE.EL, HEPE, ISP
A global perspective of the HIV/AIDS pandemic using three major disciplinary approaches of biology, public health, and social anthropology. The impact of the disease on individuals, families, and communities in Western and non-Western countries; associated social, psychological, ethical, economic, and health issues are explored.
PR-423 Perspectives on Human RightsCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): None
An interdisciplinary and cross-cultural exploration of the question of human rights. The disciplinary perspectives of Philosophy, Political Science, History, and Literature are used to examine the different dimensions of human rights in the world.
PR-424 Movies, Places, and PeopleCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Course Type(s): ISP
Integrates geography, psychology, and film studies to examine the interrelationships of people, their identities, and their behaviors with places they experience both directly and through movies.
PR-425 Critical Play: Theories and Aesthetics of Video GamesCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
Critical examination of the role of video games and play toward the construction of cultural values, social structures, and identities. This interdisciplinary course studies the theories and aesthetics of video games by drawing from the fields that include, but are not limited to: Art and Art History, Anthropology, and Sociology.
PR-428 Children's FolkloreCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Summer Term
Course Type(s): ISP
An investigation of the theoretical perspectives of development psychologists, anthropologists, and comparative historians. Working in the field of Literary Studies, students will learn to analyze children's folklore with theoretical and methodological tools borrowed from the disciplines of anthropology, psychology, and comparative historical analysis. Topics include: rhymes, riddles, jokes, songs, lore, and other language use in American children and children from other cultural groups.
PR-429 Health and Healing Across CulturesCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Fall Term
Course Type(s): ISP
A cross-cultural examination of health and healing. Through lecture, discussion of the readings, case studies, and film presentations, students will explore the biological and sociocultural factors that affect health, illness, disease, and healing, both now and in the past. Students will also examine the impact of the healer and supernatural belief systems on the process of healing. In addition to the evaluation of the cultural health aspects of Africans, African-Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Haitians, and the Hmong, these populations will also be compared to the general American population in terms of overall health and access to health care.
PR-430 Social Movements: Marches and MusicCredits: 3
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP, HY, OL
An examination of the creation, function, and effect of protest marches and music within social movements. We will do this by analyzing social movements through the perspectives of political science, political communication, social movements, rhetoric, cultural studies, and music.
PR-432 Ethics and Professionalism in Science and EngineeringCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
This course provides a broad view of ethics and professionalism in the context of Science and Engineering. It teaches valuable practical skills as well as the basic analytic tools required to make the ethical decisions confronted by professionals in any field. The course describes the special role of professionals in society and uses the key perspectives of engineering and philosophy to explore their responsibilities. Additional perspectives (e.g. organizational psychology, law) will be incorporated as appropriate. A key course dynamic will be the interplay between producers and consumers of technology as common ethical dilemmas are approached from both viewpoints. The topics covered will include: problem-solving in the context of ethics and codes of conduct, professional societies, working as a member of a team and international issues, as well as how to be a productive and contributing professional.
PR-433 Death and DyingCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): HE.EL, HEPE, ISP, NU.EL
A study of attempts to understand the meaning of death and the cultural practices that surround death and dying. The disciplines represented include: bioethics, literature, and philosophy.
PR-434 Immigration and the United StatesCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): ISP
Traces the historical experience of immigrants in the U.S., examines their place in the stratification system, the forms of prejudice and discrimination they have encountered, and their patterns of assimilation into the larger society. The disciplines of History and Sociology are used to examine problems, including social and ethical issues, encountered by immigrants, United States citizens, and policy makers. Topics will include a historical examination of immigration policy, push/pull factors that influence immigration, and settlement patterns within the United States. Prepares students to identify immigration problems and research solutions.
PR-435 The Way and the Word HinduismCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): ISP
A comparison of classic texts central to two Asian traditions, The Bhagavad Gita and The Analects; the impact of the ethos of each tradition on secular narratives, Asian and Western. The disciplines represented include Comparative Religion and Literature. Also listed as RS-435.
PR-436 Urban LegendsCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
This is an interdisciplinary course that utilizes the disciplines of history, anthropology, media studies, psychology, and social psychology to examine urban legends from various perspectives. In this class, we will focus primarily on United States (U.S.) thought and culture, through an examination of the urban legend, in an attempt to map the American mind through a discussion of urban legends as moral panics, popular assumptions, and mass hysteria with a focus on race, gender and class.
PR-437 Perspectives on the Human Experiences: Family ViolenceCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Course Type(s): ISP
Designed as an interactive seminar course that engages students in interactive discussions and experiential exercises related to understanding and working with families who have experienced violence, including both survivors and perpetrators. The impact of culture on family violence across intergenerational family members (e.g., children, parents, and grandparents) and diverse populations and settings are thoroughly reviewed. Students learn a strengths-based empowerment approach and application of resiliency theory to assessment, prevention, intervention planning, and evaluation of individuals, families, and communities impacted by abuse and violence.
PR-438 Nature of the Self: East and WestCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
A comparative study of Asian and Western theories about the nature and definition of self using an interdisciplinary approach - philosophy, religion, and history. .
PR-439 Interdisciplinary Perspective on Social BusinessCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Course Type(s): ISP
Micro-credit has become one of the most successful social business interventions in addressing poverty in the developing world. As a successful initiative, it is now traveling from the developing world to the developed world. Addresses the historical, philosophical, and theoretical underpinnings of social business, and will explore in an interdisciplinary approach the ethical and social issues related to social business. Social business, itself, is cross-disciplinary, providing a basis for working together, transcending our differences across disciplinary lines, and envisioning creating a world without poverty.
PR-441 Countercultures in American HistoryCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
Explores countercultures in the United States from multiple-disciplinary perspectives including history, literature, and sociology. Elements from philosophy and psychology will also be included. The course will show that the counterculture in the 1960's was just one historical manifestation of American historical movements that are anti-authoritarian and espouse personal and/or societal transformation/regeneration. By examining different groups, the course will show that countercultures have a legacy of change in American society.
PR-442 Modern Images, Irrational ThoughtCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
Philosophy from the time of Plato has been an evolution of ideas, one set replaced by another, in a dialogue that changes from what has become accepted as normal to an ever changing view derived from rational thought as it relates to the present and the projected future. As in Philosophy, Art has a cyclical evolution; 1) an initial intuitive leap of newness, 2) a refinement and loosely agreed upon normalcy and 3) a stage, for lack of better description, "Istic," where nothing new is brought about and contributors either branch out or embellish what they can't penetrate with a new leap. Through the two main disciplines of Art and Philosophy, the course will investigate changes in rationality in the late nineteenth Century and trace their movements and influences into the twenty-first.
PR-443 ESP, Yesterday and TodayCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
From the first Paleolithic Shaman to Madam Marie on the Boardwalk in the twenty-first Century, civilizations have been fascinated by visionaries, mediums, psychics, and those who claim to channel entities from alternative realities. Clairvoyance, Telepathy, Astral Projection, and Psychokinesis are all part of the hidden, or sixth sense referred to as Telesthesia. The idea has surfaced and influenced mankind from Egyptian Soothsayers, the Oracle of Delphi, Revelations in the Bible, Nostradamus, Madam Blavatsky, Edgar Cayce, and as recently as Jane Roberts in the late twentieth century and is taking modern form in the concept of The New Age. Through the main disciplines of History and Psychology, this course will investigate the ever-changing social attitudes and beliefs concerning Extra Sensory Perception from the cave dwellers to the modern carnival.
PR-444 Leadership, Public Health, and Higher EducationCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Course Type(s): ISP
The disciplines represented in this course are Education and Health Studies. Content focuses on problems, including social and ethical issues, encountered by leaders in Higher Education and Public Health. Topics will include leadership theories, practice, and evaluation. Prepares students to identify problems, research solutions, implement plans, and evaluate results that advance the mission of non-profit organizations committed to improving public health and institutions of Higher Education. Emphasis will be placed on issues involved in Higher Education and Public Health.
PR-445 Race, Satire, and the Black AestheticCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
This is an upper division course on race in American satire in relation to the Black aesthetic as exemplified in film and other forms of mass media in the twentieth century. Spike Lee films are a major focus in this class within the larger framework of U.S. history, society and culture. Lee is one of the major architects of the Post-Soul Aesthetic and sledgehammer satire. This class will consider various Spike Lee films from multiple disciplinary perspectives including history, film studies, sociology, and gender studies with an emphasis on the disciplines of history and media studies. We will critically examine Lee's work within the broad historical framework of African American intellectual history and in terms of his engagement with controversial social, political, and economic issues in American society within his work. These films will also be analyzed for the aestheticization of larger historical, cultural, and social aspects of U.S. society. The two main disciplines utilized in this course include: African American intellectual history and media studies.
PR-446 The Confessional Poets: Surviving MadnessCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
An exploration of the works of key figures in the confessional style of contemporary American poetry. These poets suffered multiple levels of mental anguish and used confessional poetry to share and heal their suffering, as they attempted to survive their lives.
PR-447 A Graphic World: Sequential Art and World HistoryCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
An interdisciplinary course that will use the perspectives of historical, literary, and artistic analysis to examine important themes such as, but not limited to, nationalism, inequality, industrialization, war, religion, or cultural diffusion, through the medium of the graphic novel.
PR-448 Ecocriticism and Medieval EnglandCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
An ecocritical study of historical documents and literary texts in medieval England.
PR-449 The Helping Professions in Film and MediaCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Course Type(s): ISP
Provides students an opportunity to look at ethical and social issues from a multidisciplinary perspective. Looks at the helping professions (for example: teachers, counselors, and medical professions), how the codes of ethics for these professions are similar but different, and how these professions have been villainized and romanticized in film.
PR-451 Ethnic and Religious Conflicts and Their Political ImplicationsCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
Examines the relationship between ethnicity, nationalism and violence. Focus will be on the formation and the causes that ignite ethnic conflicts. Discussion of the political tools and strategies to manage them as well as the role of international communities in preventing and resolving these conflicts. To understand the international implications of the ethnic conflict we shall examine examples from around the world but we shall focus mainly on five cases: Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Ireland, Russia, and Palestine.
PR-452 and its Role in Modern Society and its Role in Modern SocietyCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Course Type(s): ISP
Designed to allow students to examine Theatre in intense and very specific ways using and examining the literature and visual arts aspects of theatre. The course content will focus on the Summer season of the Shadow Lawn Stage or an appropriate selection of plays during the academic year. Students will not only discuss in class the plays being performed, but will also have the experience of watching them being designed, constructed, and rehearsed. .
PR-453 Censoring Culture: Banned and Burned in the USACredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
An interdisciplinary study of censorship in modern America. Utilizing the combined methodologies of history and literary criticism, broadly construed to include feminist and cultural theory, it will explore specific instances of censorship in art, literature and history in twentieth- and twenty-first-century American culture. It will focus on the "reading" of censored texts, novels, paintings, photographs, newspapers and film as cultural artifacts and probe the nuances and boundaries of freedom of speech and expression in a democratic society.
PR-454 Word and ImageCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): ISP
Explores the relationship between the two basic modes of representation in our culture - words and pictures. The interaction between the two will be investigated historically and theoretically through a close examination of a variety of media, from books and posters to comics and Web sites. Emphasis is on the power of word-image representations to define social and ethical concerns and also shape our lives, as well as on the beauty of some works of "composite art" created by poets and artists, from William Blake to Art Spiegelman.
PR-456 Right Wing Extremism in EuropeCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): ISP
Presents a comparative analysis of several far-right organizations in Western Europe as well as the characteristics of the right wing extremism in Eastern Europe. The course will identify the causes that led to the popularity of these groups, sub-culture of the skin-heads and the neo-Nazi and the attitude of the far right groups in Eastern Europe towards the Roma population. We shall also analyze their consequences for the political stability and democracy in the European Union.
PR-457 Issues in Cognitive ScienceCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): ISP
Focuses on a number of key ideas about mental representations (e.g., logic, rules, concepts, and analogies) and contrasts how work in psychology (e.g., building computational models) helps us to evaluate their suitability as models of the human mind and of the nature of intelligence in general. Cognitive Science is an inherently interdisciplinary approach to the study of the mind and intelligence, drawing upon work in philosophy, psychology, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, linguistics and anthropology. The course will touch on many of these areas, but the focus is work in the disciplines of psychology and artificial intelligence. The course will also cover the ethical implications of work in cognitive science.
PR-458 The Meaning of MeaningCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): ISP
Focuses on the various perspectives about meaning that have developed in the philosophical literature and their applications to actual language use as uncovered by linguists and anthropologists. Efforts to understand the meaning of meaning have been carried out in a variety of disciplines; philosophy, psychology, literary studies, artificial intelligence, linguistics and anthropology. Although the course will touch on many of these areas, the focus is on the work in the disciplines of philosophy, linguistics, and anthropology. The course will also cover the social and ethical implications of the different approaches to the meaning of meaning.
PR-459 The Science and Politics of Climate ChangeCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP, SUS
Earth's climate has changed in the past and will change in the future; however, current climate science describes a rate of climate change expected in the next hundred years that is similar to those experienced during mass extinctions in the past. This rate of change implies emergency conditions for most living creatures including man, and a need for urgent action if human caused contributions to climate change are to be stopped or slowed. This course will examine the science and politics of climate change with an emphasis on understanding the physical science behind climate change, the biological impacts of changing climate in a variety of biomes, suggested political and physical remediation and the political consequences of suggested remediation. This course will also examine the actions of certain lobbyists, political parties, and multinational corporations and their impacts on the politics of climate change.
PR-460 How Technology Affects ValuesCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Course Type(s): ISP
The correlation of values to technology; conceptualization of the interrelationships among science, technology, values, and society. Preparing to understand technical innovation, the impact of technical innovations on the quality of life, and the need for critical evaluation of societal matters involving the consequences of technology. The disciplines represented include History and Sociology.
PR-461 The Great Recession and its Effect on SocietyCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Course Type(s): ISP
The Great Recession officially began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. The severity and extended duration of the second biggest economic downturn in history have inflicted long-lasting damage on individuals, families, and communities. This course will explore the historical sequence of events, similarities with the Great Depression, business and government decisions, and the theoretical underpinnings culminating in the Great Recession. Emphasis is given to the evaluation of the aftermath- the severe adverse effect on society! The course explores economics, decision-making, ethics, political and social issues - knowledge essential to the intellectual development of future leaders.
PR-462 Palestinian-Israeli RelationsCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Course Type(s): ISP
Palestinian-Israeli relations are critically examined within the historical, political, postcolonial, and ethical contexts of Arab-Jewish and Arab-Israeli relations. The dual-narrative method is used, as are several documentaries and films that represent the perspectives of both Palestinians and Israelis. These are studied to understand how and why filmmakers portray Palestinian-Israeli relations the way they do and how these cinematic works challenge our conceptions of reality. History, political science, ethics, and film studies will be joined to provide an interdisciplinary perspective on the relations between Palestinians and Israelis.
PR-463 Dissent in AmericaCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): ISP
An interdisciplinary survey of the core American value of dissent. Students will read and interpret the evolution of dissent in America since colonial times. The focus will be on why dissent occurs and its impact on America. Students will examine this topic through a diverse range of disciplines such as history, political science, and sociology. With lecture providing background and context followed by class discussion, self-reflection and critical comparative analysis will be utilized. Students will be active participants through the use of Bloom's assessing outcomes.
PR-464 American Popular Culture and BeatlesCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
Explores the relationship between American popular culture and the Beatles from the perspectives of the disciplines of History and Communication, with a special emphasis on cultural studies, political economy, issues of authenticity, and reception theory. In this course, students will examine the ways in which American popular culture influenced the life and times of the Beatles and, in turn, the impact the Beatles had upon American popular culture. The course will trace not only the American musical influences on the Beatles, but also the role played by television, films, and the mass media both on the Beatles and the changing cultural landscape in the United States and Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Perspectives General Education Requirement.
PR-465 Music and ReligionCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Course Type(s): AT, ISP
This course explores the relationship between music and religion from a global perspective, examining ideas, values, and practices of music and sound in various religions and spiritual traditions around the world. In addition to learning about the music-cultures (context, instruments, repertoire, etc.) that coincide with various religious traditions, students will be encouraged to consider how worldview and ideology lend to differing perceptions of musical meaning, performance, form, symbolism, and the importance of sound, generally. This survey covers the most prominent world religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and their denominations, as well as Central Asian Shamanism, Japanese Shinto rituals, and religious traditions of Native Americans. Syncretic religious practices in the Americas, including, African American gospel music, Brazilian Candomblé, Cuban Santeria, Haitian Voodoo, and Jamaican Rastafarianism are also presented to examine global issues such as colonization, transculturation, and the localization of culture and religion. Drawing upon academic articles, indigenous texts, musical recordings, and videos, students can expect to be introduced to a number of theoretical dimensions that arise within studies of music and religion globally. Also listed as RS-465.
PR-467 Eco-Self: The Human-Nature RelationshipCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Course Type(s): ISP
This course brings together eco-art, environmental writing and the newer, and often contested, field of eco-psychology to deepen our understanding of the human/nature relationship. Using the tradition of the "field journal", students will will become amateur naturlists and use the creative arts, close observation, and critical thinking to better understanding their own relationship with nature, learn more about a place site of their choosing, and investigate larger societies' relationship with nature.
PR-468 Fictional Politics in Literature, Film, and TelevisionCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
An examination of the role of fictional depictions of politics in the ways that people develop a lens through which they view political power. Authors and media creators use their creative products to make arguments about politics. Through close readings of novels, film, and television shows we will look at the ways that culture depicts American politics and the effects of those depictions. We will use the theories and methods of several disciplines including political science and communication (rhetoric and media criticism).
PR-469 Mind Over MatterCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
Will provide students with an overview of two conflicting explanations of how the mind works to define the universe, the interactions of mind/body in relation to the 21st Century, and consideration of ethical and social issues.
PR-470 War and PeaceCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
An exploration of the forces leading toward war and peace in our century. Through literature, history, and sociology, the course looks at the dynamics of the two world wars, the development and use of nuclear weapons and the subsequent arms race, and rapidly evolving, current situations, such as the dissolution of the Soviet Union, tensions in the Middle East, and the role of the United States in the "New World Order." The disciplines represented in the course include Literature, History, and Sociology.
PR-471 The Historical NovelCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): ISP
Explores the history of the historical novel from Sir Walter Scott to the present and the impact that historical novels have on the way in which we perceive the past. Students will examine the ways in which the authors of historical novels are influenced by the times in which they are writing and the dynamic relationship between the times of the author and the historical period about which he or she is writing. The course will also trace developments in both history and literature that have contributed to the evolution of the historical novel in the past two centuries.
PR-472 Management Lessons Through the Arts and LiteratureCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Course Type(s): ISP
Bridges business management with the arts and literature. Students will explore the link between management practices and some of the great works of literature, theatre, poetry, music, art, architecture, photography, film, and television.
PR-473 Twentieth Century PsychoanalysisCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
Psychoanalysis has been one of the most influential and controversial traditions in 20th century and contemporary thought. What began as a method for healing psychic neuroses in suffering patients has developed into a philosophical paradigm for conceptualizing the human condition. Ironically banished from a meaningful place in psychology departments, psychoanalysis has found willing disciples in literature, sociology, philosophy and mostly left-wing politics. Yet, psychoanalysis has been adopted as an interpretative framework by both rightists and leftists, by conservatives and liberals alike. The interdisciplinary nature of psychoanalysis makes it fruitful for a humanities-oriented perspective course. This class concentrates on the intersection of psychoanalysis with literature and philosophy. It seeks to study the cultural and social significance of psychoanalysis through the material impact of literature and philosophy.
PR-475 Bruce Springsteen's America: Land of Hope and DreamsCredits: 3
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
This interdisciplinary course focuses on the life, times, music and lyrics of Bruce Springsteen as they relate to American history and culture in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, using the disciplines of history and music.
PR-481 Applied RationalityCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): ISP
The most powerful ability a person can have is the ability to think effectively. As humans, we are subject to an overwhelming variety of cognitive biases and other limitations to our reasoning powers; however, lying in the multidisciplinary nexus of the behavioral sciences and probability theory, there are tools for overcoming these limits. Come and proactively engage with the unseen forces that work upon us and through hands-on-activities, writing, and in-depth readings, become a more effective, indeed more rational, thinker.
PR-483 Cold War PerspectivesCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): ISP
An interdisciplinary study of the ethical dilemmas of the Cold War, considering approaches from history, the social sciences, literature, and the arts.
PR-487 The Story of the BookCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
This course explores the history of the book and its timeless presence as one of the world's greatest and enduring inventions. From the perspectives of the disciplines of English, History, and Library Science, a holistic emphasis is placed on the book, which extends from its materiality and its cultural and historical impact, to concepts of textual originality and authenticity. Students will examine and learn about the earliest examples of portable writing-from scrolls and Roman codices-to the early days of Gutenberg and onward to new developments such as the graphic novel and the artist book. This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Perspectives General Education Requirement.
PR-490 Revolution and Creative ResponseCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of seventy-five credits
Term Offered: All Terms
Course Type(s): ISP
Revolution and Creative Response will study three revolutions: the Industrial Revolution, the Soviet Revolution, and the South African Revolution - the historical conditions, the critical events, and the central people. It will then analyze how certain artists responded or reacted to these. Combines elements of history and textual analysis (the methods used in the study of literature or film).
PR-498 Special Topics in Perspectives (400 Level)Credits: 3
Prerequisite(s): Completion of eighty-seven credits
Term Offered: Spring Term
Course Type(s): None
An intensive study of a particular subject or problem in perspectives to be announced prior to registration.
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