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Cultural Analysis(CA)
Faculty:
Provost James Lakso (Coordinator of General Education) - ext. 3123
Interdisciplinary Colloquia (IC) and (CA)
Students will need to choose one course from a listing of courses known as Interdisciplinary Colloquia (IC) and one course from a listing known as Cultural Analysis (CA). In the IC course, faculty from different disciplines work with students in a team-taught and interdisciplinary setting to tackle a significant topic while developing writing, discussion, close reading, and critical thinking skills. The CA courses focus on some aspect of culture or offer an introduction to a culture by using both scholarly and primary texts from that culture and are also committed to developing writing skills.
The IC and CA courses require sophomore standing and above and can be taken in any order or even at the same time. The Interdisciplinary Colloquium and Cultural Analysis requirement will be waived for students who successfully complete a world language course beyond the 210 level in the target language and a semester or more of study abroad in the target language and culture. Please note that the credits (7 to 8 credits) need to be earned elsewhere to earn the needed 120 for graduation.
PLEASE NOTE:
To find Interdisciplinary Colloquia courses and Cultural Analysis that are offered in the home department,
please use CLASS SCHEDULES and look under SKILLS.
Interdisciplinary Colloquia Courses:
IC-201 Culture and Commerce (Fall; Yearly; 4.00 Credits; IC,CW,CA) Culture and Commerce explores the intersection of economics and culture both as areas of academic inquiry and as societal systems. The fundamental questions this interdisciplinary course adresses are 1)Does a market economy encourage the creation of the fine and performing arts? and 2)Do economic forces of supply and demand help or harm these creative endeavors? Prerequisites: EN110.
IC-202 Shaping the American Mind (Fall; Yearly; 4.00 Credits; IC,CW) Beginning inthe seventeenth century scientific revolution, continuing with a look at the enlightenment thinkers that brought notions of liberty, economics and pluralism to the United States, this course uses the history of ideas to ask why we Americans are and what ideas helped make us this way. Prerequisites: EN110.
IC-203 Genomics, Ethics & Society (Fall; Variable; 4.00 Credits; IC,CW) The purpose of this course will be to gain an understanding of the science behind the genome project and develop an understanding how ethical norms are established and challenged. Students will discuss and debate the potential implications of this new technology for them as individuals and for society in general. Prerequisites: EN 110.
IC-204 God, Evolution & Culture (Spring; Yearly; 4.00 Credits; IC,CW) This IC course examines creationist and evolutionary views of the origins of life and humans on earth and their relevance to our culture. Critical thinking with an open mind will be encouraged. Topics will include the nature of science and religion and their relationships, the basics of evolutionary theory, and implications of the creation versus evolution debate for our everyday lives. Prerequisites: EN-110.
IC-205 Modern Knowledge & the Self (Fall; Yearly; 4.00 Credits; IC,CW) Who are we? In what kind of world do we live? What can we know about the world and ourselves and how? This course examines how the modern has changed our answers to these and other questions. Particular attention will be paid to modern and post-modern understandings of scientific and narrative knowledge as well as cultural transformations in the comprehension of the self. Materials include films, novels, essays, and the visual arts. Prerequisites: EN110.
IC-206 Remote Field Course Sem. (YYearly; 2.00 Credits; IC,CW) This course introduces students to the biology, geology, and history of the Southwestern desert region. It explores how humans have historically interacted in this arid environment and how modern culture has placed environmental burdens on the region's resources. Lectures and discussions will build on the interdisciplinary nature of the course content. The course culminates in a 17 day trip to the deserts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Prerequisite: EN110. Note: A field trip fee is applied to this course. The total fee is $1,600.00. Half($800.00)is charged in the spring with IC 206. The other half($800.00)is charged when students register for IC207, in the summer, along with any module fees. Completion of IC206 and IC207 fulfills the IC requirement. Corequisite: IC207. This course requires permission from Professor JimBorgardt.
IC-207 Remote Field Course (YYearly; 2.00 Credits; IC,CW) This course builds on the introduction to the Southwest the students began in IC206, by taking them to the field to explore the biology, geology, anthropology, and history of the Southwest desert region from a variety of perspectives. Students explore how humans have historically interacted in this arid environment and how modern culture has placed environemental burdens on the region's resources. This 2 credit course culminates the IC experience in a 17 day field trip to the deserts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Prerequsites: EN110. There is a fee applied to this course. One half of the total fee is charged with IC206 in the spring. The second half is charged when students register for IC207 in the summer along with any module fees. Completion of IC206 and IC207 fulfils the IC requirement. Corequisite: IC206. This course requires the permission of Prof. Jim Borgardt.
IC-208 The History of God (Spring; Yearly; 3.00 Credits; IC,CW) This course will give students an introduction to the concept of God in western culture and how our understanding of God has changed from the ancient Hebrews to the modern era. Topics will include how concepts of God have been influenced by politics and culture; the interrelationship between popular and intellectual religion; and how religious belief influences, and is influenced by power. Prerequisite: EN110.
IC-209 Artist Naturalist (Either Semester; Variable; 4.00 Credits; IC,CW) The goal of this course is to trace evolution of natural history illustration in America from the 18th to 19th century. Students will explore how natural history and systemics develop into evolutionary theories of the 19th century. As part of the investigation of natural history, scientist were often artists responsible for the aesthetic documentation of their natural history observations. Examples include William Barchman, Mark Catesby, Charles Wilson Pealle, and John James Audubon. A field trip fee will be assessed.
IC-210 Comics and Culture (Spring; Variable; 4.00 Credits; IC,CW) This course will explore the rule of comics in shaping and reflecting American culture. It will explore the basic structure of comics and graphic novels, the historical birth and evolution of the American comic book, and the counter culture response to these comics. Students will write and draw a short story in comic book format as well as write short assignments and a research paper. Prerequisite: EN110. A special fee for supplies and a field trip will apply.
IC-211 Identity in the Modern World (Spring; Variable; 4.00 Credits; IC,CW) This course examines the cultural structures, systems, and beliefs that inform perceptions and definitions of our modern world. It also explores how the concept of the modern informs and affects how our identities (racial, ethnic, gender, national, etc.)are shaped and constructed. We use tools of the modern (texts, film, television, and the web) to explore understandings of our own identities as well as identites that are less familiar. The course seeks to assist students in examining their own culture(s) and is not primarily comparative in nature. However, at times cross-cultural comparisons are used in part to facilitate viewing our culture through the eyes of other groups. Prerequisite: EN110.
IC-212 Political Psychology (Fall; Yearly; 3.00 Credits; IC,CW) This Interdisciplinary Colloquium examines the overlap between political science and psychology. Topics include how and why citizens from political attitudes, how elected officials make decisions, the influence of values, the structure of political beliefs and ideologies, how citizens interact with each other, political persuasion, and attitude change. Special attention will be given to using political psychology to understand contemporary politics. Prerequisites: Sophomore, Junior or Senior standing.
IC-213 The Age of Goethe (Variable; Variable; 3.00 Credits; IC,CW) This course is an interdisciplinary survey of culture, literature, and philosophy during the Age of Goethe (the era of European Romanticism: 1770-1830). Focus on the concepts of the individual and self consciousness, freedom and self development, and subsequently the rise of alienation in the early nineteenth century. All readings and discussion in English. No prior familiarity with German intellectual history required. Students interested in receiving one additional German credit should sign up for GR 213.
IC-232 Mining in the Americas (Spring; Variable; 3.00 Credits; IC,CW) This course examines how humans in North, Central, and South America have mined natural resources over the past 500 years, how these actions have changed nature and human societies, and how these changes can be compared. Students will work with minerals both in the field and in the classroom.
IC-299 Special Topics (Variable; Variable; 4.00 Credits; IC) Allows department to offer topics not normally taught. Prerequisites and fees vary by title.
Cultural Analysis Courses:
CA-214 Cinderella (Fall; Yearly; 3.00 Credits; CA) Surveys the historical and cultural origins and pathways of the Cinderella story. Students use folk-tale research to identify the thematic content of the Cinderella story, explore its reach, and understand its ubiquity in American popularculture. The course includes a major project for which students conduct library research in order to write an 147original148 Cinderella based in a culture for which we do not have an extant copy.
CA-270 Infectious Disease & Society (Either Semester; Yearly; 3.00 Credits; CA,CW) This course focuses in infectious disease from different cultural perspectives. We discuss case studies across time and region, exploring how pathogens have shaped cultural landscapes, and how cultural perceptions affect infection. We study different cultures (modern and historical) to see how the react to an epidemic and use infection's threat. We end with a cultural analysis of aids. Prerequisites: Sophomore, Junior, or Senior standing.
CA-299 Special Topics (Fall; Variable; 1.00-4.00 Credits; CA,C) Allows departments to offer topics not normally taught.
CA-310 Beyond Tolerance (Fall & Spring; Yearly; 3.00 Credits; CA) This course will present both theories and practices of multiculturalism in the United States Through the Beyond Tolerance Workshops,film, texts and class activities students will analyze assumptions, stereotypes, and personal views of American cultures and subcultures.Students must have sophomore standing to take this class.
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