MLS SEMINARS FOR FALL 2011
LBST D510: Intro to Grad Liberal Studies Finkel 4 cr.hr. 6:00-7:40pm MW LB230
The course provides a comprehensive introduction to graduate liberal studies, as well as preparing students to participate successfully in all facets of the MLS program. The course will examine principles of intellectual inquiry in the three fields represented in the MLS program: Arts & Letters, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. These methods will be applied to the Common Experience topic for the year.
LBST D501: Digit Storytelling Pinkston 3 cr. hr. 4:15-5:30pm MW
This is an integrated course that will address aspects of art, cultural, sociological, and mathematical topics, all within the framework of the archetype. The curriculum will revolve around the role of mythology as a cultural force and ways in which it can be expressed through the arts, graphic novels, and movies. Participates will collaborate on projects developed through the use of the internet, graphics software, and printed resources.
LBST D502: The Question of Totalitarianism Barry 4 cr. hr. 6:00-9:00pm T
This course will examine the elements and legacies of the phenomenon of totalitarianism. The stakes of understanding totalitarian event extend far beyond the narrow concerns of the political scientist or historian. The totalitarian project has insinuated itself into our world once and for all, calling in to question all traditional moral, legal, and political standards by which we will continue to orient ourselves.
LBST D503: Issues in Evolution Sloss 3 cr. hr. 6:00-8:30pm R
This course introduces students to the basic theories and evidence related to human evolution and how our evolutionary heritage impacts our lives. Additionally, we examine the political and religious controversies surrounding the theory. Upon completion of the course, students should have a better understanding of the general principles of evolutionary theory; how genes and environment interact; how our evolutionary heritage influences human behavior patterns; how humans use evolved social skills to form and maintain relationships; the religious and political issues in the evolution debate; and the implications of modern genetic knowledge and technology for the future of our species.
MLS COURSES FOR SUMMER 2011
LBST D601: Graduate Project Proposal Seminar Finkel 3 cr. hr. 5:45-8:45pm T May 10- July 26
Working as a group and independently, students will research and develop a thesis proposal. Students will complete the literature review, develop their methodology, identify their thesis committee, and develop knowledge of the relevant research ethics. At the end of the semester students will be prepared to submit their thesis proposal to their thesis committee.
LBST D503: Information Technology Across Disciplines Manwani 3 cr. hr. Summer Session 2 5:30-8:30 W
This course is designed to enable students to communicate with the computer and make it do specific tasks in their own field of interest. Student will not only gain knowledge on different IT tools, but also how to deploy them in real-world situations. The goal is to explore, understand, and incorporate IT tools and to develop and implement innovative ideas in different fields, both on line and offline. NOTE: Hybrid course: 50% in person and 50% on line.
MLS SEMINARS FOR SPRING 2011
LBST D510: Intro to Grad Liberal Studies Finkel 4 cr. hr.
4:15-5:50 TR
The course provides a comprehensive introduction to graduate liberal studies, as well as preparing students to participate successfully in all facets of the MLS program. The course will examine principles of intellectual inquiry in the three fields represented in the MLS program: Arts & Letters, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. These methods will be applied to the Common Experience topic for the year.
LBST D501: Political & Social Rhetoric Abernathy 3 cr. hr.
6:00-8:30pm W
The last sixty years have seen remarkable changes in the ways in which messages are conveyed. The development of radio, television, and the internet has made it easier than ever for those with a message to communicate with their constituents. However, the negative aspect of these developments is that people are bombarded with more messages than ever. This course is designed to look at those communicators and messages which have made an impact in the last 50 years, specifically in the areas of politics and social reform.
LBST D502: Advertising & Consumer Culture Reddy 3 cr. hr.
6:00-8:30pm R
The consumption of goods and services plays a crucial role in the American economy, but consumer culture is more than the sum of the things that we own. Whether we're in public or in the privacy of our homes, strolling across campus or watching television, we're enveloped by advertising. It's the world we inhabit today - one where it seems normal to be addressed as a potential consumer in virtually every waking moment of our lives, where we happily turn ourselves into living advertisements by wearing clothes that announce the brands that we buy. The goal of this course is to make us more aware of how advertising operates in society and how we live within consumer culture.
LBST D503: Environmental Sustainability Hollenbeck 4 cr. hr.
6:00-9:00pm T
Human activities have changed the types and rates of processes occurring throughout the planet. Understanding the near-term and long-term effects of these actions on the quality of the environment requires a broad view of the science on how earth functions without human intervention, and how society has changed these functions to support itself. This course will include selected readings, discussions, case studies, and laboratory experience in microclimates.
MLS SEMINARS FOR FALL 2010
26901 LBST D510: Intro to Grad Liberal Studies Finkel 4 cr.hr.
6:00-7:40pm MW LB230
The course provides a comprehensive introduction to graduate liberal studies, as well as preparing students to participate successfully in all facets of the MLS program. The course will examine principles of intellectual inquiry in the three fields represented in the MLS program: Arts & Letters, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. These methods will be applied to the Common Experience topic for the year.
27488 LBST D501: Public Sphere and World War I Zorn 3 cr. hr.
6:00-8:30pm T
The course investigates the relationship of creative productions (primarily theatre, but also art and literature) and the public sphere in Europe around the time of World War I. Since it was around World War I that the formation of the modern public sphere took place through the growing circulation and expension of the press, theatre, political and artistic performances, a case study of this time period gives us a unique glimpse into the origins, processes, and effects public consciousness.
27487 LBST D502: Poverty and Industry Barry 4 cr. hr.
6:00-9:00pm R
The course will take up the question of the Industrial Revolution, but in so doing we will be less concerned with the rise of machine technology and production than with the creation of a new social and political reality. Thus, we will pursue a critical examination of industrialism as a broad based transformation in how people are organized, and yet a transformation that now seems as if it was a natural and inevitable social development.
27489 LBST D503: Philosophy & Science of Yoga Manwani 3 cr. hr.
4:15-5:45 MW OG 069
The goal of the course is to understand yoga and to us it as an enhancement of mental and physical health. The course surveys the ancient philosophy behind yogic practices and scientific data concerning the benefits on the mind and body. Physical practice of yoga will be involved.
19010 LBST D502: Science of Science Fiction Hollenbeck 4 cr.hr.
What can properly be called "science fiction" (as opposed to fantasy) has existed since the beginning of the Age of Science. Scientists have used fiction to explain and explore their science, and professional writers have used science to extend the limits of fiction. However, like fraternal twins, science and science fiction often reflect each other imperfectly. This course will examine the sometimes-uneasy relationship between the two. It will investigate several perennial questions about the genre. The course will span the age of Science, from the 19th century to the present, including work by, Bradbury, Crichton, Shelly, Wells, and current writer, T.K. Kenyon. Students will study the history of science by learning what the authors could have known and will explore the nature of narrative and the similarities and differences between scientific and fictive discourse. The themes of the writers will be compared to the socio-political conditions of the writer's time and their vision of the future where appropriated.
27803 LBST D503: Food and Society Sloss 3 cr.hr.
This course introduces students to recent literature, thoughts, and research on the role of food in human societies. We use historical and critical analyses to examine selected issues about food and society. We will read three books and several short articles. Additionally, students will examine their food related behaviors from the perspective of our readings. Students who successfully complete this course will be able to: describe how species and their foods co-evolve, recognize historical changes in patterns of food production, preparation, and consumption, appreciate cultural and class differences in food consumption patterns, understand the political and economic forces that shape our food system, and better manage your personal food habits and behavior.
9479 LBST D510: Intro to Grad Liberal Studies Finkel 4 cr.hr.
The course provides a comprehensive introduction to graduate liberal studies, as well as preparing students to participate successfully in all facets of the MLS program. The course will examine principles of intellectual inquiry in the three fields represented in the MLS program: Arts & Letters, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. These methods will be applied to the Common Experience topic for the year: Health and Humanity in the New Millennium: Where Do We Go From Here?
LBST D501: Vietnam in Culture & History Salas
The military conflict in Vietnam has become a touchstone in US history, despite the fact that the "meaning" of that conflict is still evolving, being negotiated, and being claimed by various interested parties. This seminar will engage students with historical texts, literary texts, cultural artifacts, and scholarly discussion about the conflict, its causes, conduct, and consequences, and the various sorts of people (including veterans of both genders, Vietnamese citizens, those who did not serve, and those born after the last US service people left Saigon) affected by it. Students will undertake original research on such questions as the semantic and actual difference between "war" and "conflict", Komunyakaa's and O'Brien's work as trauma narrative, and the ways understandings of the conflict in Vietnam have shaped discourse about the wars in Iraq.
LBST D501: Arrendt and Zionism Barry
Hannah Arendt s 1963 work, Eichmann in Jerusalem, created a storm of controversy as a result of her support for the creation of a Jewish state combined with her growing criticism of Zionism. In the course, students will examine philosophy, history, and political thought to conduct a critical examination of the controversy surrounding Arrendt s work.
LBST D502: Meta-analysis in Human Development Wille
Meta-analysis is a statistical integration and analysis of research findings. In meta-analysis a large number of individual studies are pooled and analyzed. Students will select a topic in human development, conduct the literature search, and complete the meta-analysis. The result will be a publishable paper. Prior knowledge of statistics is not required.
LBST D503: Environmental Science Forinash
The course will focus on environmental issues, with discussion to include population, its near exponential growth over the past 200 years and the effect of this growth on the environment; energy, how much we use, where it comes from, and the physical laws that limit how we use energy; climate and the physical principles beyond climate change.LBST D501: Religion and Film Daly
This course will show how religious ideas, rituals and communities, which are represented or alluded to in countless films, are actually important and complex cultural constructs in American cinema. Films will be examined in a socio-politico religious context.
LBST D601: Graduate Project Proposal Seminar Finkel
Working as a group and independently, students will research and develop a thesis proposal. Students will complete the literature review, develop their methodology, identify their thesis committee, and develop knowledge of the relevant research ethics. At the end of the semester students will be prepared to submit their thesis proposal to their thesis committee.
LBST D-501: Rhetoric and Rhetorical Analysis Jackman
Rhetoric consists of at least two roles: the practical art of the speaker and writer, using rhetoric to effectively and ethically move an audience, and the ability to analyze texts in order to understand how they balance author, audience, and occasion.
LBST D-501: Culture and Politics in the Irish Short Story Daly
The fundamental goal of the course is to ask students to examine modern Irish literature from a cultural and political viewpoint. The Irish short story allows students to better understand the complex relationships between nationalism and culture by focusing on central questions about the relationship between politics and language.
LBST D-502: Science, Technology, and Society for a Changing World Hollenbeck
The goal of the course is to develop an informed appreciation of the problematic character of the relations among science, technology, and society (STS). The course will focus on the development of STS relationships and different approaches to analysis of STS relationships.
LBST-D 502: Community Research and Practice Chen
This seminar takes an interdisciplinary approach to the notion of community in relation to different kinds of research and practice. It will help students understand community in broadly humanistic and global terms and identifying underlying disciplinary interests in various undertakings. Topics include definitions and theory of community, history of community studies, community development in international perspective, and community research and practice. The course is designed as a hybrid course, combining on-line and in-person instruction.
LBST-D 503: Information Technology: An Interdisciplinary ApproachDey
The course is designed to prepare students to have an in-depth understanding of information systems in business, industry, and society. Added emphasis is placed on ethical reasoning and interdisciplinary aspects posed by the digital world. The course is designed as a hybrid course, combining on-line and in-person instruction.
