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  • 3.00 Credits

    This course explores, through Western culture, the question of what it means to be human. Since Copernicus in the Renaissance recognized that the earth circles the sun and isn't the center of the universe; since Darwin recognized that Homo sapiens is just one evolving species among many; since Freud showed that we are not just who we seem to ourselves, the status and nature of the human has been contested and re-envisioned. Is "the human" an essential concept or a constructed one Is what makes us human a matter of mind or consciousness Does the human lie in our capacity for language or dance or tool-using Does it lie in behavior or individuality or social order To explore this fundamental question, students examine the boundaries of the human: where the human meets the inhuman, where it meets the more than human, where it meets the natural and where it meets the mechanistic. Each of these boundaries is still turbulently being pushed and tested today. (Weiss, Crenner
  • 3.00 Credits

    As a genre, 18th-century Italian opera buffa depended for its dramatic effect on a reversal of the customary expectations of class and gender stereotypes held by members of the middle-class. Nowhere is this reversal clearer and more effectively used than in the three comic operas composed by Mozart for Vienna in the 1780s on texts supplied by the librettist Lorenzo da Ponte. Thus, study of these delightful works provides insight into attitudes about what was considered proper behavior for men and women among the three separate classes of Viennese society (landed aristocracy, professional middle class, and menial domestic servants). Many of those attitudes and expectations still may be found embedded in current European and American societies. This seminar uses the scenarios and the verbal and musical texts as a basis for considering issues of class and gender, then and now. This seminar requires basic reading skills in music notation. Taking Music 110 Introduction to Music Theory concurrently would cover the necessary notation before scores are used in class discussion. (Myers)
  • 3.00 Credits

    This course takes as its starting point the thesis that much of what we think of as characteristic of contemporary America, from technology to terrorism, finds its root in the decade of the 1970s. Drawing on contextual readings by a range of historians, students examine writing and cultural objects of the era to consider the validity of this thesis. Texts include novels, essays, political speeches, photographs, music, visual art and film. (Conroy-Goldman)
  • 3.00 Credits

    This course examines the parallel structures of segregation in the U.S. and apartheid in South Africa. The basic premise is that through the lens of another culture we can come to examine our own culture and history. The causes and effects of segregation and apartheid on race relations are the central focus. How race affects gender, class, and social spaces is explored throughout the readings. Taught from the perspectives of professors from South Africa and the United States, the course provides unique insights into the histories of these two countries. (Albro, McCorkle, Moodie, Pinto, Joseph)
  • 3.00 Credits

    What is mathematics Is it discovered or invented What does it mean to understand mathematics Why have women been discouraged from mathematics In what ways is mathematics like poetry or art Why is mathematics so useful in science What do mathematicians actually do Students pursue answers to these questions and others by reading biographies of mathematicians and their ideas. Students employ multiple disciplines including cognitive science, psychology, philosophy, history, and mathematics. Some of these inquiries generate insights into the teaching and learning of mathematics. The goal is a deeper and broader understanding of mathematics as an integral part of human culture and contemporary society. (Kehle)
  • 3.00 Credits

    Science does not exist in a vacuum; it is central to our culture and our society. This seminar explores the role science plays in our world, and gives a new perspective on its impact and significance. Students first examine how scientists view themselves and their work, through memoirs and popular accounts. Then students look at the intersection of science and the arts, considering how writers and painters incorporate scientific ideas in their work. Finally, students consider the public role of science, examining its relevance to political and moral questions associated with terrorism and nuclear power. (Spector)
  • 3.00 Credits

    In this course, students explore the science, invention, history, and art of human flight. They see first-hand some of the inventions and contributions of famous aviators in history, and learn much about flight from local experts and enthusiasts. Students build their own flying contraptions-from simple paper creations that float freely through the air, to realistic model aircraft that fly under complete control. Students read and write about flying, and about building things that fly. Students help each other do all of this, and show others the excitement of taking flight. (Orr)
  • 3.00 Credits

    This course examines how difference is expressed in art. Students examine formal techniques of representing the real world, the effect of social class on artistic practice, the contributions of both men and women to artistic production, and representations of the "other" in both European and Asian art. Students gain experience in analyzing and writing about fine arts in the context of the multiplicity of world cultures. (Tinkler, Blanchard)
  • 3.00 Credits

    For many of us, a reference to Weimar Germany summons up images from the musical "Cabaret"-risque jazz clubs, outré fashions, and "divine decadence." The truth, of course, is much more complicated but no less fascinating. Students examine the plays, literature, films, and visual arts on Germany during the years 1919-1913, both for how they reveal the tensions of that era, and how they continue to engage and challenge us today. Students look at the works of expressionists, dadaists, the Bauhaus, and proponents of the New Objectivity, among others. (Gr
  • 3.00 Credits

    Two questions have occupied humans in all cultures: Who am I Where did I come from In answering these, humans have taken on a third powerful question: Why am I here Since the dawn of human history, societies have answered these questions through origin stories. In our modern era, our origin stories are flavored by science. In this seminar, students examine creation stories from a variety of cultures both ancient and modern. The course includes two of our most profound scientific origin stories: The Big Bang and the origin of life on Earth. Students look for common themes across the breadth of time and culture and look for the fundamental elements of what humans are seeking when they ask Where did I come from In the process, students delve into the more basic questions: Who am I and Why am I here (Arens)
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