200

This course explores the cultural heritage, social mores, religious influences, and history of three geographic locations through the medium of dance. Students study the function of dance as an art and as a lens for the society around it. Choreography and performance are central components of this interdisciplinary course.

Students explore the multifaceted world of modern art in this survey course that examines the transitions and innovations of arts from realism to what is known as today’s modern art. With a foundation in art history, students come to understand how fine art as a field has developed. The course also will undertake understanding and appreciating the creative process. Yet another lens of the course are to look at art from a scholarly and critical perspective. As part of this interdisciplinary course, students are asked to engage in the process of creativity and develop several pieces of finished art work.

This course introduces students to the multifaceted world of hip hop. Hip Hop has a rich history, and students will start with the birth of this dynamic genre of music. The emergence and evolution of subsequent Hip Hop culture are examined. The influences of Hip Hop are embedded in many historical and cultural events, including the emergence of Afro-American people and black solidarity movements, both in terms of the cultural roots and routes of Afro-Latino, Caribbean, and indigenous influences on African American expressions.

Decisions made in the White House have started and ended wars, caused and cured economic crises, and expanded and contracted human rights. The role of the presidency today is remarkably different than when George Washington first took the oath of office in 1789. Using the careers of a select roster of U.S. presidents, students explore concepts of leadership and human dynamics in the political arena and examine how these presidents contributed to pivotal points in American history.

This interdisciplinary course uses the study of the Holocaust to investigate causes and lessons of other modern genocides. Readings, films, field trips, and guest lecturers offer students a range of perspectives. Students discuss and research genocidal conditions and responses. The course culminates in a final presentation reflecting students’’ own investigation and analyses. This course fosters the development of a community of scholars, guiding them to become global citizens and "up standers" for social justice.

Introduction to Ethics is a study of the basic theories, methods, and problems of moral philosophy. Topics include the study of the moral theories of Aristotle, Aquinas, Hobbes, Kant, Mill, and Rawls; the relationship of ethics and morality to religious belief; morality and evolution; the nature and meaning of moral terms; moral absolutism and relativism; egoism and altruism; the nature of moral reasoning; conceptions of the good life; free will and moral responsibility.

This course allows students to engage in an in-depth exploration of a particular literary genre. These genres may include, but are not limited to: the evolution of the vampire in fiction, evolving ideas in science fiction, romance, mystery and crime, or historical fiction. Students study the l genre with a critical lens, learn how the genre came into existence, its richness, and its impact and implications.