Core Discovery Course Descriptions
Academic year 2008-2009
To help students choose the Core Discovery Course right for them, below is a short description of each course. Students should check with the Current Course Schedule to make sure the Core Discovery course they wish to take is offered that year.
CORE 103/153
Race, Ethnicity, and Identity
(103=SS 153=H)
Race. This course moves beyond the tired old either/or debate about race in order to celebrate the rich heritages represented in the United States and to explore those places where conflicts need to be resolved. Bring your past experiences, assumptions, beliefs, knowledge, and most of all, your sense of humor to this class: We'll use them all.
Professors: Matthew Sowder
CORE 104/154
Contemporary American Experience
(104=SS 154=H)
This course takes a broad look at contemporary American life, from fifty years ago to the present. Students analyze films, stories, poems, court cases, popular media, and other cultural objects for what they say about aspects of American experience, including religion, family, a sense of place, gender/sexual orientation, race and class.
Professors: Dick Wilson
CORE 105/155
The Monsters We Make
(105=SS 155=H)
What social roles do monsters in art, film, and literature fulfill? What makes something monstrous? This course explores the complex relationship between “normality’ and “monstrosity” and the creation, role and destruction of “the monster” in order to reveal, and challenge, the roots of the idea of monstrosity.
Professors: Matthew Wappett, Ivan Peterson
CORE 106/156
The New Wild West
(106=SS 156=H)
This course uses conservation biology, literature, history and other social sciences to understand varying opinions surrounding Western environmental issues such as endangered species, energy production and consumption, dams, rivers, water, tourism and land management, urban sprawl, agricultural sustainability, and the impacts of mining and logging. Students use creative problem solving, case studies and research skills to explore these and other issues.
Professors: Stephen Yoder, David Roon
CORE 107/157
Cultural Encounters: The Latino Story
(107=SS 157=H) (also an International course)
This course explores issues related to relationships between and among Spain, Latin America (especially Mexico) and the United States and examines the idea of cultural fusion. Students also explore the development of the Latino culture in the United States as it is reflected in non-verbal communication, music, dance, theater, film and architecture. Guest speakers, performances, group discussions, readings, and projects are also features of this course.
Professors: Juan DeLeon
CORE 110/160
Sex and Culture: Women and Men in the 21st Century
(110=SS 160=H)
From body image to head scarves, hate crimes to gun laws, culture shapes gendered behavior and commonly held beliefs about the “right” ways to be male or female. But what is gender? How is it socially produced and experienced? This course uses films, plays, fiction, personal stories, the arts, media, science and the law to examine how ideas about gender make us who we are.
Professors: Sandra Reineke, Elizabeth Sloan, Sharon Trautwein, Sarah Nelson
CORE 112/162
Feel the Groove: The Generations of Jazz from the Blues to Hip-Hop
(112=SS 162=H)
"Our jokes, tall tales, even our sports, [with their] sudden turns, shocks and swift changes of pace" are jazz-shaped. So said writer Ralph Ellison about this indigenous American art form that has shaped, and been shaped, by our country’s unique and diverse history. This course uses the idea of jazz – individual creativity supported and encouraged by strong communities and cross-cultural influences – to look at the history and culture of America. It features explorations into music, films, literature, theatre, and dance.
Professors: Ian Sinclair
CORE 113/163
Globalization
(113=SS 163=H) (also an International course)
This course is the study of how different cultures influence and interact with each other. It examines how people from different backgrounds come together through war and peace, marriage and divorce, food and drink, sickness and health, life and death, travel and work, buying and selling, faith and science, and a multitude of other daily acts. The course helps students better understand globalization and its players and the immense impact this phenomenon is having on people around the world.
Professors: Kenneth Faunce, Sharon Trautwein
CORE 114/164
Understanding Media: Culture, Meaning & Power
(114=SS 164=H)
This course examines the history of mass media, the forces that shape media messages, and the influence of media on individuals and society. Students learn to analyze the credibility of media content and to distinguish among news, information, advertising, and entertainment messages. Students gain the critical perspective on media necessary for responsible citizenship and discuss current issues and controversies surrounding the media. Detailed Description.
Professors: Carl Mickelsen
CORE 116/166
The Sacred Journey: Religions of the World
(116=SS 166=H) (also an International course)
Students in this course study sacred images, the afterlife, and other ideas and issues relevant to world theologies. It is nonsectarian and devotes time and consideration to primordial, Greco-Roman, Ancient Near Eastern, and African religions, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and religious minorities such as the Sikhs, the Jains, the Mormons, the Baha'is, and other religions of interest to members of the class.
Professors: Rodney Frey, Ivan Peterson, Sharon Kehoe, Sayantani Dasgupta
CORE 117/167
The Movies, the World, and You
(117=SS 167=H) (also an International course)
A central aim of this course is to help students become more active, critical, and compassionate movie viewers. Because movies go far beyond entertainment to explore and document experiences and shape and challenge world views, watching them must be more than a passive activity. This course also uses perspectives of several academic disciplines to examine the aesthetic features of movies and the social concerns they raise.
Professors: Denise Bennett, Douglas Habib
CORE 118/168
Bioethics
(118=SS 168=H)
Bioethics is the term used to describe social issues raised when biology meets questions of right and wrong. Students in this course think, write, and talk about these issues from historical and scientific perspectives and are taught by experts in biology and ethics. Because the course offers students the opportunity to learn key elements of biology and ethical theory they are better able to make informed judgments about the uses and potential abuses of advances in medicine, scientific research, the environment, and many other areas.
Professors: Larry Forney, Jason Johnston-Yellin
CORE 119/169
Sports and American Society
(119=SS 169=H)
This course uses ethics, sociology, history, literature, film, political science, physical education, and cultural studies to explore the central role of sports in America. The course examines the relationship of sports to gender, race, class, ethnicity, consumerism, media, and a number of other topics. Course materials include essays, documentary and feature films, short fiction and poetry, and historical, legal, and sociological studies.
Professors: Justin Barnes, Stephen Yoder, Sharon Stoll
CORE 120/170
Art, Artists, and Madness: An exploration of the linkages between creativity and mental illness
(120=SS 170=H)
What separates madness from genius? What distinguishes one person as a creative genius and another as a lunatic? Students in this course explore mental health disturbances and the lives and work of several artists to better understand the interplay between art and madness. Through psychological case studies, film, literature, art, and creation of personal works of art, students explore how emotional, cognitive, and creative elements can reflect or expand their own emotional landscape. Other questions examined: “Can art be used as a pathway to emotional health?” and, “Does tapping our creative energies allow access to ourselves in a way that fosters a fuller, healthier, more enriched life?”
Professors: Jamie Nekich, Sally Eames-Harlan
CORE 121/171
Shared Places
(121=SS 171=H)
This course was designed by students and faculty from the American Indian Studies Program to allow students to study American Indian culture and histories before and after contact with Euro-American culture. Readings, guest speakers, videos, and literature presenting the American Indian perspective are featured. Students will focus their study on central aspects of American Indian culture including oral tradition, a sense of place, a holistic approach to all living things, and rituals.
Professors: Georgia Johnson
CORE 122/172
What is Normal Anyway?
(122=SS 172=H)
This course explores how disability is experienced and perceived, examines oppression individuals with disabilities have experienced throughout history, and weighs the pros and cons of policies designed to provide equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Through analysis of representations of disabilities in pop culture, movies, and literature, students will gain insights into how media shapes and perpetuates disability stereotypes. Current bioethical questions related to disabilities will also be explored, including genetic testing, abortion, growth limitation, and environmental contaminants.
Professors: Matthew Wappett
CORE 123/173
Riddles and Paradoxes: How the Culture of Markets Shapes our World: Past, Present, and Future
(123=SS 173=H)
This course explores how markets and the economic way of thinking shape our world. Students will examine markets from historical, social, and philosophical perspectives and learn how economic methods and theories are linked to methods and theories of many other academic disciplines. Students will study, write, and talk about incentives and disincentives, advantages and disadvantages of government intervention in the economy, scarcity and sustainability and other economic issues important to them personally and to society as a whole.
Professors: Steven Peterson, Nickolas Jorgensen
CORE 125/175
The Earth and Our Place On It
(125=SS 175=H)
Through class discussion, writing, field trips, community service-learning opportunities, music, art, readings, and film, students in this course explore how residents of the planet are connected to each other and the environment. For this course, the earth is viewed as a system impacted by human and natural forces and shaped by public policies and the acts of ordinary citizens. Central questions of the course concern the sustainability of the earth system, major threats to the system, and each individual’s role in maintaining its health.
Professors: Lawrence Young, Adam Sowards
CORE 127/177
War and Our World
(127=SS 177=H)
This course explores the impact of war on human lives and on the land where battles are fought. Together we will look at origins, causes and kinds of war and explore its short- and long-term consequences. We will discuss the way the arts, humanities and sciences come out of war, how they are influenced by war and how we can use them to understand war. We will also explore our power as citizens to influence decisions about war.
Professors: Gary Williams, Katherine Aiken, Gary Machlis
CORE 128/178
The Power of Play
(128=SS 178=H)
What’s to study about “play?” A lot! This course explores this most basic human activity, usually done in fun but sometimes used for darker reasons: to reinforce inequality, hierarchies of power, racist ideas or other powerful social norms. We will explore both the positive and negative sides of “play” using non-traditional activities and exercises. Over the year, we will see how the way we play shapes individuals, groups and societies across a wide range of cultures.
Professors: Melanie-Angela Neuilly, Britt Heisel, Leontina Hormel, Jodie Nicotra
CORE 129/179
War and the Virtual World
(129=SS 179=H)
This course approaches armed conflict as it is represented in the virtual world. We will begin with the study and impact of electronic war games, then explore literary representations of war and social science explanations for the attraction of war. We will end by reconsidering the virtual world as a vehicle for personal and civic responsibility. While we will incorporate the play of e-generated war games, this course is not about playing video games; it is about studying the causes and consequences of the virtual world they create in relation to the literal world of war.
Professors: Elizabeth Sloan, Douglas Habib, Victoria Arthur