Academic Writing
Catalog Number: COR 101
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: This class focuses on both college-level academic writing and on the value and importance of practicing citizenship with integrity. Readings and essay assignments will focus on the knowledge, skills, virtues, and values necessary for sustaining polity, i.e., communities based on shared governance, whether the community in question be local, regional, national, international, global, or some combination thereof. Readings may also explore the challenges faced by those who are on the periphery of various polities, being bound by the rules, regulations, and/or laws governing the community, but not necessarily enjoying all of the rights, freedoms, and privileges to which others have access.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 101
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: In this course, students will explore the ideas of our vulnerability before intrusive digital media ecosystems and our potential responses, both personal and collective. This exploration will partly consist of classroom discussion of M. T. Anderson's dystopian novel Feed, Nicholas Carr's The Shallows, and Neil Postman's classic Amusing Ourselves to Death, and partly of academic essays designed to explore parallels with dystopia, the unintended consequences of technological platforms, and the student's own vision for healthy engagement and positive resistance.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 101
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: America is a deeply divided country, immersed in a conflict that has been given the moniker (though not without some controversy), "The Culture Wars"," a decades-long series of ideological skirmishes between progressives and conservatives," on topics ranging from abortion and gun control to LGBTQ rights, border walls, Confederate memorials, cultural appropriation, microaggressions, trigger warnings, and safe spaces, "that shows no signs of abatement. In this course, we will write a series of evidence-based argumentative papers on some of the controversial issues that divide us as a country, but as we do so we will strive to cultivate rhetoric that is the vehicle for productive dialogue, that refrains from demonizing the Other, and that contributes to the health of the nation to which we all belong. As we do so, we will practice the steps of the writing process (i.e., pre-writing, drafting, revising, and editing); hone our skills in academic, or evidence-based, argument (asserting a thesis, making sub-claims, offering evidence); learn the basic principles of research (finding and evaluating sources) and documentation (using parenthetical references and assembling a Works Cited), and gain additional proficiency in the grammatical and mechanical conventions of Standard American English.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 102
Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: The past is everywhere: on the lips of pundits and politicians, between the lines of your new favorite novel, and on plaques bolted to the buildings you walk past on your way to campus. And yet, even as history makes its way into more corners of our lives, it seems more elusive than ever: six different outlets might tell the same historical story in six different ways. As such, this class will engage with the idea of thoughtful and ethical stewardship of history. We will explore representations of historical people and events in a variety of rhetorical and literary genres, possibly including speeches, novels, poems, news reports, essays, and film. We will look at both primary and secondary sources, and we will use critical reading, thinking, and writing to research and reflect on the past and its long reach into the present. Ultimately, our goal is to develop writing and storytelling practices (including in both creative and more traditionally academic genres) that will help to cultivate a more ethical and honest reckoning with the past.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 102
Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: Focusing on the works of such disparate American writers as John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, and others, this course will delve into conservation efforts by studying varied literary offerings, and asking such questions as, how might literature affect and promote preservation? How might nature writing influence our overall culture and landscape? Students will have a chance to examine these works, discuss how they may or may not be a valuable impetus for activism, and form their own arguments for safeguarding the environment.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 102
Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: This class focuses on both college-level academic writing and on the value and importance of practicing thoughtful stewardship. Many of the readings, discussions, and writing assignments in this course will help you come to terms with the meaning of the term “thoughtful stewardship” and how the creation, preservation, and transformation of our shared worlds is the way in which we make, and keep, a community and a world worth living in. In this class we will learn how the power of writing is central to the human project of being thoughtful stewards.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 103
Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: This class focuses on both college-level academic writing and on the value and importance of building respectful and inclusive communities. Many of the readings, discussions, and writing assignments in this course will help you come to terms with the meaning of the term “respectful and inclusive community” and will help you understand the roles and importance of curiosity, openness, and knowledge of cultural worldwide frameworks as we strive to build a world in which all individuals are respected and appreciated.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 103
Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: This is an academic writing course that focuses on race and representation in films from the last few decades. The films in the course explore racial difference, racial conflict, diversity, collaboration and understanding across racial communities. As an academic writing course, it will focus on preparing students for evidence-based written arguments.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 103
Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: In an era in which she did not fit the mold of the proper 1940s housewife, was shunned from society, and agoraphobic at the end of her life, Shirley Jackson was a prolific writer of six novels, hundreds of essays, and short stories. “I have always loved to use fear, to take it and comprehend it and make it work and consolidate a situation where I was afraid and take it whole and work from there.” In turn, Jackson’s middle-class, mid-century American women, vulnerable, alienated, and paranoid, sought order in a chaotic world. We’ll set out to understand why these characters were outcast and isolated, and how they persevered or didn’t. We’ll dive into Jackson’s stories, connecting theme, character, and plot, and ultimately the writer to her work. As Jackson did, we’ll look for the horror in the ordinary, and attempt to make sense of it all. And, in the end, hopefully learn about our own fears, comprehend them, and see how we, too, can “work from there.”
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 103
Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: This course asks students to question dominant ideas of linguistic "correctness" as they explore their own relationships with the English language. Thus, the course teaches the practices of "standard academic English" through a lens that explores the relationship between the "standard" and those systems of power that might devalue some speakers' and writers' versions of English. Through several written assignments — including a research-based essay and an autoethnographic narrative — students will both practice the skills and processes of academic writing and research. Simultaneously, they develop their own "critical language awareness," the knowledge that language is embedded in social and political contexts. Throughout, students will consider how this linguistic awareness might influence their own academic writing practices as well as their engagement with the broader community.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 103
Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: In her poetry collection, The Black Unicorn, Audre Lorde states, when speaking of women’s expression, “When we speak, we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid, so it is better to speak.” In this, Lorde highlights the conundrum women face in communication. Often hampered by gender bias, women’s voices and stories are subject to ridicule and disbelief. Yet, Lorde also implores women to express themselves despite the challenges. What stories and realities are missed when women’s voices are silenced, and how have women-identified individuals broken through gender bias to tell their stories? This class focuses on women’s nonfictional narratives (expressed through the sub-genres of creative nonfiction such as memoir, personal essay, and criticism and the occasional piece of fiction) that intersect with larger issues of gender, class, race, sexuality, parenthood, and ability, among other topics. In examining these issues and narratives, students will practice the steps of academic writing and refine their evidence-based, argumentative writing skills and citation practices to answer these questions. Through this, students will gain a greater insight into the stakes surrounding women’s expression and personal narratives.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 104
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: This course will give students the opportunity to explore the critical role that writing can play in self-transformation. Essays earlier in the semester will call upon students to advance arguments about themselves and the trajectory of their own personal growth in genres such as the literacy narrative and the remembered event, while later essays will call upon students to advance arguments relying more heavily on textual analysis and/or other forms of evidence external to themselves on topics in which students are deeply invested and which have the potential to be personally transformative. Readings will be drawn from a wide range of writers whose work is exploratory of identity and the issues constituent thereof.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 104
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: Once considered low-brow trash that degraded the minds of good children everywhere, the comic book is today undergoing something of a renaissance. Its influence on modern popular culture is practically inescapable. The Avengers, Suicide Squad, Sweet Tooth, Y: The Last Man, Black Widow, The Walking Dead, Black Panther, Preacher, The Boys—every time you turn on the TV or go to the movies you see the impact comics has had and continues to have on the ways we think about our art, our society, and ourselves. Not everyone is happy about this development, however. Martin Scorsese, for instance, has lamented the rise of the comic book as creating an atmosphere that is “brutal and inhospitable to art.” This class will examine the debate surrounding comics while learning more about the medium's history, influence, and craft as a means for developing the skills of argumentation, analysis, and written composition. We will begin by reading Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics to learn where graphic narratives came from and how to interpret both their form and content. From there we will apply our improved interpretive skills to a selection of today's best comics, such as Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman, Marjorie Liu's Monstress, Junji Ito's Uzumaki, and Brian K. Vaughn's Saga. Along the way you will undertake projects that allow you to practice evaluating and analyzing both popular and avant-garde works all while expressing those findings with clarity and grace. The semester will then close with your own comics creation, one that seeks to convey meaning and argument through the very medium we've been studying all along.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 104
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: In his novel Mother Night, American author Kurt Vonnegut wrote "we are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be." In this course, students will explore the nature of their identities through inquiry-driven research and reflective writing. At the core of this labor are the questions “Who am I,” “Who do I want to be,” and “How can I get there?” By practicing mindfulness and critical inquiry paired with academically informed reflective writing, students will develop their ability to understand and articulate answers to these and other questions. Students will investigate how national and individual identities have been shaped by personal events, public experiences, and inherited cultural beliefs. The ability to uncover aspects of our shared humanity is essential to a productive career in any walk of life. Students will do this through reflective writing, a cross-disciplinary tool that enables writers to transform experiences into learning about individual values/goals and about larger social systems (e.g., religious, health, and/or education institutions).
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 104
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Academic Writing
Description: "In his seminal 1931 work, The Epic of America, James Truslow Adams defines the American Dream as, "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and to many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and are recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."
Immigration is the narrative of America. The United States is a land founded by immigrants who pursued and continue to pursue an idealized dream of inspired freedom. From the earliest tribes that left Asia and crossed the Bering Straits, to the forced immigration of slavery and the African Diaspora to the Cuban refugees, who floated to these shores on rafts, to the Asians who built the American railroads and continue to seek a new life in America and to the Central Americans who suffer their endless journey for freedom and a better life, The United States is, and continues to be, uniquely, a nation peopled by the continuous flow of transglobal immigration.
The American experiment is an ongoing and elastic process that absorbs and transforms multiethnic cultural transfusions to create an expansive national character. Today, this process has become increasingly controversial, yet who is to say who is, and who isn't and who can or cannot be an American? This course, through the analytical investigation of significant texts, will explore the American immigrant experience as heard in the literary voices of writers from specific American immigrant cultures."
(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopOral Communication
Catalog Number: COR 111
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Oral Communication
Description: In this course, the student will learn how to tailor messages to different audiences, connect authentically with their audience through their unique speaking styles, and create compelling oral presentations. This course approaches speech as an ethically charged activity practiced in civic and professional contexts. Specific objectives are to develop communication skills that invite transformation of both speaker and audience and to create discursive events where safety, value, freedom, and openness enable growth. As students learn to negotiate their place in the public space as speaker, audience member and/or engaged participant, they take responsibility for the on-going/evolving community discussion. The student is a part of that discussion, and this course intends to help students contribute to and take from that discussion.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: COM 101)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 112
Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship
Literacy: Oral Communication
Description: If we can't communicate clearly about the environment we certainly will never be able to fix it. Environmental issues affect us all, so effective oral communication about protecting the natural world is vitally important for tackling these challenges. Developing environmental awareness and sustainability skills, through informative and persuasive speaking is a priority in this course. Each voice can make a difference. Even if the student doesn't have access to public transportation, or can't afford solar panels, or can't bike to school, they can always use their voice. And having a more honest and open dialogue is a great first step toward bigger solutions. It's time to take the first step towards creating the will to act - by connecting with each other in oral communication. According to the EPA, “everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. We must create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations.” It all begins with each of us. In this course, students will learn how to tailor messages to different audiences, people who agree with your views and people who do not, by connecting authentically with the audience through your unique speaking style, and creating compelling oral presentations.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: COM 101)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 113
Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community
Literacy: Oral Communication
Description: Dialogically music allows us to establish a unique cultural identity that is intrinsically experienced by both the individual and community in flux. The foundational learning of this course will be grounded in strategies of listening with the intent to overcome difference through dialogue, forwarding cultural music appreciation and advocacy all the while. When we listen first, we are communicating to understand difference without judgment which is a step toward empathy. From there, appreciation of matters such as art, aesthetics, experience, and worldview expand because of difference and not in spite of it. Such reversal of communication strategy, from speaking to listening, requires one to be open and curious to diverse perspectives and preferences. The oral communication assignments (2 individual informative, 2 individual persuasive, 1 group/team presentation) will be driven by the student's choice of different sub/cultural music themes/genres/artifacts/lyrics/history/and more. We will work as a class to reinterpret and synthesize performance, both by students' own oral presentations alongside analysis and critical response to historical and/or contemporary pop-cultural musical performances -- by listening first to provide greater meaning and significance to those experiences. The goal will be knowledge of a more ethically sound, empathy-based, communication method of civility by listening that can be applied across conversations of difference in diverse contexts including race, class, politics, religion and beyond.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: COM 101)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 113
Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community
Literacy: Oral Communication
Description: This course will meet the Respectful and Inclusive Value Pathway in a number of ways. Success in the course will require the capacity to meaningfully engage others in context, and put their own understanding of culture at the core of transformative learning. By understanding ethical communication, the course will require regular analysis to compare and contrast their own communication and understanding with that of others, and adapt empathically and by developing skills in interviewing, (listening, understanding and responding) as well as creating and delivering individual and team presentations. The course also includes a requirement to work with others in a team setting to create and present cohesive work that reflects cooperation and understanding.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: COM 101)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 114
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Oral Communication
Description: The number of podcast listeners in the U.S. is expected to hit 100 million in 2024, up sharply from 83 million in 2021. In this course, students will learn what makes a podcast successful as they interview people about issues and events on campus and in the community. Students will learn to capture clean audio, conduct interviews and write compelling scripts on their way to producing podcast episodes. They will also meet people of diverse backgrounds and views while gaining a new perspective on the power of podcasting to transform people's lives.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: COM 101)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 112
Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship
Literacy: Oral Communication
Description: This course approaches speech from the perspective of finding your voice through the words of others while exploring the concept of “thoughtful stewardship.” Thoughtful Stewardship means caring for things that we value in our communities. By embodying the words of others, you will develop rhetorical skills both written and oral, finding your own unique voice.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: COM 101)
Back To TopNatural Scientific Inquiry
Catalog Number: COR 121
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Natural Scientific Inquiry
Description: Recent flooding highlights how St Augustine and its citizens face complex decisions in the coming days, decades, and years concerning how the city and the environment interact. Likewise, communities around the globe must make choices about how to cope with climate change, sea-level rise, pollution, growth, and conservation of resources. Scientific literacy is crucial to navigating the challenges of the 21st century. Scientific literacy requires foundational knowledge, experience in scientific inquiries, disciplined critical thinking skills, and an ability to discern the reliability of information sources. Scientific literacy must also be paired with clear and effective communication of data-based evidence, to improve our communities. In this course students will explore the need for scientific literacy and the responsibilities of scientists to provide sound data to inform decisions.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (B): Natural Scientific Inquiry)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 122
Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship
Literacy: Natural Scientific Inquiry
Description: We depend on the earth's resources for everything. Yet human history is filled with societies that collapsed because of a lack of stewardship and lack of understanding of how natural systems functioned. In this course students will use lecture and laboratory activities to gain an understanding of how natural systems function, how humans influence them, and how humans can care for them. Additionally, students will be exposed to other reasons (aside from the benefit to humans) for people to care for the natural world.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (B): Natural Scientific Inquiry)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 123
Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community
Literacy: Natural Scientific Inquiry
Description: Environmental benefits and burdens result from human interaction with the natural world. Resources such as electricity, water, and food are products of nature, and the environmental also provides a place for the disposal of used water, trash, and hazardous waste. This course will investigate how the benefits and burdens of environmental interactions are created and managed. Environmental burdens are often not shared equitably among the members of a community. Climate Change, largely caused by the richest nations, will affect some of the poorest nations more severely. All over the world, disadvantaged people are on the front lines of environmental problems caused by landfills, power plants, traffic congestion, and sewers. With that lens, this course will use lecture and laboratory activities to investigate and understand environmental burdens and how their impact is distributed.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (B): Natural Scientific Inquiry)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 124
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Natural Scientific Inquiry
Description: Students will engage in the process of Environmental Science and learn about the natural world with their own eyes, not through words from a professor, textbook, or magazine article. Students will have the opportunity to conduct experiments, form opinions, and defend their conclusions. Lecture will provide background on the history of Environmental Science, the process of science, and other topics selected by the professor and students. Lab activities will incorporate inquiry-based investigations and give students the chance to formulate their own questions, design their own experiments, and answer their own questions. This class is designed to give science majors their initial exposure to undergraduate research.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (B): Natural Scientific Inquiry)
Back To TopSocial Scientific Inquiry
Catalog Number: COR 131
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry
Description: How does racism get under our skin to create health disparities? In the U.S., African Americans of every social class experience higher rates of illness, infant mortality, disabilities, and a shorter lifespan than their white counterparts. In this course we will analyze the evidence-based sociological theory that Chronic Stressors are directly responsible for poor health outcomes for African Americans in every social class and at every stage of their lives. Students will learn how to find and use U.S. Census data on health outcomes by race and ethnicity and will analyze health trends over time and the social mechanisms that are correlated to poor health. Finally, students will find evidence-based research that compares the health of native-born African Americans and foreign-born African Americans to determine how quickly their health erodes upon immigrating to the United States and the social mechanisms that intersect to reproduce these poor health outcomes.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 131
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry
Description: "This course will examine the development and creation of American home style, form, structure, and neighborhoods beginning with pre-Columbian living and proceeding linearly through American History up to and beyond the 21st century. The course will focus on architectural, economic, social, cultural, and scientific developments specific to American culture and geography which have impacted human growth and population distribution (i.e. Balloon Frame Housing, Urbanization, Air Conditioning, Automobiles, Homeowners Loan Corporation, Coalition Districting, etc.). Additionally, the course will also explore the future of American housing; evaluating the historical impact of American housing on various communities and their future, as well as predict changes in the style, form, and structure of the future American landscape."
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 131
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry
Description: The field of social sciences plays a critical role in not only lessening the impact of crisis-related stress, but also how we can communicate risks, improve preparedness and logistics, increase public awareness and education, manage emergencies, introduce new technologies, and build resilience. No doubt, Covid-19 has changed our daily lives and the world at every level, but global outbreaks are nothing new. Throughout history, there have been other instances of viruses infecting people on a mass scale, which creates extraordinary demands on public health. Students will explore theoretical and empirical research, social science, and lessons learned related to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as past pandemics. As a result, students will develop a better understanding of the personal, community, and societal issues arising from pandemics. Although it may be impossible to predict when the next pandemic will occur, this course hopes to make it clear how important critical and creative thinking from multiple angles, including psychology, is during a pandemic to develop strategies and better prepare communities for any future public health crisis.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 132
Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship
Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry
Description: We face unprecedented threats to our connected social and environmental systems, and yet, because people have created these problems, people can also solve them. In order to do so, we must make maximum use of what the social sciences have learned over the years about the causes of these problems and their potential solutions. A great deal of research has been done in this field, and this is cause for hope. When we can diagnose how our social systems create these threats, we can better understand how to address them. This course will provide students with both theoretical and practical tools for environmental problem solving, drawing upon an interdisciplinary range of social science tools, including political science, political economy, economics, geography, sociology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political ecology.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 133
Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community
Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry
Description: In this course social scientific theories will be used to examine the complex factors related to diversity. Biases influenced by Western thinking will be explored through our search to uncover the uniqueness and universality of various psychological processes. We will explore the cultural practices, values and beliefs exemplified in today’s popular culture while applying principles and methods from the social sciences, to address questions about how and why we, as humans, act the way we do. Our examination of popular culture will deepen our understanding of how our own behaviors/thoughts/beliefs contribute to building inclusive communities.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 134
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry
Description: Academic success often entails managing and mastering multiple courses covering a variety of topics, each with their own unique requirements. Given these demands, the need to study and learn effectively is part-and-parcel of the life of any student. However, what methods entail studying effectively versus ineffectively? For example, is learning based on the amount of time a student spends studying? Is highlighting an effective method of learning? Is it better to study by reviewing notes or to test yourself? In this course, we are going to pose questions about studying and discuss the answers that have been uncovered through scientific research on human memory.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 134
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry
Description: This course introduces students to the historical development and context of mass communication theories and concepts. They will develop their ability to understand and critique social scientific methods and perspectives to better understand persuasion, public opinion and the effects of media on audiences. Ultimately, students may become more thoughtful consumers of media who are able to make better use of the media they consume and create.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 134
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry
Description: We know sleep is required for survival, and that we will spend about a third of our lives sleeping, but surprisingly, we still don't know why! These are just some of the many mysteries surrounding sleep. In this course, we will discuss the major theories surrounding sleeping (and dreaming). We will also examine how the society we live in may play a role in our sleep behaviors. We will explore questions such as: How do sleep beliefs and sleep habits differ across cultures? What is “hustle culture” and how might it influence our sleep health? How do social norms regarding sleep impact our own sleep behaviors? And ultimately, what can you do to improve your own sleep? This course will investigate these questions with the latest research on sleep, and you will even take a step back to study your own sleep beliefs and behaviors.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry)
Back To TopQuantitative Reasoning
Catalog Number: COR 141
Value Pathway: Quantitative Reasoning
Literacy: Quantitative Reasoning
Description: We live in a world in which data drives decision-making. Data is everywhere! The purpose of this course is to provide a comprehensive overview of the statistical literacy required to cope with the practical demands of daily life in a way that encourages responsible citizenship in a modern democracy. Course objectives will emphasize critical thinking and problem solving, with the application of statistical skills to real-world scenarios requiring reasoning from evidence. Overall, this course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts and methods of statistics. Topics include data organization; graphs and numerical measures; probability; normal, and sampling distributions; confidence intervals and hypothesis testing; correlation; and regression.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: MAT 223)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 142
Value Pathway: Quantitative Reasoning
Literacy: Quantitative Reasoning
Description: Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The concept of sustainability is composed of three pillars: economic, environmental, and social; also known as profit, planet, and people. In this course, we will explore data that drives the decisions that support a more sustainable world. Course objectives will emphasize critical thinking and problem solving, with the application of statistical skills to real-world scenarios requiring reasoning from evidence. Overall, this course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts and methods of statistics. Topics include data organization; graphs and numerical measures; probability; normal, and sampling distributions; confidence intervals and hypothesis testing; correlation; and regression.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: MAT 223)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 143
Value Pathway: Quantitative Reasoning
Literacy: Quantitative Reasoning
Description: Diverse and inclusive workplaces earn deeper trust and more commitment from their employees. In this course, we will analyze data that explores the differences in people's views to gain an appreciation of these differences. Course objectives will emphasize critical thinking and problem solving, with the application of statistical skills to real-world scenarios requiring reasoning from evidence. Overall, this course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts and methods of statistics. Topics include data organization; graphs and numerical measures; probability; normal, and sampling distributions; confidence intervals and hypothesis testing; correlation; and regression.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: MAT 223)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 144
Value Pathway: Quantitative Reasoning
Literacy: Quantitative Reasoning
Description: High-impact educational practices include but are not limited to undergraduate research, community-integrated education, internships, and study abroad. What does data tell us about these practices? In this course, we will be analyzing the data that lead institutions to foster the growth of these practices. Course objectives will emphasize critical thinking and problem solving, with the application of statistical skills to real-world scenarios requiring reasoning from evidence. Overall, this course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts and methods of statistics. Topics include data organization; graphs and numerical measures; probability; normal, and sampling distributions; confidence intervals and hypothesis testing; correlation; and regression.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: MAT 223)
Back To TopCreativity
Catalog Number: COR 151
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Creativity
Description: In this class students will create and write a sequence of original monologues and dialogues for characters created from observation and interaction with individuals in our community. The scripts for these presentations will be written demonstrating comprehension of the principles of rhetoric and dialogue, as well as the structure of language and drama to best capture and communicate the essence of the characters being presented. In doing so, they will develop and communicate an understanding of the varying perspectives of people in our diverse community, without stereotyping or generalized conceptions of different segments of our society. These monologues and scenes will be presented to the class and may culminate in a public presentation. Students will reflect on the presentations of their peers, providing constructive criticism and review of their work.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 152
Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship
Literacy: Creativity
Description: The Flagler College Chorale is a non-auditioned mixed choir, which performs a wide variety of concerts and multicultural repertoire. The ensemble rehearses 3 hours/week and performs an accessible, yet challenging repertoire. This course will also focus on building fundamental aural and literacy skills. Students will analyze assigned repertoire in comparison to other ensembles ‚ performances of the same arrangements/compositions, thus articulating the musical nuances that exist from one ensemble to the next, creating an understanding of what makes a unique performance. As an ensemble, students will create an original approach to an existing arrangement through analytical choices, making it unique to them. This course will culminate in a public performance, and written analysis of a specific arrangement prepared and performed by the ensemble.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 154
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Creativity
Description: The stories we portray in performance should mirror all of us in a complex and diverse way. Viola Spolin states: “Theatre Games are a process applicable to any field, discipline, or subject matter which creates a place where full participation, communication, and transformation can take place.” Students will explore the actors responsibilities in performance to mirror society in a complex and diverse way without stereotyping. This course closely explores gender and ethnic stereotypes through improvisation and in film that can perpetuate society’s dominant ideologies. Students will create a final acting project inspired in improvisation.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 154
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Creativity
Description: This course aims to explore and develop storytelling and screenwriting skills through practical writing experience in the TV Drama format. Content will emphasize learning techniques for character development, dialogue, visualization, and dramatic structure. These narrative elements of story and character will be examined in the context of creating an original One Hour dramatic TV series pilot.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 154
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Creativity
Description: The generally accepted trajectory of writing in higher education has trended toward longer forms of writing. Micro and flash fiction are the disruptors of this trend. Micro and flash fiction can be, arguably, words combined in their most effective form. But can an entire story be delivered in so few words? An “economy of words” is used often to describe how great writers structure and build their longer texts, however, how can we be just as frugal with our words and tell the whole story in a smaller space? And what constitutes a “whole” story? The best flash fiction captures the reader’s imagination and delivers the full emotion with less. In this class we will be the Marie Kondo’s of storytelling. We will craft through cutting, and in this act find more power in our words. The best words will be cherished, and the unnecessary words will be cut. This class will exemplify creative community by teaching students to craft original stories, and will follow the Transformative Learning pathway by having students research and find sources of micro and flash fiction that they feel display superior storytelling in its purest and shortest form.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 151
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Creativity
Description: This is an introductory course on the Art of Creating a Podcast. The course examines the how-to’s of podcasting from conceptualizing an idea to complete professional production. Students will navigate the nuances of Podcasting as it ascends to become one of the most popular and successful communication art forms in media today.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 152
Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship
Literacy: Creativity
Description: This course introduces students to the strategic creation of social media content, both in theory and in practice. Students will learn about the basics of social media communication at-large, as well as specific social media platforms and their corresponding content. Throughout this course, students will demonstrate their understanding of social media content strategy and creation by building their own social media content portfolio. This content, which will be centered around showcasing St. Augustine in various contexts, will contribute to students’ knowledge and celebration of the town’s culture, history, and heritage. As a result of completing this course, students will be equipped to plan, create, and execute successful social media communications thoughtfully and intentionally.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 153
Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community
Literacy: Creativity
Description: The stories we portray in performance should mirror all of us in a complex and diverse way. Viola Spolin states: “Theatre Games are a process applicable to any field, discipline, or subject matter which creates a place where full participation, communication, and transformation can take place.” Students will explore the actors responsibilities in performance to mirror society in a complex and diverse way without stereotyping. This course closely explores gender and ethnic stereotypes through improvisation and in film that can perpetuate society’s dominant ideologies. Students will create a final acting project inspired in improvisation.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 154
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Creativity
Description: Students will be asked to create multiple objects, entities, and/or happenings in this course. Students will engage various media and numerous perspectives during the creation of such items. We will explore how objects, settings, and visual (aspects) have been endowed with meaning over time.
One does not simply create within a vacuum but becomes a part of more extensive ongoing dialogues and relationships within themselves, immediate surroundings, and even global theaters.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 154
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Creativity
Description: This course invites students toward “personal growth and disruption of accepted habits of mind” by introducing them to the myriad ways poems articulate what Philip Larkin calls “emotional concepts”: feelings and ideas compressed into compact verbal structures. By allowing students to explore the many ways poetry works—as storytelling, as ventriloquism, as witness, as vision, as dream—it invites them to see their own inner lives, and by extension the inner lives of others, as richer and more complex than the prosaicism of daily language might suggest. This means that their “journeys of self-exploration” are also journeys toward a more sophisticated kind of empathy, one that acknowledges the articulated interiority of others who may be very unlike a given student.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics)
Back To TopSocial and Cultural Inquiry
Catalog Number: COR 161
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry
Description: "Living in a Media World is a course designed to help you learn about the impact of media and the role of media in society. We will consider the economic and technological forces shaping media; the professional and cultural aspects of the media; and the politics of media representations. Students will explore how each of us interact with and understand media in our daily lives, and what that tells us about ourselves and our roles as media consumers, and citizens in our society. Increasingly we live in a media saturated country that has enormous impact upon the thoughts, feelings, goals, and aspirations of its inhabitants. Media is, quite honestly, the dominant cultural force in society. Understanding and interpreting this landscape is crucial to our survival as citizens of the world."
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 162
Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship
Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry
Description: A description will be added soon.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 163
Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community
Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry
Description: World Religion studies cultures, beliefs, and traditions from a variety of religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism, amongst others. It considers both common and distinctive spiritual practices and beliefs. Students will learn each religion’s diagnoses of the fundamental problems of the human condition, what faith assumptions it has, and what it claims to offer to human beings. It allows students to situate their belief in the larger family of world religions, and perspectives on them. Cultural sensitivity and awareness of comparative religious thinking are essential.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 164
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry
Description: This course is designed to provide students the theoretical knowledge and practical skills they need to effectively lead group exercise. Students will learn guidelines on how to take advantage of group dynamics to improve health and well-being. Students will learn about a variety of different group fitness classes and techniques that are popular amongst different social, historical, and cultural groups. For example, group fitness instructors need to cater to the classes/individuals’ ability (e.g., training status, age, disability), in addition to the classes/individuals’ enjoyment and motivation (e.g., considering factors such as culture, leadership style, music selection). Skills gained in this course can easily be adapted to different group exercise environments, including gyms, studios, recreational facilities, and clubs. At the conclusion of this class, students will be prepared to take a group fitness certification exam, such as the American College of Sports Medicine- Group Exercise Instructor certification exam, in addition to have foundational knowledge on how to engage in exercise and fitness activities to promote health throughout the lifespan.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 161
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry
Description: Mass media is an integral part of American life because it is an inescapable aspect of society: trends, information, election outcomes, war and peace, the pandemic and climate change. This introductory course on mass media in the United States today examines the historical, economic, technological, political and legal influences on the major media and the industries that produce content for them. Students will use, examine, analyze and evaluate news, television/radio, streaming, gaming, advertising and entertainment industries, which represent historical and contemporary social and cultural systems different than their own with a focus on how different viewpoints are positioned by and in the media. By understanding the relationship between media and societal issues students will be empowered to play a more equal and active role in civic life by knowing how to think about credible news, information and the media.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 164
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry
Description: This course will serve as a basis to understand music from a multitude of perspectives: historical, cultural, social, economic and more, and to gain an awareness of how music is integrated into every aspect of our society. Unlike most other courses in music appreciation, Western art music will play a secondary/supporting role in this course curriculum, and the structure will not be shaped around traditional historical approaches. This course will be more experiential, drawing upon epistemological and familiar approaches to passive listening driving students toward skills requiring more intentional listening practices. Students will explore other ways of musicking around the globe, looking both at traditional styles, as well as examining how other traditional styles of music are incorporated into the Western tradition and vice versa. There is potential for this course to culminate in a public performance of an original work that would be presented at each semester’s choral concert, which would qualify as a High Impact Practice.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopHistorical Inquiry
Catalog Number: COR 171
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Historical Inquiry
Description: Migration is one of the most hotly contested issues in contemporary politics. It is also an enduring feature of the history of humankind. In this course, you will gain global and historical perspectives on migration, addressing the long-term effects of environmental, economic, political, and socio-cultural causes as well as the influence of race, gender, and sexuality in contemporary contexts. We will consider the spectrum of forced and free forms of migration, study the rise of the modern system of international migration control since 1880, and compare recent responses to the possibilities and challenges of migration in select contexts in Europe and Asia. Through a creative set of individual and collaborative assignments cultivating historical inquiry and global citizenship, this course gives you a forum to explore multiple migration stories, including your own.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (A): Western History; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 172
Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship
Literacy: Historical Inquiry
Description: This course explores the rise, impact, and legacy of the major ancient Near Eastern civilizations (Sumerians, Egyptians, Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians). Material treasures such as tombs, temples, artifacts, and texts open the door to better understanding people from the earliest civilizations. Students become explorers and interpreters of the ancient world by considering the material culture from early antiquity as they build skills by investigating and interpreting the human past via artifacts and documents. Primary sources from antiquity are read and important archaeological discoveries are considered as the ancient past is surveyed with an eye towards interpreting how the past informs the present and the challenge of stewardship in preserving antiquities from the ancient world.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (A): Western History; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 172
Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship
Literacy: Historical Inquiry
Description: Hollywood has tackled some of the world's most controversial topics, celebrated leaders, and events of apocalyptic proportions. This course will analyze sixteen movies that deal with historical events concerning race, genocide, war, peace, greed, exploration, love, intrigue, and the human spirit. We will determine what Hollywood "got right" and the impact on historical interpretation when they "got it wrong." We will look at Hollywood's complicity in interpreting the historical narrative incorrectly and why. Perhaps more importantly, we will discuss the historical events and individuals that Hollywood has overlooked - many times intentionally - and why.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (A): Western History; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 173
Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community
Literacy: Historical Inquiry
Description: Elvis Presley and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are two of the most internationally recognized representatives of American culture in the 21st century. Yet they have often been reduced to simplistic figures who embodied one primary image, such as the "I Have a Dream" speech or the guy who swiveled his hips on national television, when they are much more complex historical figures who both represented and influenced the eras in which they lived. This course uses the lives of Elvis and Dr. King to present students with the complexities of historical inquiry and introduce them to the tools that professional historians use to make sense of the past. Students will examine both primary and secondary sources to place each man into their proper historical context, which will raise questions of causality, continuity and change over time, the importance of historical memory, and how a focus on cultural topics can enrich (and distort) our understanding of the past.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (A): Western History; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 174
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Historical Inquiry
Description: This class is an experiment. The goal of this class is to spend the semester collectively exploring two opposing sides of a narrowly focused historical subject from beginning (asking thoughtful historical questions and gathering information) to end (presenting your research findings to an audience) in order to gain a better understanding of the methods and skills utilized in a rigorous historical process. The historical subject will vary depending on the instructor.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (A): Western History; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 174
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Historical Inquiry
Description: This course provides a highly experiential introduction to world history through the fascinating sites of St. Augustine. Focusing on themes of colonization, commerce, conquest, conversion, imperial rivalry, indigenous lives, labor migration, plantations, and slavery, students will engage with the multiple colonial histories of St. Augustine, enriching their understanding of the community that they have joined in coming to Flagler. This course combines integrated field trips and a role-playing element while offering an introduction to historical inquiry.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (A): Western History; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 171
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Historical Inquiry
Description: War plagued humankind over the centuries, increasing in intensity and scope over time. Modern warfare, beginning in Europe in the seventeenth century, accelerated the intensity and scope of warfare due to the advent of gunpowder and the rise of modern centralized monarchies. In the twentieth century, warfare encompassed the entire globe, increasing the death toll and devastation exponentially in greater proportion to that considered horrific in the seventeenth century. Why did political leaders resort to wars? Why did their populations support these wars? Were there any just wars? The wars ended with a peace treaty or agreement. Did these treaties resolve the issues which precipitated the wars? Were there any just treaties? In this course, students will answer these questions by examining six major wars as individual case studies. They will learn the context for each war and examine the various interpretations of each war through the use of primary and secondary sources. They will apply a similar method to an examination of peace treaties. They will see the consequences of each war. Students will learn the importance of cause-and-effect and of comparing and contrasting sources of information. They will also grapple with the ethical considerations of war and peace. They will demonstrate their knowledge and arguments in an essay written for each war. And they will participate in class discussions about the causes and end of each war as well as about the ethical considerations for each war. Students will consider whether wars can be prevented to avoid catastrophic losses in human life, infrastructure, and material resources.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopEthical Reasoning
Catalog Number: COR 181
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Ethical Reasoning
Description: To what extent are ethical ideas dependent upon religion? Has science been any threat to the ethical integrity or reasoning about religion? Traditionally religion was known as the 'Queen of the Sciences', before Galileo's day. There was a unity of theological perspectives in the Christian tradition satisfied to explain our world and its spiritual and ethical problems. With the advent of Galileo, Darwin, and modern scientific thinking up to Einstein's day, religion and science have now become as much potential adversaries as they were once partners. Does modern science force us to rethink religion, and therefore ethics? If so, in what ways? Will science overwhelm and supplant religion, and does this have consequences for moral reflection?
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 181
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Ethical Reasoning
Description: “Democracy! Bah! When I hear that word I reach for my feather boa! Better we should have a big Jewish dictatorship full of Blintzes: Better a spade Fish queen...” – Allen Ginsberg As poet Allen Ginsburg observes here, even (especially?) in a democracy, politics can often feel absurd, ridiculous, and bewildering. The primary aim of this course is to make it feel a little less so by furnishing you with the intellectual resources necessary to navigate our contemporary political world. More specifically, this course will help students grapple with questions such as the following: What are the primary differences between Democrats and Republicans? What do people mean when they talk about the political “left” and the political “right”? Are all Democrats “liberals” and are all Republicans “conservatives” and what do these terms even mean anyway? Why are some conservatives so critical of Donald Trump and why are some liberals so critical of Bernie Sanders? Why do some lefties on Twitter insult other lefties on Twitter by calling them neoliberals? What is identity politics and why is everyone so uptight about it? What does the 2016 Republican Party Platform (there was no 2020 Republican Party Platform) mean when it says, “taxes, by their very nature, reduce a citizen’s freedom,” and what does the 2020 Democratic Party Platform mean when it says, “Democrats are committed to standing up to racism and bigotry in our laws, in our culture, in our politics, and in our society, and recognize that race-neutral policies are not sufficient to rectify race-based disparities”? Is Joe Biden a communist? Is Donald Trump a fascist? Why does the electoral college elect the president in the United States instead of the voters? Is America even a democracy at all? To help you answer these questions and many others, this course will examine the historical development and contemporary manifestation of a variety of political belief systems or “ideologies” that shape politics in the United States and beyond today. By exposing you to a wide range of ideological perspectives, the course will help you become a more informed and efficacious democratic citizen who understands what ideology (or ideologies) they believe in, why they believe what they do, and how best to defend their beliefs.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 181
Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity
Literacy: Ethical Reasoning
Description: This course will consider the challenges and possibilities inherent in contemporary American politics, exploring the ethical implications for the choices we make as citizens. To properly understand the choices before us, we must be equipped, in the first instance, to understand the vocabulary of American politics itself. What, after all, is “liberalism”? What is a “liberal democracy”? What is “conservatism” in the American context? As we will see, none of these labels or concepts are nearly so simple to define as popular discourse, or the media, would suggest. We will, therefore, examine politics and law not as “givens” but as the products of often-complicated, interpretative choices. As we will see, these choices directly affect the most pressing areas of modern, political debate, from the role of religion in public life to the role of capitalism in democracy. Ethical considerations also affect the choices we make when it comes to political debate itself and how that debate is conducted. Accordingly, we will consider the nature of polarization in our politics, asking what — if anything — should be done about it. We will finally consider whether, when it comes to politics, ethics is something we can talk about as an objective and reason-based matter, or whether it must always be the product only of one’s opinion or personal commitments.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 183
Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community
Literacy: Ethical Reasoning
Description: Do the ends justify the means? Is abortion immoral? Do animals have rights? Is the death penalty just? Are open borders a moral imperative? This course introduces students to moral philosophy through an examination of ethical controversies such as these. It is designed not only to inform students about the complex moral debates over these issues but also (and more importantly) to help them learn how to think carefully and critically about important ethical and social issues.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)
Back To TopCatalog Number: COR 184
Value Pathway: Transformative Learning
Literacy: Ethical Reasoning
Description: Most people want to live life well. But what does a life well lived look like? What sorts of habits, activities, commitments, relationships, and experiences does it include? And what can we do to ensure that our lives have more of those things? In this course, we explore these questions through close reading and discussion of texts from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.
(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)
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