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Spring 2023 Core Courses

Academic Writing

Writing and Citizenship with Integrity

Catalog Number: COR 101

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Academic Writing

Instructor: Various

Description: COR 101 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)

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Writing and Thoughtful Stewardship

Catalog Number: COR 102

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Academic Writing

Instructor: Various

Description: COR 102 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)

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Writing and Respectful and Inclusive Community

Catalog Number: COR 103

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Academic Writing

Instructor: Various

Description: COR 103 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)

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Making Our World a Better Place for All

Catalog Number: COR 103

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Academic Writing

Instructor:

Description: COR 103 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)

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Writing and Transformative Learning

Catalog Number: COR 104

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Academic Writing

Instructor: Various

Description: COR 104, a course at the intersection of Academic Writing and Transformative Learning, 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)

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American Dreams/Immigrant Voices

Catalog Number: COR 104

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Academic Writing

Instructor:

Description: 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 latest Cuban refugees, who float to these shores on rafts, The United States is, and continues to be, uniquely, a nation peopled by the continuous flow of transglobal immigration.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: ENG 152; Writing Intensive)

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Reflecting on Identity; Identity as Reflection

Catalog Number: COR 104

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Academic Writing

Instructor:

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, across-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)

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Oral Communication

The Art of Speaking: Let the Verbal Gymnastics Begin

Catalog Number: COR 111

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Oral Communication

Instructor: Koczergo

Description: This course will focus on "thinking on one's feet....then speaking." It will have an emphasis on Impromptu and Extemporaneous presentations, a focus on Debate, and feature speech preparation for other college courses. Proper grammar and critical thinking skills will be stressed as a means to essential communication. Put simply, students completing this course will exit saying, "I ain't afraid of no speech!"

(Gen Ed Substitute For: COM 101)

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No Experience Required - Speaking So That People Will Listen

Catalog Number: COR 111

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Oral Communication

Instructor: Gehring/Catron

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)

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Speaking for the Environment

Catalog Number: COR 112

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Oral Communication

Instructor: Aycock

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)

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Your Words, My Speech, Our World

Catalog Number: COR 112

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Oral Communication

Instructor: Fogarty

Description: This course approaches speech from the perspective of finding your voice through the words of others while exploring the concept of “thoughtful stewardship.”

(Gen Ed Substitute For: COM 101)

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Listening First: Music, Culture & Community

Catalog Number: COR 113

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Oral Communication

Instructor: Rome

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 differences through dialogue, forwarding cultural music appreciation, and advocacy all the while. When we listen first, we communicate to understand differences without judgment which is a step toward empathy. From there, appreciation of art, aesthetics, experience, and worldview expand because of difference and not despite it. From speaking to listening, such a reversal of communication strategy requires one to be open and curious about 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' oral presentations alongside analysis and critical response to historical and contemporary pop cultural musical performance/s -- 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)

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Speaking to Impress

Catalog Number: COR 113

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Oral Communication

Instructor: Penna

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)

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Essentials of Podcasting

Catalog Number: COR 114

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Oral Communication

Instructor: Eaton

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 new perspective on the power of podcasting to transform people's lives.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: COM 101)

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Natural Scientific Inquiry

Environmental Choices

Catalog Number: COR 121

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Natural Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Various

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 (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Environmental Sustainability

Catalog Number: COR 122

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Natural Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Various

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 (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Environmental Burdens

Catalog Number: COR 123

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Natural Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Various

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 (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Environmental Investigations

Catalog Number: COR 124

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Natural Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Various

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 (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Social Scientific Inquiry

Science of Crises: Pandemics

Catalog Number: COR 131

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Litzinger

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 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; Writing Intensive)

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Research Integrity

Catalog Number: COR 131

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Chapman/Taylor

Description: Studying people, their opinions, their behaviors and their bodies is integral to understanding more about the world we inhabit. In the US, modern research practices and ethics require that we protect the people we are studying to limit the risks to them while we learn from them. But those ethical practices were not always the norm, and often the people who suffered were those in vulnerable or disadvantaged groups. In this course, we will explore the history of human subjects research and the ethics that govern research with people today. "The most pressing ethical question is to make sure that everything you do from a scientific standpoint is done for the ultimate good and positive issue for the people that you're caring about." -- Anthony Fauci.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Punishment and Society

Catalog Number: COR 131

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Galehan

Description: Punishment has been one of the major social institutions in our society across time and place, making it an integral part of social theory and philosophy. The course aims to explain and discuss punishment and society in a multi-disciplinary approach, including disciplines such as criminology, sociology, psychology, ethics, and philosophy. Punishment is therefore examined using evidence-based practices that extend beyond the traditional crime control and prevention methodologies to answer the question of who should be punished, why should they be punished, and how we as a society should opt to punish those who break legal conventions. Starting with a historical and cultural framework and the socially vast ways punishment is practiced/enacted, we will move into more modern and popular opinions regarding punishment and how this issue is not only relevant for all citizens, but a scientific issue as well.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Seeing Green: A Social Science Approach to Solving Environmental Problems

Catalog Number: COR 132

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Kauffman

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; Writing Intensive)

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Science of Popular Culture

Catalog Number: COR 133

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Various

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 a 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; Writing Intensive)

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The Long Arm of Childhood Poverty

Catalog Number: COR 133

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Melvin

Description: This course will explore how poverty during the earliest stages of life can create a host of adverse cognitive and health outcomes that continue across the life course. Students will find and evaluate research on children born into poverty and analyze the many challenges they experience throughout their lives and the social mechanisms that cause and reproduce poverty across generations. Students will research and find empirical evidence and apply sociological theory to analyze the intersectional pathways poverty creates that result in poor health, poor educational performance and various disadvantages that persist across the life course. And finally, students will look for structural explanations as to why there are such high rates of childhood poverty in the United States and investigate policy-oriented solutions for this social problem.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Science of Learning

Catalog Number: COR 134

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Fouts

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; Writing Intensive)

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Media Uses and Effects

Catalog Number: COR 134

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Chapman

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 consumer and create.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Science of Sleep

Catalog Number: COR 134

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Raldiris

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)

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Quantitative Reasoning

Statistical Inquiry of Citizenship with Integrity

Catalog Number: COR 141

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Quantitative Reasoning

Instructor: Various

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)

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Statistical Inquiry of Thoughtful Stewardship

Catalog Number: COR 142

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Quantitative Reasoning

Instructor: Various

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)

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Statistical Inquiry of a Respectful and Inclusive Community

Catalog Number: COR 143

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Quantitative Reasoning

Instructor: Various

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)

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Transformative Learning Through Statistical Inquiry

Catalog Number: COR 144

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Quantitative Reasoning

Instructor: Various

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)

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Creativity

Crafting Democracy

Catalog Number: COR 151

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Creativity

Instructor: Robison

Description: Because creating positive change in our world requires a sustained and collaborative effort on the part of the citizenry, those interested in progress must coordinate individual efforts and work together as a community. This Creativity skill course within the Citizenship With Integrity value pathway emphasizes how citizens can be active political agents even without holding office. Whether citizens want to petition the government, amplify marginalized voices, or challenge existing ideologies, they must work together or coordinate efforts and apply creative solutions. The course Crafting Democracy focuses on how art, and craft in particular, has played a role in historical movements and how it continues to do so. This class will exemplify creative community by teaching and learning various craft skills, including embroidery and calligraphy, and by using these skills to visually support the issues we care about.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics)

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Cli-Fi: Climate Dystopia

Catalog Number: COR 152

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Creativity

Instructor: Mahoney, L

Description: As of 2019 only about half of Americans believed that climate change is a serious problem. We can learn about this detrimental state of our planet through vibrant narratives that can not only help us feel an emotional connection to planetary changes but also explore what might happen if we sit back and do nothing. Through poetry, short stories and novels, we’ll explore those meditative spaces “climate fiction” (cli-fi) conjures and ponder our deepest fears with hopes of being transformed. After careful analysis of this popular genre, students will compose poems and ultimately their own dystopian short story with not only a cautionary element of here’s-what-can-happen but also a potentially hopeful ending that shows that an “every-citizen” call-to-action is needed. Can we help to quell the destruction? If we can’t, can we still harness hope for a future?

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics; Writing Intensive)

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Florida at Risk: Before and After Disney

Catalog Number: COR 152

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Creativity

Instructor: Andreau

Description: Florida's paradisal promise has inspired the imagination and produced significant art emphasizing its complex cultural and environmental challenges. We will study how Florida writers, artists, and musicians have used their voices to call attention to the appreciation and/or exploitation of paradise. Students will conclude the semester by using social media to bring attention to issues affecting Florida today.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics; Writing Intensive)

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Flagler College Chorale

Catalog Number: COR 152

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Creativity

Instructor: Taisey/Various

Description: The Flagler College Chorale is a non-auditioned mixed choir, which performs a wide variety of concert and multi-cultural repertoire. The ensemble rehearses 3 hours/week and performs 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 ensemble’s 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)

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Haunted South: Ghosts, Kudzu, and the Southern Gothic

Catalog Number: COR 152

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry

Instructor:

Description: "The past is never dead. It's not even past," novelist William Faulkner said. We'll explore how this applies to the southern gothic, a genre of literature bred beneath the looming ghosts of the postbellum south. We'll discover how this genre is far more than macabre tales of eccentric recluses and dilapidated mansions. In order to fully understand the dark origins of this genre, we'll immerse ourselves in a strong foundation of literature, film, and photography. A creative project (short fiction, screenplay, photography, music, or a combination of all) will be the final project of the class.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures; Writing Intensive)

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Dance: The Mirror of Society

Catalog Number: COR 153

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Creativity

Instructor: Wahl-Temple

Description: In this course students will learn the basic techniques of ballet, modern dance, musical theatre/jazz, and contemporary/hip hop dance. Each discipline will be viewed through an historical lens, concentrating on the social and political climate of the time and the consequent effects on these disciplines. Through ballet we will see an elitist form of dance move from renaissance Italy to prerevolutionary France and then be forced to Russia and England due to political uprisings. In modern dance we will explore the ideas of inclusivity of cultural dance technique, especially native American and far eastern influences as well as rebellion against elitism and the fight for sexual orientation acceptance. In jazz we will explore the contribution of marginalized groups to the creation of a specifically American form of music. We will explore South American and African dance along with the impact that segregation made on the Harlem Renaissance and its subsequent artistic contribution to 20th century dance. Finally, we will look at contemporary dance as an amalgam of the previous three disciplines and ever-changing lines of social and cultural acceptance of these art forms.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics)

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Voices Around Us

Catalog Number: COR 153

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Creativity

Instructor: Fogarty

Description: In this CORE 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 stereotype or generalized conceptions of different segments of our society. These monologues and scenes will be presented to the class and may be 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)

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Women, Creativity, and Power

Catalog Number: COR 153

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Creativity

Instructor: Courtney

Description: While Virginia Woolf claimed that “in order for a women to write … she must have a room of her own (with a key and lock) and enough money to support herself,” what happens if those things are inaccessible? For many women, they have been and continue to be. What are the systems of power that prevent women from creative expression? What stories do they want to tell? And what artistic techniques do women use to rally against that which has oppressed them? Studying women artists and their work is not only to explore the work itself but also to understand the barriers each artist had to overcome to create. This course examines how women have used creative forms to explore issues of race, sex, class, and the body, among other topics, and the systematic oppression of women’s expression. Students will have the opportunity to create their own unique visual and textual projects (such as short stories, image/text collaborations, personal essays, photography, and poems) in response to the issues and questions raised by our artists and to respond to current injustices or systems of oppression.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics; Writing Intensive)

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Make Something

Catalog Number: COR 154

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Creativity

Instructor: Lewis

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)

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A Word for Everything

Catalog Number: COR 154

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Creativity

Instructor: Kampa

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; Writing Intensive)

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Writing the Drama Pilot

Catalog Number: COR 154

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Creativity

Instructor: Marcil

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; Writing Intensive)

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Improv and Stereotypes

Catalog Number: COR 154

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Creativity

Instructor: Fogarty

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," dominant ideologies. Students will create a final acting project inspired in improvisation.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Creative Expression (A): Creative Aesthetics)

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Social and Cultural Inquiry

So Much More than the Trends: The Fails and the Future of Mass Media

Catalog Number: COR 161

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry

Instructor: Gehring

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)

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Living in a Media World

Catalog Number: COR 161

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry

Instructor: Wysocki

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)

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Adventure Literature

Catalog Number: COR 162

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry

Instructor: McMillan

Description: The purpose of Adventure Literature: “Exploring the American Wilderness” is to study the literature, history, philosophy, and ecology associated with American wilderness in an experiential context; that is, the heart of this course will be an extended backpacking trip into a federally protected wilderness preserve. So, the basic assumption on which this course is founded is that our understanding of writing and other cultural concerns can be enhanced by knowledge of and experience in a place. To achieve its purpose, this course will expose you to the following:

  • The history of wilderness in American culture, including the ongoing political debate about the meaning, value, and place of wilderness/wildness in that culture.
  • A representative sampling of the writing that has been directly inspired by wilderness experience.
  • Philosophical ideas directly associated with wilderness experience.
  • The rudiments of safe and low-impact backcountry travel.
  • The direct experience of legally protected wilderness itself.
  • An opportunity, however briefly, to experiment with the Thoreauvian notion of deliberate living. To help us accomplish our purpose, we will do some reading and writing, even while we’re on the trail."
  • The course fee is to cover the expenses for three outings: a surf trip, a paddling excursion, and 4 days of backpacking in north Georgia.
  • In addition to the course fee, students must be able to provide their own backpacking gear (backpack, sleeping bag, hiking boots, etc.).
  • The dates for the trips are as follows: Sunday, February 12; Saturday, March 11th — Tuesday, March 14 (first part of Spring Break); Sunday, April 23. Students must attend all trips to pass the class. Trips will not be excused for any reason, including athletics.
  • Students will also be expected to undertake moderate physical activity (hiking, swimming, paddling).

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures; Writing Intensive)

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Cinematic Fashion History

Catalog Number: COR 162

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry

Instructor: Wahl-Temple

Description: Students will examine the history and subsequent impact of the Cinema on fashion and its ability to shape society’s sensibilities. They will explore the medium of Cinema from its beginnings as a working-class novelty through its Golden Age and the Hollywood Studio System that made it all possible until its dissolution, including the historical contributions to its demise. Finally, students will reflect on the various groups of people that made it all possible and, ultimately, who got the credit.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures)

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Race, Gender, and Representation in Gaming

Catalog Number: COR 163

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry

Instructor: Moody

Description: The year 2020 saw a confluence of attention to racial disparity and a surge of in-home game consumption due to COVID-19 quarantines. The influences of those experiences persist. Talks about systemic racial inequality and problematic representations of groups continue in the seemingly innocuous, often overlooked literature of gaming that range from board games and roleplay to video games and esports. In this class we will give critical attention to playing and gaming as acts that enable folx to engage narratives of identity making, maintenance, and resistance. We will address race, class, gender, and sexuality as they manifest in play communities. The goal of the course is to foster critical thinking with respect to the intersection of literature, game studies, and identity studies. Ultimately, we will address the question "What has been, is, and will continue to be the role of games in conversations about race, gender, and representation?" To do so, this class explores topics ranging from: Game as Systemized Cultural Learning; Representation in/of gaming; Player/Played relationship; Gaming as critical practice; Play as identity formation/expression; Community Inclusivity/Exclusivity. As this course introduces the study of play and game, it is grounded in regular reading, writing, and critical thought. We will learn the cultural, social, economic, and political roles of gaming. The ability to uncover aspects of our shared humanity is essential to being a productive society member. Reflection upon our inner core and cultural values gives us the means to think of the many ways we can (re)create shared meaning and understanding through the communal practices found in our favorite pastimes.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures)

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World Religions

Catalog Number: COR 163

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry

Instructor: Various

Description: World Religion entails exposure to cultures, beliefs, and traditions from a variety of religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, amongst others. It considers both common and distinctive spiritual practices and beliefs across the human family and allows for reflection on what is common and distinctive in human nature. The course focuses especially on what each religion diagnoses as the fundamental problems of the human condition, what faith assumptions it has, and what it claims to offer to human beings. Cultural sensitivity and awareness are primary components, and comparative ethical analysis is a secondary strand that helps evaluate our human condition.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures)

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Indigenous groups in the French and Spanish speaking world

Catalog Number: COR 163

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry

Instructor: Charoni

Description: The richness of the French and Speaking world doesn’t only rely on the cuisine, dance or historical monuments that are so much promoted in the tourist guides and popular culture. The presence of diverse indigenous groups adds a different perspective in the identity of each country as it blends distinguished elements that promote multiculturalism, multilingualism and a multifaceted identity. This course examines the indigenous presence in selected parts of the French and Spanish speaking world such as in Panama (Ngäbe, Buglé, Kuna, Emberá, Wounaan, Bri Bri and Naso Tjërdi), Chile (Mapuche), Nouvelle Calédonie (Kanak) and Canada (Métis and Inuit). The focus is on indigenous groups’ distinguished culture, linguistic diversity and the challenges they have been facing historically to integrate into the society of each country they live in.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures)

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Disability and Society

Catalog Number: COR 164

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry

Instructor: McCarthy

Description: Chances are that each one of us will become temporarily or permanently disabled in our lifetime. In the U.S. alone, one out of every four individuals have some type of disability. What are the legal protections of persons with disabilities? How did our disturbing past treatment of the disabled transform into impactful legislation? What are the social perceptions of disability? What disparities currently exist among different groups such as gender, race, age and class? How is disability portrayed in pop culture? This course will delve into the stories of persons with disabilities and increase your awareness of national and international support organizations and movements. We will explore the social and physical barriers presented to persons with disabilities and disabilities rights advocates. Best practices and approaches in moving toward a more inclusive and accommodating society will be discussed.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (B): Studies of Cultures)

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Music Appreciation

Catalog Number: COR 164

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Social and Cultural Inquiry

Instructor: Taisey / Various

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)

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Historical Inquiry

Immigration and Citizenship: A Global History

Catalog Number: COR 171

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Historical Inquiry

Instructor: Topalidis

Description: Migration is one of the most hotly contested issues in contemporary politics. It is also an enduring feature of the history of mankind. 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)

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War and Peace

Catalog Number: COR 171

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Historical Inquiry

Instructor: Cummins

Description: War plagued mankind 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 (A): Western History; Writing Intensive)

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Treasures from Early Antiquity

Catalog Number: COR 172

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Historical Inquiry

Instructor: Brookman

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 a better understand 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)

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St. Augustine in World History

Catalog Number: COR 174

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Historical Inquiry

Instructor: Various

Description: This course embraces a highly experiential approach to teaching world history through the fascinating sites of St. Augustine. Focusing on themes of slavery (Fort Mose), revolutionary mobility (Georges Biassou), indigenous lives (the Seminoles), and labor migration (the Minorcans) students will engage with the multiple colonial-era histories of St. Augustine, enriching their understanding of the community that they have joined in coming to Flagler.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (A): Western History; Writing Intensive)

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History Detectives

Catalog Number: COR 174

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Historical Inquiry

Instructor: Bagby

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)

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Utopia and Dystopia in History, Literature, and Film

Catalog Number: COR 174

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Historical Inquiry

Instructor: Young

Description: This course will examine various utopian ideas and utopian community experiments in their historical contexts, ranging from ancient through modern times. It will also examine the modern cynicism about utopia and the idea of dystopia as an outgrowth of that cynicism. In the process of this inquiry, students will be exposed to some of the foundational works of the western literary canon—e.g., Plato's Republic, Dante's Divine Comedy, Thomas More's Utopia, and George Orwell's 1984—as well as depictions of utopian/dystopian visions in film. We will attempt to understand these works as products of their specific historical contexts. Students will also research utopian movements in various historical periods and will reflect on the relative successes or failures of those movements. The central goal of the course is to achieve the kind of transformative learning that comes from diving deeply into both great literature and unfamiliar societies and cultures, as well as immersing oneself in research.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Foundations of Knowledge (A): Western History; Writing Intensive)

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Ethical Reasoning

Ethics and Interpretation in American Politics

Catalog Number: COR 181

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: Howard

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 simply the product of one’s own opinion or personal commitments.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Science and Religion

Catalog Number: COR 181

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: Thweatt

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)

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Living in a Digital World

Catalog Number: COR 181

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: Keaton

Description: We live in a world ruled by algorithms – by computers and those who design them. Social media, artificial intelligence, commercial surveillance affect our lives every day. Soon there will be more, with everything from self-driving cars to “friend bots” for the elderly. Our task is to understand the implications of this fact for our society and our future. Will the objectivity of computers remove the worst of our human failings, or will it reproduce and amplify them? How does the power of technology affect the poor who have less access to it? What does artificial intelligence say about humanity has a whole? Are we ultimately just machines, ourselves? In this class we will think about technology from the human side, using philosophy and science, both.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry)

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How to Citizen

Catalog Number: COR 181

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: Bracewell

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 talking about the political “left” and “right”? Are all Democrats “liberals” and Republicans “conservatives,” and what do these terms mean anyway? Why are some conservatives so critical of Donald Trump and 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 various 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)

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Booked: Prison Literature honors

Catalog Number: COR 181

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: Ensley

Description: With more than 2 million men and women behind bars in the United States, prison affects countless Americans (both incarcerated and not) on a daily basis. In this course, we will explore the experience of imprisonment through a close, critical analysis of literary works written in and about prison. In analyzing this enduring and diverse body of literature, we will also think critically about our own positions as outsiders looking into a space to which we have limited and privileged access. We will read texts and authors across time (from Boethius and Chaucer to Assata Shakur and Orange is the New Black) and across genre, and we will explore the manifold ways authors use the space of the prison in their work. A series of broad questions will carry us through the semester: How do writers imagine and narrate prison spaces and to what purpose? Why are we interested in reading about the experience of imprisonment? And, most centrally, what roles do literary works play in the social justice issues of their and our time? Students will compose analyses and creative projects that engage not only with the literature of the course but also with contemporary discussions around mass incarceration and prison reform.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Banned Books: Exploring Censorship and the Freedom to Read

Catalog Number: COR 182

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: Asbille

Description: Each year in September, the American Library Association dedicates a week to banned books in order to, in their own words, “celebrate the freedom to read.” In 2022, the slogan for Banned Books Week was “books unite us/censorship divides us.” In this course, we will examine censorship and book banning and their relationship to freedom. We will read a selection of banned books and explore several key questions: What does it mean to ban a book? Why are books banned? Does censorship limit our freedom to read? Should there be any limits on what we can and can’t read? Students will explore and examine their own views on censorship, reading controversial material, and the link between reading and freedom as well as the role that government and society should play in this issue.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Life on the Pale Blue Dot

Catalog Number: COR 182

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: Herrera

Description: This course will examine what it means to live responsibly on planet earth. It will consider what if any obligations or ethical considerations we might have to people and the planet now and for future generations. What food can we ethically eat? Where should we get our clothes? Should we give up traveling by air to reduce carbon dioxide emissions? Should governments have relations with nations that consistently violate their people's human rights? How can we have productive conversations about issues of environmental sustainability, animal rights, human rights, and economic inequality when there are conflicting ideas about them? In this class we will evaluate the arguments and debate the various theoretical approaches and identify the benefits and drawbacks of each.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry)

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Speak for the Trees

Catalog Number: COR 182

Value Pathway: Thoughtful Stewardship

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: Mozer

Description: A study of selected works by American authors in the still-emerging canon of environmental literature i.e., writing (whether classified primarily as literary, scientific, or activist) that foregrounds the relationship between humanity and the natural world and is generally considered to have played a significant role in the emergence of the modern environmental movement. Readings will consist of selections from authors such as Thoreau, John Muir, Mary Austin, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Edward Abbey, Gary Snyder, Wendell Berry, Annie Dillard, Terry Tempest Williams, et al. Supplementary readings belonging to the genre of ecocriticism may also be included. As we study these works, we will take special inspiration from Aldo Leopold, the father of environmental ethics, and reflect critically on our cultural and personal beliefs about our place in, the ramifications of our actions for, and our potential responsibilities toward, the natural world.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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More Than A Game: The Ethics of Sport

Catalog Number: COR 183

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: TBA

Description: Sport both reflects and shapes society. Further, sports can be a place to learn and display the loftiest virtues, but it can also encourage and reveal our worst faults. This course will address the complex concepts of right and wrong through the lens of sports. Early in the semester, students will learn some of the fundamental tools of ethical reasoning and different ethical approaches. Later, students will actively apply these tools to issues in sports, all while keeping in mind our goal of building a respectful and inclusive community. While differences of opinion will inevitably occur, students will learn how to debate their differences with facts and knowledge of various ethical approaches toward determining right and wrong. The course will explore questions such as the following. What is fair play and being a good sport? Are college athletes exploited? Are separate gender divisions justified? Is violence in sports acceptable? What forms of performance enhancers cross the line? And should we ban sports that harm players?

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry)

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Ethical Controversies

Catalog Number: COR 183

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: Capes

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 by examining ethical controversies. It is designed to inform students about the complex moral debates over these issues and (more importantly) help them learn 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)

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A Light in the Dark: The Poetry of Witness

Catalog Number: COR 183

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: Tivey

Description: Examining 20th and 21st-century eyewitness poetry as a compelling testimonial form in the context of historical, social, political, and human rights abuses in the world. We will also explore the elements of trauma and memory related to witness poetry and whether the genre effectively documents horrific events, raises awareness, and combat complacency.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Literature and Justice

Catalog Number: COR 183

Value Pathway: Respectful and Inclusive Community

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: Dicus

Description: We are living in an age defined by strong beliefs and disagreements about justice. But what exactly does justice mean? How can a single, seemingly clear concept motivate such a wide range of different and sharply conflicting commitments? This class will explore the concept of justice by thinking critically about some of its representations in literary texts from a variety of genres (including fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and film) and historical moments (possibly including the French Revolution, abolitionism, reparations, or gay rights movements), starting with the revolutionary eighteenth century. We will think about the concept and what it means, and we will explore the value of specifically literary voices in those debates. Accordingly, we will try our hands at both critical and creative writing approaches to the topic.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Get Radical: The Literature and Culture of Surfing

Catalog Number: COR 184

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: McMillan

Description: (Registration Info: No special course fee, but students will be expected to provide their own surfboards and wetsuits. While no prior experience with surfing is necessary, students will be expected to be comfortable in the water.)

In what scholars across the world unanimously agree is the finest work of art since Hamlet or the Sistine Chapel Point Break's Patrick Swayze's character Bodhi, the bank-robbing surfer guru, turns to Keanu Reeve's Johnny Utah, former Ohio State quarterback and now undercover FBI agent, and poetically sums up the philosophy of surfers everywhere: "They only live to get radical." This class will investigate the implications of that simple yet surprisingly deep statement. "Radical," after all, has a rather complex etymology. Derived from the Latin radix, which means "root" or "branch," "radical" in its most literal sense means to be connected to the earth. Since the 1960s, however, the term has taken on more counter-cultural valences to more commonly refer to something like "living at the edge" or going against the grain. So, to be a surfer, according to Bodhi, one must be both a part and apart. What this means in practice, however, is something that we'll explore over the course of a semester devoted to the history, culture, literature, and experience of the surf world. We will begin in the Hawaiian Islands, where we'll track the origins of surfing and the values ancient Polynesians associated with riding the waves. From there, we'll examine how surfing becomes a vehicle for both spirituality and environmentalism before then starting in on our first major work, William Finnegan's Barbarian Days, which President Obama kept at the top of his summer reading list. After noting how surfing shaped Finnegan's life, allowing him to be both connected and distanced, we'll turn to the world of the big wave riders, focusing primarily on the life of Eddie Aikau and his opening up of Hawaii's North Shore. Finally, we'll close by analyzing on the tribalism that often affects surf culture, using the work that inspired Point Break, Tapping the Source, as our primary text. What's unique about this class is that it has two classrooms: one in the halls of Flagler and another a mile or so away out on the open water. That is to say, throughout the semester we'll be spending some class time actually surfing in hopes of experiencing firsthand the topics discussed in our texts. The idea here is that you cannot truly understand surfing and its appeal if all you do is read about it. Such firsthand experience will allow you to connect with our readings on a deeper level while also providing you with material that you might use to craft compelling narratives and arguments.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Honors

Beyond Conspiracy Theories (LC)

Catalog Number: COR 134

Value Pathway: Transformative Learning

Literacy: Social Scientific Inquiry

Instructor: Cremona

Description: This course will explore the theory and reality of “conspiracies” in American politics, examining the question of how our political world is shaped by the keeping and telling of secrets; and the telling and exposing of lies. We will study historical examples of political conspiracies from the 20th and 21st centuries in order to understand how evidence and logic can be used to make judgments about conspiracy claims. We will consider the meanings of truth, facts, and knowledge in the context of today’s media overload. We will review prevalent explanations for why conspiracy theories attract believers and how conspiracy theories are intertwined with issues of power and social control. Students will emerge from this course with a better understanding of the difference between conspiracies (state crimes against democracy?) and conspiracy theories, the historical context for the belief in conspiracy theories, and the use of evidence and argumentation in critically analyzing them.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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Conspiracy Theory & Citizenship (LC) honors

Catalog Number: COR 181

Value Pathway: Citizenship with Integrity

Literacy: Ethical Reasoning

Instructor: King

Description: We live in a world where the mainstream media is often rightly disrespected. Much of the media is polarized on party lines and rarely corrects itself when it is wrong. Yet, they establish the first draft of the “official narrative” of events. Often, they are the voice of and the stenographers to power. At the same time, many alternative theories of contemporary and historical events propagate on social media and the internet to fill what is lacking. Some of these theories have some evidence to back them up, some are completely speculative and evidence-free. Some are somewhere in between. In this course we are going to be analyzing and writing about popular conspiracy theories. We are going to look at a range of things: the JFK assassination, vaccination skepticism, flat-earth theory, 9/11 conspiracies, moon landing deniers, the MLK assassination, U.S. government involvement in Syria and the Middle East, the petrodollar, mass-shooting conspiracies, high-profile pedophiles and intelligence connections, Russiagate, aliens, Area 51, among others. We are going to be guided by the basis of reasoned argument: claims, explanation, evidence. We are going to discuss how our worldview and biases shape our acceptance of arguments. We are going to learn to acknowledge and respond to other points of view. Keep an open mind because the truth is out there, and we are going to learn how to better navigate this world.

(Gen Ed Substitute For: Ways of Knowing (A): Social, Behavioral, and Philosophical Inquiry; Writing Intensive)

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