Society and Technology
Chritine Hudak
This course focuses on a systematic analysis of the relationships between society, and the specific institutional elements of technology and technological innovation. It describes the social aspects of computers and related technologies and explores the ways in which these technologies influence and impact organizations and individuals. The course explores the design, use and cultural significance of technologies and uses a historical focus to assess the integration of technology into all aspects of our society. The restructuring of traditional human interaction by information technology will provide a contemporary focus for the course. Offered in a seminar format, the course will provide opportunities for scholarly discussion systematic inquiry and written communication.
Human Struggle Through the Lens of Sports
David Hutter
This seminar explores, through the medium of sport literature, the interaction of sport, society, and self. Students will examine the social and psychological effects on participants, consumers, and society of sport through the study of fiction, research studies, essays, and poetry having a sport motif. Topics include racism, and sexism (valuing diversity), love (cooperating), death (losing), transformation (aging), and achievement (winning).
Utopian Communities in Theory and in Practice
Charlotte Ikels
Goals of the course are to have students develop an appreciation for how: (1) historical and cultural contexts and (2) positionality (placement in the social structure) shape the vision of the ideal society. By examining hypothetical and actualized utopian communities (e.g. More’s Utopia, Gilman’s Herland, Skinner’s Walden Two, Sprio’s Kibbutz: Venture in Utopia), students will analyze how people have attempted to resolve their dissatisfactions with contemporary social arrangements (e.g. class, gender, ethnic/racial categorization, urbanization, industrialization, secularization) and what themes persist.
Media Literacy
Sam Fulwood
This course seeks to introduce students to the subtle and often-ignored influences that racial identity and popular culture exert via mass communication on public policy and private decisions. By examining the way political leaders, business executives and consumer marketers employ all forms of mass communications to shape culture and influence decisions, students will gain an appreciation for the considerable intelligence- and enormous power – that media wield in an increasingly information-driven world. This course will draw from books, newspapers, contemporary music, movies, television programming and advertising to illustrate the deluge of images and messages that constantly wash over us. Students will be engaged in a variety of activities to guide and focus an exploration of the topic of communication. Materials from different media will be used to launch discussion on various topics related to communication. Guest speakers who use communication skills and employ the media in their careers (i.e. entertainers, political figures, sports celebrities, corporate leaders, etc.) will join the class for discussion. The class will develop a broader awareness of how economic, political, social and cultural forces influence the public’s embrace or rejection of those media-generated images. The overarching goal of the course is to inspire students toward a life-long, process of becoming critical consumers of news, information, advertising and entertainment.
Sport and American Culture
Chris Sheridan
This seminar will examine the role of athletics in U.S. society throughout the century, examining in particular its influence on issues of race and gender as well as the religious and mythic aspects of sport. The focus will be on the grasp athletics has, at all levels, on our collective psyche, and as such the influence it wields on vast realms of U.S. society. The tendency in popular press is to cast sports in absolute terms. It is evil: look at the millions spent on professional players and sports complexes, unrelenting wagering and the corruption of college athletics through the near-endless accounts of recruiting violations, under-the-table booster payments and fudged test scores. Or it is noble: consider the Olympic ideal, the pursuit of excellence for its own sake, the power athletes have to inspire spectators and play a key role in influencing public attitudes about everything from race (Jackie Robinson) to gender (Billie Jean King). The following topics will be explored through readings, movies, guest speakers, and writing assignments based on controversial issues within each topic: Sport and Race, Sport and Gender, Sport and Community, Sport and Celebrity, Sport and the Individual, Sport and the Academy.
Accountability and Governance in Corporations
Mohsen Anvari
Who is minding the store for the shareholders/owners? Why do CEO's get paid so much? How did corporate scandals such as Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco occur? This seminar focuses on issues of accountability and governance in the modern corporation. While the main emphasis is on the business corporation, the relevance of these concepts to not-for profit corporations and governments agencies will also be addressed. Much of the economic wealth of the modern society is generated by corporations. To understand the role of the corporation in society, it is important to gain an insight into the mechanics of corporate governance, both in theory and in practice. As such, what these entities do and how they are held accountable is at the heart of the social contract that binds the citizens together in a democracy. This seminar uses readings, cases, independent inquiry, role playing, guest lecturers, and discussions to allow students to develop an understanding of the challenges of accountability and governance.
Making a Life
Tim Beal and Ed Hundert
Marian Wright Edelman said that "Education is not just about making a living. It's about making a life." And life starts now. So why are you here? This seminar is a hands-on introduction to moral philosophy, that is, the philosophy of living, of how to live. Drawing from the philosophies and life stories of others who have sought meaning and purpose intheir lives, we will explore the variety of ways people have responded to life's biggest questions. In the process, wewill raise those questions for ourselves as well. This is a seminar, in which a small group of students and faculty work together to achieve a kind of depth and clarity of understanding that is beyond what any individual can achieve alone. We hope that in the course of the semester we will become a collegial learning community. Our success will depend on the full preparation and cooperative participation of every one of us. We will seek to respect every class member as a colleague with something important to offer the group as a whole. The instructors will avoid lecturing and otherwise short-circuiting our discussions, and we will all avoid competition and personal ownership of ideas.
Ethics: Truth and Trust
Caroline Whitbeck
What is trust? Whom/what should we trust? Is it morally acceptable to trust in someone's stupidity or cowardice? What are the criteria for being a trustworthy friend or parent? What is entrusted to professionals of various types? What is a lie? Is there a moral difference between types of lies? What factors are relevant to deciding when, if ever, lying is justified? What does lying do to the liar? What is the effect on the person who is deceived? What does lying do to trust within a culture? This course introduces students to classical and contemporary methods of ethical reflection and reasoning from several disciplines, including philosophy. The goal of the course is to enhance students' understanding of ethical concepts and moral reasoning, to prepare them for a life-time of ethical reflection, discussion, and problem-solving, as well as for more advanced study in the disciplines introduced. We will examine issues of truth, honesty, trust, trustworthiness, and responsibility in contemporary public, private, and professional life. Discussion, active learning methods, and short written assignments and oral reports are the principle methods of learning used.
Traveling Cultures in Britain
Kurt Koeningsberger
This seminar introduces students to central social and cultural developments in Britain over the past two centuries, taking as its particular focus the way in which Britain experienced cultural and social change through technologies, institutions, and experiences of movement--especially those of imperial expansion, emigration, tourism, and exhibition. Students will complete a series of research assignments that reconceive important cultural sites and events as products of movement rather than static location. Primary readings draw upon nineteenth and twentieth century novels, journals, travel narratives, and journalism, while secondary readings include works of cultural criticism and literary and historical scholarship. |
