Course Descriptions
General Education Course Descriptions (Prerequisites are listed in parentheses.)
ANT 101
Anthropology
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
An overview of key elements in the study of primitive cultures, with an emphasis on selected primitive societies, their basic belief systems, myths, and values thereby generating respect for diversity. Required for students in all majors.
COM 220
Fundamentals of Speech Communication
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
Principles and practices of effective oral communication. Readings, lectures, and in-class exercises focusing on the preparation and delivery of four major presentations. Emphasis is on research and critical thinking to develop and support ideas, effective organizational and presentational techniques, ethics and responsibilities in public communication, effective listening, and insightful critique. Required for students in all majors.
ENG 101
English Composition I
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
An overview of the conventions of grammar and an emphasis on effective expository and persuasive writing, with attention given to the principles of research techniques and expressing thoughts and ideas clearly. Required for students in all majors.
ENG 102
English Composition II
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
A continuation of English Composition I with emphasis on the principles of professional and technical writing as well as extended exercises on research methods and critical thinking.
Required for students in all majors. (ENG 101)
ENG 210
Classics of Modern Literature
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
A study of selected classics of nineteenth or twentieth century literature, with an emphasis on works that have been adapted to other art forms. Topics of concentration vary. (ENG 101)
ENG 310
Creative Writing
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
An introduction to the art of writing. Various genres such as poetry, fiction, drama, and others may be explored or emphasis may be given to one specific genre as it relates to the arts. (ENG 101, 102)
ENG 311
Advanced Creative Writing
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
An intensive, specialized writing course focusing on developing an appreciation of genres of creative writing and on providing students with instruction, practice, and critique of their efforts as emerging creative writers. (ENG 310 or Permission of Advisor and Instructor)
ENG 315
Contemporary American Short Fiction
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
This course will offer an overview of the short story form in modern American literature, beginning with mid-twentieth century work and continuing into the contemporary era. Students will be asked to analyze and respond to assigned stories in terms of formal structure and aesthetics, relationship to social and political context, and literary movements. We will also consider short fiction’s relationship to – or intermingling with – other media, in particular, audio and film adaptation. Collaborations between short fiction writers and other artists will be examined.
ENG 350
Southern Gothic Literature
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
This course is a study of selected works in the Gothic tradition of literature of the American South, with an emphasis on works that have been adapted to other art forms. (ENG 101)
ENG 400
Graphic Novels as Literature
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
An examination of graphic novels and how their contents fits into social and historical context as well as specific literary genres, themes, and motifs. (ENG 101)
ENG 401
Studies in American Literature
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
A survey of American literature with an emphasis on particular authors, themes, genres and periods. (ENG 101)
ENG 401A
Banned Books
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
This course examines texts that have been classified as taboo, seized, and/or burned in the United States. Students will also explore the religious, political, and social reasons for the censorship and the impact on the success of the work. (ENG 101)
ENG 402
Studies in American Literature
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
A survey of American literature with emphasis on particular authors, themes, genres and periods. (ENG 101)
ENG 403
Studies in Contemporary Literature
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
A survey of major authors, literary movements and themes since 1945. (ENG 101)
ENG 403A
The Novels of Chuck Palahniuk
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
This course examines the work of the best-selling cult author and explores themes of gender, identity, and social commentary. (ENG 101)
ENG 403B
Coming of Age Narratives
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
This course examines coming of age narratives, the themes they share, and the sociocultural paradigms they reflect or resist in literature, film, and graphic novels. (ENG 101)
ENG 410
Classical Literature
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
This class is a study of a select group of literary gems from a wide variety of classical sources from the Greeks to the Romans. Some related material from other cultures may be included for context. (ENG 101)
ENG 420
Literature of the Other
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
A class devoted to the study of selected literary works, which emphasize non-traditional voices and outsider art. (ENG 101)
HIS 101
History of World Civilization I
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
A survey of the cultural, social, economic, and political aspects of significant civilizations from prehistory through the Seventeenth Century.
Required for students in all majors.
HIS 102
History of World Civilization II
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
A survey of the cultural, social, economic, and political aspects of significant civilizations from the Eighteenth Century to the present.
Required for students in all majors.
HUM 200
Art & Design Explorations Abroad
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
A first-hand encounter with one or more major centers of art and culture in foreign nations, emphasizing art and design values. (ART 102)
HUM 220
World Mythologies
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
A study of myths, legends, and their related images in order to clarify modern belief systems. Particular emphasis is placed on visual depictions of myths and the use of mythology in storytelling.
MAT 101
Mathematics for Visual Arts
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
A study of basic mathematics, algebra, and geometry as these show demonstrated use in modern life with applications to art and design.
Required for students in all majors.
PHL 220
Introduction to Philosophy
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
A survey of the basic issues and problems of philosophy through selected readings in the works of leading philosophers from the ancient Greeks to contemporary thinkers.
PHL 300
Philosophy and Nonviolence
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
This course is intended to introduce students to the idea and the development of the idea of principled nonviolence and to investigate in general terms how the idea of nonviolence has developed and changed over time. Students will explore the leaders and the ideas of nonviolence as representing an important, but often overlooked and undervalued American tradition. The purpose of this class, then, is to trace and reclaim that tradition.
PHL 301
Ethics
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
Introduces students to basic approaches to ethics and morality from a multicultural perspective.
PHL302
Special Topics: Faust
This course introduces students to the idea of the so-called Faustian pact with the devil in literature, film, and music.
PHL 310
Aesthetics
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
A study of the philosophy of art from ancient times to the present providing a developmental history of theories concerning the art object, creativity, beauty, genius, and the modern and postmodern aesthetic theories that form the intellectual context of much contemporary art.
PHL 3XX - Series
Topics in Philosophy
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
Various issues in Philosophy. Examples include:
PHL315
Topics in Philosophy: J.R.R. Tolkien
Students will examine The Lord of the Rings trilogy by taking the story seriously as myth.
REL201
World Religion
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
This course is designed to introduce students to some of the major religious traditions of the world: Santana Dharma (Hinduism); Buddhism; Confucianism; Taoism; Judaism; Christianity; Islam; Primal/Tribal Religions.
SCI 310
History of Scientific Thought
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
An examination of some of the breakthrough theories in the history of science and of the minds that conceived them. The effect upon society and culture of these thinkers as well as the general course of empirical thinking is addressed.
Fulfills the 3-credit-hour Science Requirement for students in all majors.
SCI 315
Biology in the Visual Arts
Lecture, 3 Credit Hours
This course combines formal instruction in the core concepts of biology with artistic exploration of biological phenomena, ideas, discoveries, questions, or research techniques to be selected by each student individually.
Fulfills the 3-credit-hour Science Requirement for students in all majors.
d. Required for students in all majors.