Power

Power is the ability to make things happen. It is impossible to imagine the world without it, and it takes innumerable forms. Some can be precisely measured and analyzed; others are so subtle as to almost defy description. The Power thread will examine the forms power takes in the natural world and in the products of human culture, in relationships between individuals and in relationships between groups and nations. Drawing on several different academic disciplines, we will seek to understand how this indispensable abstraction has been and is used and abused, gained and lost, asserted and contested in actual concrete circumstances of the past and the present.

This thread can be 9 or 18 hours.

Select 9 or 18 Hours
COMM 2400 Communication and Leadership	4 hours
COMM 3200 Persuasive Communication	4 hours
COMM 3700 Organizational Communication	4 hours
CRMJS 2130 Correction and Penology	4 hours
ECON 1530 Macroeconomic Principles	3 hours
ENG 2600 Introduction to Ancient Rhetoric	4 hours
ENG 3500 Postcolonial and Global Literature	4 hours
ENG 3530 Studies in Linguistics	2 hours
HIST 2540 African-American History	4 hours
HIST 2560 American Indian History	4 hours
HIST 3180/HIST 4180 Topics in Indian History	2 hours
IDS 3270 Experiential Learning - Power Thread	1 hour
PHIL 2070 Twentieth Century Philosophy	3 hours
PHIL 3260 Philosophy of Education	3 hours
POLSC 1090 Introduction to International Relations	3 hours
POLSC 2460 Media and Politics	3 hours
RELIG 1150 World Religions	3 hours

COMM 2400 Communication and Leadership (4 hours)

Students will explore components of leadership theory, skills, and behaviors, and will examine and practice effective communication behaviors as related to leadership processes and roles.

COMM 3200 Persuasive Communication (4 hours)

A study of theories and practices of persuasion within a variety of communication contexts. Students will be expected to apply these concepts to out-of-class persuasive situations.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

COMM 3700 Organizational Communication (4 hours)

Students will explore the intersection of the theory and practice of communication in an organizational context. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding how power within and between organizations is shaped by and shapes society. Topics include identity, power, globalization, technology, and ethics.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing, COMM 2300 Communication Theory and COMM 3500 Research Methods or permission of the instructor.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

CRMJS 2130 Correction and Penology (4 hours)

Analysis of the history, theory, structure, and function of contemporary penal institutions.
Prerequisite(s): CRMJS 1010 Introduction to Criminal Justice.
(Normally offered alternate years.)

ECON 1530 Macroeconomic Principles (3 hours)

An examination of the macroeconomic theories, problems, and policies of the U.S. economy. Topics include supply and demand, a description of the main sectors of the economy, and the role of government in stabilizing the economy with monetary and fiscal policies.
(Normally offered each semester.)

ENG 2600 Introduction to Ancient Rhetoric (4 hours)

Students will study the early history of rhetoric, drawing upon the Greek and Roman traditions and those of at least one additional culture. Students will focus on the major tenets of these rhetorical traditions, enabling them to analyze a variety of texts from multiple cultural perspectives.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or instructor permission.

ENG 3500 Postcolonial and Global Literature (4 hours)

A thematic course designed to complement the more traditional offerings in British and American literature. The emphasis will be on the shock of colonization, the oppression of imperialism, and the struggle for independence. Attention will also be paid to the encounter of the individual with the questions of God, family, love, war, work, change, and death.
Prerequisite(s): First Year Writing and Sophomore standing.

ENG 3530 Studies in Linguistics (2 hours)

A course in which students will concentrate in depth on one subfield or topic in the domain of linguistics. The particular subject will be determined each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or instructor permission.
(Normally offered every other year.)

HIST 2540 African-American History (4 hours)

A broad survey of the major themes and issues in African American history from the early slave trade through emancipation to the present. Major topics include the creation of a diverse African American culture, resistance to the dehumanization of slavery, Civil War and Reconstruction, the Great Migration, the movement from Civil Rights to Black Power and contemporary issues such as reparations for slavery.
(Normally offered each fall semester)

HIST 2560 American Indian History (4 hours)

This course will serve as an overview of American Indian history from precontact to the present. It will explore numerous themes including cultural diversity, initial contact with Europeans, the different styles of interactions (Spanish/English/French), accommodation and dispossession, the American treaty process, concentration, wardship, education, land allotment, termination and relocation, and modern American Indian issues. Utilizing assigned readings, discussion, and some short films, this class will eradicate misconceptions about American Indians and therefore eliminate the roots of discrimination and prejudice against the original Americans.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

HIST 3180 Topics in Indian History (2 hours)

A two hours, 8 week, course treating selected topics in Indian history. This will include a broad comparative treatment of Indians of the Americas (North, Central, and South), or more focused treatment of the Inca, Maya, Aztecs, or studying the current state of Indian land and water rights claims, Indian education, life on the reservation, or indigenous sacred rights.

HIST 4180 Topics in Indian History (2 hours)

A two hour, 8 week, course treating selected topics in Indian history. This will include a broad comparative treatment of Indians of the Americas (North, Central, and South), or more focused treatment of the Inca, Maya, Aztecs, or studying the current state of Indian land and water rights claims, Indian education, life on the reservation, or indigenous sacred rights.

IDS 3270 Experiential Learning - Power Thread (1 hour)

See Department for Course Description.

PHIL 2070 Twentieth Century Philosophy (3 hours)

This course will examine the western philosophical tradition as manifested in the works of prominent European and/or American philosophers of the 20th century. Philosophers such as Ryle, Dewey, Heidegger, Sartre, Wittgenstein, Habermas, Foucault, Derrida, and Irigaray may be included among others. Topics may include but are not limited to: the concept and practice of power, who and what counts as human, the conditions for human freedom, the character of language and interpretation, the construction of meaning.

PHIL 3260 Philosophy of Education (3 hours)

This course examines variety of classical, modern, and contemporary philosophical accounts of, and prescriptions for, education. Some general questions for the course include: What is education? What are its cultural and personal values? Does education have a specific purpose? How does a person become educated? Some of the philosophers we study may include Plato, Aristotle, Avicenna, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Michel Foucault, Paulo Friere, Nel Noddings, and Bell Hooks. This course may be repeated with departmental permission.

POLSC 1090 Introduction to International Relations (3 hours)

This course provides an introduction to a basic understanding of the concepts of international relations. It focuses on the interrelationship of nations and how they coexist and interact with each other. It will expose the student to the theories of international relations and how these theories apply to current problems and experiences.

POLSC 2460 Media and Politics (3 hours)

This course examines the impact of the contemporary mass media on politics in the United States, focusing most directly on the effect of news gathering and reporting practices on political processes and institutions, and on the responses of political actors to those journalistic norms. Questions about the nature of democracy in a media society will arise and be addressed over the course of the semester.
Prerequisite(s): POLSC 1000 United States Government and Politics.

RELIG 1150 World Religions (3 hours)

This course is a study of the cultural settings, lives of founders when appropriate, oral or written traditions and literature, worldviews, myths, rituals, ideals of conduct, and development of some of the world's religions. Religions studied will typically include tribal religions, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confuciansim, Shinto, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Bahai. Readings, videos, and websites will help introduce and illustrate not only the cultural settings in which these religions appear, but also the voices and faces of contemporary religious practictioners.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

Course Catalogs

Power