Philosophy and Religion Electives

This course surveys the art of “Non-Western” societies from prehistory to the present. Cultures discussed include South and Southeast Asia, China and Japan, Africa, and cultures of the Americas (Pre-Conquest and Native American). The term “Non-Western” traditionally refers to cultures that initially developed outside the realm of Western culture and at some distance from the European artistic tradition. The term is not only excessively broad but also problematic, because it implies an opposition to western art. We will explore these issues. The main objective of the course is to provide students with a global perspective on the richness and diversity of art produced by the cultures studied. It also considers the impact of colonization and globalization on the treatment of artworks from non-western cultures and the development of new art forms.

This course is a general survey of artworks of “western” cultures from prehistory to the present. “Western” typically designates art produced in Europe or the Americas in the European tradition, but the term can be imprecise and problematic at times. We will explore why. This course provides an overview of both typical and exceptional artworks from the western tradition; artworks range from tiny to colossal, relatively ephemeral to permanent, crude-looking to meticulously crafted, and banal to sacred. We will typically discuss artworks in roughly chronological order. Ultimately students will learn the range of artworks produced by each culture, how those artworks were made, why they looked the way they did, and what functions they served. They will also develop the skills to analyze, discuss, and write about the visual arts.

Art museums are powerful cultural institutions with complex histories. This course examines the history of museums, practices of collecting, and the interpretation of the past through artworks. The course starts by exploring ancient examples of the urge to collect and display objects, from Babylonian exhibitions of archaeological artifacts and Roman imperial displays of looted artworks in public fora to Medieval treasuries of sacred relics. We will then consider the earliest manifestation of the art museum as we know it today, the Wunderkammern-cabinets of wonders, featuring artworks alongside curious animal, mineral, and vegetal objects. The course will then examine, in depth, the emergence of the "encyclopedic" museum model during the Enlightenment, as well as its problematic roots in colonial enterprises, despoiling archaeological pursuits, and outright looting. Throughout the course, we will critically evaluate the missions of museums as public institutions, their role in defining cultural identities, and the legitimacy of their claims of ownership for artworks acquired in surreptitious circumstances.

An exploration of art and architecture as they developed in antiquity (prehistory to c.300 A.D.), this course will examine developments in Eqypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome. Prehistoric art in western Europe will be considered as well. Emphasis will be given to the great monuments of each culture and the primary focus will be the interaction between art and its surrounding society. In so doing, politics, religion, science, and aesthetics will be included in classroom discussions.

Prerequisite(s): Completion of the First-Year Writing requirement.

In this course, we will study the paintings, sculptures, architecture, and "minor arts" of the Italian Renaissance (1300-1600). We will focus primarily on the major artistic centers of Rome, Florence, and Venice. We will also consider the role of trade and artists' travels for the transmission of ideas, styles, techniques, and materials across Europe. You will learn to identify major works of art from this era, describe the stylistic characteristics of specific artists and cities, and explain how artworks relate to specific religious, historical, social, and political contexts. We will also trace several key themes: the drive for perfection in art, the resurgence of interest in classical antiquity, the interest in the human body and naturalism, art's religious and civic functions, changing conceptions of what it means to be an artist, and the structures of artistic training, competition, and patronage.

This course examines the developmental shifts in art largely throughout the 19th century. We begin with art reflecting discourses of the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the rise of Romanticism and see how lingering fears of modernity drives art toward abstraction and Surrealism.

This course emphasizes analysis of social, economic, and political forces as they influence art in diverse media from Manet through WWII.

Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or above required.

This seminar investigates the diversity of global visual art practices through thematic topics such as activism, nature, identity, gender, memory, spirituality, colonialism, consumerism, beauty, participation, globalization, and science. Students will examine how practices, beliefs, systems and narratives have come under critique and are challenged by visual artists as well as how alternatives to these practices, beliefs, systems and narratives proposed by visual artists can lead to transformation. Emphasis is placed on contemporary art practices, but students are encouraged to consider artwork within larger historical and cultural contexts. Course discussions introduce students to aesthetic and theoretical developments, examine significant critical debates within the art world and explore various historical, stylistics and methodological questions raised within the visual arts and art history.

Prerequisite: ARH 1040FYW Survey of Western Art History or permission of the instructor.

An introduction to the ethical issues raised by modern biological and medical research and clinical medicine. Case studies and readings will be used to present the following ethical issues: environmental ethics; patients' rights and physicians' responsibilities; abortion, euthanasia, and definitions of death; allocation of medical resources; humans as experimental subjects; behavioral technologies; genetic testing, screening, and manipulation; and reproductive technologies. Student participation will involve class discussions and oral and written presentations.
One 2-hour lecture/discussion session per week. No P/F.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing and at least 16 hours in biology coursework.

This course investigates ethical issues and moral dilemmas found in the modern business arena. The conflict between an organization's economic performance and its social obligations are studied. Various economic theories, legal regulations and philosophic doctrines are discussed. Contemporary Western moral philosophy, historic and contemporary Christian ethics, and social theory provide a context for the course. Case studies are integrated throughout the semester.

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing and a 1000- or 2000-level speaking-instructive course.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

Each course in the Topics in World Literature group will study a selection of literary works that engage the chosen topic--texts of different genres, from historical eras, and from different cultural traditions. The selected readings will present both abstract principles involved in the topic and its immediate, lived realities.
Prerequisite(s): Any First Year Writing course.

Each course in the Topics in World Literature group will study a selection of literary works that engage the chosen topic--texts of different genres, from historical eras, and from different cultural traditions. The selected readings will present both abstract principles involved in the topic and its immediate, lived realities.
Prerequisite(s): Any First Year Writing course.

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.
(Normally offered alternate spring semesters.)

In this course, students will read a selection of plays by ancient Greek playwrights: the comedies of Aristophanes and the tragedies of Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles. For a semester project, students will work as a collaborative team to write and perform a dramatic work (along with related documents) to demonstrate their understanding of the genre, period, and culture.
Cross listed with THTRE 3260.
Prerequisite(s): First Year Writing and Junior Standing.
(Normally offered alternate spring semesters.)

'Who are you?' This question confronts everyone at some point in life. How you answer it is culturally determined, based on how you perceive the connection between yourself and the world you inhabit. In this course we will investigate how the understanding of the self has developed in Western culture, beginning with Ancient Near Eastern religious traditions and the philosophical discourse of Ancient Greece, and looking at how this understanding has evolved and changed over time. Particular attention will be focused on the challenge to traditional notions of the self that emerged with the development with modern psychological and sociological models of the self. No P/F.

(Normally offered each spring semester.)

One of the distinctive features of Western culture involves the interaction of religion and reason as a basis for understanding. From the Ancient World up to modern times, systems of understanding have rooted themselves in both divine revelation and rational inquiry. This course will explore the origins of such perspectives, and trace their development and interaction from antiquity to the present. The course will focus on reading and evaluating texts which exemplify these modes of thinking from mythologies of the Ancient Near East, to Greek and Roman philosophical writings up to modern debates concerning the sufficiency of religion or science as a basis for understanding. This course may be counted toward fulfillment of the Science and Religion thread, and as a Writing Instructive course. No P/F.

(Normally offered each fall semester.)

A study of movements for racial justice in the United States since 1900, this course focuses on the ideas, strategies, tactics and participants in movements which sought to counter racial discrimination, violence and oppression directed at African Americans, Latino/a Americans, American Indian nations, Asian Americans and various immigrant populations sometimes defined as "racial" groups. Attention also will be given to the interaction of the movements with other movements,such as LGBTQ+ or Feminist movements. No P/F.

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 U.S. 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 help to eliminate the roots of discrimination and prejudice against the original Americans. No P/F.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

This course provides a survey of issues at the interface of science and religion. These include questions of knowledge, belief, and truth about the beginnings of the cosmos, the origins of human beings, and the roles of science and religion in society. This course can be used to satisfy the core requirement for the Sciene and Religion Thread. Credit may not be earned for more than one of the Science and Religion Seminar courses of IDS 1050FYW, IDS 1060, or IDS 1070.

This course provides a survey of issues at the interface of science and religion. These include questions of knowledge, belief, and truth about the beginnings of the cosmos, the origins of human beings, and the roles of science and religion in society. This course can be used to satisfy the core requirement for the Sciene and Religion Thread. Credit may not be earned for more than one of the Science and Religion Seminar courses of IDS 1050FYW, IDS 1060, or IDS 1070.

This course provides a survey of issues at the interface of science and religion. These include questions of knowledge, belief, and truth about the beginnings of the cosmos, the origins of human beings, and the roles of science and religion in society. This course can be used to satisfy the core requirement for the Sciene and Religion Thread. Credit may not be earned for more than one of the Science and Religion Seminar courses of IDS 1050FYW, IDS 1060, or IDS 1070.

This class explores the questions that arise when people cross borders, structured by conversations of citizenship. Who is considered to be a member of a particular country? Under what circumstances should we prohibit people from crossing a border? Should certain groups of people be afforded different types of rights? How should a country incorporate or assimilate immigrants into the nation? To explore these questions, this class examines how the United States has responded to these ethical, political, economic and social debates over citizenship. Specifically, we will study historical and contemporary motivations driving skilled, undocumented, asylum, refugee, and guest work immigration; if and how the US has regulated and enforced borders; the historical and normative evolution of patterns of assimilation, integration, and exclusion; regulation over pathways to citizenship; current political debates about immigration and how immigration matters in our local communities.

A survey of leading theories of personality and supporting research. Includes consideration of psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, trait, humanistic, and interactionist approaches. Important historical figures in personality theory, current day applications, personality testing, and basic methods of personality research will be explored.
Prerequisite(s): PSYCH 1010/PSYCH 1010FYW Introduction to Psychological Science.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

Theories and research exploring how gender is constructed in United States culture are introduced in this course. Topics include the construction and propagation of gender roles, differences between men and women in various domains, gender identity, sexuality, romantic relationships, and roles within work and family. 
Cross listed with GEND 2650.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing.
(Normally offered each spring semester.) 

What does it mean to be transgender?  What can transgender identities tell us about larger societal gender systems? This course is an interdisciplinary exploration of transgender issues in the United States.  Students will investigate the variety of transgender identities, the lived experiences of transgender people, and the differing perspectives surrounding transgender issues.  Topics will include explanations of gender diversity, discrimination, elements of gender transitions, medical and psychological treatment options, and gender privilege. Cross listed with GEND 3300

Prerequisite(s): PSYCH 1010/PSYCH 1010FYW Introduction to Psychological Science or PSYCH 2650 Psychology of Gender or instructor permission.

This course uses sociological perspectives to examine the causes and consequences of a society stratified by racial-ethnic diversity. It looks at the way historical decisions made by the dominant group have impacted the current situation for majority-minority relations in the U.S.A structural assessment of current social relations is emphasized although individual prejudice and discrimination is examined. Concepts such as white-privilege, immigration, and institutional discrimination are investigated. The requirements of the 2330 course are the same as the 1330 course EXCEPT that students in the higher course number complete a 20 hour service-learning component which fulfills an exploratory experiential learning requirement of the Archway Curriculum.
(Normally offered each semester.)

This course introduces students to the scientific study of religion using the theories and methods of sociology. It explores classical and contemporary ideas about the role and functions of religion in societies. It allows students to explore current patterns in religious behavior and belief, religious diversity and inequality, and sources of religious data.

Prerequisite(s): SOC 1110 Introduction to Sociology

Normally offered in alternate years.

This course explores work and occupations through a sociological lens, conceptualizing work as a social construction and a structural reality. Students will explore major topics and conceptual frameworks in the Sociology of works such as classical and contemporary theories, occupations, labor unions, work and social inequality, gendered labor markets, work and family, the changing workforce and contemporary issues of work.

Prerequisite(s): SOC 1110 Introduction to Sociology

This course uses the sociological perspective to explore sex and gender relations as major features of social life. It considers the social construction of gender (including the creation of masculinities and femininities) and examines the impact of gender ideologies on the social positions of gendered individuals. In particular, it emphasizes the way these social positions (such as gender, race, social class, sexualities, etc...) create and perpetuate the inequalities embedded in its social institutions (like the family, economy/work, religion, media, etc...).

Prerequisite(s): SOC 1110 Introduction to Sociology

This course explores a broad overview of big ideas about humans, society, change, stability, and chaos that have influenced sociology and other social sciences in the 19th to early 21st centuries. Broad perspectives examined include: Marxism, Functionalism, Weberian rationalization, Symbolic Interactionism, Feminisms, Queer Theory, Critical Theory, Critical Race Theory, Rational Choice, Postmodernism and Poststructuralism, and theories of globalization. This course builds critical thinking, analysis, application, and writing skills essential to majors, minors, and students interested in critically examining society.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 1110 Introduction to Sociology.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)