Chaos

This is a hybrid studio/seminar course that familiarizes course participants with the socio-political issues on the NWU campus as well as at the local, state and national level, then develop creative strategies for personal growth and community transformation. In a supportive environment, we will challenge ourselves to look deeply at our own biases regarding race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic class and the natural environment. Each semester the course is offered, it will focus on a particular one of the areas mentioned above. We will investigate the issues through listening to guest speakers followed by
open dialogue among students and faculty. Students will become familiar with the intersections of art and activism through lectures and discussions as well as their own research, which they will present orally to the class. In the second half of the semester students will begin developing their own socially engaged art projects with the support of the class feedback and from one of the class visitors. Initial projects will be on a small scale in a familiar environment. Subsequent projects will build on the knowledge and experience gained from the first projects. Teamwork and collaboration is encouraged.

This course is designed to help students develop theoretical and practical understandings of dialogic communication. Students will develop the skills necessary to effectively participate in and facilitate transformational dialogue. In addition to developing a comprehensive understanding of current dialogic research, students will have several opportunities to practice their facilitating skills by helping NWU and Lincoln community groups engage impasse through dialogue.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing and permission of the instructor.

This course explores the types of probation and parole, the demand for probation and parole, the advantages and disadvantages of probation and parole, the job duties and qualifications necessary for probation and parole officers, and how probation and parole is integrated into the criminal justice system.

Prerequisite(s): CRIM 1010 Introduction To Criminal Justice.

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 Studies in Writing group focuses on the writing process and its product as applied to a particular genre (risk fiction, scriptwriting, hybrid genes, creative nonfiction, biography, and memoir) or concept (writing the body), which will vary from semester to semester. The course is conducted as a workshop in which students read their own compositions to the class and respond to the compositions of their classmates.

Prerequisite(s): ENG 1030FYW Writing and the Creative Arts, ENG 2170 Introduction to Fiction Writing, or ENG 2190 Introduction to Poetry Writing, or instructor permission.

Each course in the Studies in Writing group focuses on the writing process and its product as applied to a particular genre (risk fiction, scriptwriting, hybrid genres, creative nonfiction, biography and memoir) or concept (writing the body), which will vary from semester to semester. The course is conducted as a workshop in which students read their own compositions to the class and respond to the compositions of their classmates. Prerequisite(s): ENG 1030FYW Writing and the Creative Arts, ENG 2170 Introduction to Fiction Writing, or ENG 2190 Introduction to Poetry Writing, or instructor permission.

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.)

See ENG 3260 Greek Drama.

Including films, music videos, and musicals this course examines varied depictions of sexualities in the arts (defined broadly), especially those that intersect with music. Alongside the study of culture and interdisciplinary musical arts, students learn and apply concepts and information from gender studies. Selected pieces require students to explore marginalized cultures in the United States and consider systems of privilege and oppression and other issues associated with the intersection of gender, sexualities, race, socio-economic status, and other markers of diversity. Collaborating in pairs, students complete research assignments related to a semester-long fieldwork project with a local music culture of their choice. They apply scholarship and instruction on participant observation fieldwork and library research associated with their selected local music culture. The fieldwork project (and experiential learning component) for this class requires some off-campus activities to be arranged by the student.

See HIST 4030 Founding of the Americas.

A study of the “pioneers” of the Americas (e.g., indigenous, Spanish, French, and Russian) who all came to the continent to explore, negotiate the land and relationships with others they encountered. A mix of narrative and primary document history, the class will discover the true story of the settlement of the Americas.
Hist 4030 meets with HIST 3030. The requirements of the courses are the same EXCEPT that a research paper is required for students in 4030.

See HIST 4700 Revolutions in Latin America.

A study of the causes, course, and outcomes of several 20th century social revolutions in Latin America. The course will use a comparative perspective, paying particular attention to the transformations that accompanied each stage of revolution. This also counts as an elective for the Modern Language Studies major. HIST 4700 meets with HIST 3700. The requirements of the courses are the same EXCEPT that a research paper is required for students in 4700.

Prerequisite(s): HIST 1010 Topics in United States History to 1877, HIST 1110 World Civilizations, HIST 2110 Introduction to Latin America, or instructor permission.

Students in this composition course will develop their skills in academic and professional writing as they examine the ways that writing, in various forms and mediums, can impact and change the beliefs, perceptions, histories, and/or actions of a culture.

See Thread Coordinator.

An interdisciplinary examination of atheism that integrates perspectives on the topic from the sciences, the arts, and the humanities.

Prerequisite: First-Year Writing

In this Creative and Performing Arts Elective course that is situated within the Chaos Thread, students will develop skills necessary to learn how to play an instrument or sing, and to create their own arrangements and compositions within small student-led groups. This course is designed for students with little to no formal musical training to learn how to create their own music using informal music learning methods – methods that are not always acknowledged as having merit both in process and in genre, especially within the area of academic music. The teacher will act as a facilitator of space and at times a coach, mentor, or apprentice as appropriate so that students drive the learning and the creating of their own music to the end of performing and/or recording it. The assigned readings, class discussion, and students’ musical creations will focus on the radical differences between the formal music learning practices done in classrooms and the informal music learning practices used by many musicians outside of the formal classroom setting. There are no pre-requisites to take this course. Students will be learning to play instruments and using electronic software; students can use their own instruments and electronics as appropriate to the course projects, but materials will be provided as needed.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

In a learning community that honors diversity, this course explores the relationship between vocation studies, wellbeing research, music, and other arts. What is the soundtrack of life, your soundtrack of life, and the soundtrack of your life...understanding that "your" is singular and plural because we learn, live, and work in diverse communities.

This course examines the development of new concepts and theories of music that led to significant departures from standard musical practices and ideals. Students will explore twentieth century pitch resources, and contrast late tonal techniques and styles of composers such as Debussy, Ives, Messiaen, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Webern and more. Analysis of specific works will promote discussions, tracing theoretical paths that led to the development of post tonal and avant-garde music. The content is designed to:

1. Widen your knowledge of, appreciation for, and ability to identify, describe, and critically assess musical works in light of the innovative ideas that led to their creation.
2. Give you a sophisticated understanding of the cultural, aesthetic, and stylistic relevance of these works in order to better comprehend the historical impact of radical departures from the norm.
3. To practically apply your knowledge of musical elements in order to create informed and appropriate musical interpretations within the body of music that forms your own repertoire.
4. To introduce you to the oral expression of your music in the style of a professional lecture presentation, so that you can improve your skills in verbally describing music and musical analysis.

Prerequisite(s): MUSIC 2610 Music Theory III or permission of the instructor.

An introduction to philosophical thinking by way of an examination of persistent philosophical questions raised by significant and representative voices in our (primarily Western) philosophical heritage. We will attempt to clarify the meanings of such concepts as good and evil, right and wrong, justice, virtue, the beautiful, and the ugly. We will attempt, further, to use this understanding to evaluate our own philosophical views and those of our society.

This course examines a variety of philosophies and practices types of philosophical writing. As part of the Archway Curriculum Chaos thread, this course asks about what is or was radical and transformative in the history of philosophy, and engages with what is - or could be - radical and transformative by today's standards.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

This course focuses on a radical thinker or radical thinking within the late modern, postmodern, or contemporary era. We explore what is radical, revolutionary, experimental, or 'avant garde,' and learn to identify what places a person, idea, or movement outside the "norm." We address questions like: What influences or impacts a philosophically innovative idea? How do we distinguish what is radical or subversive from what is merely repetitive or conservative? What is the impact of a philosophy on its larger culture? What role does experience and context play on the radicals who live these ideas? The course may be taken more than once with departmental approval.

This course explores the dilemmas and experiments associated with democracy. What does it mean for a political community to be democratic? What are the limitations and promises of democracy, and what prompts movements towards or away from democracy? How is democracy being updated and experimented with? This comparative politics course asks you to do the work of delivering on the ideal of democracy through theoretical and empirical analysis of democracy over place and time.

This course will examine the current state of politics in Europe. In particular, the course will focus on European integration and expansion, and questions of ethnicity and nationalism. The course will also examine European social policy.

This course provides an introduction to the topics of terrorism and political violence. Understanding why political violence occurs, how it is used, the different forms it takes, what its effects are, and how it can be countered proves crucial to understanding the dilemmas faced by many states and non-state actors. We will cover topics such as terrorism, extremism, radicalization, and state and non-state violence. Through these topics, this course seeks to provide students with a better understanding of the uses and differing manifestations of terrorism and political violence.

This class will explore the various ways that people protest again their governments. The first part of the class will examine the theory behind citizen-led uprisings: how do people decide to rebel? How do they mobilize? What is a collective action theory? What is the public sphere? We will end this section with a consideration of the revolutions of 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe. The second part of the course will examine various types of revolutionary activity, both violent and non-violent. What are mechanisms of change? How does the strategy of change relate to the demands of the protestors? The final part of the class will study how revolutions end. When do the people get their way? What does a 'successful' revolution look like?

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.

See PSYCH 3300 Transgender Identities.

This course explores a religiously diverse range of end of time stories. Ancient and modern, oral and written, apocalyptic scenarios can function as ethical and political criticism of the status quo, a literature of, by, and for the marginalized, and offer alternative, cosmic justice or future renewal. All of the religions examined, which include tribal, world religions as well as movements that prioritize ethnicity, race, and anti-colonialism are international but will be examined in the context of their contemporary North American expressions.
(Normally offered every year.)

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.)

This course will explore films made by artists who experiment with the formal, perceptual and narrative elements of film. Students will watch a wide range of film media that challenge conventions to gain an appreciation for the Avant-Garde and art film/video. Selected films will be analyzed within historical and aesthetic contexts of their departures from norms and conventions. One way to define Avant-Garde is breaking new ground and experimenting with the possibilities of the medium: rather than entertain or generate profit through their films, artists may shock or challenge viewers and explore the limits of genre. Students will be challenged to go beyond preconceived notions of visual pleasure to think critically and creatively about how/why a work was created and what it communicates in that context.