IDC COURSE DESCRIPTIONS – SPRING 2016 Scroll down for IDC. 200, 301, and 401 course descriptions
IDC 101 COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Catalog description IDC. 101 – Freshman Seminar (3 credit hours) The Freshman Seminar courses are designed to engage students, at the very start of their university careers, in serious academic inquiry with an interdisciplinary focus. Within the content framework of investigating a significant topic or issue, the primary focus of Freshman Seminar courses is to help students begin to achieve a set of skills/abilities required for success at the university level and beyond. The topics of Freshman Seminar are set by the individual instructors and reflect a wide ranging set of interdisciplinary issues such as, but certainly not limited to, the environment, health care, globalization, and the arts. Students are required to practice both critical and creative approaches to the individual seminar topic and to develop essential university-level abilities in oral and written communication.
IDC. 101 01 – DOWN THE HATCH W 6:00-8:45 pm Beth Bell [Rachel Carson Learning Community students only] Down the Hatch walks each student through the biochemical, environmental, and cultural components of our food system. Students will explore the human digestive system, history of nutritional guidelines, food production and product marketing, as well as personal and ethical considerations to food consumption. From self-reflection to vetting research, students will further develop and apply critical thinking skills through scholarly readings, writing, and group discussion. Course methodology will include lectures, guest speakers, field trips, and readings in human biology, nutritional research, sustainable agriculture, and culinary arts. To underscore the need to be mindful of sustainability for quality of human life and ensuring respect for the environment, students will discuss excerpts from Pope Francis’s Encyclical Letter, dated May 24, 2015.
IDC. 101 02 – “Omar Lis’nin’”: SOCIAL INEQUALITY IN THE WIRE TTh 9:25-10:40 am Conor Picken and Chuck Hatten [Brown Leadership Community students only] HBO’s critically acclaimed series The Wire portrays the inner-city drug trade with a perspective and sophistication previously unseen. By focusing on the drug problem in terms beyond simple dichotomy, the series shows how such illegal activity accurately reflects broader societal inequities that plague urban America. This course examines The Wire through the prisms offered by the series itself—the drug trade and the economic ripples caused, politics, education, and the media—so as to understand how drugs emerge as a sustainable (or viable) alternative to poverty. Attending to the effects of the drug trade at the personal and societal levels, this class seeks to reimagine (and in many cases reinterpret) the “justice” component of social justice.
IDC. 101 03 – WELCOMING THE STRANGER: RADICAL HOSPITALITY & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT MW 12:00-1:15 pm Renee Culver [Brown Leadership Community students only] There will be a billion more people on our planet by 2025. Where will they live? What will they eat? What will they use for fuel? How will they access clean water, education, and healthcare? These are the types of questions that go to the heart of contemporary civic engagement. In modern culture, the concept of hospitality is most often associated with entertainment and etiquette, but for millennia welcoming the stranger was associated with weightier concepts, including profound religious meaning and political cooperation. In this class we’ll consider the theoretical and historical underpinnings of hospitality and use our knowledge to analyze cultural texts, current events, and social justice issues such as displacement, resource sharing, and environmental change. We’ll also examine key research and theory underlying recent thinking about community engagement and explore strategies for responsible community and global leadership.
IDC. 101 04 – WELCOMING THE STRANGER: RADICAL HOSPITALITY & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT MW 3:00-4:15 pm Renee Culver [Brown Leadership Community students only] There will be a billion more people on our planet by 2025. Where will they live? What will they eat? What will they use for fuel? How will they access clean water, education, and healthcare? These are the types of questions that go to the heart of contemporary civic engagement. In modern culture, the concept of hospitality is most often associated with entertainment and etiquette, but for millennia welcoming the stranger was associated with weightier concepts, including profound religious meaning and political cooperation. In this class we’ll consider the theoretical and historical underpinnings of hospitality and use our knowledge to analyze cultural texts, current events, and social justice issues such as displacement, resource sharing, and environmental change. We’ll also examine key research and theory underlying recent thinking about community engagement and explore strategies for responsible community and global leadership.
IDC. 101-05 DEATH & THE CORPSE [Galileo Learning Community students only] TTh 9:25-10:40 am Amy Tudor In this course, we will use interdisciplinary study in such fields as history, anthropology, photography, conflict studies, anatomy, and literature to explore the changing cultural meanings of death and the human corpse. We will then apply this foundational study to such contemporary issues as the Right to Die controversy, the abuse of corpses in Afghanistan, and the prevalence of “undead” characters in popular culture. Students may also elect to further explore course topics through co-curricular trips to the Bellarmine gross anatomy lab, the Louisville Coroner’s office, and Cave Hill Cemetery.
IDC. 101-06 DEATH & THE CORPSE [Galileo Learning Community students only] MW 12-1:15 pm Amy Tudor In this course, we will use interdisciplinary study in such fields as history, anthropology, photography, conflict studies, anatomy, and literature to explore the changing cultural meanings of death and the human corpse. We will then apply this foundational study to such contemporary issues as the Right to Die controversy, the abuse of corpses in Afghanistan, and the prevalence of “undead” characters in popular culture. Students may also elect to further explore course topics through co-curricular trips to the Bellarmine gross anatomy lab, the Louisville Coroner’s office, and Cave Hill Cemetery.
IDC. 101-08 DIAGNOSING THE SOUL [Galileo Learning Community students only] TTh 9:25-10:40 am Jessica Hume-Moore In this class, students will read fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and some theory having to do with healthcare from both sides of the hospital bed: that of the patient, and that of the healthcare worker. Here, literature will function as a means of gaining a deeper understanding of medicine, illness, the process of healing, and human mortality. Students will come to understand writing in this area as a means of expression, healing, reconciliation, or peacemaking, and reading this literature as a means of engendering understanding, reflection, self-awareness, and compassion.
IDC. 101-09 DIAGNOSING THE SOUL [Galileo Learning Community students only] MW 12-1:15 pm Jessica Hume-Moore In this class, students will read fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and some theory having to do with healthcare from both sides of the hospital bed: that of the patient, and that of the healthcare worker. Here, literature will function as a means of gaining a deeper understanding of medicine, illness, the process of healing, and human mortality. Students will come to understand writing in this area as a means of expression, healing, reconciliation, or peacemaking, and reading this literature as a means of engendering understanding, reflection, self-awareness, and compassion.
IDC. 101-10 RE-THINK PINK: BREAST CANCER CULTURE IN AMERICA [Galileo Learning Community students only] MW 4:30-5:45 pm Jessica Hume-Moore This course will examine the history, culture, and impact of breast cancer culture in America. We will discuss and examine ways in which the dominant “pink” narrative has potentially silenced other breast cancer stories which employ a different experience (a process called “pinkwashing”), and explore possibilities for bringing new types of experiences and narratives, and the issues they present, into the public discourse. For example, why is there so little discussion of LGBTQ experiences in breast cancer, or women of color? Why, when environmental problems have been linked to so many kinds of cancer, do we not work harder to remove those problems? And why pink, anyway?
IDC. 101 11 – THE ART OF THE DETECTIVE TTh 12:15-1:30 pm Cathy Sutton Why has the character of the detective captured our imagination through countless novels, movies, and TV shows? Is the detective a modern version of the knight who destroys the forces that threaten society? Or is the detective an expression of the persona to which we all aspire: smart, courageous, self-sufficient? To study a genre so large and varied we will study a few leading samples of male and female detectives. In no way will this course include a survey of the genre or even include all the best examples. Instead, I have selected some examples that highlight various characterizations of the detective as a fictional character. Consequently, we will study major novels, short stories, films, and a few TV series, spanning a period of time from the mid nineteenth century to the present time. Using these materials students will write several critical essays and a major thesis-centered research paper in accordance with the goals outlines for the freshman seminar program by the university. Students will explore some questions through small group interactions; in additions each student will present his or her research to the class through as a major assignment at the end of the semester.
IDC. 101 12 – THE ART OF THE DETECTIVE TTh 3:05-4:20 pm Cathy Sutton Why has the character of the detective captured our imagination through countless novels, movies, and TV shows? Is the detective a modern version of the knight who destroys the forces that threaten society? Or is the detective an expression of the persona to which we all aspire: smart, courageous, self-sufficient? To study a genre so large and varied we will study a few leading samples of male and female detectives. In no way will this course include a survey of the genre or even include all the best examples. Instead, I have selected some examples that highlight various characterizations of the detective as a fictional character. Consequently, we will study major novels, short stories, films, and a few TV series, spanning a period of time from the mid nineteenth century to the present time. Using these materials students will write several critical essays and a major thesis-centered research paper in accordance with the goals outlines for the freshman seminar program by the university. Students will explore some questions through small group interactions; in additions each student will present his or her research to the class through as a major assignment at the end of the semester.
IDC. 101 13 – STREETS OF GRIT IN AMERICAN LIT TTh 12:15-1:30 pm Chris Mattingly Some of America’s most arresting places are its streets. Think of Frenchmen Street in New Orleans, the Venice Beach Boardwalk, Broadway in Nashville, or Louisville’s own Bardstown Road. These streets are a carnival of sensory experiences that range from the inglorious to the grandiose. In American Literature, the street is no different. O’Connor’s streets are ablaze with the fire and brimstone visions of the Church of Christ Without Christ. Junot Dìaz’s Jersey streets are scattered with bombastic teens, buckled concrete, and .38 caliber casings. Along Baldwin’s boulevards, doorways are dungeons of vice diced with the pick- up lines of pimps and police alike. It is the aim of this course to use these streets as bedrock for an investigation into great works of American Literature while exploring themes such as race, class, addiction, God, love, and nation. Our hale and hearty guides will be James Baldwin, Sandra Cisneros, Junot Dìaz, Zora Neale Hurston, Denis Johnson, Flannery O’Connor, and John Steinbeck. Students will conduct in-class panels, build soundtracks for texts, lead class discussions, and write literary analysis essays.
IDC. 101 14 – STREETS OF GRIT IN AMERICAN LIT TTh 9:25-10:40 am Chris Mattingly Some of America’s most arresting places are its streets. Think of Frenchmen Street in New Orleans, the Venice Beach Boardwalk, Broadway in Nashville, or Louisville’s own Bardstown Road. These streets are a carnival of sensory experiences that range from the inglorious to the grandiose. In American Literature, the street is no different. O’Connor’s streets are ablaze with the fire and brimstone visions of the Church of Christ Without Christ. Junot Dìaz’s Jersey streets are scattered with bombastic teens, buckled concrete, and .38 caliber casings. Along Baldwin’s boulevards, doorways are dungeons of vice diced with the pick- up lines of pimps and police alike. It is the aim of this course to use these streets as bedrock for an investigation into great works of American Literature while exploring themes such as race, class, addiction, God, love, and nation. Our hale and hearty guides will be James Baldwin, Sandra Cisneros, Junot Dìaz, Zora Neale Hurston, Denis Johnson, Flannery O’Connor, and John Steinbeck. Students will conduct in-class panels, build soundtracks for texts, lead class discussions, and write literary analysis essays.
IDC. 101 15 – TO THE FRONT! EMPOWERED BY PUNK TTh 8:00-9:15 am Chris Mattingly Forty years after its beginnings, punk is still often thought of as a cultural movement defined through chaotic, unruly music, crude art, and flamboyant styles of dress. Images of purple mohawks, nose rings, and screaming youths yielding black anarchy flags hang in the popular imagination like Ramones t-shirts on a sale rack. And while punk has its clichés, the truth is it has surprisingly deep literary roots in the French Symbolist and Beat Generation writers as well as in Elizabethan drama and New York’s avant- garde theater. More than just music or style, punk is a phenomenon of invention and revision indebted to Dada and Neo-Expressionism. Plainly put, punk is a highly developed and nuanced vehicle through which people challenge systems of cultural oppression. The aim of this course is to understand the ways in which punk helps articulate and complicate existing conversations on a range of topics including, but certainly not limited to, gender, poverty, immigration, education, housing justice, and racism. Tasked with blending the rigors of academic inquiry with the joys of listening to music, we will explicate lyrics and text from zines, interrogate the artwork of album packaging and flyers, and analyze stage performances as well as styles of dress. We will supplement our study with documentaries, interviews, and academic articles and texts from punk and culture studies scholars.
IDC. 101 16 – PICTURE THE LAND MWF 9:00-9:50 pm Kerri Horine In the field of documentary photography, many photographers choose to focus on the theme of “home.” This focus can range from the vulnerabilities of Oklahoma farmers revealed by Ed Kashi to the magnitude of unspoiled landscape captured by Sebastiao Salgado. Referring to the encyclical of Pope Francis, we will explore the work of these photographers who take the land—and people’s relationship to it—as their focus. Our exploration will involve the books and exhibits produced by these photographers in order to achieve a political/social/environmental effect. We’ll watch films about their efforts, such as The Salt of the Earth, which shows Salgado’s surprising re-forestation project for his homeland. We will combine traditional assessment modes such as exams, presentations, research papers with creative assessment such as journaling.
IDC. 101 17 – PICTURE THE LAND MWF 10:00-10:50 pm Kerri Horine In the field of documentary photography, many photographers choose to focus on the theme of “home.” This focus can range from the vulnerabilities of Oklahoma farmers revealed by Ed Kashi to the magnitude of unspoiled landscape captured by Sebastiao Salgado. Referring to the encyclical of Pope Francis, we will explore the work of these photographers who take the land—and people’s relationship to it—as their focus. Our exploration will involve the books and exhibits produced by these photographers in order to achieve a political/social/environmental effect. We’ll watch films about their efforts, such as The Salt of the Earth, which shows Salgado’s surprising re-forestation project for his homeland. We will combine traditional assessment modes such as exams, presentations, research papers with creative assessment such as journaling.
IDC. 101 18 – DRAWING ILLNESS: MEDICINE IN COMICS MW 1:30-2:45 pm Jessica Fletcher This course explores the ways in which health and medicine are shown in graphic novels compared to traditional medical narratives. Students will compare and contrast traditional narrative with graphic narrative as well as looking at the ways in which graphic narrative can reach patients. This course encompasses issues within the fourth section of Pope Francis’s encyclical, Decline in the Quality of Human Life and the Breakdown of Society as medicine is often inaccessible to many throughout the world. It also deals with access to literature about medicine and literacy.
IDC. 101 19 – TALKING CATS & UNICORN SKULLS TTh 12:15-1:30 pm Jessica Fletcher This course will examine the various forms of magical realism that exist outside of traditional Western literature, as well as compare how the forms differ from each other and Western magical realism. We will also discuss different terms associated with magical realism, such as surrealism and fantasy, and look at the ways that native folklore shapes these texts and the ways that physical geography helped shape that folklore. Texts will primarily come from Japan and South America.
IDC. 101 20 – FOOD WRITING MW 1:30-2:45 pm David Domine If you like to eat and drink-and who doesn’t?-then food writing should be right up your alley. Successful food writers know how to take a passion for all things edible and capture that wonder in words. Many people think food writing is limited to critiques and recipes, but there’s much more to it than that. Today’s food writers illustrate how a penchant for the gastronomic can inspire a variety of formats including travelogues, business stories, celebrity profiles, social and political commentary, novels, and more. This course introduces students to the cross-genre world of modern food-centric writing, while exploring its evolution over the years. It also shows how a culinary experience or a delicious memory can be turned into a marketable product. Memoirs, blogs, essays, poetry, destination pieces, cookbooks, restaurant reviews, screenplays - here’s your chance to get an overview of the full spectrum of food writing while becoming a better writer in the process.
IDC. 101 21 – STORYTELLING: HUMAN EXPERIENCE TTh 8:00-9:15 am Gary Watson Storytelling, at once a genetic human trait and a force for human development, occupies an important role in defining, challenging, and changing the world in which we live. The world we live in faces huge problems for its survival; a deteriorating ecology, racial tensions, and human justice are only a few of the challenges humans face. Storytelling has historically contributed to human development and progress and has the capacity to engage humans in meeting its present and future challenges, perhaps even for global survival. Students will engage in three basic kinds of storytelling: story of self, story of us, and story of now. Story of self is about a struggle one has been engaged in. Story of us asks students to explore how religion, race, and nations tell stories that include or exclude humans and to develop an attitude of fighting for the common human cause of survival. Story of now explores the reason for action, sacrifice, movement and urgency as humans learn to relate and to change for survival. (https://sojo.net/magazine/february-2013/storytelling-and-social-change) Students will also choose and work on a semester-long project that will require them to analyze some ecological, racial, or human justice issue in terms of the three types of storytelling in the course. The culminating project will have at least forms of presentation mode: a research paper and a digital presentation.
IDC. 101 22 – ART OF THE CIVIL WAR TTh 9:25-10:40 am Mike Jennings Most great wars inspire important art. Alone among America’s wars, the Civil War also owed its existence, in significant measure, to a work of art. The 1852 publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti- slavery novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” had an unprecedented impact on the nation’s political and moral climate. The oft-told tale of Lincoln’s purported comment on first meeting Stowe in 1862 (“So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war”) may have been apocryphal. Few contemporaries, however, would have questioned that Stowe’s novel helped whip sectional passions to an intensity that, within a few years, could no longer be contained. As the war reached levels of fury and carnage that neither side had anticipated, writers like Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, and Mary Boykin Chesnut sought to probe its deepest meanings. Even the words of politicians often conveyed a conviction that the war’s import could be expressed only through poetry. (Think, “With malice toward none; with charity for all …,” or of a half-dozen other phrases from Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address). This course will sample from poetry, prose, music, paintings and political cartoons produced before and during the war. It will also range forward in time to include works that offer retrospective insight into the war’s origins and legacy. Students will be encouraged to study postwar or 20th-century works by the writers Ambrose Bierce, Stephen Crane, William Faulkner, William Styron, Ralph Ellison, Robert Penn Warren and Toni Morrison, and by the filmmakers Edward Zwick, Stephen Spielberg and Steve McQueen (directors of, respectively, “Glory,” “Lincoln” and “12 Years A Slave”). The instructor will refer to historical events as necessary, but the main content of the course will be art, not history.
IDC. 101 23 – THE AMERICAN FAMILY MWF 9:00-9:50 am Lisa Catron The family stands as a cornerstone of our society. Our families teach us the lessons we need to navigate the world and society. Over the years the notion of family has changed to encompass not just blood relations, but neighborhood/community members, friends, and even colleagues. This course aims at exploring how American families are represented in various mediums – from novels, movies, and television. We will explore how region, ethnic heritage, and time period mold families in the United States and how particular mediums both reflect and shape our views of family. Taking a cultural studies approach, we will work toward defining the modern American Family. We will read literary texts including: Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club, Norman McLean’s A River Runs Through It, Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima, and Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone. We will view visual interpretations of the American family to include a variety of television shows to explore how medium effects – either changes or reinforces – our views of family. Students will write one short paper relating to a concept of the course. The extended research project will required students to choose a book, movie, or television series not covered in class (in consultation with the instructor) and explore its representation of family using the concepts learned in class.
IDC. 101 24 – INTRODUCTION TO PERU MW 12:00-1:15 pm Sarah Neal Did you know that Peru was recently named the Best Culinary Destination, the Best Cultural Destination, and the Leading Heritage Destination at the 2014 World Travel Awards South and Central America? That Peru’s pacific coastline is 1500 miles and is a surfer’s paradise and the reason that ceviche is part of the national heritage? Or that Peru is home to the world’s highest navigable lake, 28 of the world’s 32 climates, the world’s largest sand dune, and the world’s deepest canyon, which is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, and to the largest stone ruin in the New World, which is comprised of nearly 10-times the volume of the stone blocks used in the Giza Pyramid? Or that 2/3 of the country is covered by the Amazon rain forest? And that 75% of Peru’s rain forest is currently controlled by oil and gas concessions?
This course, taught in English, is designed to provide students with a critical understanding and appreciation of contemporary Peru’s historical, cultural, environmental, and sociopolitical landscape. We will explore this fascinating country by looking at its food, history, geography, architecture, and customs, as well as discussing contemporary issues such as the legacy of colonization, economic inequality, social justice, sustainability, preservation, democracy and terrorism. Using texts and various forms of media, we will examine the above areas and expand on them with class discussion, presentations, journal assignments, field trip(s), and research assignments. This course is a perfect introduction to study abroad and a great way to expand your personal world vision.
IDC. 101 25 – DON QUIXOTE’S MADCAP ADVENTURES MWF 10:00-10:50 am Nelson Lopez This course will provide you the opportunity to experience a world masterpiece, nominated by writers from around the world as one of the 100 masterpieces: Don Quixote de La Mancha by Miguel Cervantes Saavedra. The course will allow you to become familiar with Cervantes and Don Quixote’s world. The readings, writings, and discussions will be done in English language, we will see some scenes and you are cordially invited to reenact an episode or do a reading out loud. We will start from the present and travel to the past to understand the works and influence of Cervantes in the world by: Explaining what is fictional narrative and how it works, Introducing you to fundamental ideas about historical development of the western literature in Spain, and helping you gain insight into yourself and your most deeply felt concerns.
How? Through an understanding of the fictional universes created by perceptive writers of the past such as Miguel de Cervantes.
IDC. 101 26 – GENRE CROSSING IN FILM & FICTION MW 12:00-1:15 pm Katie Wagner Genre categories have become nearly indispensable. Everyone, from academics to marketers and creators to consumers, uses genres to make decisions about evaluation, production, selling, and purchasing. Yet many works seem to intentionally avoid easy or neat genre classification. This course will examine these texts, looking at modern examples of fiction and film that both obviously and more subtly cross and blur genre lines. Students will examine how narrative and form are created and shaped by convergent and conflicting elements of different genres blending together. Approaching genres as culturally and historically shaped, students will examine how genre-crossing texts emerge out of (and in turn effect) specific times and contexts. Throughout the course, students will discuss how genre-crossing is affecting the storytelling of our time and what the practice of crossing genres suggests about our culture and our narratives. Required texts may include short stories by Robert Shearman, Neil Gaiman, Kelly Link, and Angela Carter; anthologized short stories labeled as “slipstream” and “interstitial;” episodes of the TV show Firefly; and the films Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Fisher King, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Cabin in the Woods. Coursework will include writing a formal research paper according to MLA formatting, completing a creative project, and presenting on an additional genre-crossing text. In addition to completing the readings on their own, students will be expected to screen all films outside of class.
IDC. 101 27 – ARGH!.....ZOMBIES MW 3:00-4:15 pm Katie Wagner Whether they shamble slowly, attack quickly, or fall in love, zombies have grabbed ahold of our imaginations. For some, the subject matter of this course will be amusing; for others it will seem trivial; and for (hopefully only) a select few, it will just be creepy. Yet within this seminar, zombie narratives will be discussed critically and (at times) creatively as a cultural phenomenon that due to its prominence, popularity, and persistence cannot and should not be ignored. Students will use history, literary and cinematic theory, race studies, and cultural theory to explore the significance of different zombie types and how zombie narratives serve as metaphors for cultural anxieties. In addition to looking at critical material, students will engage with a variety of zombie narratives in literature, graphic novels, and film and discuss the functions of narrative structure and literary/cinematic form and presentation in works with zombies. Texts may include the first volume of the graphic novel series The Walking Dead; the novel World War Z; and the films White Zombie, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead (both versions), Shaun of the Dead, Fido, 28 Days Later, The Dead, Warm Bodies, and World War Z. Coursework will include writing a formal research paper according to MLA formatting, completing a creative project, and presenting on an additional zombie film. In addition to completing the readings on their own, students will be expected to screen all films outside of class.
IDC. 101 28 – THE ENVIRONS OF COLONIAL AMERICA MW 3:00-4:15 pm Kylie Hulbert The Environs of Colonial America will examine the history of North America from its colonial beginnings through the American Revolution using the environment as a lens of study. The course will analyze the societies and peoples which inhabited the continent and how these peoples — Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans — interacted, lived, and eventually created the United States of America we know today. We will examine how Americans shaped and changed this “New World,” as well as how this continent shaped and changed the people who lived here. We will study the ways in which different cultures viewed, used, and interacted with their environments and how these practices continue to affect our current views and understandings of the natural world and its role in our lives. We will also examine the ways in which wars, such as the Revolution, change the landscape and affect not only the people within a society, but their homes, livestock, and livelihood. We will address a number of topics and themes including exploration and conquests, religion, self- government, diversity, independence, and freedom. Utilizing primary and secondary sources, including letters, maps, writings, art, theatre, film, articles, and books, we will explore how thirteen different colonies banded together, created a national purpose and identity, and defeated the British, while forever changing the world in which they lived.
IDC. 101 29 – INTRODUCTION TO CHINA MW 4:30-5:45 pm Zhijie Yu China, with the largest population in the world, has an amazingly huge diversity of cultures. This diversity ranges from different landscapes, peoples, foods, customs and practices, to even dialects. Yes, a person from the north can barely communicate with the one from the south if they both only use their local dialects. Grown up in the north, lived in the south for ten years and well-travelled all over the country, the instructor has a number of vivid first-hand stories and extensive experience to illustrate the multi- cultural differences. This course, taught in English, provides students with critical understanding and appreciation of the diversity of China’s contemporary cultures including scenery, architecture, cuisines, customs and practices, arts and crafts, and so on. Students will also have the opportunity to explore the reasons underneath from the perspective of geography and history. Texts and multimedia materials along with class discussions, presentations, research assignments and field trip(s) will make this course an ideal preparation to study abroad and a perfect way to cultivate a global vision and perspective.
IDC. 101 30 – ENVIRONMENTAL LITERATURE MWF 1:00-1:50 pm Bonnie Johnson The seminar course features readings from noted American nature writers (Emerson, Berry, Gessner, Williams, House, Niewenhuis, et al) about issues regarding mountaintop removal, resource shortages, oil spills, Cape Cod, the Great Lakes, and others. Students engage in discourse, research, and brief writing assignments that culminate in a fifteen minute multi-media presentation and a lengthier argument paper with documentation. The class includes lectures and videos designed to raise awareness and to address possible resolutions to positively affect the country's environment.
IDC. 101 31 – MY NEW KENTUCKY HOME: CULTURAL ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENTAL CITIZENSHIP TTh 12:15-1:30 pm Robert Foshee This course is inspired by Chapter Four: Integral Ecology of Pope Francis’ “Encyclical, On Care for Our Common Home” The course will focus on writings (principally by Kentuckians) about our relationship with our non-human partners in this place we all recognize as home: the land, the air, the water and the other resources and creatures which constitute our environment. Subject matter will include: the importance of landscape and ecosystem preservation; the challenges faced by rural, urban and suburban residents; and the pressure that comes with changes in our educational, economic and cultural expectations. Amid the other crucial elements in our landscape, human beings have risen to a type of dominance. Through a multitude of cultural expressions -- each potentially noble, some unwittingly destructive -- we find ourselves at the reins of our Destiny. We are called upon to act knowledgeably, responsibly to recognize and protect the Creation that nurtures us, not for our personal posterity, but as a critical part of the evolution of our common, sacred humanity. Students will read, discuss, research, compose and present the results of their inquiry.
IDC. 101 32 – MY NEW KENTUCKY HOME: CULTURAL ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENTAL CITIZENSHIP TTh 3:05-4:20 pm Robert Foshee This course is inspired by Chapter Four: Integral Ecology of Pope Francis’ “Encyclical, On Care for Our Common Home” The course will focus on writings (principally by Kentuckians) about our relationship with our non-human partners in this place we all recognize as home: the land, the air, the water and the other resources and creatures which constitute our environment. Subject matter will include: the importance of landscape and ecosystem preservation; the challenges faced by rural, urban and suburban residents; and the pressure that comes with changes in our educational, economic and cultural expectations. Amid the other crucial elements in our landscape, human beings have risen to a type of dominance. Through a multitude of cultural expressions -- each potentially noble, some unwittingly destructive -- we find ourselves at the reins of our Destiny. We are called upon to act knowledgeably, responsibly to recognize and protect the Creation that nurtures us, not for our personal posterity, but as a critical part of the evolution of our common, sacred humanity. Students will read, discuss, research, compose and present the results of their inquiry.
IDC. 101 33 - MUSIC IN LOUISVILLE TTh 1:40-2:55 pm A.T. Simpson $100 course fee Music in Louisville is a Freshman Seminar designed for music-loving first year students who wish to be introduced to the wealth of musical offerings presented by professional, semi-professional, collegiate, and amateur arts organizations in the Kentucky-Indiana-Ohio region. The aesthetic mission and vision of these groups are analyzed and discussed (in the context of their contributions to and importance for the community in which we live), along with selected examples of repertoire from the organizations’ 2014- 2015 offerings. As a principle component of class activities, live performances will be: 1) attended (individually, in small groups, and in all-class groupings) 2) discussed in class (in both pre-performance, introductory dialogues and in post-performance analytical evaluations) and 3) previewed and reviewed (in the form of both informal and formal essays) Students are, additionally, required to become ‘actively involved’ in some aspect of the ‘music scene’ in Louisville (either off-campus and/or on-campus). The level and type of involvement can take many forms, including, but not limited to, performance, administrative, and volunteer components of the production of the artistic event at hand. Course fee of $100 pays for tickets to various musical events as well as honoraria for guest musicians.
IDC. 101 34 – EXPLORING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRISTIANITY MWF 12:00-12:50 pm Mith Barnes In this course, students will explore various expressions of Christianity, leading to a survey of contemporary forms, both mainstream denominations and more obscure variants. We will survey the development of each denomination we consider, examining how different historical and social pressures helped to shape different expressions of the core Christian message. We will investigate how the ideas and beliefs of each differentiate them from others, identifying both distinguishing characteristics and commonalities with other groups. We will also discuss the interaction of each group with other cultural issues like race, gender, ethics, and law. Using a case study model, we will seek to uncover the ethical reasoning of different forms of Christianity as applied to current social issues. The focus will be on applying analytical and logical thinking skills to understanding and critiquing each denomination as positive and ethical members of their larger Christian, social and secular communities. Students will read articles, primary course materials and commentaries, as well as using media selections to help them gain understanding of the denominations we will study. Students will be expected visit a representative worship service from at least two of the denominations we encounter and write a short essay about each visit, as well as several brief ‘reaction’ papers and a final paper
IDC. 101 35 – DIGITAL GAMING CULTURE MWF 2:00-2:50 pm Mith Barnes In recent years, much attention has been given to the ways in which we inhabit virtual spaces and carry on virtual relationships. At the same time, video games have not only become commonplace, but have emerged as forms of narrative analogous to written fiction, television, and film. This course will survey the culture of video gaming from both perspectives, understanding video games as both a virtual spaces in which we live, interact and experience, but as a central, relevant, and revealing form of cultural expression. We will look at current scholarship on gaming and game culture, survey some of the most prevalent game theories applied to video gaming, and examine the impact gaming has had on our own culture. In addition to seminar-style discussion and several short reaction/reflection papers, students will devise and undertake a research inquiry into an aspect of gaming and gaming culture of interest to them.
IDC. 101 36 – RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES: WHO ARE WE? TTh 6:00-7:15 pm Mary Nebelsick This course will look at some of the men and women who have changed our world. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs revolutionized the computer and software industry making personal computers the norm. Mark Zuckerburg and Jack Dorsey created Facebook and Twitter changing the way we communicate. With her talk show, Oprah Winfrey brought the discussion of sensitive cultural issues to mainstream America. Athletes like Serena Williams and the U.S. Women’s National (Soccer) Team influence the way we look at women in sports. Political leaders like Aung Sang Suu-khi, Benazir Bhuto, Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi have demonstrated that political power and self-less devotion to their nations can go hand in hand. Artist Roy Lichtenstein elevated cartoons to an art form. Bill Watterson’s “Calvin and Hobbs” and Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” address issues of culture and identity. Comic Cons, where fans dress up as their favorite comic book characters, celebrate the contribution of comics to art and culture. In this highly “virtual” world Church leaders have focused on uniting all people. Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa confronted issues of racism. Pope Francis has addressed the question of environmental justice and Mother Teresa inspired us to be selflessly compassionate. Bring your own list of change- makers to class. We will discuss as many as we can.
IDC. 101 37 – GLOBALIZATION, MIGRATION & DEVELOPMENT: ENGAGING THE LOCAL DIASPORA TTh 3:05-4:20 pm Jud Hendrix This course will study the intersection of globalization, migration and development through an analysis of the process of globalization, the historical and cultural reasons for migration and through listening to the stories and passions of immigrants and refugees for development in their countries of origin. Students will develop an awareness of the complexity of addressing global development needs through the perspectives and wisdom of local internationals and together discern ways in which to empower their local neighbors to express their desire’s for change back in their native communities.
IDC. 101 38 – THE VIDEO BLOG TTh 1:40-2:55 pm Angela Miller This course focuses on a specialized insight into the craft of online content analysis in which students will research, develop and present social commentaries in a video-blog (vlog) format. Current local and worldwide topics will be independently chosen by the students. These topics will first be explored through in-class discussion followed by individual research and analysis. The organization of the student’s discussions, research and analysis will then be focused into concise 2 minute vlogs. The vlog presentation style and format will vary based upon the topics discussed in class coupled with established communication modes of speech presentations (informative, persuasive, demonstrative and interview). This course is designed to motivate students to develop independent, critical and impartial thought based upon intensive online research. Students will learn to formulate impartial and non-personal critiques on the topics discussed by their fellow students. They will also be encouraged to display initiative and collaborative skills for an ongoing group video project supporting one local and one international non-profit group. With the growth of the Internet, online resources such as blogs, vlogs, social commentaries and discussion, prove to offer an amazing means to encourage and expand social and/or political awareness. This course will challenge students to view how they are adapting to online media in not only keeping informed of worldwide events but also protecting themselves by finding corroborative evidence or reliable online sources in which to base their analysis.
IDC. 101 39 – ANIMALS AND SOCIETY MW 12:00-1:15 pm Jennifer Sinski This course explores the unique relationship that humans share with other animals, the implications of this relationship, and the potential. We examine the attitudes our society holds toward animals other than ourselves as well as how and why our social institutions create these attitudes. We also address the connection between animal and human compassion along with the similarities between animal oppression and racism, sexism, ageism, and social class privilege. Finally, we direct attention to the ways in which animals enrich human lives and humans can benefit other animals. This course uses historical, cultural, institutional, interpersonal, and environmental perspectives to examine the human-other animal bond
IDC. 101 40 – ARTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT TTh 6:00-7:15 pm Michelle Salerno Arts & The Environment is a Freshman Seminar that engages students in dialogue on how the arts play a vital role in the urgent climate challenge. Taking as its starting point Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on caring for our common home, this course focuses on performing, visual, and literary artists who have taken as their primary goal participating in discussions and debates about the relationship between humanity and the earth. We will discuss art in a variety of forms from differing time periods and geographical areas organized thematically by the six chapters of the encyclical: What is happening to our Common Home, The Gospel of Creation, The Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis, Integral Ecology, Lines of Approach and Action, and Ecological Education and Spirituality. Using these themes we will ask: how have artists depicted the beauty of landscapes, geographical terrains, and wonders of nature? How have they represented the abuses of the environment, impacts of natural disasters, and the effects of climate change? What is the role of their art in advocating for change? What have they asked their audiences to do? We will also examine the environmental practices that contributed to the work’s creation and distribution. Is the work accessible to a wide audience through environmentally conscious means? Did the artist use sustainable practices to create their work? Additionally, this course will introduce students to contemporary cultural studies approaches on the topic including landscape studies, food studies and the foodways paradigm, and animal studies and human-animal hybridity. Students should expect to encounter an array of materials, for example: Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Jonathan Safran Foe’s Eating Animals, environmental artwork by Cristo and Jeanne-Claude, and selections from Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke.
IDC. 101 41 – DYSTOPIAN ENVIRONMENTALISM TTh 4:30-5:45 pm David Becker Dystopian narratives have grown in popularity in American culture alongside warnings of the impact of human activity on the environment’s health. World leaders, such as President Obama and Pope Francis have called for change. In Pope Francis’s most recent encyclical, he calls for “a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.” In Margaret Atwood’s acclaimed MaddAddam Trilogy, the world has come to an end due to a human-made virus, leaving only the Crakers (a new human species defined by their blue skin and 100% carbon free biology) and a handful of human survivors, some once members of God’s Gardeners. Set in a not too distant future, Atwood’s three novels (Oryx & Crake, The Year of the Flood, and MaddAddam) are a call to the human race to examine some of its major moral crises including humankind’s relationship with nature, human trafficking, and bioengineering run amok. Atwood and Pope Francis call for recognition of humankind’s effect on the earth, and the God’s Gardeners offer a possible solution. In this course, students will engage with all three novels exploring their major themes through academic research in various fields including environmental science, literary studies, theology, and social justice. While the course is heavily focused on analysis through discussion, students will also compose original thesis– driven essays, taken through the writing process, with a capstone research project that reaches across disciplines.
IDC. 200 COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Catalog description IDC. 200 – Sophomore US Experience (3) These courses are designed to focus on an important issue connected with the history and nature of U.S. culture. Each course offering is studied through approaches provided by more than one discipline of thought. For example, a course on the American Family might involve working from a combination of sociological, psychological, and literary perspectives; a course on the U.S. Constitution might include the philosophical, political, and historical factors that contributed to its writing and character; and a course on the American Space Program might combine scientific and historical approaches. This course builds on and further develops the set of skills/abilities introduced in IDC.101, in part, by culminating with a final project that combines research and critical analysis and emphasizes the research component of the project.
IDC. 200 01 – SCREWBALL COMEDY & FILM NOR TTh 9:25-10:40 am Cathy Sutton Since the advent of silent films on the early 1920’s American film has presented the romantic relationships between men and women in a myriad number of ways. In exploring the nature of love through film the class will examine not only that relationship but, more significantly, the nature of the culture that produces these various visions of love between the sexes. The class will examine issues related to gender identity, questioning why different periods have produced particular masculine and feminine identities. Why did the 1940’s give us the tender-tough guy? Why did the quick-witted heroines of screwball comedy in the 1930’s become so popular? How did the cynicism about love in film noir reflect values in our culture soon after the end of World War II? How did the feminist movement, beginning in the early 1970’s, affect our film version of the lives of women? How do some major films depict the end of love? When the Hollywood Code against sexually explicit material ended, did the depiction of love become more or less authentic? What impediments to love have movies often held out as most significant? Finally, as a basis for the whole class, we will examine whether artistic representations of movie love reflect the culture or forecast the future. Do we change our attitudes and behaviors because we see characters acting in certain ways on the screen? In the words of Oscar Wilde, does “life imitate art” or the other way around? The class, like all IDC classes, will engage students in an independent research project based on a thesis about a broad range of possible topics related to the history of American film as an expression of gender. In addition, students will write two short papers based on a choice of films. The class will include periodic quizzes and in-class writing as well.
IDC. 200 02 – THE VIETNAM WAR Tu 6:00-8:45 pm David Green The Vietnam War was the war that divided modern America. It was a war that cost 58,000 American lives and at least 6 times that number of Vietnamese lives. It was a conflict that sucked dry the resources for a “war on poverty” and forced a President out of office. It saw American students rise, and sometimes die, in protest to resist the government’s policies. It made household words of Tet, Vietnamization, and Napalm and made famous places like the Gulf of Tonkin, Saigon, and Kent State University. From music to literature—from the Constitution to religion, not one aspect of American society was untouched by the Vietnam War. And today, it still haunts us with a strange wall in Washington, D.C.; a people that remain skeptical of their government; and a paranoia about our national strength. This course will examine the Vietnam War from these many perspectives and influence students to place the war within the context of our national history. The course will utilize both secondary and primary sources to provide background and topics of discussion. Additionally, students will be required to watch two movies about the Vietnam War (Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter), read an assigned novel, and view several clips from documentaries as discussion prompts. Finally, a centerpiece of this course will include an oral history project for which students will be expected to interview at least two people who lived through the era of the Vietnam War. Note: Movies are to be viewed outside of class!
IDC. 200 03 – COUNTERCULTURES OF THE 1960’s TTh 3:05-4:20 pm John Schuler This class will look at the cultural development of the United States by examining the attitudes and ideals of the various countercultures that were formed in the 1960s. By studying the writings, music, and films associated with various counterculture groups we will examine topics such as the civil rights movement and Black Power; the Vietnam War and the antiwar movement; the rise of both the New Left and the New Right; and the emergence of feminism and anti-feminism and determine how the countercultures shaped the perspective of an entire nation. Perhaps more importantly, we will examine how those vast changes in American society helped to usher in and shaped the America we live in today. By design this course is interdisciplinary, as students will have the opportunity to select themes in political science, the arts (music, entertainment, and media), religion, philosophy and sociology (culture studies) for their semester research paper. Along with providing students with a more thorough understanding of American history, this course will also provide an enriched appreciation of the roots of many contemporary issues, conflicts, and social norms. Students will also develop necessary critical skills including the ability to effectively analyze primary and secondary sources for argument and context; understand and critically evaluate arguments about the past; develop personal opinions and select relevant examples from course materials to support them.
IDC. 200 04 – WHERE AM I? HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE U.S. M 6:00-9:00 pm Sarah Ramage & Danielle Reid Colleges and Universities have evolved from creating “Christian Gentlemen” to being revolutionary landmarks of diversity, change, and career/economic mobility. This course will offer students the means to understand their own educational experience in the context of higher education throughout U.S. history. Class topics will include the changing role of the student, how colleges and universities function, and student development theories. This course will compare institutional types, regional development of higher learning, and organizational structure, as students see the evolution of today’s engaged, student- centered, model for higher learning. Students will engage with readings that describe the history and development of institutions of higher learning from Ivy League Universities to For-Profit colleges. Readings will also include articles about current issues facing higher education in the U.S. As a part of this course, students will participate in group activities and discussion, interview campus leaders, and hear from guest speakers. By the end of the semester, students will understand the administrative functions of an institution, historical development of institutional types, and have the opportunity to explore aspects of student development theory.
IDC. 200 05 - MUSIC IN THE BLACK CHURCH TTh 12:15-1:30 pm A.T. Simpson $100 course fee Music in the Black Church has been designed to study the history of, evolution of, variety in, and importance of music in today’s “Black”/African-American Church. The “Black Church” has, undoubtedly, proven to be both a catalyst for social change in the United States and a constant center of social and political power in the African-American community. Music in the “Black Church” has, since the formal church’s infancy—and, perhaps, even before--been a richly distinctive blend of traditional African music, American folk music, European classical music (as filtered through the American classical perspective) and, eventually, American ‘pop’ music traditions. This fascinating, hybrid musical style as proven to be at the core of both a)the church’s power within the African-American community and b)the church’s ‘public persona’ in the society-at-large. This course will study the music in the major denominations of the “Black Church” from musical, aesthetic, and socio-cultural viewpoints. No previous preparation or knowledge of music is expected or required for this class. While the general class procedure will follow a vestigial lecture and discussion format, we will proceed in a manner that involves less memorization and more critical thinking and writing, less lecturing and note taking, more interaction and discussion [thus aiming to] encourage participatory learning through the interchange of ideas between students and professors and among students themselves. Required texts will be supplemented by outside readings, listening/viewing assignments, and church/‘concert’ attendance. Course fee of $100 pays for tickets to various musical events as well as honoraria for guest musicians.
IDC. 200 06 – INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS Th 6:00-8:45 pm Kathleen Parks Ranking as one of the most powerful events in world history, this course will serve as an interdisciplinary exploration into the social justice, civil rights movement, both locally, nationally and internationally. It will examine the social structures of the movement and institutional constructs of economic and racial inequality, oppression and repression.
IDC. 200 07 – THE IMPACT OF TRUAMA ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT MW 3:00-4:15 pm Jennifer Sinski The Impact of Trauma on Development will examine specific incidences of trauma and the impact they have on the learning process. Students will explore current research on trauma and its impact on brain development as well as applications in the learning setting. Many scientific studies indicate that trauma causes long term damage to portions of the brain that control learning and behavior, creating both learning and emotional disabilities. Parents and educators must find the key to address individual children’s needs, and when many of these children have experienced both large and small scale traumas, a special understanding must help guide the curriculum. Current education policy mandates achievement goals for all children regardless of a parent’s death, long term illness, physical/sexual abuse or other trauma that occurred in that child’s life.
IDC. 200 08 – EVOLUTION OF CRIME IN AMERICA TTh 4:30-5:45 pm Jarrad Roby This course seeks to focus on the evolution of criminal activity throughout our nation’s history. Study will center on the policy determinations that have gone into the passage and enforcement of our nation’s laws over time, including how many were used to persuade or discourage behaviors and/or punish or promote certain segments of the population. We will also focus on the geography of crime, looking at metropolitan areas, various states, and even regions throughout the country while examining rates of criminal activity, types of crime, incarceration rates, class, race, etc. Guest speaker will include former Commonwealth’s attorney turned defense counsel to share differing viewpoints on prosecuting and now defending those charged with crimes locally. The arrangement of the class will be largely driven by time, in that we begin with colonization, explore the spike in crime as it related to prohibition, the spike post World War II, our nation’s war on drugs, the steady decline in crime in the 1990s, etc.
IDC. 200 09 – HOW POPULAR CULTURE EMBRACES THE BARD MW 4:30-5:45 pm Kathi Ellis How many of us were turned off of Shakespeare in High School? Through teachers uninspired by the language? By weighty and incomprehensible school productions? This course will explore how pop culture has appropriated and incorporated the works of William Shakespeare into many of its own tropes and genres and thus speaks to each succeeding generation (whether or not they recognize the original source.) Students will view/read and discuss films, theatrical adaptations, novels, popular music, commercials and more as they discover how much of 'their' American culture is influenced by and derived from the 400 year-old writing of Shakespere (2016 is the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death and will be celebrated worldwide). Students will undertake their own research into pop culture/Shakespeare references beyond those in the syllabus. The course will include examples such as The Lion King (Hamlet), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Hamlet), Scotland, PA (Macbeth), West Side Story (Romeo and Juliet), the Black Adder TV series, the work of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, the Kill Shakespeare graphic novels (various), The Talented Mr. Ripley (Macbeth), and the words and phrases that make their way into a wide variety of songs and commercials. The formal writing requirement will be a paper in which students take their own research into the Shakespeare/pop culture connection, and demonstrate how today's versions of Shakespeare speak to their generation, and how Shakespeare's universality can bring light to specific ideas, places and individuals today. Communicating effectively in speech will take the form of a classroom presentation in which each student examines a specific Shakespearean adaptation/co-option. Students will engage in robust class and small group discussion as well as analysis of the connections between today's 'take' on Shakespeare’s themes and ideas and those in the original texts.
IDC. 200-10 WHAT’S #TRENDING IN HEALTH & WELLNESS W 6:00-8:45 pm Amy Lazarewicz This course will focus on contemporary trends in health and wellness. Students will be equipped with a basic understanding of current health topics, with an emphasis on health messaging in social media. Topics may include, but are not limited to: HPV, obesity, tobacco use, health care reform, diet & exercise, weight loss, stress, etc. Health topics will be covered in class and guided by textbook materials. In addition, students will choose a specific topic to further examine as part of the final class project. The project will include the following components: research, class presentation and formal report/lit review. Students will use resources such as academic journals, national associations (CDC, ACS, AHA), as well as media sources like The New York Times. Social media as a means to deliver health messaging will be examined throughout the course. As part of the community outreach course component, students will work with a local agency (health department or community organization) to learn more about grass roots health and wellness efforts.
IDC. 200 11 - JAZZ, BLUES, AND BEYOND MWF 11:00-11:50 am Dave Clark The African-American Spiritual holds an important and often overlooked place in the development of American music. The Spiritual in essence is the seed of African-American musical genres. Exploring the spirituals reveals many aspects about the development of these musical genres, particularly blues, jazz, soul, and R&B. However, the lessons gained from the Spirituals in terms of commentary on the state of humanity are just as, if not more important than the musical ones. The African-American Spiritual teaches profound lessons in its musical, social, religious, political, and cultural revelations. These revelations are traced to other genres such as blues, jazz, gospel, soul, and avant-garde among others. The characteristics of the genres are studied as to how they reflect and communicate the political, philosophical, social, and overall cultural beliefs of the people who created it. The notion that music is principally to be “enjoyed” is characteristic of Western culture, and much of the music we discuss has purposes far beyond enjoyment. It is music of great significance in understanding the state of humanity. This course will help you understand music as a cultural phenomenon, gain an appreciation for the African-American Spiritual and its progeny, and hopefully stimulate you to further investigate some aspect of music that you currently listen to. After carefully exploring the musical, cultural, religious, political, and social aspects of the Spiritual, we then begin to ask questions of our other musical genres. Upon evaluating our musical practices today, would our African-American ancestors be encouraged by what they heard? Would they be able to hear commentary on the human condition, perseverance of the human spirit, and an understanding of human kinship? These questions and many others are explored through readings, musical recordings, film and spirited discussion.
IDC. 200-12 SEPARATE BUT EQUAL? RACE, POVERTY, AND SEGREGATION IN AMERICAN LIFE MW 12:00-1:15 pm Perry Chang Are Americans as separated by race and ethnicity as ever even while people in different racial/ethnic groups enjoy similar opportunities? This course will consider this broad question in the context of both the country as a whole and in Kentuckiana/at Bellarmine. The course will start with a close look at excerpts from two landmark books, Massey and Denton’s American Apartheid and Portes and Stepick’s City on the Edge. Students will become familiar with research findings on poverty, segregation, and immigration. Culminating the learning and reflection for the course will be: (1) community engagement in which students volunteer at one of three local agencies that work with diverse populations; (2) analysis of the documentary films Hoop Dreams and Miss India Georgia; and (3) a research paper (which students will develop through multiple drafts and will be coupled with a PowerPoint presentation) that will reflect on the place of Catholic schooling in a potentially separate but equal America. During the course of the semester students will: (1) learn about basic theories and methods in the social sciences: (2) read from and reflect on Catholic statements about immigration, race, and equality (such as Rerum Novarum, Brothers and Sisters To Us, Economic Justice for All, and Welcoming the Stranger Among Us); and (3) familiarize themselves with how economic opportunities and people from racial and ethnic groups are spread out across U.S. regions and metropolitan areas (economic and cultural geography). Throughout the course, students will also hone their skills in critical thinking, written and oral communication, research, and group process.
IDC. 200-12 WOMEN’S WAYS OF KNOWING TTh 1:40-2:55 pm Olga-Maria Cruz Women’s Ways of Knowing, by Blythe, Clinchy, Goldberger and Tarule, has been an important text since its publication in 1986. Written by American women scholars in psychology and sociology, it examines how American women relate to knowledge, truth, and authority differently than men. The course is built around this book, focusing on the epistemological development of women in general, and the students in particular. Our efforts to explore the development of voice and identity in American women will be supplemented by the poetry of contemporary American women in The American Voice Poetry Anthology. Thus, the course blends philosophy with literature in the service of multidisciplinary development.
IDC. 301 COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Catalog Description IDC. 301 – Junior Transcultural Experience (3) These courses are designed to provide students with strong interdisciplinary study of cultures beyond that of the United States. Each course offering is studied through approaches provided by more than one discipline of thought. For example, a course on Latin American Culture and Civilization might approach its subject through art, music, and history; another might combine the disciplines of theology, history, and art in studying the lives of St. Francis and St. Robert Bellarmine and the Italian culture that frames their work. These set of courses also better illuminate the Bellarmine’s strategic planning initiative which focuses on internationalization, thereby making every part of the globe a part of the Bellarmine classroom. Whether studying abroad, intensively studying the verities of a particular culture, and/or studying the politics of difference and the formation of culture, these courses build on and further develop the set of skills/abilities introduced in IDC.101/200, culminating with a final project that combines research and critical analysis and emphasizing the critical analysis component of the project.
IDC. 301 01 – PUERTO RICAN CULTURE IN THE U.S. TTh 1:40-2:55 pm Nelson Lopez This course is a study and explanation of distinctive elements of the language of Puerto Rico. Discussion will focus on the fusion of indigenous, Hispanic, and Anglo-Saxon influence as manifested in the island's and mainland culture. The course includes reading, study, and critical analysis of the more important writers of the contemporary period in Puerto Rico and the United States. The course focuses primarily on Puerto Rican Diaspora, its political and cultural contributions, both in the island and in the mainland; as well as topics faced by Puerto Ricans as a colony of the United States. The course will explore issues of ethnicity, identity, as well as topics of bilingualism and biculturalism in the Puerto Rican music and through literary manifestations.
IDC. 301 02 – INTRODUCTION TO YOGA MW 12:00-1:15 pm Olga-Maria Cruz “Yoga” is a Sanskrit word describing yoking or linking. This course will examine the links between philosophy and religion, story and myth, body and mind, as presented through the ancient Indian practice of yoga. We will study the history of yoga, its attendant myths related to Hinduism, its philosophy and ethics, in the context of the cultural geography of India. The main text will be the Bhagavad Gita. We will also investigate contemporary practices of hatha yoga including the Bikram, Ashtanga, Anusara, and Iyengar schools. It is strongly recommended that students have passed PHIL 160 before taking this class.
IDC. 301 03- A TASTE OF INDIA Tu 6:00-8:45 pm John Pozhathuparambil Students will study the culture and religions of India. Hindus are the majority of India but it has a secular constitution and it has one of the largest growing economies of the world. To study the culture of a region, it is necessary to study the history, the economics, and the political system, but these discussions will be kept to a minimum. India has different regions and their cultures are remarkably different even among those who practice the same religion. We will explore the similarities and differences between the north and south of India. The influence of Mughal and British empires will be discussed. We will explore the different languages spoken in different parts of India. We will study the different religions of India and their influence on India’s culture. Hinduism is the dominant religion, but it has the second largest Muslim population of the world. We will look at the Sikh religion dominant in the northern state of Punjab, and we will also study the practices of Christians mainly in the south. We will concentrate on the harmonious relations of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians in the state of Kerala.
IDC. 301 04 – WHOSE LAND IS IT ANYWAY? W 6:00-8:45 pm Mary Nebelsick Colonialism, the policy where one country exploits another country economically, was an accepted part of the political landscape for over 400 years. The European powers used their military machinery to colonize less militarily developed countries in Asia, Africa and South America. The United States participated in this colonial expansion when it colonized the Philippines, Guam, American Samoa and Puerto Rico. Not all U.S. citizens, however, approved. Mark Twain and the American Anti-Imperialist League vehemently opposed America’s colonization of other countries. Sadly, vestiges of Colonialism are still present in the Philippines today, much to the dismay of Filipinos. American cultural norms exist side by side and sometimes conflict with Filipino cultural norms. As 21st century Americans we are still complicit in modifying Filipino culture. This course will look at colonialism through the lens of Catholic social thought using the Philippines as an example. We will begin by exploring Catholic social teachings on living justly and ask how Catholic social teachings critique colonialism. We will examine the events that led up to United States’ colonization of the Philippines. We will explore how U.S. citizens reacted to U.S. colonialism. We will ask how colonialism has contributed to poverty in the Philippines, how it has contributed to the wealth of the colonizers and what the continued effects of colonialism are today. Does Catholic social teaching guide us in responding justly to the sins of colonialism? If so, how can Catholic social thought inspire us to live lives of justice and peace?
IDC. 301 05 – THE FILMS OF AKIRA KUROSAWA MW 4:30-5:45 pm Katie Wagner Akira Kurosawa is regarded as one of the greatest directors of Japanese cinema. His films range from an epic re-imagining of Shakespeare’s King Lear to quiet, albeit poignant narratives of a dying and lonely man. As with other great cinematic auteurs, Kurosawa was a genius not only for his cinematic visions but also for his ability to critically examine and reflect upon his culture, his times, and his world. In this course, students will examine specific Kurosawa films from a variety of perspectives. While appreciating stylistic decisions of form and presentation, students will also explore the films’ portrayals and commentary on Japanese cultural issues of mythology, family, duty, history, and truth. Throughout the semester, students will examine Kurosawa’s legacy by situating his films as critical factors in shaping not only the West’s views of Japan, but the Japanese’s own view of themselves. Critical readings may include selections from Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto’s Kurosawa: Film Studies and Japanese Cinema, Akira Kurosawa’s Something Like an Autobiography, and Stephen Prince’s The Warrior’s Camera. Films may include No Regrets for Our Youth, Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, Red Beard, Ran, and Dreams. Coursework will include writing a formal research paper according to MLA formatting, presenting on a related topic, and completing a creative project. In addition to completing the readings on their own, students will be expected to screen all films outside of class.
IDC. 301 06 – FILM AND DRAMA OF WORLD WAR ONE TTh 4:30-5:45 pm Michelle Salerno In the fall of last year nations and institutions marked the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War. The Centennial commemoration and reflection has brought into high relief the harrowing conflict that often lies unacknowledged as one of the critical world events of the 20th century. Far removed from the everyday interaction with European war monuments and battlefields, Americans tend to learn very little about the conflict and its devastating effects including the destruction of cities, the use of chemical warfare and its damaging results, the death of millions of soldiers and civilians, and the geographical and political changes in the aftermath that altered the course of the 20th century. This course seeks to rectify this omission by engaging students with a selection of films and plays that focus on the war in order to ask fundamental questions about how the depiction ourselves and the Other in a time of war. In Film and Drama of World War I, we will use a geographic perspective to discuss depictions of war and its aftermath. This course will be arranged by country focusing on work available in English or English- translation/subtitles primarily from Germany, Russia, France, England, and the United States. Through this perspective we will analyze the depiction of nations, populations, and individuals as enemies, allies, or something in-between. How are notions of nationalism and enemization constructed for an audience? How are differences in race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and region or citizenship depicted? How do different countries present the same events for their own motivations? What is the role and responsibility of culture in the making of war? Have these depictions changed overtime? How might they help us reflect critically on war in our own time?
IDC. 301 07 – THE JAPANESE SWORD Tu 6:00-8:45 pm Brian Barnes $60 course fee Explore the historical, philosophical, and cultural roots of the Japanese sword. Learn about samurai arts and Japanese social customs by doing, not just reading. Students will learn some Japanese words and phrases, Zen meditation, breathing exercises, and the proper care and use of the sword itself. Students will discover the underlying political, cultural, economic, ethical, religious, martial, and artistic currents in historical and contemporary Japan as they relate to sword culture. What contributed to the sword’s importance for Japanese culture? What value exists in training the sword today? What important understandings can we take from another culture’s past and present? By learning and doing, we will explore the meaning and importance of the Japanese sword for culture and for ourselves. $60 course fee provides a wooden sword and molded plastic scabbard for each student.
IDC. 301 08 - GLOBAL COMPETENCY M 6:00-9:00 pm Stacy Shipman This class will investigate characteristics of globally competent individuals as presented by best practices research, along with supporting structures and methods. We will use the Capabilities Approach to examine global development and to consider issues around the world. We will explore the usage of the approach to consider many issues of development, such as gender, age, poverty and social class, religion, access to political structures, and more.
IDC. 301 09 – GERMAN ART, LANGUAGE, AND MUSIC TTh 12:15-1:30 pm Tim Glasscock $50 Course Fee
This course will examine Germanic heritage, culture, and language through a survey of the land, people and customs of the German-speaking world. This course is run in coordination with the Music Department’s Summer 2016 Salzburg Study Abroad experience, June 5-25, 2016. Please note that the course can be taken without the summer experience which is optional. The course will cover: Germanic Heritage, Culture, and Language: Germanic Tribes Teutonic Peoples From the Iron Age to Rome Roman Empire to Middle Ages Middle Ages to Modern Period The World Wars German food and wine German Music and Literature Germanic languages: including German, Dutch, Flemish, Norwegian, Afrikaans German vocabulary and everyday phraseology $50 course fee pays for several field trip excursions.
IDC. 301-10 GLOBAL URBANISM MW 1:30-2:45 pm Derek Ruez For the first time in history, the majority of the world’s population now lives in cities, and this proportion is only expected to grow. The period of rapid urbanization in which we live presents tremendous challenges and exciting opportunities—in terms of humanity’s relationship to the rest of the natural world and our relationships with each other. This course will introduce students to patterns of urbanization and forms of urban life across the world, as well as exciting new theoretical and methodological frameworks in comparative and global urbanism that can help us understand important urban problems like sustainability, religious and ethnic conflict, poverty, and inequality in a truly global frame. The course will begin with a brief intellectual genealogy of urban studies from the early days of the Chicago School to emergence of literatures on ‘world cities’ and globalization. From that foundation we will engage with argument from scholars—like Ananya Roy, Jennifer Robinson, and AbdouMaliq Simone—who have argued for a more cosmopolitan approach to cities that can produce a decolonized urban theory that reaches beyond the limits of prevailing ‘Western’ biases in urban studies. As such this course will introduce students both to an array of cities and urban issues from around the world and to multiple ways of conceptualizing and studying the urban across cultural, regional, and disciplinary divides. This course will include engagement with ideas from across the social sciences and humanities, as well as insights from journalists, urban planners, architects, artists, broader public debate, and accounts of lived experiences in cities.
IDC. 301-11 THE WORLD ON A PLATE MW 3:00-4:15 pm David Domine Every culture has a story and very often it's told through food. Along with spoken language, cuisine is considered by many the most vibrant and practical expression of any country’s or region’s identity. What the people in a particular area eat reflects not only their geography and topography; it can also reflect religious beliefs, history, political philosophy, socioeconomic status and education. In this class, find out who eats what and why, on a country-by-country basis. In addition to learning about eating habits and customs abroad, students will explore how tradition and culture play an important role in the foods that they eat at home. As students explore modern and historical foods of the United States, they will examine how American eating habits have been influenced by the immigrant experience and pivotal world events such as war, natural disaster, financial boom, and economic depression. Other global topics explored will include social justice, sustainability, famine, waste, food literacy, genetically modified organisms, the rise of the fast food nation, and the slow food movement, as well as basic culinary terminology. Each student will write a thesis-driven research paper of at least 3,000 words on a food- related issue and give a five-minute presentation about their findings in front of the class. In addition, students will give 15-minute group presentations about a topic relating to regional and world cuisine.
IDC. 301 12- NATURAL HISTORY OF BELIZE: TROPICAL AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY MTh 6:00-8:45 pm (01/7/16 – 03/10/16) Steve Wilt This course will examine Mayan/Belizean history, Belizean music, Belizean culture, Belizean/Central American economics and politics and coral reef ecology. Registrants must make first deposits by November 13th, 2015 and have valid passports by February 25th, 2016. Students must also enroll for BIOL 228. Field Experience: 02/25/16 – 03/05/16
IDC. 301 ON - CULTURAL IMMERSION ABROAD On-line/off-site course Gabriele Bosley $25 Course Fee [For study abroad students only]
IDC. 301 – Transcultural Experience is the third course in the 4 course IDC seminar sequence. This course builds on the work of the first two courses of the core curriculum (IDC. 101 - Freshmen Seminar and IDC. 200 - U.S. Experience), using the skills and perspectives developed in these courses. Students currently have the option of meeting the Transcultural Experience requirements:
through taking approved IDC courses on the Bellarmine campus, through approved courses at foreign partner universities or affiliated programs (see the Study Abroad Guidelines for information on this option) or through a Cultural Immersion acquired via an extended study abroad experience (at least one semester). The rest of this document refers to this latter option.
This is an ON-line course taught via ‘MOODLE’ to Bellarmine students enrolled at one of Bellarmine’s more than 150 partner universities abroad. The overall intent of this course is for students to explore the world from perspectives other than their own and thereby capitalize on the cultural immersion experience while abroad. Accordingly, the course is organized to facilitate and promote the experiential learning process in an intercultural immersion context. Students will be tested via the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) at the beginning of the course in order to assess their intercultural competence with a retest upon return from study abroad and upon completion of the course in order to assess the student’s growth in intercultural competence development. The IDI testing fee is $25 and will be billed to the student’s account. In light of the emphasis on experiential learning, the course has three major goals: 1. To introduce students to the value of cross-cultural comparison that illuminates both similarities and differences in order to prepare students for a more and more globalized job market, where intercultural competence becomes a key employability attribute. 2. To improve the overall cultural immersion experience by providing essential pre-departure, mid- semester, and re-entry reflection designed to prepare students emotionally and intellectually for each phase of the experience. 3. To build on reading, writing, and critical thinking skills developed in prior IDC courses by completing a research project.
IDC. 401 COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Catalog Description IDC. 401 – Senior Seminar (3) The Senior Seminar is the culminating experience in the general education of a Bellarmine student. It has as its primary focus the development of students’ abilities to examine contemporary issues in a comprehensive and integrated way within a Catholic social justice perspective and a liberal arts and sciences context. Seniors from various disciplines come together in smaller groups with a faculty member to reflect on critical issues facing contemporary society, such as racism, economic and social justice, environmental concerns, national and international crises, and ethical issues arising from developments in science, medicine, and technology. Students are also expected to bring the knowledge and skills gained in their major fields of study and their other general education courses to the seminar as appropriate.
IDC. 401 01 – QUALITY OF LIFE MWF 11:00-11:50 am Lisa Catron We need the basics of food, water, shelter, and clothing to survive. But is survival enough to make life worth living? Why do we strive to create improvements in our world and our lives? We hear the Quality of Life used in a variety of contexts: financial, medical, political, social, and spiritual. This course explores what is meant by Quality of Life. Different disciplines require specific elements when discussing their definition of “Quality of Life.” Throughout the semester, we will explore these definitions and trace how they have evolved. This journey will encompass reading a variety of texts to see how “Quality of Life” has and is being used to make policies in the public realm and is used to make personal life choices. We will also explore the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching as they intersect and closely relate to quality of life. Students will strive to articulate their own personal definition of “Quality of Life” and in doing so discover how their definition has been shaped. The final project asks students to take course concepts and the knowledge they have gained in their courses and in internships/work to propose a solution their future profession can enact to improve an element of Quality of Life.
IDC. 401 02 – RENAISSANCE HUMANISM & THE ETHICAL STATE MW 3:00-4:15 pm Mith Barnes Our contemporary understanding of the state has its foundations in the political thought of Renaissance Humanists such as Machiavelli, Thomas More, and Erasmus. In this course we will engage in a close reading of the political treatises of these three masters of humanist political thought, and consider them not only in light of their times and their relation to the Church, but in light of our own turbulent political times. In addition to close reading and extensive in-class discussion, students will write several short response or reflection essays intended to help them develop an application of humanist principles in multiple social and ethical contexts. As part of developing and presenting such an application, students will apply research and critical skills to the completion of a short annotated bibliography and an article or book review. Finally, they will develop an ethical treatise of their own based on a contemporary ethical issue, and present their work to their peers.
IDC. 401 03 – INTERSECTION OF RACE, GENDER, AND CLASS DISCRIMINATION IN THE U.S. TTh 9:25-10:40 am Donna Morton This class will explore the social, economic, and political treatment of racial/ethnic minorities, women, the poor and marginal. Students will examine the historical context in which race, gender, and class have been used to treat persons differently from those who set and enforced public policies. The class will explore the treatment of Native Americans, African slaves, women, immigrants, and those who did not own land during the colonial period. It will progress through exploration of the current status and roles of members of these groups today. Students will research the roles of education, religion, and law in preventing or enabling equity. How has discrimination against these groups affected their current abilities to be treated with equity? Do they share the same struggles? How have systems of power and legislation manipulated these groups to work against each other’s progress in fulfilling their aspirations of equal treatment under the law and in the daily workings of the culture? How might these struggles be addressed together to end all forms of discrimination? Students will be expected to articulate their own views on race, gender, and class, exploring their own cultural experiences as well as reflecting on the views expressed in the required readings. In this class, students will read articles or books or excerpts by such authors as Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, Maya Angelou, Shirley Chisholm, Caesar Chavez, Marian Wright Edelman, Peter Edelman, belle hooks, Dr. Cornel West, Pope Francis, and Bishop Desmond Tutu. Students will research current media (newspapers, film clips, social media, T.V. and radio) to examine how people in these groups are depicted today, what stereotypes and assumptions are made and how those affect the values students develop. The course will include lectures, discussion, class presentations (individual and group), and guest lectures. There will be quizzes, a research paper, and final exam. Expected outcomes include: Awareness of how culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions. The class will be able to respond to the following questions: How was the struggle for freedom, for liberty and for independence different for a colonist or free black person, or a slave? Man / woman. How did the civil rights movement / woman’s movement differ for someone in an urban setting and one in a rural or a north or south setting? How does a Native American’s view the land upon which he/she was born differ from someone with a different religious or cultural upbringing? What does a summer in the south mean for an African American growing up in Brooklyn who is sent yearly to spend time with family in Mississippi? How do experiences of an Asian American living in a community in California where his/her mother never had to speak English to get through daily activities differ from someone who is the only Asian in a town in the Midwest?
IDC. 401 04 – JUSTICE MW 1:30-2:45 pm Paul Matheny Justice: Whose and How? The problem of discerning what is just is ancient. Central to both political and legal philosophy, it is essential to Christian social thinking. Our political lives are shaped according to the way we answer this question. Every pivotal Western and Eastern philosophical and religious thinker proposes a response to our problem. From the Old Testament prophets and poets until the protesters in Ferguson, we have weighed the means and meaning of justice. Recent Catholic social teaching in particular has advocated the belief that we cannot build our communities and political life on charity and love alone. To have a healthy community just institutions are necessary.
The purpose of this course is to discover the basic resources which our beliefs and traditions offer us in addressing the problem of justice. In class we will discuss and study the history of the nature of justice from the time of Plato and Aristotle until that of contemporary thinkers such as John Rawls and Charles Taylor. It will include, as well, a debate about the cultural and historical development of the concept of justice. The current debate on the possibility of the development of a common language about human rights and social ethics, in spite of a diversity of religious and cultural foundations, will be presented. Can Eastern and Western societies advocate for justice and human rights even though they do not share the same moral and religious foundations? Is a universal declaration of human rights possible in a world riven by religious and cultural fragmentation? Christian ethics is rooted in the desire to live a good life with and for others in the context of just institutions. Without justice there can be no human community.
IDC. 401 05 – RACE AND RELIGION MW 12:00-1:15 pm Joseph Flipper An examination of race, racism, and theology with particular attention to white privilege and African- American experience in American Christianity. Students in this course will reflect on the intersection of religious and racial discourses to discover what the experience of race, ethnic tension, and the struggle for social justice implies for theology and, conversely, what theological ideas contribute positively or negatively to our understanding of race, ethnic tension, and social justice.
IDC. 401 06 - PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT M 6:00-9:00 pm Edgardo Mansilla Using theories from the behavioral and social sciences, this course will provide students with a basic theoretical, methodological, value, and skill base in social planning within a context of community development, organization and advocacy. Methods of helping population groups develop and gain meaningful participation in community decision-making processes will be explored. Processes of planning and community development will be analyzed with particular emphasis on the role and influence of the political economic process on social priority determination, and policy and resource development. The course will stress the importance of moral and ethical approaches, Catholic social and economic justice considerations, and values as central features of social planning and development.
IDC. 401 07 - EXPLORING SOCIAL JUSTICE TTh 4:30-5:45 pm Brian Barnes Students will explore a variety of ethical perspectives with the goal of understanding themselves and others in today’s multicultural world. Each student will design his or her own semester project that combines practical, off-campus fieldwork with academic source material. Students will be encouraged to explore their own perspectives on everyday social justice concerns like poverty, racism, misogyny, and hunger. Practical exercises, intense discussions, moving and seated meditation, guest speakers, overt self-reflection, critical thinking models, and our own experience will be our tools.
IDC. 401 08 – SENIOR SEMINAR MWF 9:00-9:50 am Isaac McDaniel The Senior Seminar is the culminating experience in the general education of a Bellarmine student. It has as its primary focus the development of the students’ abilities to examine contemporary issues in a comprehensive and integrated way within a Catholic social justice perspective and a liberal arts and sciences context. Seniors from various disciplines come together in small groups with a faculty member to reflect on critical issues facing contemporary society, such as racism, economic and social justice, environmental concerns, national and international crises, and ethical issues arising from developments in science, medicine, and technology. Students are also expected to bring the knowledge and skills gained in their major fields of study and their other general education courses to the seminar as appropriate.
IDC. 401 09– CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING: A CALL TO ACTION W 6:00-8:45 pm Julie Armstrong-Binnix The Senior Seminar is the culminating experience in the general education of a Bellarmine student. It has as its primary focus the development of students’ abilities to examine contemporary issues in a comprehensive and integrated way within a Catholic perspective and a liberal arts and sciences context. Seniors from various disciplines come together in small groups with a faculty member to reflect on critical issues facing contemporary society, such as racism, economic and social justice, environmental concerns, national and international crises, and ethical issues arising from developments in science, medicine and technology. Students are also expected to bring the knowledge and skills gained in their major field of study and their other general education courses to the seminar as appropriate.
IDC. 401 10 – ACADIAN HURRICANES: SOCIAL JUSTICE IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA Th 4:30-5:45 pm Melanie Prejean Sullivan $150 course fee An introduction to the history of the Acadians and their response to a new climate in southwest Louisiana. Particular attention will be paid to the significant 21st century hurricanes (Katrina and Rita) and the emergence of the non-profit, Project Build a Future in Lake Charles. A brief survey of Louisiana architecture and recent architectural innovations will set the stage for the work they will do during Spring Break week there.
Using Catholic Social Teaching and the recent encyclical, Laudato Si as context, we will explore the impact of extreme storms on the economy and especially on the poor. Students will study and process the meaning of the encyclical and the history of the Acadians in 4 class meetings before Spring Break and then travel to Lake Charles, Louisiana to participate in a week-long immersion/service trip. An extended class meeting in late March will complete the course for a total of 47 “classroom hours.” This course also will be an extension of The Little Way Learning Community model which has been created by the NetVUE grant to teach discernment across the curriculum. Course fee of $150 is required to cover the cost of the trip to Louisiana.
IDC. 401 11 – SUSTAINABLE ACTION WORKSHOP TTh 3:05-4:20 pm Brian Barnes $25 Course Fee With the guidance of the instructor, students will initiate and build sustainable systems using local sources of waste and materials. Students will learn to organize and initiate sustainable action plans in their community. Students will read text regarding and directly observe the environmental, social, ethical, and biological realities of the worldwide trash problem. Composting and its various constituent activities are presented as one sustainable solution to the issues surrounding trash. By following contemporary non-profit models, students will discover the urban agriculture movement, the sources of their food, learn the means to feed themselves anywhere, year-round, and begin to recognize and respond to the social justice issues surrounding food and a living planet. Students will operate and maintain a small, working, local trash-based composting and vermicomposting system at the Bellarmine Garden. This class will include speakers and trips off campus. Course fee: $25 to cover building materials for each student and fees at off-campus activities.
IDC. 401 12 – HOPE FOR CHANGE: EXPLORING SOCIAL JUSTICE Th 6:00-8:45 pm Dean Bucalos The course will consist primarily of discussions in class, in-class participation and field experiences. Student will be expected to complete all of the required readings in a timely manner, since they will be discussed on a regular basis and will form a basis for our field experiences. Class attendance is of utmost importance. The topics explored and examined will focus on critical issues confronting contemporary society, with an emphasis upon Louisville and Kentucky. Among the topics we will explore are homelessness, environmental justice, restorative justice and the corrections system, health equity and housing. This class will include four field trips into the city of Louisville. Students will not only see how geography, place and environment impacts particular social issues but also physically walk through areas that have been affected by homelessness, environmental toxins, housing discrimination and economic disinvestment. Through group presentations, field experiences and outside readings, students will discover how particular geographic areas within the greater Louisville-Metro area and those living there are affected economically, politically, environmentally, physically and socially in radically different ways. The readings will be from three selected textbooks as well as those recommended and suggested by whoever the class discussion leaders will be for a given topic. The topics will be considered in the context of the principles and teachings of Catholic social justice. One of the goals of this class is to seek solutions to these contemporary problems facing our culture today. We will be introduced to the scope of these problems by experts in the field who will provide us not only with a background but also will show us areas in the city and beyond that are confronting these issues today. The readings are designed to assist students in developing a wider, integrated understanding of the ideas, positions, values and perspectives of the topics being considered for discussion. In this seminar, each participant is co- responsible for his or her learning as well as the learning of the other participants. Consequently, each participant is at once teacher and student: a teacher who contributes insights and shares information to assist others in developing a fuller understanding of the topics under discussion, and a student who learns from the contributions of others, from the readings, from independent research and from other educational experiences incorporated into the course.
IDC. 401 13 – THEATRE AND PRISON TTh 4:30-5:45 pm Carol Stewart For many, the individuals who populate our prisons are an avoided or entirely forgotten group of people. From moderate and maximum-security prisoners to those on death row, there are hundreds of men and women who are committed to using theatre as a means of taking responsibility for their crimes. Through this engagement, these individuals work toward self-understanding, self-expression, rehabilitation, and redemption. As a means of considering the agency and humanity of the incarcerated and the transformative processes and experiences of these men and women, this course will look at the organizations and people who create theatrical experiences in prison. In this effort, we will collectively challenge our ideas about the incarcerated: the nature of our cultural and personal relationship to them, how we feel they should live, and who we believe them to be. This course will include at least one visit to the Luther Luckett Correctional Center in LaGrange, KY, to observe rehearsals of the Shakespeare Behind Bars’ production of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, and speak with the men about their experiences.
IDC. 401-14 SENIOR SEMINAR W 6:00-8:45 pm Adam Bunnell The focus of this seminary will be to creatively address the critical issues of our contemporary society from an integral and holistic perspective, utilizing the resources of the mind, body, soul and spirit in self, community, and nature. A goal of this seminar is to develop both a holistic and critical understanding of complex social issues and utilize integral solutions to address them. The seminar will incorporate a holistic and contemplative group process called Theory U, which invites students to lead from a place of personal transformation, deep listening and collective wisdom. The Metro Louisville area will be a primary context for the student’s reflection, discernment and engagement, but will also function as a local context for broader learning and global engagement. Leaders from a variety of local organizations and fields will provide us with personal stories and educated perspectives on the major and critical issues facing the Louisville area.