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Liberal Arts Major

Political Thought Emphasis

School of Arts and Sciences

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Curriculum

  • Liberal Arts Core
  • 39-44 Units
  • ART 311: Art History I
  • 3

This is a survey course of Western art from the Prehistoric Period through the Renaissance, employing illustrated lectures, independent research, museum visits, and discussion. This class is offered alternate years in the spring semester.

OR

  • ART 312: Art History II
  • 3

This course is a survey of Western art from the Renaissance up to the 20th century employing illustrated lectures, independent research, museum visits and discussion. This class is offered alternate years in the spring semester.

  • CENG 201: World Literature to the Renaissance
  • 3

This course will focus on critical thinking and research-based writing through comparative and interdisciplinary analysis. Alongside lectures and class discussion, the study of representative great works of Western and non-Western literature from Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance will emphasize the literary, cultural, and religious significance of these texts. Co-requisite: CHST 201; permission from Academic Advising is needed to take CENG 201 as an unlinked course.

  • COM 324: Intercultural Communication
  • 3

Social and cultural variables in speech communication processes and strategies for resolving communication problems in intercultural settings with an emphasis on variables such as perception, roles, language codes, and nonverbal communication will be examined in this course.

  • HST 410: Mythology
  • 3

The reception of classical antiquity depends on both the stories the ancients told themselves, as well as their interpretation and reinscription in subsequent times and places. This course traces the debt moderns owe to the earliest recorded stories that shaped civilizations, both to appreciate the stories in their own historical context as well as consider the responses (both those that identify with antiquity and those that assume its alienation) of succeeding eras, culminating in critical consideration of contemporary cultural evocation of the classical tradition. Prerequisite: CHST 201 or CHST 202 or HST 201.

  • HUM 495: Senior Project (1-3 units)
  • 1

In this capstone course students will meet with an instructor once per week in order to formulate, research, and discuss an appropriate topic for their written project. Topics must be interdisciplinary, combining their emphasis within the major with another discipline within the major. Prerequisite: Liberal Arts major and senior standing.

  • MUS 352: Music of World Cultures -OR- MUS 482: Music Cultures: Musical Expression in Christianity
  • 3

MUS 352: Music of World Cultures - This course will introduce students to the study of music as a universal cultural phenomenon and the discipline of ethnomusicology with exposure to the musical and social aspects of folk, traditional, and art music of regions from Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and North America. Experience in music is encouraged but not required.

OR

MUS 482: Music Cultures: Musical Expression in Christianity - This course will survey of the role, development, and function of music in the Christian church from its roots in the Old Testament to the present day, with attention given to biblical, theological, social, and cultural considerations. Offered alternate years.

  • REL 321: World Religions
  • 3

This survey course of the world's major non-Christian religions will include motifs, belief patterns, ritual and worship, ethics, social patterns, origin and development, and sacred writings.

  • THR 251: Introduction to Theatre
  • 3

This course will provide an overview of the various conventions, forms, styles, and genres of the theatre, including principles of play analysis and exploration of theatre criticism from dramaturgical, literary, and cultural perspectives through the thematic discussions of representative plays. There may be an additional charge for required field trips.

  • Political Thought Emphasis
  • 18 Units
  • HST/POL 412: The U.S. Constitution
  • 3

This course will look at the origins of the American political system from the end of the Seven Years' War through the Louisiana Purchase and Marbury vs. Madison, with a focusing on government under the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention, ratification controversies, the first political party system, and Jeffersonian vs. Hamiltonian approaches to government. Offered alternate years.

  • HST/POL 414: The Courts and the Constitution
  • 3

The development of judicial interpretation of the U.S. Constitution from 1789 to the present will be examined in this course with an emphasis on the political, social, cultural, and economic context for key Supreme Court decisions. The case study method will be used to introduce students to legal reasoning, including controversial court decisions involving race, religion, gender, and limits of government authority.

  • POL 304: Grand Strategy
  • 3

This course will explore the aspect of statecraft in international relations known as “grand strategy” from a theoretical and historical perspective. This course traces how statesmen have or have not marshalled and coordinated the political, diplomatic, military, material, cultural, and moral resources available to a state, to achieve, or fail to achieve long-term objectives in the international environment during war and peace.

  • POL 321: Political Thought I: Ancient to Early Modern
  • 3

This course will analyze the nuances and trace the development of Western political thought from classical Greece to 17th century northern Europe with attention given to the questions facing every generation concerning the nature of political association and the good society. Students will become familiar with each major political thinker, the context in which they wrote, and influence upon the history of ideas.

  • POL 322: Political Thought II: The Enlightenment
  • 3

This course will analyze the nuances and trace the development of Western political thought from the early Enlightenment (17th century) to the present with attention given to the questions facing every generation concerning the nature of political association and the good society. Students will become familiar with each major political thinker, the context in which they wrote, and their influence upon the history of ideas.

  • POL 413: Religion and Politics in America
  • 3

The role of religion in American public life will be examined in this course with an emphasis on the interpretation and impact of the First Amendment and the concept of "separation of church and state" on religious and political life in the United States. Offered alternate years.

Current students, please note: The requirements listed here may not reflect the most current courses for this major and may not be the requirements for the catalog year you are following to complete your major. Please refer to the Academic Catalog for official requirements you must meet to qualify for a degree.

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