Hoos’ List

The first half of a two-semester survey designed to introduce students to dominant humanistic traditions of Eastern and Western civilizations. This course addresses topics in philosophy, art, literature, religion, and cultural history. Part one covers the period from early recorded history to the dawn of the modern age. Can be taken after ISHU 3020.

The second half of a two-semester survey designed to introduce students to dominant humanistic traditions of Eastern and Western civilizations. This course addresses topics in philosophy, art, literature, religion, and cultural history. Part two covers the period from the late European Renaissance to the twenty-first century. Can be taken before ISHU 3010.

Examines how American authors explored the issue of technology when the age of television gradually yielded to the digital age. Considers how new forms of technology have fundamentally changed the ways in which realism is depicted in literature. Pays particular attention to those texts that engage with technoculture around the turn of the 21st century. Considers writers such as Don DeLillo, Dave Eggers, and Karen Tei Yamashita.

Review creative works that arise from a long history of repetition and innovation. Respond to literary texts from different genres, which have been adapted for the movies and theater. Practice how to 'read' written and visual texts, and how to write about both.

Introduces six major religious traditions deeply rooted in different cultures including Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Examines the historical evolution, the doctrines, beliefs, practices, institutions, and cultural expressions of these religious traditions.

Provides students with refined knowledge which is relevant in both the professional and private spheres. Focusing on both the history of Islam, from its founding through the present day, and (more specifically) on the principles of Islam and how different Muslim theologians and statesmen have interpreted and applied those principles throughout Islam's history. The course is a purposeful mix of anthropology, history and political science.

Examines the concept of America and to what extent it is a product of religious mindsets of particular times. Explores multi-media materials, including: Hollywood films, 20th Century folk music, literature of the west, 18th Century primary sources, 19th Century theses on American identity, and 20th Century journalism and criticism.

In this course, students will immerse themselves in the best of children's literature while learning the basic tenet of effective writing for any age: easy to read, hard to write.  Students will read within seven genres of children's literature, examine how nonfiction writers for children research, organize, and document information, examine how fiction writers create setting, plot, tone, voice, dialog, and characters.  Students will also learn how published writers self-edit and revise.  Children's literature will also serve as a model while completing short writing exercises.  By the end of this course, students can expect to become masters of compression as they write and revise one piece of nonfiction and one piece of fiction. 

Focuses on the process of poetry as an ongoing creative journey. Explores the ways in which poets access the subconscious and the irrational and channel them into poems, via the elements of craft including image, metaphor, tone, sound, meter, rhythm and line. Students will keep a poetry journal and write poems in response to exercises designed to help them move beyond their initial "comfort zone."

Explores writing as a process of transforming imagination into reality. Guides students to understand the connection between writing and cartography using poetry and memoir. Course is designed to help the student become a more confident writer and editor.

Writing begins with intuition, moves towards consciousness and strives for clarity. Such movement, such unfolding, calls for a steady eye and an enduring approach. Accordingly, this class will focus upon resurrecting the fading art of patience, a faculty required for writing. The focus of the class will be on creative essays and academic essays. To convey thoughts effectively one must be willing to take the time to observe one's subject, accurately. It is necessary to attend ardently to the language in order to articulate our explorations, to argue our viewpoints. One must keep the hand practiced in the actual activity of writing. This class will ask students to read widely, to respond to assigned readings through weekly essays and to share work openly in a workshop setting with a focus on revision.

Analyzes the elements of fiction; structural elements such as character, plot, point of view, and conflict will be discussed in addition to stylistic elements, such as dialogue, setting, and sensory details. Includes readings of essays and short stories by published authors and class critiques of fiction written by the students.

Student learns how to bring together the imaginative strategies of fictional story telling with new ways of narrating true, real-life events. Explores how Creative Nonfiction writing allows you to share your stories in compelling ways, helps you write effectively in professional and personal situations, and provides new ways for you to document real-life experiences as they occurred.

Explores the relationship between the physical body and human identity through such topics as body image, eating disorders, sexuality, aging, disease and its affects on the body by reading and discussion of short stories, poems, and novels. Engages students in frequent formal and informal writing, beginning with personal narratives and journal responses.

Focuses on classic, contemporary, and non-traditional literature about the environment. The course is divided into three sections: nature writing, place-based writing, and environmental writing. Readings focus on issues beyond landscape as gender, race, politics, ethics, and culture all play a part in environmental writing.

Students explore fiction and poetry of U.S. writers ranging from early modernists to contemporary writers, including such prose writers as Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Ellison, and Morrison and poets such as Frost, Eliot, Stevens, Bishop, and Williams.

Explores the process, form, and voice of writing poetry. Offers the chance to read widely in contemporary American poetry and develop reflective prose essays on poetry, poetics, and the philosophy of poetry.

Surveys chronologically the major shapers of contemporary poetry from Walt Whitman and Emily Dickenson to Rita Dove and Billy Collins.

Examines American novels and short stories since the 1960s in social, historical, and aesthetic contexts. Considers writers such as Anaya, Silko, and Morrison and attends to how previously marginalized identities have altered the canon. Asks the following questions: What is postmodernism? How do American narratives negotiate between "fact" and "fiction"? How is the production and reception of literature affected by social issues?

Examines the five canons of the art of public speaking allowing students to learn and practice the skills needed to speak persuasively, confidently, forcefully, and intelligibly to an audience.

Develops analytical writing skills needed to efficiently and effectively produce university research papers. Hones abilities in developing a thesis, handling contradictory evidence, organizing material, outlining, anticipating gaps in logic, and writing effectively and powerfully. Teaches grammar, usage, punctuation, avoiding plagiarism, and using MLA style book. Masters capabilities needed for the Capstone

Examines the cultural and commercial contexts of film production, including the directors, the intended audience, and the audience's response. Investigates film structure, how meaning is created, and how this structure can be read and understood. Examines genres, stories, and the ways in which films and their audiences are a part of the larger structure of the culture in which they exist.

Studies the films of Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock, two very different but equally creative filmmakers who explored their medium with an intensive imagination. Analyzes such films as Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, Vertigo, and Psycho, examining what makes them work and looking at the cultural and historical context of the films.

Examines the media;s role in conveying cultural meaning through popular culture. Analyzes the histories and theories underlying media and popular culture. Focuses on print, film, radio, television, the Internet and social media. Critiques contemporary popular culture through music, movies, tv programming, advertising, sports, fashion, celebrity culture, language and, collective public expression.

Explores the way film echoes and influences the culture that contains it. Examines a number of film genres that were particularly sensitive to cultural and political currents including melodrama, the gangster film, the Western, science fiction, and others. Determines how Post-World War II America saw itself in films.

Examines movie case studies that aroused controversy. Analyzes the messages these movies communicated on the screen. Considers what the filmmakers intended to communicate, and how audiences and media critics responded to the portrayals.

Develops the skills to inspire and cultivate writing and creativity.

Enables students to reflect on what was perhaps the greatest downfall into barbarity, genocide and mass oppression. Examines first-hand accounts of both the Holocaust and crimes of the Communist regimes in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China, and Cambodia. Explores historical, intellectual, cultural, and psychological roots of Nazism and Communism.

Looks at ways food has influenced western culture, and its significance in our lives from the invention of agriculture to the contemporary debate about health foods; examines films and texts to find woman's role in food production, how religious beliefs, economic factors, and ideas about health influence why and what we eat. Should we live to eat or eat to live? Where do we eat? What forces shape our choice of foods? That's plenty to chew on!

Examines the tradition of Western architure from its inception in Greece and Rome to the present. Focuses on aesthetic, cultural, and political ideas framing the design, uses, and meanings of these celebrated buildings. Provides tools for visual analysis using a variety of methods from text anaylsis to visits of buildings.

Examines architecture from a global perspective. Focuses on aesthetic, cultural, and political forces that influence design, use, and meaning. Provides students with a vocabulary for discussing architecture as well as tools for visual analysis and interpretation.

Explores changing concepts of the child from medieval times to the present by examining personal memoirs, competing social theories, and literary visions of the child. Focuses on medieval childhood, the romantic child, the Victorian child, slave children, pioneer childhood, immigrant childhood, childhood and the Great Depression, and childhood in today's family.

Examines the tense but fruitful relationship between photography and art. Draws upon aesthetics, history, and criticism to explore controversies about photography as art, examine the impact of photography on artistic ideas and practices, and evaluate the importance of photography and art in modern culture.

Explores one significant theme in the social sciences and/or humanities such as liberation, power, equality, diversity, rights, justice, war, happiness, love, and beauty, through the study of one significant and influential classic or contemporary book or work of art. Students engage with the subject and enhance their critical reading, writing, thinking, and discussion skills.

Investigates the idea of approaching art as a form of human evolution. Examines the art of several past and present cultures. Blends art and science to connect aesthetics to an understanding of human nature from the cognitive and biological sciences. Examines existing personal and cultural theories of art and art criticism.

Introduces painting techniques and concepts, with emphasis on the understanding of its formal language and the fundamentals of artistic expression. Explores color theory, linear perspective, pictorial composition , figure/ground relationships, visual perception, spatial concepts, and critical thinking skills.

Examines the cultural elements involved in the interactive process of defining and interpreting the meaning of visual images with regard to how art images are produced, consumed, and made meaningful. Explores images in art history and digital media to investigate the philosophical, social, and cultural influences which affect how we interpret and define the art experience.

Immerses students immediately into the medium of sculptue through discussion and creation. Examines the history of sculpture from antiquity to the present through emphasis on contemporary sculpture. Observes the sculptural works of several artists including Duchamp, Brancusi, Judd, Smithson, Beuys, Hess, Nuaman, Goldsworthy, and many others the exploration of a wide variety of materials and techniques.

This course covers the development of high modernism, beginning with Abstract Expressionism, and continue through postmodern practices of conceptual art, feminism, performance art, and site-specific installation art.

Introduces the philosophical concept of the ethical discrimination of actions. Examines primary sources in some detail by presenting prevailing philosophical systems. Studies decision-making in the context of the contemporary world using examples such as business environment, faith and religion, and the political arena.

Explores the relationship between religious faith, forms of reasoning, and scientific explanation. Examines such questions as: What is the nature of religious faith? Is religious faith a rational, irrational, or non-rational belief? Does reasoning undermine faith or strengthen it? Are scientific and religious perspectives compatible?

This course examines the ways in which dance creates and expresses ideas of personal and cultural significance in ritual, theatrical, and social contexts. By observing dance on film and reading ethnographic, historical and theoretical texts, students explore the emergent meaning of dance from the perspective of both performers and spectators.

Examines the anthropological origins of dance history in world cultures. Discusses the importance of dance to define and preserve the historic traditions within a culture. Explores the inherent relationship between dance and music within both the socio-cultural and folk aspects, as well as the ceremonial, religious, and ritual aspects of a culture.

Examines how dance is the human expression of communication through movement. Explores how dance is used as a universal language to express such things as emotion, entertainment, storytelling, or representation of religious or ritualistic ceremony. Follows the history of dance, its origins, ethnology, and the evolution of dance to present day.

Studies the fundamentals of acting. Focuses on textual analysis, personalization, objectives, and characterization. Uses some of the basic techniques of pivotal acting teachers, Constantine Stanislavski, Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, and Sanford Meisner, in scene work and in performing short plays.

Studies the people of the theatre: actors, directors, designers, and backstage personnel and topics that include the core and characteristics of a script; theatrical forms and styles; acting and theatre history. Gain a deeper appreciation for the various tools, techniques and collaborative styles required when producing theatre in a team setting.

Explores the historic perspective of the influence of African-American culture on theater, music and dance of 19th-20th Century U.S. Examines the socio-cultural aspects of the integration of West African slaves into America. Probes the evolution of early American theater beginning with minstrels, for example, and continues with the development of both music and dance of the Jazz Age.

Examines the history of western culture through the history of the performing arts, beginning with plays of ancient Greece and ending with musicals of twentieth-century Broadway and Hollywood. Examines different works of art in order to discover what they can tell about the aspirations, fears, and basic conflicts of the societies from which they emerged.

Examines why many scholars claim that Blues formed the basis for Rock n' Roll, Classic Rock, and even some of today's music. Analyzes the sophisticated art form known simply as the Blues. Formulate your own questions, or investigate topics within the scope of the course that are of particular interest to you.

Examines the places where art and medicine intersect. Explores the relationship between art and sanity and the contemplative, cathartic, and expressive possibilities of art as a healing modality. Provides students with a theoretical basis and vocabulary for discussing therapeutic art and a set of tools and exercises for creating it.

Explores in their original contexts the social, cultural, economic and political themes of works such as The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Time Machine, and Dracula, through a combination of class discussion and written assignments. Examines the attitudes, ideals and values associated with the Victorian era.

Explores the marvelous world depicted in Kipling's Indian Tales from the perspective of the commentary they provide on British Ex-Patriot society. Discusses how Kipling has often been viewed as a critic of Indian society, when in fact he is as critical of the British. Examines the work of Clifford Geerts and other anthropologists to provide a rounded picture of Kipling as an analyst of cultural systems.

Examines the work of Hunter Thompson in a study of how 'Gonzo' changed greater American journalism as a whole. Demonstrates how Thompson's role as a public intellectual spread into wider journalism, such as Doonesbury. Portrays Thompson as a premier political critic of each administration who exerted near unparalleled social influence.

Explores the relationship between religion and politics. Examines how the relationship has changed over time and place, what the relationship should be, and how prior religious and/or political commitments affect how answers to these questions are structured.

Writing begins with intuition, moves towards consciousness and strives for clarity. Such movement calls for a steady eye and an enduring approach. Accordingly, this course focuses upon resurrecting the fading art of patience, a faculty required for writing. Students will read widely, respond to assigned readings through weekly essays and share work in a workshop setting with an emphasis on revision. Writing intensive.

This course focuses on developing the techniques of prose narrative. Students work on a short story, novel, memoir, or any combination of these. The course is structured as a workshop: each week, four or five works by students are discussed in full-class workshop led by the instructor. Issues to be addressed include characterization, voice, creating and sustaining tension, plotting in long and in short narratives, and the skills of critical response.

This course examines the American short story from the perspective of the both reader and writer. Defining recurrent themes and conventions of the genre by reading major stories spanning the last 200 years of American literature, students explore the importance of tradition to the writer analytically in critical essays and experientially in their own short stories.

Focuses on the genre of film noir, styles noir has brought into mainsteam cinema, themes, and characters throughout the genre. Includes class, gender, and the historical context of noir.

Explores recent movies and novels with art historical themes and references. Questions the boundaries between history, criticism, and fiction. Examines the necessity of narrative frameworks for understanding visual art and attempts to gain new perspective on today's culture by characterizing its distinctive attitude toward historical art.

Investigates the work of contemporary filmmakers, each with a unique style and an approach to film that combines stylistic innovation with a particular cultural vision.

Focuses on African American novels from 19th century through the present. Examines topics such as literary realism and naturalism, protest fiction, and magical realism. Considers race and gender relations, communal and individual identity, and the modern legacy of slavery.

Explores African American Literature beginning with Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) and concluding with Edward P. Jones' Lost in the City (2004). Surveys works of fiction, poetry, and plays by well-know authors. Examines portrayals of race and gender relations, families and communities, and individual quests for justice and acceptance.

Focuses on plot, point of view, discovery of theme, recognition and reversal, and writing in scene, for writers of fiction, nonfiction, screenplays and memoir. Creates an understanding of how stories are shaped and told. Explores Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, which distills the stories told in every culture into a framework for one's own story.

Explores non-fiction writing. Develops and hones skills needed to write stories and essays that readers are compelled to read. Learn the power of personal narrative and begin to grasp how that power affects a reader by understanding the difference between 'telling' and 'showing'.

Explores the most significant art controversies in the history of the United States and places them in their appropriate cultural and historical contexts. Prerequisites: Restricted to BIS Students.

Explores Theodore Roosevelt's life. Investigates key political, economic, social, and cultural developments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that Roosevelt experienced and, in some cases, influenced.

Analyzes the major works of Jane Austen. Explores the social, cultural, economic, and political themes of the novels in their original contexts through a combination of class discussion and written assignments. Considers the resurgence in popularity of Austen's works in recent years, especially film and television portrayals of her novels.

Explores the films of Stanley Kubrick and the times in which they were made. Investigates Kubrick as a means to understanding film. Examines how films are to be read, how they tell their stories, how they fit into their historical and cultural moment.

Provides an introduction to sustainability concepts within the framework of environment, economics, and equity. Covers foundational principles of sustainability and emerging topics, including population, energy, food, water and technology. Emphasizes the interrelationship between humans and the environment, and includes discussion of ecosystems, human behavior, ethics, and policy.

Examines the phenomenon of American culture wars, those clashes of viewpoints that occur in several areas including education, politics, morality, religion, gender, race, science and society. Studies how these wars arose, who are involved, and how they affect American life both historically and in the present. Involves high-level thinking and discussion about social movements and upheavals, revolts and societal evolution.

Examines deep and complex ethical issues within the United States regarding the production of food and energy, corporate social responsibility, duties to future generations, and national interest versus obligations to other peoples.

Conduct of Inquiry courses introduce students to major methodologies, content areas and contributions in various social science disciplines.

Conduct of Inquiry courses introduce students to major methodologies, content areas and contributions in the humanistic traditions of various world cultures.

Develops reading, writing, critical thinking, technology and research proficiencies necessary for success at college level and beyond; orients students to the culture of the University and the community of the BIS program. Introduces the breadth of campus resources and addresses academic advising; utilizes the theme of transformation as subject matter for reading, writing and discussion to provide opportunities for multi-disciplinary exploration.

Focuses on theories about the origins of nations; examines the historical and cultural substance of nations; and explores related questions about national identity, nationalism, ethnic violence, and citizenship. Considers contemporary alternatives to national identity, such as supranational movements and multinational organizations.

This course focuses on a central question: 'Why do we believe the things we do?' This question will drive all of the individual writing and reading assignments. In this context students consider, from a multi-disciplinary perspective, topics such as: mental models, hidden assumptions and the place of implicit beliefs in reasoning; 'thin slicing' and the role of the 'adaptive unconscious' in decision making; propaganda, public relations and the role of the media in belief formation; the identification and evaluation of arguments and the difference between persuasive and cogent reasoning.

Examines the question of how public organizations make decisions and the techniques organizations use to arrive at the chosen options; considers major initiatives to day-to-day activities; examines public agencies at various levels of government, and the need to make far-reaching decisions which address a complex array of competing goals; presents theories of decision making and discusses recent decisions at various levels of government.

Provides an overview of the laws governing healthcare institutions and the ethical dilemmas facing healthcare managers and providers; reviews ethical principles utilized to examine health care issues. Evaluates the procedures followed by healthcare organizations in making legal and ethical decisions; addresses such contemporary issues as cloning, euthanasia, and organ donation. Prerequisite: Admission to BPHM or BIS program.

Examines intellectual and social/political upheavals of the early modern period in Europe including the opening of the wider world to European explorers and traders. Considers the mutual impact of Western and non-Western civilizations through the analysis of primary sources including literature, maps, and works of art.

Students address serious questions about mass violence; human rights; psychological, sociological, cultural and economic sources of human cruelty; and the responsibility of bystanders. Students also consider what genocide is, why it happens, where it has happened, how best to prevent it, and how to deal with perpetrators.

This course explores various ways in which we seek to experience the past as if firsthand: through the treasuring of its relics, both private and public (souvenirs, heirlooms, exhibited artifacts); through the restoration and replication of structures and environments from the past (as at Williamsburg, Disneyland--or the U. Va. grounds); and through the fictional experiences offered by stories, novels, and movies set in the past.  Students will explore historical, psychological, and cultural contexts for these efforts, studying their similarities and differences, attempting to determine the sources and implications of this desire to re-live the past, and engaging some of the complex issues raised by that endeavor.  Throughout, the course will focus on sharpening the skills of analytical thinking and writing.  

This course examines the current use of the police power in a variety of situations, informed by the past and motivated by the future. Particular emphasis is on contemporary real-life examples to inform the discussion on the proper use of the police power. Those examples are subjected to a variety of perspectives, societal and individual, to gain a fuller understanding of the delicate balance of competing values. 

What is a metaphor? What role does it play in the way we see the world, ourselves and others? What metaphors guide our own thinking - as a society and a culture about politics, crime, illness, ourselves, love and life? If we take metaphor seriously, is it possible to draw a hard line between fact and fiction, between arts and sciences, between the objective and subjective? Does metaphor refute reason? In this course students investigate these and related questions using a variety of media. Texts will be drawn from a spectrum of disciplines including poetry, cognitive psychology, linguistics, philosophy, literature and literary criticism.

Explores Russia's political themes of the 20th century, especially events since the fall of the Soviet Union. Includes Russia's tentative steps towards capitalism and democracy in the last two decades. Employs different analytical tools to craft an interdisciplinary portrait of Russia. Provides an opportunity to substantially improve critical thinking and basic academic writing.

Explores heroic figures who play a critical part of understanding Western culture, literature, and wisdom. Analyzes literature and film to examine how heroic individuality has shaped western society, why we need heroes, and how our heroes are changing. Studies heroic tales compared to European and American history with an emphasis on critical thinking and analytical writing.

Culture is made of the shared beliefs and experience of individuals, and the stories of the lives of those individuals both describe the culture and prescribe the direction in which it must move. The United States of America has a long series of disparate cultural histories; the purpose of this course is to use first-person narratives to unravel them.

Explores the myriad meanings of home through such questions as: is home a preposterous notion? Considers and analyzes personal definitions of home. Explores readings from sermons of Puritan New England to personal narrative of Native Americans to testimonials of the homeless.

The childhood memoir has become one of the most popular genres, outdistancing fictional accounts as the place readers come to for an understanding of their own formative years and those of others. This course explores classic memoirs of growing up in the U.S. in the 20th century by Russell Baker, Maya Angelou, Gregory Orr, Mary Karr, and Jeanette Walls. Students will write childhood memoirs of their own.

Focuses on the production of the scientific method from its eighteenth-century roots in natural philosophy, which demonstrates that the methodology which produces science is the same which produces natural philosophy.

Explores current issues involving public policy at the Federal, state, and local levels. Following a preliminary discussion of an issue, the class will identify information needed for a deeper discussion, assign responsibilities for acquiring the needed information by the next class period, disseminate the new information, and discuss the issue and sub-issues.

Utilizes popular culture, archaeology, material culture, and traditional sources and methods to examine issues in American history as experienced by Virginians. Explores early contact, roots and development of American institutions and culture, the American Revolution, nation building, sectionalism, Civil War, Reconstruction, segregation, Civil Rights, and contemporary controversies.

Explores the complex, historically-conditioned role of the poet in society as it has played out within two very different cultural traditions: the Western democratic tradition of free expression, as practiced in the U.S. and Western Europe, and the Russian/Soviet/East European tradition of the past century, in which censorship and repression of free speech has been the rule.

Examines the literature of the road and what it tells us about maturation, mobility and the modes and models of a changing American family that, however defined, seems to be increasingly in crisis.

Examines the hero and anti-hero in major works such as Catcher in the Rye, Othello, Doctor Faustus, and Huckleberry Finn. Provides an understanding of character development in literature of various cultures and genres.

Focuses on the the human condition and uses literature to examine the role of memory.

Explores Renaissance art in Europe beginning in the 13th century and continuing through the first decades of the 16th century. Considers materials, techniques, the aims of art-making, and artistic training. Examines through an evaluation of period texts the revival of Classicism in European art, architecture, and philosophy as well as the dynamics between artists, patrons, and institutions.

Examines the traditional arts produced on the African continent such as painting, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, metalwork, architecture, and body modification as they are incorporated into age-grade initiation, fertility ceremonies and curative rituals.

Provides students with an overview and understanding of the criminal justice system as a social institution inside of the American institution. Enables students to gain an understanding of the various components of the criminal justice system and its responsibilities to include courts, corrections, and law enforcements.

Public organizations are faced with the attainment of multiple complex and sometimes conflicting objectives. Students will select public policy problems at the federal, state, or local level and learn to critically analyze a variety of issues considering the many objectives of the organizations.

This seminar offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the varied and sometimes surprising connections between mind, brain, and mechanism from a range of perspectives including philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, neurobiology, and evolution. Students examine the logical limits of computing devices, the power of algorithms or mechanical 'recipes,' implications of recent work in cognitive science on the mind vs. machine dispute, the concept of consciousness, the nature of emotion, the argument from design, mechanistic origins of 'the mental', and what it means to be a person. 

Focuses on the tension evident today between the dynamism of a consumer-driven individualistic society and the necessity in the modern interrelated world for good definitions of community needs. Encourages and enables students to think both critically and analytically about social and political issues while building upon communication skills, especially writing.

This course focuses on further developing writing and critical and analytical thinking skills, as well as fundamentals of research. Regarding content, the purpose of this course is to identify and discuss some of education's defining issues and challenges. Students will consider teaching and learning from multiple perspectives, analyze and discuss key issues in education based on professional and personal knowledge, and speculate about possible consequences of educational policy decisions. Topics will include: definitions of curriculum, philosophies of educational practice, separation of church & state, school attendance, character education, multicultural education, role of the federal government in education, high-stakes assessment & education, the role of public schools in society, vouchers, charter schools, inclusion of students with disabilities, school size, bilingual education, school violence, technology, teacher retention, and alternative certification programs. Students will demonstrate skill in research by completing a longer research essay.

This course provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts one needs to understand the basic process of social research: designing a study, qualitative and quantitative research methods, analyzing and reporting results. Using monographs from social science and history, students will explore the various ways scholars use research tools. 

This course begins with an overview of the history of the Great War (World War I) and an exploration of some of the vast literature it generated. Students will consider the political, social, economic, and cultural aspects of the war as it was experienced by soldiers and civilians. Emphasis is placed on development of critical reading and writing skills, as well as the elements of research, and students will pursue a research project pertaining to some aspect of the Great War.

Examining accounts of travel whose motives include religious pilgrimage, scientific discovery, and adventure, students will explore the extent to which these motives overlap, the extent to which journeys follow patterns that are universal or unique to their cultural moment, and the relationship of who we are to what we see. Primary readings will be drawn from Homer and the Bible, medieval pilgrimage accounts, early American captivity and slave narratives, and travel accounts and ethnographies from the 18th through 20th centuries by writers such as Defoe, Wollstonecraft, Melville, Darwin, Robert Louis Stevenson, Margaret Mead, Levi-Strauss. The focus throughout will be on developing the skills of analysis and research.

Examines the new world, focusing on the experiences of the African, European, and Native American men and women who shaped it from 1500 to 1820. Incorporates academic research and writing.

Investigates late nineteenth and twentieth century United States history. Teaches students how to do research using a variety of library resouces, how to interpret primary and secondary sources, and how to present their findings.

Examines the history and historiography of 17th century England under the Stuart Monarchs and the Cromwellian Protectorates. Teaches skills in research, composition of an in-depth research project, analytical thinking, and research methodology.

An interdisciplinary, often team-taught, course that uses a single theme to introduce students to the primary methodologies, content areas, and contributions of three social science disciplines. Designed to provide students with a framework for studying social sciences and articulating academic arguments in the social sciences. Students learn the similarities among disciplines that constitute the social sciences, as well as what differentiates social sciences from humanities and from sciences.

Explore statistical concepts for public safety decision-making by understanding the logic of inquiry, data analysis, and interpretation. Learn to conduct descriptive and inferential analyses using real public safety data, interpret results, and communicate findings. Students build practical skills to inform effective choices in public safety. No advanced math prerequisite required.

Considers the latest scientific findings about the mind-body connection, offers students the opportunity to experience them through direct mindfulness meditative practices. Explores formal and informal mindfulness practices, the contextual background of mindfulness, and applies them to a variety of professions and settings. Covers a range of contemplative exercises that cultivate emotional balance and the ability to cope with stress.

Provides a broad conceptual introduction to the study of international relations. Traces and debates philosophical, ethical, and political interpretations of world politics from ancient times to the present. Examines applied issues of international relations, such as the use of force; collective security; human rights and development; and environmental, globalization and technological influences in the context of these philosophical traditions.

Examines issues that arise as one studies individual and societal activities from an international perspective. Provides tools that will assist students in more individualized explorations of international studies.

Provides students with refined knowledge which is relevant in both the professional and private spheres. Focusing on both the history of Islam, from its founding through the present day, and (more specifically) on the principles of Islam and how different Muslim theologians and statesmen have interpreted and applied those principles throughout Islam's history. The course is a purposeful mix of anthropology, history and political science.

Examines the concept of America and to what extent it is a product of religious mindsets of particular times. Explores multi-media materials, including: Hollywood films, 20th Century folk music, literature of the west, 18th Century primary sources, 19th Century theses on American identity, and 20th Century journalism and criticism.

Introduces students to the study of constitutional law and provides a good grounding in the methods the U.S. Supreme Court uses to interpret our Constitution. Examines the generally accepted methods of constitutional analysis through in-depth studies of landmark cases both historical and contemporary. Lays an initial foundation in an overview of federal judicial, legislative and executive powers.

Examines democracy, free speech, elections and the press; considers the role of a free press in a time of civil discord, challenges to free speech in America at large and on college campuses; evaluates threats to democracy and the electoral process by analyzing Russian hacking and the role of PACs and Super PACs; examines mainstream and social media, "fake news" and posits if democracy can survive in a culture of 24/7 news coverage and "tweets."

This course examines the origins of the Bill of Rights and the specific rights listed, as well as the contours of those rights as they have been interpreted by the Supreme Court. The course addresses contemporary issues, including the right to bear arms, the relation between religion and government, and use of high-tech criminal investigative tools.

Explores several critical issues in democracy, relating to both the United States and countries abroad, such as: the examination of ancient and modern theories of democracy, political parties, the Presidency, voting, foreign policy, and the development of international relations.

Examines the history of American politics since the 1960's. Key areas of study include political factors that influence the way U.S. presidents design their domestic and foreign policy agenda, the role of opposing views from special interest groups and political parties in decision making, and critical decisions made by presidents from civil rights legislation to the Iraq and Afghanistan War and Obamacare and how they affect our daily lives.

Studies US political, social and cultural history from 1900 to 2000 through historical documents, images, and film. Examines not only history but how to be a historian. Investigates a historical problem of choice in a research paper.

Introduces major events and themes in the history of Britain and the British Empire, and places these developments in wider context of world history. Prioritizes non-traditional approaches and sources (paintings, engravings, film and television) to explore the past. Challenges national and ethnic stereotypes, and pursues a definition of British "character".

Examines Ireland's contributions to the wider history of the British Isles and Europe, as well as the consequences of the Irish diaspora in the modern era. Utilizes a broad range of primary sources, including imaginative literature and music. Addresses the major trends in the history of Ireland from earliest times to the present day.

Surveys major trends in 19 century world history. Explores a representative sample of peoples and cultures of the period. Considers how societies in Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia coped with similar problems and innovations. Introduces students to theoretical frameworks for world and comparative history. Explores the processes of cultural interaction and globalization. Introduces students to a broad range of sources.

Integrates academic learning with professional experience through project-based collaboration using the Riipen platform. Students will work with community and industry partners on real-world challenges that align with their academic pathways. Projects will allow students to apply disciplinary knowledge, practice professional skills, and reflect on the relationship between theory and practice.

Examines the various architectures and landscapes that Americans have inhabited, from colonial times to the present. Focuses on homes, businesses and institutions, cities, sites of transport, and places of public assembly. Considers technological developments, such as those in communications and surveillance, that remake the experience and understanding of place.

Examines the five canons of the art of public speaking allowing students to learn and practice the skills needed to speak persuasively, confidently, forcefully, and intelligibly to an audience.

Examines the historical, technological, and literary roots of today's virtual worlds, beginning with Plato's "allegory of the cave" and ending with recent research into social relations within Second Life.

The course includes a general review of key concepts and problems in anthropology, including the concept and nature of culture, its relationship to language, economics, politics, kinship and religion as documented among different societies around the globe. The course focuses on ethnographies and on contemporary anthropological research (the study of identity, race and ethnicity).

Examines the history, goals, and impact of a new academic discipline called the contemplative sciences in which meditation and non-western healing practices are brought to bear on a variety of 21st century problems from violence to the environment. Studies meditation and contemplative methods from the world's religions and will research their use in secular settings.

Examines the media's role in conveying cultural meaning through popular culture. Analyzes the histories and theories underlying media and popular culture; focusing on print, film, radio, television, the internet, and social media. Critiques contemporary popular culture through music, movies, tv programming, advertising, sports, fashion, celebrity culture, language, and collective public expression.

Examines American popular music using Michael Billig's work Banal Nationalism. Helps students understand the day-to-day cultural scaffolding of their lives, and the larger narrative and ideological project of America. Contextualizes popular music's vision using sociological and literary contributions of the same era. Places American popular music within a wider parallel examination of America's post-Vietnam search for purpose and meaning.

Develops thoughtful and informed perspectives on some of the most intriguing news stories of our times. Examines aspects of current event topics. Students will have opportunities to share their discoveries and report their findings and judgments and discuss the relevant issues.

Explores the principles required in the design, implementation, analysis, and interpretation of archaeological research. Considers archaeological fieldwork conceptualized at multiple scales. Introduces students to archaeological survey and excavation by conducting field research at Monticello.

Explores the causes and consequences of violence. Emphasizes the role of culture, beginning with the social processes of violence, and then covers the individual psychology. Examines how people cope with violence, moving from the individual mind to popular culture and politics. Discusses topics such as violence and honor, the Holocaust, rape, terrorism, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Explores the history of genocide and other forms of one-sided, state-sponsored mass killing in the twentieth century. Includes such case studies as the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, and the mass killings that have taken place under Communist regimes (e.g., Stalin's USSR, Mao's China, Pol Pot's Cambodia).

Introduces smart cities within the context of sustainability: economic, environmental, and equity. Provides a multidisciplinary look at innovative smart city approaches to solve complex problems on the local level with global impact; includes topics from environmental studies, information technology, data science, engineering, and social science.

Examines biological and genetic predispositions for major mental illness diagnoses, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar, and personality disorders. Explores current treatment models, including medication and therapy interventions. Engages students in analyzing recent scholarly articles and clinical case studies; and conducting independent research.

Explores major theoretical approaches to understanding the development, structure, and dynamics of personality. Analyzes recent scholarship and various research methods, with projects for students to apply leading theories in real-world social and professional settings.

Introduces students to the concept of self-awareness. Explores in depth, various psychological models of self-awareness including a centuries old psychological system, and a modern personality inventory in order for students to gain historical perspective, and personal insight, greater awareness, and understanding on the study of the self on a historical as well as a personal level.

Examines major theories of social influence and human relations, with a focus on research methodologies and recent findings. Covers topics such as social cognition, self-concept, attitudes, persuasion, conformity, aggression, helping behavior, prejudice, and interpersonal relationships. Provides opportunities for students to critically examine the scientific literature and undertake research assignments to apply theory to modern societal issues.

Students will explore a variety of psychological topics in depth, from these major disciplines within psychology: Developmental, Social, Clinical, and Cognitive, and discuss their impact on the field of psychology and how they apply to behavior and life experience. Learning will be assessed by essay responses to questions posed from journal articles, book chapters, and class discussions and demonstrations.

Gives a fundamental overview of Emotional Intelligence and shows how understanding Emotional Intelligence leads to a beneficial working career and personal life. Presents an E.I. competence framework and reviews basic domains, such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management through various methods to promote learning by doing. Applies theoretical concepts to real world situations.

Studies women's activism from a global perspective, and its relationship with feminism.

Explores how society informs science through the lens of social foundations, societal movements, causes, politics, feminism and science; covers some real science content such as theoretical physics and string theory. Focuses on a combination of feminism, social foundations, history, and science and will require new ways of thinking about what it means to be scientifically literate in the modern world.

Focuses on the social and cultural construction of gender differences and the ways in which gender norms and stereotypes are prescribed and reinforced for a societys members, depending on their sex. Explores the history of feminist thought and practice, while also attending to contemporary issues at the intersections of gender and race, nation, class, age and sexuality.

Looks at ways food has influenced western culture, and its significance in our lives from the invention of agriculture to the contemporary debate about health foods; examines films and texts to find womans role in food production, how religious beliefs, economic factors, and ideas about health influence why and what we eat. Should we live to eat or eat to live? Where do we eat? What forces shape our choice of foods? That's plenty to chew on!

Understand that body image and eating attitudes develop through a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors. Specifically explores cultural influences reflected in the media including print, film, and television. Particular attention will be given to the interaction of gender and culture, through discussion of viewed media content and relevant research.

Explores an individual's psychological development in today's world. Investigates communication and relationships among individuals, families, and societies. Examines cognitive, social and emotional developmental changes that affect one's self and environment. Considers how technology influences many aspects of development including research in genetics, involvement with computers and apps, application of new medical research, and aging.

Explores changing concepts of the child from medieval times to the present by examining personal memoirs, competing social theories, and literary visions of the child. Focuses on medieval childhood, the romantic child, the Victorian child, slave children, pioneer childhood, immigrant childhood, childhood and the Great Depression, and childhood in today's family.

Explores one significant theme in the social sciences and/or humanities such as liberation, power, equality, diversity, rights, justice, war, happiness, love, and beauty, through the study of one significant and influential classic or contemporary book or  work of art. Students engage with the subject and enhance their critical reading, writing, thinking, and discussion skills.

Examines the risks experienced by individuals, society, and businesses. Explores the origins of concepts related to risk. Assesses attitudes toward risk and the impact of attitude on individual behavior. Examines the sources of risk to societies and businesses, and evaluates options for their mitigation.

Provides students with the conceptual framework and methods of economic science necessary for analyzing a variety of contemporary economic problems. The usefulness of these economic concepts will be taught as applications to specific public policy issues.

Examines the economic costs of food, including subsidies, production practices, ecological sustainability and health impacts; analyzes institutional factors contributing to potential market distortions in the food market system; evaluates the factors that characterize the current system such as the reliance on chemical pesticides and organic alternatives.

Explores changes and developments in maritime history. Introduces the sea as a space apart from those spaces inhibited on land. Explores the social, cultural, economic, environmental and political characteristics of the sea.

Introduces the study of race and ethnic relations, including the social and economic conditions promoting prejudice, racism, discrimination, and segregation. Examines contemporary American conditions, and historical and international materials.

Surveys Western attitudes toward magic and witchcraft from ancient times to the present, with emphasis on the European age of witch hunting, 1450-1750.

Explores one's belief in miracles, as well as related phenomena such as saints, pilgrimages, and vision. Analyzes multi-culturalism in the purest sense of the word. Examines one's deepest beliefs in all of their variety, and richness.

Designed to serve as an overview and exploration in the ever-growing field of leadership studies, the purpose of this course is to learn about leadership- to be better at leadership, whether in an organization, community, family, or some other context. A wide-range of topics and issues will be examined through historical and modern conceptions, case studies, moral and ethical sides of leadership, and focused looks at crisis leadership.

Investigates current leadership thinking and behavior in for-profit and non-profit work environments, as well as the role leadership has played in past decision making processes, and what we can learn from the decisions that were made by those leaders. Examines real world examples throughout this course, leveraging the theory and practical applications of leadership.

Examines business management and leadership methods when working with cultural issues in today's international businesses. Addresses challenges and opportunities that different cultures create. Explores through classroom activities how to meet the challenges that may occur and addresses examples of diversity in a global setting.

This course addresses the constitutional role and historical development of the American Presidency. We will also examine the theoretical explanations of the institution's relationship to democratic government, the separation of powers, and the expansion of national administrative power. This broad understanding of the historical and theoretical presidency will inform our consideration of current events and upcoming presidential elections.

Examines the character, origins, and evolution of American national identity. Positions the discussion in a wider theoretical landscape, designed to understand the nature of nations and nationalism. Explores the ways in which concepts of America and American have evolved over time, across space, and within social, cultural, and political contexts.

Examines the critical foreign policy challenges facing the United States in the 21st century. Explores the principal challenges and opportunities for American policymakers, such as: the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, environmental issues, and human rights and democratization.

This course will examine the role of mass media in the political process focusing on the presidency and includes such topics as print and broadcast news, social media and election campaigns, political advertising, fundraising, and media effects on public opinion and political participation.

Examines paradigm innovation (when an organization upends basic assumptions about core organizational purposes) with particular emphasis on the ways policing has been resistant to innovation. Focuses on the introduction of psychological profiling as a tool to capture a new class of antisocial criminals. Centers discussion on Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions to understand the success of profiling as an illuminating example.

Engages students in inventorying their interdisciplinary and extracurricular experiences, and assembling a digital narrative and collection of artifacts (eportfolio). Presents foundational learning experience for students to develop writing, graphic composition, integrative, and self-reflective and -authorship skills. Guides students in developing autonomy and agency, as they produce digital representations of themselves and their achievements.

Focuses on ongoing societal debates over educational technology while exploring local technology resources available at UVa and on the Web in general. Explores web-based tools, information websites, and interactive databases that support communication, research, and design skills, as well as creativity and knowledge presentation in online environments.

Explores ways in which the history and philosophy of technology can inform today's liberal arts students about the role of technology in our society. Covers current and historical topics as well as explores and develops a personal philosophic approach to the application of technology.

Focuses on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, particularly with students' experience with technology integration. Explores contemporary issues of DEI (including access, cultural perspectives, and racial inequality) that affect all levels of learning and areas where learning takes place (business, STEM, etc). Takes a critical look at the history of emerging technologies, and how access and integration have changed for underserved groups.

Drawing on histories and literature, including autobiographies, poetry, and novels, this course focuses on the experiences and mentalities of those who fought in World War I, as well as those who remained on the home front. The realities and myths of the Great War are explored. An emphasis is placed on British, French, and German writings about the Western Front as well as some consideration of the fighting on the Eastern Front and in Turkey.

Analyzes how non-state actors such as terrorists, insurgents, and transnational criminals conduct irregular warfare to subvert or overthrow the State and control populations. Examines strategies to stop them by exploring recent and historical case studies, with a special focus on modern conflicts and movements

Covers military, political, social and economic aspects of history's most devastating conflict. Explores the experiences of military personnel and civilians in Europe and Asia.

Explores in their original contexts the social, cultural, economic and political themes of works such as The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Time Machine, and Dracula, through a combination of class discussion and written assignments. Examines the attitudes, ideals and values associated with the Victorian era.

Focuses on policymakers and public reaction to the War in Vietnam, the 1st and 2nd Gulf Wars and our ongoing War in Afghanistan. Discusses how student demonstrations against the Vietnam War changed our society leading to new laws. Compares and contrasts the various causes of these wars, how America responded, the role of the military and the media during these wars. Examines the role of the President and Congress in conducting these wars.

Explores the causes of war, evolution and advances in military strategy, historical case studies, and contemporary issues of nuclear weapons, humanitarian war, and war against terrorism through major scholarly works, primary documents, films, class discussions, papers, and lectures.

Explores the marvelous world depicted in Kipling's Indian Tales from the perspective of the commentary they provide on British Ex-Patriot society. Discusses how Kipling has often been viewed as a critic of Indian society, when in fact he is a critical of the British. Examines the work of Clifford Geerts and other anthropologists to provide a rounded picture of Kipling as an analyst of cultural systems.

Develops methods, examines issues, and discusses the roles of various actors in world politics. Examines the international system and analyzes the crisis of the Westphalian State System. Provides understanding of conflicts, foreign policy, power, security, alliances, deterrence, bargaining, cooperation, globalization, institutions, and law in international politics.

Examines the work of Hunter Thompson in a study of how 'Gonzo' changed greater American journalism as a whole. Demonstrates how Thompson's role as a public intellectual spread into wider journalism, such as Doonesbury. Portrays Thompson as a premier political critic of each administration who exerted near unparalleled social influence.

Analyzes how history has shaped decisions about war, peace, and political order in the modern era. Includes close examination of the French Revolution, the World Wars, the Cuban Missile Crisis and, Vietnam. Combines policy analysis and historical study to understand the past's paradoxical role in designing the modern world.

Introduces students to psychological disorders and mental health concerns prevalent in today's society. Examines the symptoms of each disorder and various treatments. Explores the impact of mental health disorders on individuals and communities. Helps students develop an awareness of mental health disorders and provides strategies for assisting others.

In this course students will investigate the history of technology, especially since the eighteenth century, when humans first learned to harness the sources of power that have set modern times apart from all past ages. The conflict between technology's creative and destructive power will be emphasized. Students will study historical technologies, and also their relations to society, culture and religion.

This course will examine the foundation and growth of the United States military establishment and the exercise of and changes in military strategy and policies as shaped by political, social, and economic factors.  While focusing on the period "book-ended" by the Civil War and Vietnam, the course goes beyond the study of the usual generals, government leaders, and battles and discusses subjects like technology, professionalism, administration, and military policy. 

Examine America's colonial period (to the eve of the American Revolution) as that of a foreign country. Investigates the people, cultures, institutions, and events of the period on their own terms rather than through the lens of modern America. Uncovers the origins of many later American issues and debates;freedom and slavery; warfare; religion and revival; sectionalism; race; class; and commercialism.

Examines the fundamental clashes between liberals and conservatives, including how this split in perspectives developed our modern culture. Focuses on a tolerant, open-minded, and balanced investigation that seeks a broader understanding and appreciation of these diverse perspectives.

Examines the issues of ideology, race, gender, faith, war, the youth movement, as well as the politics of the Great Society social programs and voting rights. Explores music, the draft, and the counter culture, including a new conservatism also present amidst the violence at home and abroad.

Examines the history of American protest movements by looking at music from the 1900s to 2000. Analyzes readings and analyzes music from that period. Explores movements such as the populist movement, labor movements, anti-war protests, the civil rights movement, the women's movement, peace movements, and environmental movements.

Examines the relationship between romantic love, both heterosexual and non-heterosexual, as well as other forms of love; family, country, and God. Explores the understanding of love in our popular culture and involves the close study of philosophical, religious, literary, and historical texts together with a careful viewing of several films.

Explores the most significant art controversies in the history of the United States and places them in their appropriate cultural and historical contexts.

Explores Theodore Roosevelt's life. Investigates key political, economic, social, and cultural developments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that Roosevelt experienced and, in some cases, influenced.

Analyzes the major works of Jane Austen. Explores the social, cultural, economic, and political themes of the novels in their original contexts through a combination of class discussion and written assignments. Considers the resurgence in popularity of Austen's works in recent years, especially film and television portrayals of her novels.

Examines America's colonial period to the eve of the American Revolution. Investigates people, cultures, institutions, and events of the period. Explores later American issues and debates, such as freedom and slavery, warfare, religion and revival, race, class, and how they influenced commercialism.

Explores the changing roles and often negelected contributions of women in America as "founding mothers," participants in the workforce, and leaders in civil and political life. Discusses the diversity of women's experiences, including those of Native-American and African-American women.

Provides a basis for evaluating the claims of others while also choosing the best analysis methods for supporting ideas. Examines how quantitative analysis can inform decisions, how to select the appropriate tools for the situation, how to interpret the results, and how to effectively communicate the results.

Examines theories of political economy in their embedded social, historical, and cultural contexts to address relevant contemporary questions about economics in everyday life. Compares multiple theories of political economy, such as (Neo)classical, (Neo)Keynesian, Marxist, and heterodox economics to explore theories of power, institutions, distribution, and collective action.

Analyzes major theoretical approaches to understanding the development of perception, cognition, language, personality, and social interaction. Challenges students to critically analyze assumptions and methods that underlie developmental research findings. Provides opportunities for students to conduct independent research on course-related topics.

Examines the theoretical bases for the study of thinking, consciousness, and the mind, with a focus on current research findings. Topics include learning and memory, language, reasoning, decision-making and cognitive neuropsychology. Challenges students to design a small-scale experiment and connect their findings to applications in professional, personal, or education contexts.

Examines latest research findings in interpersonal communication theories, with a focus on listening, verbal and non-verbal expression, interpersonal conflict, intimate relationships, and workplace communication. Engages students in independent research to apply theoretical constructs to a range of scenarios encountered in professional, social, and relationship settings.

Contextualizes Jung's ideas by comparing and contrasting them to Freud's, and setting them broadly in the framework of academic psychology as a whole. Analyzes Jung's ideas by describing and discussing the elements of Jung's model of the psyche, the dynamics of Jung's model in the moment, and the dynamics of the model over the life-span of an individual.

Explores the sociology of the American family, including: family change through American history; poverty and family life; alternative families (including single-by-choice parenting and gay marriage), and the effects of marriage and divorce on the lives of adults and children.

Examines the neurological basis of emotion and the content of emotional intelligence which includes social competence in relationships, impulse control, empathy and compassion, resilience, motivation, and optimism. Discusses the underlying neurological mechanisms through which mindfulness meditation exerts its impact on emotion regulation and emotional intelligence.

This course explores systems of social inequality: feudalism, caste and slavery, class, and status groups, primarily in American society, but with reference to Europe and the Indian sub-continent as well. Starting with the fundamental concepts of Karl Marx and Max Weber, students will discuss the theoretical constructs that define systems of inequality, consider some historical examples, and then examine "social stratification" in our own country. Does the United States have a class system? If so, what are its characteristics? Joining the scholarly debate on this issue, students will consider the meaning of equal opportunity and social mobility for achieving the "American dream." The course also explores the empirical consequences of social inequality for every day life: in health and wellness, housing, education, and family structure.

Focuses on the post-1945 period and the evolution of Russian-American relations since the fall of the Soviet Union, through an interdisciplinary lens based on contributions from international relations scholars and practitioners as well as historians, economists, philosophers, and political psychologists in historical and contemporary perspectives.

This course examines both Russian and American foreign policy at several critical points during the conflict. Through major scholarly works, primary documents, films, class discussions, papers, and lectures students will work together to better understand the Cold War and gain a fuller understanding of its political, military, cultural, economic, and ideological impact at home and abroad. The following questions will be explored: 1) How did the Cold War start?; 2) What were some of the important decisions made during the conflict, and why?; 3) Why did the Cold War end the way it did?

Examines all aspects of global warming, emphasizing appropriate government policies such as carbon taxes, cap and trade systems, and clean technologies to limit future carbon emissions. Provides students with economic background and tools to address the public policy issues related to climate change.

Provides foundational overview of the structure and function of the US healthcare system. Promotes critical discussion of history and current status of organizations and delivery systems. Examines challenges facing providers, patients, and policy makers, as healthcare becomes more complex. Utilizes current events and media to explore controversies related to labor, finance, access, and health disparities. Req: Admission to BPHM or BIS Program.

Explores system theories, organizational structure and design, organizational culture, organizational diagnosis, and several basic frames of reference for understanding change.

A study of the basic theory, knowledge, and skills of effective leadership in today's world.  Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to use the four leadership frames of Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal (Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership, 2003) as the theoretical construct for both defining effective leadership in today's world and developing/refining their own skills as leaders.  As such, they will also develop both a theoretical and practical understanding of the role of the leader in effecting and managing change.  This course will be conducted as a hybrid of independent study, online learning, and live class interaction.  More specifically, the course pedagogies will include lecture presentations, online and in-class discussion, case study projects, and interviews. 

Explores how elements of wisdom are carried in the healing, shamanic traditions of the wounded. Explores how we can collectively respond to violence in constructive ways on community and global issues.

Explores Gandhi's discussion of satyagraha through the actions, writings and speeches of the Nobel Peace Laureates. Delves into research in the emerging anthropology of violence and peace to find out how and why societies turn to peaceful, rather than violent responses to conflict. Explores the dynamics of violence in the world and the belief that violence is inevitable.

This course analyzes America's governing institutions (including the presidency, Congress, the courts, and political parties) through the political thought that informs American constitutionalism. This course, then, is about political ideas as they have appeared and developed in the United States and the manner in which they have influenced and shaped the development of governing institutions. Particular attention will be paid to how these institutions interact, overlap, and intersect.

This course addresses major topics dealing with the phenomenon known as 'globalization' - the ever spreading reduction of barriers to the exchange of goods services, and ideas across national borders. The method of exploration will involve reading a combination of classical and contemporary works (some books, some articles) from leaders and thinkers grappling with globalization, and its various ripple effects and challenges. Revolving around core themes of responsibility and community, democracy and culture, and prosperity and poverty in the age of globalization, readings will include works from Plato, Thucydides, Milton Friedman, Peter Singer, Thomas Friedman, Moises Naim, Robert Kaplan, Bernard Lewis, Aung San Suu Kyi, Salman Rushdie, and Amartya Sen.

Provides foundational overview of the structure and function of the US healthcare system. Promotes critical discussion of history and current status of organizations and delivery systems. Examines challenges facing providers, patients, and policy makers, as healthcare becomes more complex. Utilizes current events and media to explore controversies related to labor, finance, access, and health disparities. Req: Admission to BPHM or BIS Program.