HSS2002: Introduction to Indigenous People's Politics and History

4 Intermediate Liberal Arts

This Intermediate level History and Society class is an Introduction to the study of the politics and history of Indigenous peoples. The class will focus mostly on the United States and Canada - two countries created through settler colonial conquest, genocide, and dispossession of Indigenous peoples from their territories. The course will offer opportunities for looking globally at Indigenous people's experiences, histories and politics. To understand Indigenous people's history and politics, one must learn about the intertwined history of colonialism, capitalism, white supremacy and heteropatriarchy, and their oppressive impacts upon Indigenous peoples. For example, what we call the "gender binary" is not natural but was imposed, in part, through colonial processes such as Indian Boarding/Residential Schools that brutally compelled children to conform to Euro-centric norms. Recently, in Canada on the grounds of old residential schools, unmarked graves have been discovered that contain the remains of children that went to these schools. This is just one of the difficult issues we will explore and grapple with in this class to understand Indigenous people's history and the colonial oppression they have and continue to face. We will spend a great deal of time on Indigenous political movements that resist and refuse these oppressive systems. The course materials will include scholarly studies, historical narratives, fiction, poetry, first person narratives, films, documentaries, podcasts and other media that help students understand the historical and contemporary reality of Indigenous peoples, colonialism, political movements and so on. Students will be expected to develop a strong and precise understanding of the fundamental elements of Native American and Indigenous studies and will have the opportunity to explore their own topics of interest in project-oriented assignments. This will be a highly participatory class that will require close attention to materials and active and consistent engagement to succeed.

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

HSS2418 Introduction to Sociology
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsSociology explains human behavior in terms of group activities. The solidarity of a social group allows group members to work cooperatively towards common goals. But the dark side of group solidarity is that it often leads members to feel hostility towards individuals who are not a part of the group and for non-members to experience feelings of resentment towards the group and its members. How is solidarity achieved? How is the formation of social identity affected by group solidarity? How do groups competing for scarce resources construct a view of their group's needs, hopes, and desires? Where are group members and nonmembers situated in this view of social life? This course examines the relationship between group solidarity, resource scarcity, and the formation of social identity in everyday life.

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

CSP2059 Introduction to Consumer Society
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits

This course addresses both long-standing and emerging debates about consumer society: Who is in control, consumers or advertisers and producers? How has the role of consumers changed in the digital era and with social media? How does consumption help us structure and communicate our identit(y/ies)? In what ways does consumption affect the environment and how does this then changed consumption patterns? How does the consumption of social media shape our lives? Special attention will be paid to the ways in which consumer culture structures division by class, status, gender, and race. Readings will include pieces by Adorno and Horkheimer, Bourdieu, Veblen, Sherman, Khan, Pittman, Duffy, and others.

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

CVA2059 Introduction to Consumer Society
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits

This course addresses both long-standing and emerging debates about consumer society: Who is in control, consumers or advertisers and producers? How has the role of consumers changed in the digital era and with social media? How does consumption help us structure and communicate our identit(y/ies)? In what ways does consumption affect the environment and how does this then changed consumption patterns? How does the consumption of social media shape our lives? Special attention will be paid to the ways in which consumer culture structures division by class, status, gender, and race. Readings will include pieces by Adorno and Horkheimer, Bourdieu, Veblen, Sherman, Khan, Pittman, Duffy, and others.

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

HSS2039 Contemporary AfricaA
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course is an interdisciplinary introduction to contemporary Africa. After a brief examination of the precolonial and colonial periods, it focuses on a variety of current topics. These topics include development challenges of education and health, regional security, gender, human rights, and environmental governance. Connecting present state of the continent and its past, the course ends by examining possible futures. Focused broadly on scholarship in the humanities and social sciences, the course will also draw on the arts, literature, and sports in order to provide a fuller picture of the continent.

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

CSP2013 Introduction to Sustainability
4 CreditsThis case-based course introduces students to the basic concepts and tools that the liberal arts (science, social science, and the humanities) bring to a consideration of sustainability. Students develop the cross-disciplinary awareness and collaboration skills needed to approach environmental issues holistically.

Prerequisites: (RHT and AHS) or (FCI and WRT 1001)

HSS2003 Latin American History
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course will be an introduction to the main themes, processes, and ideas in Latin American history since 1810. The central focus will be on Mexico, the Caribbean, and the ABC countries (Argentina, Brazil, and Chile), without neglecting the main thinkers and major historical events from other countries. It will develop familiarity with critical developments in modern Latin American history such as slavery, modernization, neocolonialism, racism, and migratory flows. At times it will take a global perspective to situate Latin America in its proper international context, paying close attention to US-Latin American relations. In other words, the main goals of the course will be to cultivate an understanding of key concepts, developments, and issues in the region's history, while offering a sense of Latin America's human and cultural diversity.

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

HSS2020 Media Studies
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course explores the structure and functions of the mass media in contemporary society, looking at social, cultural, economic and political issues relevant to television, film, radio, recorded music, books, newspapers, magazines, internet and new communication technologies. Exploration of relationships between media and individual, media structure, media policy, law and ethics, and globalization of communications media is emphasized.

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

CSP2020 Media Studies
(Formerly CVA2020)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits

If you took and passed CVA2020, you cannot take CSP2020, as these two courses are equivalent

This course explores the structure and functions of the mass media in contemporary society, looking at social, cultural, economic and political issues relevant to television, film, radio, recorded music, books, newspapers, magazines, internet and new communication technologies. Exploration of relationships between media and individual, media structure, media policy, law and ethics, and globalization of communications media is emphasized.

This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring or Fall

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

CVA2020 Media Studies
(Formerly HSS2020)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits

If you took and passed HSS2020, you cannot take CVA2020, as these two courses are equivalent

This course explores the structure and functions of the mass media in contemporary society, looking at social, cultural, economic and political issues relevant to television, film, radio, recorded music, books, newspapers, magazines, internet and new communication technologies. Exploration of relationships between media and individual, media structure, media policy, law and ethics, and globalization of communications media is emphasized.

This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring or Fall

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)