Fall 2015 Elective Options
Electives will be recommended to students in order to stay on track for the transition to the University of Miami in January.
Enrollment in an elective course is based on the schedule and availability of seats in each section at the time of registration.
ANTH-110
Culture & Human
Experience
People around the world create and use systems of symbols to express their identities as members of social
groups. This course draws on diverse life-cycle experiences in tribal, state-level, and post-colonial societies to
explore ways that both tradition and contact with other cultures contribute to the cultural pluralism of the
contemporary world.
ANTH-215
Sex, Gender,
& Culture
How economic systems, social structures, and values construct and redefine biological distinctions between
women and men. Includes gender in egalitarian societies; origins and consequences of patriarchy; gay and
lesbian cultures; gender, politics, and social change. Case studies from tribal, state-level, and post-colonial
contexts.
ARTH-105
Art: The Historical
Experience
An introduction to works of art in historical context. Western art from prehistory to the present with indepth study of such major architectural monuments as the Parthenon, Chartres Cathedral, St. Peter's in
Rome, and such artists as Michelangelo, Raphael, El Greco, Gentileschi, Rembrandt, the French
Impressionists, and Picasso.
BIO-110
General Biology
An in-depth introduction and exploration of the study of life from atoms, molecules, and organelles to the
cellular levels of organization. Emphasis on cell structure and function, energetics and metabolism, the gene,
molecular genetics, and evolution. The laboratory component introduces the scientific method and
experimentation through the study of microbes, plants and animals.
COMM-100
Understanding Media
Building on students' individual and collective experiences of mass media (print, film, radio, television, and
digital media), this course analyzes American media institutions: their development and social role; the
economic and political constraints they face; and their effect on us as a society and as individuals.
ECON-100
Macroeconomics
Introduction to the basic principles of aggregate economic analysis. Includes measurement and determinants
of national income, unemployment, inflation, economic growth, and business cycles. Topics also include
historical perspectives, alternative approaches to economics, and current issues and controversies.
ECON-200
Microeconomics
Introduction to the analysis of markets and the behavior of different kinds of economic agents. Covers
supply and demand, behavior of consumers and firms, competitive markets versus monopoly or oligopoly,
income distribution, discrimination, and international trade.
GOVT-110
Politics in the US
Study of major philosophical concepts that shaped government in the United States combined with an
analysis of contemporary political institutions and behavior, focusing on the American governmental system.
GOVT-130
Comparative
Politics
How different societies, both Western and non-Western, have approached the political problems of order
and responsiveness. The relationships, in a cross-cultural perspective, between the individual and the state;
social and economic processes; culture and behavior.
*GOVT-321
Congress and Legislative
Behavior
Congressional behavior, Congress as an institution, and the role of Congress in policymaking. Includes field
research on Capitol Hill. Prerequisite: GOVT-110, and minimum 2.5 GPA.
*GOVT-322
American Political Parties
Party organization, the party in the electorate and government, party reform and the future of American
parties. Research on parties in Washington. Prerequisite: GOVT-110, and minimum 2.4 GPA.
HIST-288
Oliver Stone’s America
Director Oliver Stone's influence on popular views of recent U.S. history has raised important questions
about artistic license, the nature and uses of historical evidence, and the shaping of popular historical
consciousness. This course addresses these issues while assessing both scholarly opinion and popular beliefs
about the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War and antiwar movement, the 1960s counterculture,
Watergate, U.S. policy in Central America, the 1980s capitalistic culture, and 9/11 and the presidency of
George W. Bush.
Please note that this course is in the late evening and meets on Mondays from 8:10 PM to 10:40 PM.
JLC-104
Introduction to Systems of
Justice
An overview of the formal mechanisms of social control as manifested by the components of the criminal
justice system (legislatures, planning agencies, law enforcement, courts, and corrections), civil justice systems,
and such other mechanisms as civil commitment. Alternatives to formal processing including diversion,
pretrial screening and dispute-settlement programs.
LIT-107
Creative Writing across
Genres
This course guides students into the world of creative communication through generative writing
assignments, in-class critiques, writing workshops, and writerly appreciation of literary texts. Students explore
multiple genres of writing including fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, in preparation for upper-level
creative writing workshops.
LIT-121
Jane Austen and Her
World
This course explores the works of Jane Austen in the literary and cultural contexts of the late eighteenth and
early nineteenth centuries. Throughout the semester, the class undertakes close readings of Austen's
Northanger Abbey; Sense and Sensibility; Mansfield Park; Persuasion; and her unfinished novel Sanditon.
Austen adaptations and paratexts including the 1995 Simon Langton/Andrew Davies mini-series of Pride and
Prejudice; Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary (1996); Patricia Rozema's 1999 film adaptation of Mansfield
Park; and Austen fan fictions are also discussed. Situating Austen's works within the turbulent political and
social shifts of her period, topics including gender and the novel; the public and private spheres; sensibility
and sexuality; empire, war, and slavery; and revolution and social change are considered. Also interrogated is
Austen's status as a 'hypercanonical' author, a figure whose life and works are subject to insatiable academic
and popular enthusiasm, and the various critical approaches through which her works have been considered.
MATH-150/151
Finite Mathematics
Review of algebra, sets, linear equations and inequalities, nonlinear inequalities, interest problems, systems if
linear equations, functions and graphs, and elementary data analysis. Prerequisite: three years of high school
mathematics or equivalent. Note: For students who need extra work on mathematical skills. No credit toward
mathematics major.
MATH-154
Great Ideas in
Mathematics
This course explores a sample of beautiful branches of modern mathematics, concentrating on conceptual
underpinnings rather than technical aspects. Includes study of infinity, number theory, fractals, and modern
geometry, among other mathematical ideas. The course focuses on verbal and written communication skills
and problem solving. Prerequisite: three years of high school mathematics or equivalent. Note: No credit
toward mathematics major.
MATH-170
Pre-Calculus
Fundamentals of algebraic, logarithmic, exponential, and trigonometric functions. Prerequisite: three years of
high school mathematics, or MATH-15x, or permission of department.
*MATH-211
Applied Calculus I
Functions, differentiation, and integration. Applications to several areas, especially business.
Prerequisite: MATH-160 or MATH-170, or four years of high school mathematics.
*MATH-221
Calculus I
Real number coordinate systems; functions; limits and continuity; differentiation and applications;
trigonometric functions; indefinite and definite integration and applications; fundamental theorem of integral
calculus. Prerequisite: MATH-170 or four years of high school mathematics.
PERF-110
Understanding Music
An introduction to musical language through listening and comprehension. The fundamentals of acoustics,
melody, harmony, form, texture, and color in a wide range of music from ancient and global music to
European concert music, jazz, blues, and popular music. Includes listening and concert attendance
requirements.
PERF-200
Dance as an Art Form
A survey of dance as an artistic, social, and cultural form. Students discover the diverse ways dance represents
and reflects society's experiences and values. Through lectures, readings, written work, performances,
movement labs, and choreography/performance assignments students develop an understanding of
aesthetics, function, and expression in dance.
PHIL-105
Western Philosophy
A historical introduction to the Western philosophical tradition. Students closely examine classic and
contemporary texts on the nature of reality, truth, morality, goodness, and justice; the possibility of
knowledge; faith, reason, and the existence of God; and the issue of freedom and determinism.
*PHYS-110
Principles of Physics I
The first course in a calculus-based, two-semester sequence in general physics, including weekly laboratory.
Includes the study of motion and forces, Newton's Laws, momentum, energy, gravitation, fluids, properties
of matter, and thermodynamics. Note: PHYS-110/210 generally satisfy requirements of medical and dental
schools. Prerequisite: MATH-221 (may be taken concurrently) or permission of instructor.
PSYC-105
Understand Human
Behavior
Survey of the social bases of behavior and the individual foundations of group and social behavior. This
course emphasizes the concepts and methodologies of psychology in such areas as social development,
personality, social psychology, and abnormal behavior, as well as the interaction between the individual and
social institutions.
PSYC-215
Abnormal Psych & Society
Focuses on behavior labeled as abnormal by society. Abnormal behavior as a function of the individual's
interaction with social institutions (family, school, legal system, mental-health system, etc.). Introduction to
the major concepts, theories, and issues of abnormal psychology.
RELG-105
Religious Heritage of the
West
The contribution of religion to Western civilization. The eastern Mediterranean roots of Western religions,
the emergence of Christianity in the Greco-Roman world, and the rise of Islam. The mature religious
synthesis of Medieval Europe. Modern secularism's challenge to this tradition.
SOCY-150
Global Sociology
An introduction to sociology that focuses on the process of global social change as a critical factor in
understanding contemporary societies. It emphasizes macrosociology (the study of large organizations and
whole societies) and the creation of today's global society, including similarities and differences within it. Two
major themes - modernization and globalization - are emphasized and their implications for individuals,
groups, communities, societies, and governments are explored.
Please note courses with an asterisk have a prerequisite. You will only be able to sign up for those courses if you meet the requirements .