Summer 2013
Maymester 2013: 5/20 – 5/31
UNIV 2350 33521 Interdisciplinary Technology & Society
100% Online. Computer access required.
Instructor: Beau Pihlaja
Peer Leader: Naomi Owens
Librarian: Elizabeth Torres
747-5290 UGLC 130 bspihlaja@utep.edu
747-6143 UGLC 214 nruvalcaba@miners.utep.edu
747-6702 LIB 216 eltorres@utep.edu
Taking Calls in Mumbai: Technologically Mediated Intercultural Communication
What impact does technology have on intercultural communication? Does it enable it? Inhibit it? Improve it?
Complicate it? What issues do individuals and groups face when they attempt to communicate cross-culturally via the internet for instance? What implications does this have on businesses, for example, that rely on computer mediated communication (CMC) to interact with international business partners? These are the questions that will occupy us throughout UNIV 2350: Intercultural Communication and Technology. Students will use this theme to address the goals of UTEP’s UNIV 2350 course goals. Students will study issues in intercultural communication, the history and development of CMC, issues in intercultural CMC all through the study of specific cases related to international business.
Beau Pihlaja is a full time lecturer with UTEP’s Entering Student Program. Mr. Pihlaja has a Masters of Divinity with an emphasis in cross-cultural communication and a masters of theology from Trinity International University.
He is also a PhD. candidate in UTEP’s Rhetoric and Writing Studies Program. He is a fellow with SUNY’s COIL
Institute. During 2008-2009 he taught masters-level seminars in a small ecclesial college in Bangalore and in several other cities throughout India. He continues to visit and teach there periodically. His research interests include political theologies, Christianity in south Asia, south Asian philosophy, secularism, secularization theory, and trinitarian theology. He currently resides in El Paso, TX with his lovely wife Charity, son Asher, and daughter
Cressida.
7-week: 5/20-7/6
UNIV 2350 31533 Interdisciplinary Technology &Society (DP)
This course is restricted to RN-BSN students. Departmental approval required.
100% Online. Computer access required.
Instructor: Debbie Sikes 747-8263 dlsikes@utep.edu
Peer Leader: Angela Ortiz
Librarian: Harvey Castellano
747-6143 UGLC 214 aortiz22@miners.utep.edu
747-6734 LIB 213 hcastell@utep.edu
Expanding the Technological and Professional Horizons in Health Care
By using technology, this course provides students with foundational knowledge in health care locally and nationally. Concepts related to communication, cultural awareness, critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration with health care professionals, health-illness continuum, ethics, and health trends in the 21st century through the advance of technology are presented. Students will examine the impact technology has had on their life as well as their behaviors as a consumer and/or provider. Readings, discussion boards, electronic database access, and
Blackboard to assist in the learning process will be used. This course is designed for RN-BSN students.
Debbie Sikes received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Missouri in Nursing and a Master’s of
Science degree from the University of Texas at El Paso in Nursing Education. Ms. Sikes has served as the Director of the RN-BSN online program at UTEP for the past 3 years. Ms. Sikes has practiced nursing for over 26 years in numerous healthcare settings including hospital, outpatient clinics, school health, and nursing education. She is continuing research related to the use of Standardized Patients and students’ satisfaction in Objective Structured
Clinical Examinations. She has presented her programs at conferences throughout the country. Her interests include

the use of technology related to healthcare and nursing administration. She is an active member of Sigma Theta Tau
International, the honor society for nursing and currently serves as the Delta Kappa Chapter treasurer.
8-week: 6/10 – 8/2
UNIV 2350 33522 Interdisciplinary Technology & Society
100% Online. Computer access required.
Instructor: DeAnna Varela 747-7065 UGLC 344 dkvarela@utep.edu
Peer Leader:
Librarian: Elizabeth Torres 747-6702 LIB 216 eltorres@utep.edu
Women, Girls & Technology
This course will focus on the relationship and effects of technology on women and girls in today’s society. We will analyze key social institutions and systems of power and oppression, with emphasis placed on diverse perspectives related to gender, class, race, sexuality, ability, and culture. Topics will include: technology in relation to gender, education, work, reproductive rights, media, the internet and activism. In addition to introducing you to the theme of women, girls and technology, we will address the UNIV 2350 course goals as well as develop key reading, writing and critical thinking skills.
DeAnna Kay Varela holds a BA in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Texas at Austin, a MA in
Communication and Graduate Certificate in Women and Gender Studies, both from the University of Texas at El
Paso. Professor Varela holds a fulltime appointment as lecturer with the UTEP Entering Student Program. In 2012 she was awarded the University of Texas Regents Outstanding Teaching Award for her commitment to teaching and mentoring students. Her research interests include social justice movements and activism, cultural studies, and contemporary women and girls’ issues.
Summer 1: 6/10-7/3
UNIV 1301 30919 Seminar/Critical Inquiry UGLC 334 1140 1350 MTWRF
Instructor: Kimberly Kilpatrick 747-5547 UGLC 130 kimcastillo@utep.edu
Peer Leader:
Advisor: Vanessa Antunez 747-8723 AAC vanessaa@utep.edu
Librarian: Harvey Castellano 747-6734 LIB 213 hcastell@utep.edu
The Art of Communication
The focus of Ms. Kilpatrick's UNIV1301 seminar courses is effective communication at many levels: intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, and public speaking. With her academic interests predominately within the realm of communication, Ms. Kilpatrick actively implements assignments and activities that help students sharpen their skills in effectively communicating with others .
Kimberly Kilpatrick received both her BA, with honors, and MA in Communication from the University of Texas at El Paso. She has worked in both the UTEP Entering Student Program and Communication Department as a lecturer. Ms. Kilpatrick began teaching at UTEP in fall 2001 as a full-time lecturer of both Communications 1301 and University 1301 classes.
UNIV 1301 31132 Seminar/Critical Inquiry
Instructor: Michelle Pena 747-6673
UGLC 208
AAC 134
0920 1130 MTWRF penam@utep.edu
Peer Leader:
Advisor: Michelle Pena
Librarian: Virginia Rassaei
747-6673 AAC 134 penam@utep.edu
747-5687 LIB 102B vrassaei@utep.edu

Eating, Breathing and Beautifying Ourselves Sick
We live in a very contaminated world and hear about it in the news every day. However, when we hear about contamination we only think about air, soil and water contaminants. We rarely stop to think about contaminants in the food we eat and in the everyday products that we use for beauty or cleaning our homes. Many would never imagine that those contaminants are what affect us most each and every day. Students in this course will not only analyze, read and investigate about the issues mentioned above, but they will also take into account issues that deal with their success in college. Amongst those success strategies are effective time management, note-taking, exam preparation, critical thinking and reading, and career guidance, amongst others. Also, students will participate in
UTEP and community events, thus helping them become part of the greater UTEP/El Paso community.
Michelle Peña holds degrees from UTEP in Education and a Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in environmental sciences. Michelle currently holds a position as an academic advisor and a lecturer within the Academic Advising Center and the Entering Student Program at UTEP. Her research interests are in environmental science and social and environmental injustice within the border area. Michelle was named a
National Science Foundation teaching scholar, and served in El Paso’s public schools as a science and math teacher before coming to UTEP. She also obtained a certification in English for Speakers of Other Languages while teaching in the public school sector. She currently teaches University Seminar 1301 in both English and Spanish, thus serving our El Paso area students and also our Latin American freshmen populations.
UNIV 2350 30920 Interdisciplinary Technology & Society CRBL C204 0920 1130 MTW
This section is a hybrid: meets face-to-face MTW, online RF. Computer access required.
Instructor: Sycora Wilson-James 747-6088 UGLC 132 sajames@utep.edu
Peer Leader:
Librarian: Sebastian Diaz 747-6721 LIB 322 sdiaz@utep.edu
Technology and Higher Education
This course will address the role technology plays in shaping American higher education. Students will explore the history of technology in higher education; discuss how technology affects the cost of education, some of the latest uses of technology in the classroom, privacy of information, and who is held accountable for the wealth of data generated and collected on a college campus. Students are highly encouraged to bring new light to the weekly discussions
Sycora A. Wilson-James received her BA from Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, in Social Science and a
M.Ed. in College Student Affairs from Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA. Ms. Wilson-James has been involved in many aspects of Student Affairs as an undergraduate, graduate, and in her professional career including residence life, new student orientation, academic advising, service learning, and student disability services. She has been at
UTEP since April 2000 when she began as the Program Coordinator for the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority
Participation program; a multi-million dollar grant funded by the National Science Foundation which awards research opportunities to undergraduates majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. She was an Academic Advisor/Lecturer and served as the Peer Leader Coordinator for the Entering Student Program. She teaches University 1301: Seminar in Critical Inquiry; themes include “Holidays, Traditions & Celebrations”, and
“College Life: past, present, future”. She also teaches University 2350: Interdisciplinary Technology and Society, with a theme of ‘Cyber U: Technology and Higher Education’. Ms. Wilson-James’ professional interest in Higher
Education is to develop a theory on the socialization of African-American women in college.
Summer 2: 7/8-8/2
UNIV 1301 31622 Seminar/Critical Inquiry
Instructor: Teresa Hibbert 747-5714
UGLC 208
MAIN 313
1140 1350 MTWRF tdhibbert@utep.edu
Peer Leader:
Advisor: Alejandra Sifuentes
Librarian: Elizabeth Torres
747-7304
747-6702
AAC
LIB 216 asifuentes3@utep.edu eltorres@utep.edu

UNIV 1301 31623 Seminar/Critical Inquiry
Instructor: Teresa Hibbert
Peer Leader:
UGLC 334 0920 1130 MTWRF
UNIV 1301 33977 Seminar/Critical Inquiry (DP) UGLC 334 0920 1130 MTWRF
This section is reserved for students in the Upward Bound Program. Departmental approval required.
747-5714 MAIN 313 tdhibbert@utep.edu
Advisor: Alejandra Sifuentes 747-7304 AAC asifuentes3@utep.edu
Librarian: Elizabeth Torres 747-6702 LIB 216 eltorres@utep.edu
Experiencing Poverty
Through a collection of readings, we will explore the voice, the presence, and the perspective of the poor who live on the margins of society and are generally invisible to the rest of us. Goals are to bring the realities of the lives of the impoverished as close to the reader as possible and to get the reader to listen carefully to these voices of the poor to enhance their understanding (Eitzen 2009). Students will learn to use their sociological imagination when discussing, analyzing and writing about the readings. In addition, students will gain a deeper understanding of the problem of poverty in the United States. We will also assess and explore academic skills vital to college success, including time management, organization, note taking, test preparation, academic reading, critical thinking, essay writing as well as career exploration.
Teri Hibbert has a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Sociology from UTEP. She is a lecturer with the Entering
Student Program and the Department of Sociology/Anthropology and currently teaches Introduction to Sociology,
Sociology of Marriage and Family, Advanced Social Problems and UNIV 1301. She has taught statistics and research methods as well as three topics in UNIV 1301, including Family Communications, Marriage and Family and most recently, Experiencing Poverty. She has been a faculty member at UTEP for over 13 years. Her approach to teaching is to allow the student to experience individual responsibility in the college environment while providing a positive learning experience.
UNIV 1301 31624 Seminar/Critical Inquiry UGLC 210 0920 1130 MTWRF
UNIV 1301 33978 Seminar/Critical Inquiry (DP) UGLC 210 0920 1130 MTWRF
This section is reserved for students in the Upward Bound Program. Departmental Approval Required.
Instructor: Rosa Rodriquez 747-7310 AAC 20 rrodriquez@utep.edu
Peer Leader:
Advisor: Rosa Rodriquez 747-7310 AAC 20 rrodriquez@utep.edu
Librarian: Angela Lucero 747-5685 ajmartinez5@utep.edu
The Human Condition
Students will be introduced to basic concepts and terminology in psychology and literature. These concepts will be utilized to examine characters in fiction in order to gain an understanding of the Human Condition and its impact in social, cultural, and personal contexts. Students will learn to develop their critical thinking skills and will gain a deeper understanding of Psychology and critical analysis of literature. Students will learn to strengthen their academic performance as productive college students and active community members by developing skills in the areas of research, collaboration, critical thinking, writing and presentation skills.
Rosa Rodriquez-Gonzalez earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Teacher Certification for English
Language Arts and Reading from the University of Texas at the Permian Basin in 1998. She taught High School
English in the public sector for 3 years. Rosie joined UTEP in 2008 and also became a certified teacher in Early
Childhood Education. She worked with Project BEST, a bridge program designed to assist students in becoming college ready and transitioning to higher education. She served as the English Teacher, Coordinator, and
Curriculum Coordinator for the program. She received her M.ED. in Early Childhood Education from the
University of Texas at El Paso in 2009. She currently serves UTEP students as an Academic Advisor at UTEP’s
Academic Advising Center and as Lecturer for UNIV 1301.
UNIV 2350 30921 Interdisciplinary Technology & Society
100% Online. Computer access required.

Instructor: Beau Pihlaja 747-5290 UGLC 130 bspihlaja@utep.edu
Peer Leader:
Librarian: Elizabeth Torres 747-6702 LIB 216 eltorres@utep.edu
Taking Calls in Mumbai: Technologically Mediated Intercultural Communication
What impact does technology have on intercultural communication? Does it enable it? Inhibit it? Improve it?
Complicate it? What issues do individuals and groups face when they attempt to communicate cross-culturally via the internet for instance? What implications does this have on businesses, for example, that rely on computer mediated communication (CMC) to interact with international business partners? These are the questions that will occupy us throughout UNIV 2350: Intercultural Communication and Technology. Students will use this theme to address the goals of UTEP’s UNIV 2350 course goals. Students will study issues in intercultural communication, the history and development of CMC, issues in intercultural CMC all through the study of specific cases related to international business.
Beau Pihlaja is a full time lecturer with UTEP’s Entering Student Program. Mr. Pihlaja has a Masters of Divinity with an emphasis in cross-cultural communication and a masters of theology from Trinity International University.
He is also a PhD. candidate in UTEP’s Rhetoric and Writing Studies Program. He is a fellow with SUNY’s COIL
Institute. During 2008-2009 he taught masters-level seminars in a small ecclesial college in Bangalore and in several other cities throughout India. He continues to visit and teach there periodically. His research interests include political theologies, Christianity in south Asia, south Asian philosophy, secularism, secularization theory, and trinitarian theology. He currently resides in El Paso, TX with his lovely wife Charity, son Asher, and daughter
Cressida.
UNIV 2350 31672 Interdisciplinary Technology & Society
100% Online. Computer access required.
747-7300 AAC 112 dduarte@utep.edu Instructor: Daniel Duarte
Peer Leader:
Librarian: Juan Sandoval 747-6713 LIB 212 jasandoval@utep.edu
Interdisciplinary Technology and Society
This course will examine various facets of our interactions with technology as well as our interactions with other members of society as we use technology. You will understand how tightly technology is interwoven in everyday life and its effects in different areas of our lives. We will examine this through a variety of readings and
Discussion/message boards. You will work online , individually and in groups to discuss and analyze a broad range of topics related to technology and society.
Daniel Duarte holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MA in Professional
Writing and Rhetoric from the University of Texas at El Paso. His thesis, Electronic Writing Technologies and the
Third Sophistic was awarded the English Department’s Outstanding Graduate Professional Writing and Rhetoric thesis of spring 2004. Daniel teaches both UNIV 2350 - Technology and Society and UNIV 1301 – Seminar in
Critical Inquiry, and is an advisor at the Academic Advising Center. Daniel is also the Art Director for the UNIV
1301 textbook Borders: Crossing into Your Future.