Liberal Arts

An introduction to various genres of folklore and the methods of studying them. Students learn about how folklore exists or existed as a dynamic part of everyday life -aesthetically, behaviorally, politically, socially, and more. We consider such diverse forms of expressions as Indonesian Cinderella tales, Italian American festivals, Irish supernatural … Read more

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Have you ever noticed that when you look at the night sky and gaze at all those mesmerizing stars, you’re actually looking back in time? Did you know that Andromeda, the nearest galaxy to Milky Way, is 2.5 million light years away from us? This means that when you look … Read more

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Through the study of some of the representative works from World Literature we will take a panoramic look at the development of Civilization from its earliest beginnings. Through creation myths, stories of epic battles, and stories of love, we will learn more about who we are as part of the … Read more

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We round up the usual suspects: the appalling and tragic monster and his equally tragic and appalling creator; the charismatic vampire and his bevy of vamps; the traveling salesman who finds himself transformed into a giant dung-beetle. More broadly, the course studies the idea of monstrosity and the ways in … Read more

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This course will trace the lives of eight iconic film composers and their most impactful scores films which became seminal to developing story lines through music.  The class will meet four times weekly for two hours. and through a flexible combination of viewings, listenings and discussions, complemented with directed study. … Read more

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Do you like to solve mysteries?  Are you good at figuring out who done it?  Then this class is for you!  Match wits with Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Sam Spade, and a host of other all-time great detectives in this omnibus tour of detective fiction from its origins to the present.  Assignments include some … Read more

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The course explores the art and composition of the graphic novel and examines its many sub-genres, from superhero tales to memoirs to manga. The textbook is Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics. Other texts include Watchmen, Contract With God, Sandman, Maus, and Persepolis. For the final project, students create and make preliminary sketches for an original graphic novel.

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 A rigorous and immersive intellectual experience designed to introduce the first-year student to college-level inquiry and university culture. This seminar-size course emphasizes close reading, critical analysis, information literacy, research skills, and oral communication. Course sections will vary in emphasis, assignments, and activities but will incorporate one or more common texts, … Read more

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How might advertising be Art? How is art ideology? This online seminar course will share journal assignments and respond to each other during one class time and meet as a class for discussion via video conference once each week through “Google Meet.” Students will use critical thinking strategies to study advertising and … Read more

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This writing course focuses on skills for thinking and writing about artwork. Writing helps to develop the ability to reflect on creative processes. The course uses an interdisciplinary approach—crossing boundaries and integrating insights from visual art, writing, library science and other disciplines— for research.  Students learn to tell the story … Read more

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Exploring changing conceptions of the individual in modern society. Topics include gender, race, ethnicity, and ideas concerning society, culture, work, and leisure. Readings are selected from psychology, sociology, Buddhism, existentialism, linguistics, anthropology, and popular literature. While we focus on the experiences in and of the modern West (including the implications … Read more

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This Summative Elective course seeks to build a bridge between the artistic aesthetics in Cinema and the scientific rigor of naturally plausible phenomena. In doing so, and through analyses of scientific foundations of scenarios portrayed in different genres of cinema, including but not limited to sci-fi and superhero, students will … Read more

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This course will trace how a dozen works and genres transformed the course of modern music, modern history, and society.  The class will meet four times weekly for two hours and through a flexible combination of viewings, listenings, discussions, and directed study, students will achieve an in-depth understanding of these … Read more

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What makes a children’s book a classic? We’ll find out as we read, analyze, and enjoy the best of the field–fantasies from Peter Pan to Harry Potter, realistic novels from Anne of Green Gables to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and stories falling somewhere in between, like The Secret Garden. Though our emphasis will be on … Read more

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