PSY 407/507 / Psychological Perspectives on Social Interaction and Influence / Professor Inga Schowengerdt
How does social interaction contribute to what we perceive to be real, believe to be true, and how we behave? What factors and processes determine who, or what, we are influenced by, and how? Can individual and collective practices of interaction and influence catalyze social change and movements? Finally, what can psychology teach us about maximizing our own experience of social interactions use of social influence therein? In this course, we address these questions through the lenses of psychological theory, exploring both foundational research and contemporary applications and innovations. Throughout, we make connections between research to current social issues, ethical issues in investigation and interventions targeting social interaction and influence, and ground our discussion of theory in lived experience.
GEOG 410/510 / Power, Culture, and Place / Professor Sanan Moradi
This course is about power, culture and place. These terms are closely entangled with personal and social life. Strangely though, these concepts—and many others related to them—are rarely the subject of conscious reflection. Rather, they commonly seem to lurk in the shadows of the material world and the conscious mind. Inseparable from these concepts is the question of space—its definitions, production, partitions, regulations, in/access, etc. Taking a geographic approach, this course aims to shed light on these concepts, how they shape and are shaped by space, and how they impact personal and collective life. The goal is for the students to engage with concepts and theories in contemporary cultural geography and make connections with their own personal experiences.
MATH 111 / College Algebra / Professor Craig Tingey
Study of functions including graphs, operations and inverses. Includes polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic functions and their applications, and systems of equations.
GEOG 410/510 / Geography of the Anthropocene: Global Change / Professor Scott Warren
In this course we explore the relationship between nature and culture, and the many ways that humans have modified the earth. Many scientists, writers and other observers have asserted that humankind has “come to rival nature” in our ability to shape the earth and its systems (e.g., human-caused climate change). These observers argue that this ability to change nature and shape natural systems to our liking has ushered in a new era of geological history called the “Anthropocene.” We will interrogate this claim, reflect on its significance and theoretical underpinnings, and develop a better understanding of the drivers and consequences of global change.
ANTH 161 / Introduction to Cultural Anthropology / Professor Tami Hill
Cultural Anthropology is the study of individual and groups within the context of culture. Anthropology draws on many disciplines (history, politics, economics, gender studies, philosophy, linguistics) in the exploration, description, and interpretation of how people use culture to make meaning out of their lives. In this course, we will use the lens of various groups, countries, and cultures across the globe to examine the following topics: how humans have organized themselves over time and across space, religion and ritual, social identity, difference and inequality, colonialism and globalization, immigration and refugees.
My goal in this course is to illustrate how anthropology can help us to better understand, interpret, analyze, and appreciate ourselves, our cultures, and the world around us. My main approach is to make the “familiar strange and the strange familiar”—helping us to question our own cultural beliefs and practices which we may take for granted and assume as “natural”—while trying to better understand other cultural practices that we might initially consider strange or bizarre. Basically, I think Cultural Anthropology makes life more interesting and I want to show you why and how this is true through this course.