Spring 2017 Course Descriptions for New Courses, Contemporary Issues, Revised Courses and
Special Topics Courses
BUS277-01 SPECIAL TOPICS IN BUSINESS: (3.0) Marketing Analytics Course Description: Web analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of Internet data for marketing
decision-making. This course explores the current use of a variety of analytical tools to understand and optimize Web usage. Students will be introduced to the gamut of web analytic tools and learn
their use, how to read, understand and apply them in tracking market patterns. Pre-requisites: BUS120 or CMM103
CJ 377-01 SPECIAL TOPICS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: (3.0) Elderly Issues with Crime & Victimization Course Description: Elderly crime and victimization is a social problem of increasing concern to
policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in the United States and around the world. This course is a comprehensive overview of current policy issues, new practice models, and up-to-date
research on elderly crime and victimization. The goal of this course is to provide students with a broad understanding of elderly maltreatment and the resources available to address it. Instructor:
Robert Jerin
CMM377-01 SPECIAL TOPICS IN COMMUNICATION: (3.0) Intensive Campaign Planning: Research to the Pitch Course Description: In this course, students take part in the immersive experience of the
annual National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) sponsored by the American Advertising Federation (AAF). Students engage in the comprehensive campaign planning process by conducting
and interpreting research, developing strategy, and producing a variety of deliverables including a 28-page plans book, digital videos, a script and visual presentation for the American Advertising
Federation’s District 1 competition in Boston.
CMM400-01 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN MEDIA STUDIES: Automatic (for the People): Algorithms, Automatic, and the Internet (3.0) Course Description: This course explores the increasing
prevalence of automation in our digital media lives, from mobile digital assistants and chatbots to algorithmic content curation and (even) content creation. The cultural, political, economic, and
artistic implications of this automation on contemporary society will be examined, with a specific focus on the media industries (journalism, marketing, music, television). Though primarily approached
from a social scientific perspective, students also will be exposed to technical content that underlies the functionality of automation technologies. Students will engage in hands-on projects as well as
critical reflection related to the role of digital media at both the individual and societal levels. Instructor: Randall Livingstone (M/W/F: 10A-10:50A)
CMM400-02 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN MEDIA STUDIES: Pop Culture and Life (3.0) Course Description: This class will engage students in exploring how different events, issues, and social concerns
are explored in popular culture. In their examination of films, television shows, music, social media, and other texts, students will explore the ways topics such as national protests, presidential
elections, traumatic events, 21st century surveillance, and workplace issues are addressed in American entertainment. Instructor: Amy Damico (M/W/F: 11A-11:50A)
CSC150-01 DESIGNING, MAKING & BUILDING IN THE DIGITAL WORLD: (3.0) Course Description: This class provides a project-based introduction to the makerspace environment and design process.
Students will become familiar with the roles makerspaces and other digital fabrication labs play in the growing innovation economy. Team projects will provide hands-on introductory experience in
design, 3D printing, programming, and microcontrollers, and build upon student creativity to solve real-world problems. No prior knowledge is needed! Gen Ed-Science and Technology
ENG277-01 SPECIAL TOPICS IN ENGLISH: (3.0) Flash Fiction Course Description: Flash fiction is exactly what it sounds like—fiction that can be read in a flash. In this class, we will examine the
rewards and challenges of this minimalist form. Students will read and analyze previously published “flash fiction,” and they will respond to specific prompts designed to generate flash of their own,
which they will have the opportunity to workshop each week and revise according to feedback.
ENG321 01 LITERARY TRIUMVIRATES: War Stories Course Description: This class compares three novels on the topic of war. Rebecca West’s The Return of the Soldier (1918), written during World
War I, reveals the unanticipated trauma that soldiers (and their families) experienced during this first ‘mechanized’ war. Andrea Levy’s Small Island (2004) tells the story of London during World War
II, the unusual partnerships that emerged during the Blitz, and the ways in which these events reshaped British identity. Helen Benedict’s Sand Queen (2012) focuses on a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan
and the difficulty of reconciling individual values with wartime realities. The class will compare the roles of those on the battlefields with the roles of those on the ‘home front,’ and examine the shifts
in attitudes to war over the last 100 years. (M/W 3:30-4:45p) Professor Gabrielle Watling
HON350-01 HONORS SEMINAR: (3.0) History of U.S. Sexuality Course Description: As the American population and its institutions have changed, so have boundaries of sexual behavior and ideology.
This course seeks to discover and define those evolving boundaries from the colonial period to the present to better comprehend the ongoing transformation of family, sexuality, and personal identity
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Spring 2017 Course Descriptions for New Courses, Contemporary Issues, Revised Courses and
Special Topics Courses
in the United States. Since sexual behavior, ideas, and identity define much of the current political and social landscape of this country, those issues will be studied in their historical context. Important
topics include changing gender roles and their impact on sexual relationships, courtship and marriage, the evolution of birth control and abortion, social communities and subcultures defined by
alternative sexual behaviors, and so-called “deviant” forms of sexuality. Instructor: Elizabeth Matelski (M/W 2P-3:15P)
HON350-02 HONORS SEMINAR: (3.0) Travel, Food and Traditions: In Search of the 21st Century Grand Tour Course Description: A guided investigation of world cultures concerning hospitality and
traditions. Food, ritual and service will be the focus as we look at historical milestones as well as current trends shaping the globe. Utilizing the Grand Tour of the 19th century as a platform, students
will start to build a unique outline of cultures they believe epitomize the modern Grand Tour of the 21st century. Instructor: James Perry (M/W 3:30P-4:45P)
HON350 03 HONORS SEMINAR: (3.0) Cuba Past and Present Course Description: Cuba exerts a great fascination among North Americans and the world in general. Because of the 54-year economic
embargo and the political animosity of exile groups and Castro opponents, the images of Cuba available abroad tend to be overly polarized. Cuba is thus mostly seen as a tropical paradise, a tyrannical
dictatorship, a racially integrated island, a landscape of ruins, a socialist utopia. This is a course about interrogating positive and negative stereotypes and images about an "enemy country" by using its
print, visual, film, and media history and culture to explore alternative points-of-view. By studying the history, culture and Political system of Cuba students will understand how much overlap there is
or not between Cuban and U.S. peoples, cultures, and historical processes. Instructor: Sergio Inestrosa (T/R 11A-12:15P)
HST218 01 TOPICS IN WORLD HISTORY: (3.0) African History Course Description: This course introduces students to diverse historical perspectives of Africa. It explores social, economic, cultural and
political developments in various regions of Africa since the 16th century when Africa began its relations with European powers. The course examines the political history of the slave trade,
colonialism, and post-colonial state building. It provides students extensive insight into the economic, social and cultural context of ethnicity, conflict, poverty, governance and institutional
development in Africa as well as United States policy towards the region. Instructor: Semahagn Abebe
HST277-01 SPECIAL TOPICS IN HISTORY: (3.0) History of Sexuality in America Course Description: As the American population and its institutions have changed, so have boundaries of sexual
behavior. This course seeks to discover and define those evolving boundaries from the colonial period to the present to better comprehend the ongoing transformation of family, sexuality, and
personal identity. Important topics include changing gender roles, courtship and marriage, the evolution of birth control and abortion, social communities and subcultures defined by alternative sexual
behaviors, and so-called “deviant” forms of sexuality.
ID 377-01 SPECIAL TOPICS IN INTERIOR DESIGN (1.0) Leadership in Green Design Course Description: This course is a comprehensive study of green design, construction and operation. Students
learn the complex standards and ranking system used to evaluate a design project seeking LEED certification. Topics include sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and
resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation in sustainable design. This course serves additionally as a test preparation for the LEED Green Associate Exam.
IST277-01 SPECIAL TOPICS IN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: (3.0) Introduction to International Law & Organizations Course Description: This course provides an introduction to the development,
theory, and norms of public international law governing relations among sovereign nations. Focusing on the international political order as it has evolved from the aftermath of World War II to the
present, the course analyzes the history and role of international organizations such as the United Nations, NATO, the European Union, and the World Trade Organization, as well as non-governmental
organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Instructor: Semahagn Abebe
LST108 01 TOPICS IN LANGUAGES (3.0) Elementary Japanese II Course Description: This course is a continuation of Elementary Japanese I. Students will further develop their ability to speak, read,
and write Japanese. They will improve speaking and listening proficiency to carry out everyday conversations, reading skills to comprehend short, written materials, and writing skills including Kanji.
Each lesson will contain a culture component. Instructor: Miho Takahashi-Overstreet
LST201 01 INTERDISCIPLINARY SEMINAR (3.0) The Good Life Course Description: What is the good life? Do you have to be rich, beautiful, or famous to live well? Or does a good life require justice,
wisdom, and virtue? We will explore texts, music, and films by contemporary thinkers. Speakers may include religious and philosophical scholars, as well as writers and artists. Students will be asked to
explore their own answers to this question in an extensive final project. They will also be asked to present their own arguments in formal debates. Instructors: Willie Young & Charlotte Gordon
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Spring 2017 Course Descriptions for New Courses, Contemporary Issues, Revised Courses and
Special Topics Courses
NU 377-01 SPECIAL TOPICS IN NUSRING: (3.0) Restorative Nutrition & Regenerative Agriculture: An Ecology of Food Course Description: This course will explore the interconnected relationship
between what we eat, where it comes from, and the well-being of the earth we inhabit. We will discuss holistic nutrition practices, alongside a wide range of regenerative farming practices and the
benefits of each. We will explore nutrition from a historical and global perspective, examining the evolution of nutrition in select communities. With each style of farming (biodynamic, permaculture,
regenerative, bio-char, carbon sequestering, among others), this class may visit farms, do comparative studies and discuss true nourishment from an eco-literate and eco-ethic perspective.
POL277-01 SPECIAL TOPICS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE: (3.0) Political & Social Change in the Developing World Course Description: We live in an increasingly interdependent world, where events in one
part of the globe have implications for other parts of the world. The course explores the economic, political and social challenges facing countries of the developing world. The course examines
developments in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. Instructor: Semahagn Abebe
PSY288-01 STUDY TOUR: (3.0) Study Tour: European Psychology Course Description: By visiting specific places associated with the history of Psychology within Europe, we will explore different
areas of the discipline in an integrative way. The overarching idea informing this project is that contemporary Psychology is the product of specific people interacting with specific places. In other
words, contemporary Psychology is the product of European views on science and the mind. This course provides undergraduate students with a unique opportunity to explore in situ the connections
between major areas of the discipline, each one tied to a specific place, including: (1) evolutionary psychology (2) the psychoanalytic perspective (3) perspectives on mental illness and the treatment
of mental illness; (4) the psychology of culture; and (5) prejudice and discrimination. Students will be challenged to explore and discuss various historical, contemporary, and sociocultural perspectives
related to each theme while considering their own perspectives on human behavior.
Last Updated: 12-1-2016
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