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QUEST I

Students who start their college career at UW Oshkosh take Quest I and Quest II in their first year as well as a public speaking class (Comm 111) and a writing class (WRT 188). Students take a third Quest course in either semester of their second year. 

In addition to covering disciplinary content, Quest I courses are designed to help students transition to college life by offering a First Year Experience (FYE). In particular, Quest I classes offer the following to new students:

  • Enrollment is limited to 25 students.
  • Pairing with either a public speaking class or a writing class, which means students are enrolled in the same section of both classes.
  • Returning students are chosen as “peer mentors” who can help students find their way to events, answer questions about campus, and direct them to resources and support services.

Signature Questions (SQ)

Civic Learning (CL): How do people understand and engage in community life?
Intercultural Knowledge (ICK): How do people understand and bridge cultural differences?
Sustainability (SUS): How do people understand and create a more sustainable world?

Quest Courses

Quest I Catalog of Courses

(last updated 9/19/23)

Please see TitanWeb @ https://www.uwosh.edu/registrar/titanweb/ for most up-to-date course information.

 

Course Number & Description
Signature
Question
Anthropology/Hmong Studies103Q1: Intro Hmong/American Studies (ES) (XS)
There are 299,000 Hmong living in the United States, with most living in California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The Hmong are from Laos, a previously colonized country of the French. During the Vietnam War, the United States engaged in a covert operation in Laos called the Secret War, where U.S. CIA operatives recruited Hmong and other ethnic Lao minorities to fight as proxy soldiers for the U.S. against Communist regimes in Southeast Asia. However, the U.S.'s failed military intervention and withdrawal from SE Asia left many Hmong who allied with the U.S. to face reprisal from the new Pathet Lao Communist party that came into power. It is estimated that 150,000 Hmong left Laos.
This course is a brief, interdisciplinary, and expansive survey of Hmong Studies from Hmong migration out of China, migration to Southeast Asia, French colonialism of Indochina, American intervention in Laos during the Vietnam War, exodus from Laos and refugee resettlement, and life in the U.S. This course examines the humanistic questions of displacement, trauma, economic inequality, gender and sexuality, race and racialization, as well as diasporic and imagined communities beyond nation-state borders. As such, it will give students opportunities to learn about the history, experiences, worldview, and perspective of a group that may be different from them. The course will also open up avenues for students self-reflexive learning that encourages openness, empathy, and cultural awareness about themselves and the people around them. These are skills students can take with them to become empathetic, respectful, and curious global citizens.
ICK
Anthropology 123Q1: Cultural Diversity in the U.S. (ES) (XC)
An analytical and descriptive survey of selected cultures representative of major American ethnic groups.
ICK
Anthropology 150Q1: Archaeology of the Ancient World (XS) (GC)
We will explore some of the most significant archaeological sites around the globe and the people who built them, for example, the ancient people who built the enormous pyramids of Egypt and Mexico, hunted woolly mammoths during the Ice Age, created sprawling cities in Mesopotamia and Africa, and erected the large stones at Stonehenge. By looking back at people of the past, students will acquire knowledge of and appreciation for the diverse beliefs, ideas, traditions, and social, political, and economic systems around the world and throughout time. Additionally, students will be able to recognize the construction of identity as shaped by cultural heritage and patterns of power or privilege in the past and present.
ICK
Art 101Q1: Elements of Studio Art (ES) (XC)
This course is designed to give non-Art Majors experiences in a variety of 2D and 3D Studio Art Media and techniques in an effort to expand their knowledge, appreciation and understanding of Art and Design within the context of the Liberal Arts. Special fees may apply. (For non-Art Majors and Minors only.)
CL
Art 102Q1: Drawing I (ES) (XC)
Beginning studio course in drawing for Art Majors and Minors. Emphasis on developing basic skills, and creative expression through visual exploration and problem solving. Credit cannot be received for both Art 111 and Art 102. The course will focus on the intercultural knowledge and competence question and counts toward the Ethnic Studies Requirement. Special fees may apply.
ICK
Art 106Q1: Visual Communication Fundamentals (EX) (XC)
Investigation into the use of the universal language of visual communication.
ICK
Art 150Q1: Urban Landscape, Social Cues, and Art (EX) (XC)
The signature question, “How do people understand and engage in community life?” will be at the core of this class. This course will examine ways that urban planning, informative and social visual cues such as signs (road signs, street signs, and signs for businesses etc.), and fine art intersect. Within this intersection, ideas of civic knowledge, as they relate to urban spaces, will be explored and unpacked. Additionally, the perception of the experience of spaces along with the psychology of place will be examined and interpreted through artistic processes.
CL
Biology 105Q1: Biological concepts - Unity (XC)(XL)
An introduction to the biological sciences. Addresses phenomena common to a diversity of life forms. Biological organization, cell biology, processing energy, genetics, evolution.
CL
Business 150Q1: A Community History of Business (XS)
In one form or another, we have been doing "business' for thousands of years. Some aspects of business are unchanged - businesses provide goods and services to their communities. But the potter sitting in a market in Babylon would be unlikely to recognize the ceramics being mass produced and shipped around the globe, each including a bar code or RF tag to monitor their movement through a global logistics network. Similarly the small business man of Rome would be unfamiliar with the community expectations we now have for our business leaders. In this course students will review the historic role of business in many communities and will research the civic engagement of business in a particular community of their choosing.
CL
Comm 213Q1: Intro to Interpersonal Communication (ES) (XC)
Examination of the components of interpersonal speech communication. Lectures, discussion, observations and controlled experiences will enable the student to learn and apply relevant concepts and variables of human interaction in dyadic, face to face communication situations. Intercultural Communication focused. Credit cannot be received for both Communication 213 and Communication 214.
ICK
Comm 219Q1: Intro to Rhetoric and Public Advocacy (XC)
Advocacy explores the nature, function, and consequences of rhetoric. The course includes an introduction to rhetorical theorists and practitioners, a sampling of the major subject areas in the field of rhetoric, and the critical concepts included in these areas. Course assignments are designed to help students think critically about the study of rhetoric and what it offers to us as individuals and to society as a whole.
CL
Comm 254Q1: Environmental Communication (XC)
This course focuses on the role that human communication plays in influencing the ways we engage the concept of sustainability and perceive the environment. It also explores how we construct environmental issues and decide what actions to take with regards to those issues.
SUS
Comm 275Q1: Arguing Sustainability (XC)
The fundamentals of argumentation: forms of reasoning, sources of evidence, testing of evidence, brief making, general theory, and case work. Opportunity for analysis of and debate on current problems. Speech Education majors/minors and those wanting to travel with the debate team should not enroll in Communication 275. This course does not meet the Speech Education major/minor requirements.
SUS
Comm 280Q1: Intro to Organizational Communication (XC)
This course presents both historical and current perspectives on the origins and usefulness of organizational communication theory; it provides the knowledge for understanding and improving communication skills in a variety of organizational settings. Topics may include: decision making, organizational change, technology, globalization, emotion, assimilation, and other issues central to organizational communication.
CL
Computer Science 131Q1: Computational Thinking (XS (XN)
This course introduces computational thinking, a problem-solving approach ubiquitous throughout Computer Science. Computational thinking involves structuring a given problem and its corresponding data in such a way so that it can be processed in an accurate, systematic and efficient manner by a computer. Computational thinking concepts emphasized will include: problem decomposition, abstraction, recognizing and analyzing patterns in data and formulation of efficient algorithmic solutions to problems. Computational thinking concepts will be applied to solve computer programming exercises using a real-world computer programming language. Computational thinking concepts will also be discussed in the context of sustainability, defined as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs....A world in which poverty and inequity and endemic will always be prone to ecological and other crises. Sustainable development requires meeting the basic needs of all and extending to all the basic opportunity to satisfy their aspirations for a better life." (Brundtland Commission, United Nations, 1987). In this course, applications of computational thinking concepts will be applied to investigate the following signature question: "How do people understand and create a more sustainable world?".
SUS
Crim Jus 125Q1: The Real Criminal Justice System (XS)
This is an introductory survey course on the criminal justice system and civic engagement. This course will cover the major branches of the criminal justice system - policing, adjudication, and corrections with special attention being paid to the importance of community engagement for citizens and professionals working in the criminal justice.
CL
Econ 110Q1: Economics in Wisconsin (XS)
This course introduces students to the fundamental concepts in both micro and macroeconomics. Students then apply those concepts to explain economic current events and policies affecting Wisconsinites and the state of Wisconsin and discuss logical ideas for improving economic well-being.
CL
Elem Ed/Sec Ed 110Q1: Education Policy: Lies, Damned Lies, and Education (XS)
For more than three decades, public education policy in the United States has become a pervasive part of the public discussion. U.S. media is dominated by doom and gloom stories, and pessimistic assessments of U.S. students in international education rankings, and other failings of the U.S. public education system. This course will help learners scrutinize media accounts and public policy proposals for accuracy, bias and potential for effectiveness. By understanding how to critically examine a variety of claims, and learn about ways citizens can influence public policy learners will have a better capacity to engage in community life.
CL
Elem Ed/Sec Ed 111Q1: Culture, Identity and Educational Journeys (ES) (XC)
Culture, Identity and Educational Journeys focuses on developing an understanding of culture in our lives, examine personal and group concepts of identity, and make connections to diverse culture groups specifically those from refugee and immigrant backgrounds through the process of creating narratives of educational journeys.
ICK
Engineering Tech 113Q1: Building a Sustainable World (XL)
A growing desire to reduce unsustainable practices has led to the search for and the development of new technologies to support the transformation of our current practices toward building a more sustainable world. It is in this context that we will explore new concepts in product design (e.g., bio-mimiery and life cycle assessment) and evaluate through several hands-on labs the impacts of current and new technology on air and water quality.
SUS
English 151Q1: British Literature to the 18th Century (XC)
Revolutions are born from more than a single moment in time or even a string of events. We’ll uncover clues about the range of factors that contribute to revolutions by studying English literature from the Middle Ages through the Early Modern period. We’ll examine how revolutions contribute to the sustainability of a culture.
SUS
English 153Q1: American Literature Through Civil War (XC)
An introduction to American literature from its origins to the end of the Civil War, with a particular emphasis on sustainability. Throughout the term we’ll explore the richness and diversity of America’s literary heritage, and we’ll seek to understand the many complex ways in which American writers reflected, recorded, challenged, and helped to shape American Culture.
SUS
English 154Q1: Odyssey: American Roadtrip (XC)
A study of American literature from the Civil War to the contemporary moment.
CL
English 161Q1: Asian American Experiences (ES) (XC)
An introductory survey of Asian American literature, emphasizing the historical and cultural contexts out of which it emerges. Readings may include poetry, fiction, memoirs, drama, and historical texts by a variety of Asian American writers.
ICK
English 165Q1: 1916 & Beyond: A Long Way to Tipperary (XC)
A study of British Literature written during the 20th Century.
CL
English 168Q1: Intro to Multi-Ethnic American Literatures (ES) (XC)
An introduction to the similarities and differences among themes, cultures, histories, and/or periods of development in a combination of U.S. racial and ethnic literacy traditions. This examination will include authors from racially marginalized groups, such as Asian Americans, Latinos, African Americans, and/or Native Americans.
ICK
English 170Q1: Young Adult Lit and Our World (XC)
A study of young adult literature. The fiction of this course allows for the study of a range of cultures from different ethnicities to different genders to different socioeconomic groups.
ICK
Environmental Studies 101Q1: Introduction to Environmental Studies (GC) (XS)
The goal of this class is to provide an introduction to the field of environmental studies by using an interdisciplinary perspective to explore the complex relationships between humans and the natural world, in the U.S. and around the globe. Prerequisite: Course is to be limited to students with less than 60 credits or Environmental Studies majors and minors or those with department consent.
SUS
Environmental Studies 102Q1: Introduction to Sustainability (GC) (XS)
This course explores the many contested meanings of the term "sustainability." Sustainability might mean, for some people, nothing more than tips for how to live "green." In this class, however, we will treat sustainability as a lens of inquiry, a way of analyzing and assessing the complicated social, economic, and environmental problems that our society faces in the twenty-first century. These issues arise all around us, in the food we eat, the cars we drive, and the communities that we inhabit. And they occur at a variety of scales from the very local (such as the campus of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh) to the global. There is no single path to sustainability, no single solution to complicated problems. In this class, we will learn to think critically about sustainability issues, policies, solutions, and responsibilities. We will seek to answer the question: How do people understand and create a sustainable world?
SUS
Geography 105Q1: Geographies of Coffee (GC) (XS)
This course examines the physical factors that influence coffee production, the political and economic factors that influence the coffee trade, and the cultural factors that influence coffee consumption.
CL
Geography 106Q1: Food, Agriculture, and Soils (XS)
This course introduces students to the basic principles of soils and soil properties, the various types of agricultural systems, and applying sustainability as a lens of inquiry to examine the relationships between agriculture and soils.
SUS
Geography 107Q1: People Places and Culture of the World (GC) (XS)
This course will focus on people's lifeways and cultures around the world from agricultural practices to sports. Students will also examine how people interact with individuals from different cultures and deal with cultural differences.
ICK
Geology 102Q1: Physical Geology (XL)
The nature and origin of rocks and the study of geological processes such as erosion, earthquakes, mountain building and plate tectonics. Laboratories illustrate geological methods of scientific inquiry by studies of minerals, rocks, rock deformation, topographic and geologic maps, and by a field trip. Discussions of sustainability in the context of earth and its resources and natural hazards. Students may receive credit for only one of the following courses: Geology 102, 110 or 150.Special Fees may apply.
SUS
Global Languages & Culture 120Q1: Bordercrossing and Migrant Identities in the Americas (ES) (XC)
This course will address the signature question: How do people understand and bridge cultural difference? The context for discussion will be the Americas and our focus will be on "borders" geographic, national, cultural, social, personal borders, and "migration" or bordercrossing.
SUS
Global Languages & Culture 122Q1: Indigenous and Colonial Narrative of Nature (XC)
This course will explore how language and cultural background shape our views of the environment. Views of ethnic identity and environment were different for the Spaniards who arrived to what we call Latin America during the sixteenth century, than for the Indigenous people. Analysis of what constitutes "nature" and "sense of place" from different perspectives (literary, sociological, ecological, and historical) will be the main focus of the course through written primary and secondary texts, films, and a variety of other media.
SUS
Global Languages & Culture 124Q1: Germany: From Local to Global (GC) (XC)
The goal of this course is to introduce students to Germany, its main historical developments, its role within the EU and worldwide. Students will read, hear, discuss, and write about topics such as geography, German history, German immigration and influence to the US and Wisconsin, Germany's industry and trade, business, sustainability, political system, society, trends in contemporary culture, media, and tourism. The study of German history and culture furnishes a context for appreciating diverse cultures and their traditions and for investigating forms and sources of interaction and interdependence at the local and global level.
ICK
Global Languages & Culture 126Q1: Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: Then and Now (XC)(GC)
This course introduces the genre of the fairy tale, a particularly enduring oral and literary form that expresses human longing for a better life in a hostile and unjust world and our quest for greater understanding of our inner lives. The goal of the course is to introduce you to the world of the Grimm's fairy tales, their historical background, and their role in Germany, the U.S. and throughout the world.
ICK
Global Religion 102Q1: World Religions (XC)
A historical survey of the basic experiential, mythical, doctrinal, ethical, ritual, and social dimensions in the world's major traditions: tribal religion, Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese and Japanese religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Students may not receive credit for both Religious Studies 102 and Religious Studies 110
ICK
Global Religion 115Q1: Religion and the Making of Community (ES) (XC)
Through fiction, autobiographies, scholarly essays, and interviews this class will explore how religion serves both to create community and isolate individuals both on campus and in the wider community. We will discuss how religious communities from German Lutherans, Hmong, and Muslims to Ho-Chunks, Evangelical Christians, and secular individuals transform and retain their traditions as meet each other in the classroom and the public square. Rather than trying to be exhaustive, an impossible task for any course, we will attend closely to how migration affects three arenas of religious expression-student groups, public life, and the home. Throughout the semester we hone our skills at civic engagement, skills we will use throughout our years at UWO, particularly in quest 3.
CL
Global Religion 120Q1: Religion, Children's Books, Difference (ES) (XC)
How can children's and young adult literature help us to think about religious difference? We all come from varied religious, racial, ethnic, and gender backgrounds. How are these identities told in children's books? How do we introduce young people to difficult ideas like inequality, discrimination, and violence? How do our own memories of children's and young adult literature affect what kind of people we become? What challenges and successes have women writers of children's literature had in America? The heroes and the heroines of our texts all face, and sometimes bridge, intercultural differences. How will our own encounter with these stories affect how we imagine diversity in America?
ICK
Global Religion 123Q1: Religion and the Other (XC)
This course will use novels and films to observe the ways that we in the West have though and written about other people and places. Focusing on the religions of Asia and the Middle East, we will not only question the stereotypes we will have inherited, but we will also consider, for example, how Americans can be fascinated with Hindu yoga and Buddhist meditation while harboring an intense fear of Islam.
ICK
History 101Q1: Early Civilizations (GC) (XS)
Survey of development of civilizations, including beginnings in Mesopotamia and Egypt, through Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance.
CL
History 110Q1: Topics in the Modern History (XS)
Selected topics in the History of Modern Civilizations. It may be offered with different content.

    Events and People that Made the Modern World: How do we make sense of today’s news? In order to understand the important issues of today, we must begin by studying how they arose. In this class, we will delve into ten key processes of modern history, discuss the roles of the influential people associated with them, including the context & for those key figures’ lives and works, and by doing so gain a better understanding of the world we live in.

     Childhood in the Nazi Empire: Have you ever wondered what it was like to grow up in Nazi Germany? In this course you will explore what it was like to be an excited member of the Hitler Youth, a daring resistor and a persecuted Jewish child.
CL
History 202Q1: US History since 1877: From Our Backyard & Beyond (XS)
Survey of United States history from 1877; emergence of a modern industrial state, expansion abroad, First and Second World Wars, and role as a great power.
CL
History 205Q1: Topics in the Early History of the United States: Optional Content (XS)
Selected topics in the History of Modern Civilizations. It may be offered with different content.

    Ben Franklin's World: Focusing on the lives of Ben Franklin, Abigail Adams, and Olaudah Equiano, this course plumbs the history of British North America in the 18th century. Focusing on the colonial world Franklin lived in, we will also study the movements for independence, against slavery, and for women's rights, as well as how early Americans built communities.

    The History of Pirates: Pirates were simultaneously outsiders who defied the laws and social norms of their time and innovators who built new kinds of communities based on their own ethics. We will not only look at the reality of pirate lives, but how people have imagined pirates in fiction and film.

     USA & the Coming of the Great War: November 11, 2018 marks the centennial anniversary of the armistice ending the fighting on the Western Front of World War I [The Great War] which began in August of 1914, a war the United States did not enter until April 1917. This course will investigate the compelling reasons why the United States was reluctant to enter the war in 1914 and the reasons why the situation changed enough by early 1917 to induce the American government to enter into the conflict that was nearly three-years old already in Europe.
CL
Honors 175Q: Honors Seminar (XS)
An interdisciplinary seminar required of all students in the University Honors Program. The course is designed to demonstrate the interaction between different areas of study within the university. A particular theme (for example, ethics) is selected each term. The seminar develops how that theme is meaningful in various academic disciplines. Prerequisites: Enrolled in good standing in The Honors College.
CL, ICK, SUS
Hmong Studies 215Q1:The Local and Global in Hmong Studies (GC) (XS)
The Hmong diaspora spans the countries of Asia, Europe, and North and South America. This course will introduce you to the varied and complex experiences of Hmong people in the diaspora and develop a critical understanding of how global forces (colonialism, transnationalism, tourism, and many more) shape and inform the diaspora at the local level. This Quest I course examines the question, how do people understand and engage in community life, by utilizing Hmong people as a case study to explore the ways global and local issues influence our understanding and engagement in community life. While this course focuses on Hmong people, the themes discussed in this course help you identify and draw connections between larger debates on global forces and transnational interconnections.
CL
Human Kinetics and Health Education 211Q:1 Nutrition and Weight Control (XC)
A study of applied nutrition as it relates to body functions in health with parallel study of malnutrition.
CL
Journalism 121Q:1 Beyond Fake News: How Journalists Do Their Work (XC)
This course will help you understand the methodologies of working journalists with the goal of equipping you to be a more informed, and more discriminating, consumer of the news. Our goal will be to gain a deeper understanding of how news reporting comes about and shapes the civic sphere, adding to our knowledge about our community and enabling our engagement with it. As an incoming student, you will find that this course will help you in evaluating news as well as other kinds of information you encounter on campus. This course will also improve your ability to observe, understand, and take part in the social and political processes of a given community.
CL
Math 188: Introduction to Modern Math and its Applications (MA)(XM)
It's easy to feel insignificant in our big world. How can a single, ordinary person make a difference? In this class, we'll work on answering that question, but from a viewpoint that you probably haven't thought of before: the mathematical perspective. We'll talk about what it means to make a difference mathematically, and how that lends itself naturally to questions of power and fairness, especially in political systems. Along the way, we will experience the discipline of mathematics as mathematicians do, by exploring date, discovering patterns, making conjectures and constructing careful arguments.
CL
Math 189: Problem Based Inquiry Seminar in Statistics & Citizenship (MA)(XM)
We live in a complex world awash in data of all types, from political polls to consumer surveys to medical studies. It is challenging to make sense of all the information with which we are bombarded daily but understanding the practice of statistics can help. Statistics is the discipline that focuses on analyzing data and making decisions based upon data. In Math 189 students will take an inquiry-based approach to exploring the world of statistics, learning the basic ideas and techniques of this discipline in a seminar-style course. Because data can arise from so many different sources, applications of statistics show up in almost every field of study, including business and economics, environmental sciences, health sciences, social sciences, and social justice. Prerequisite: Math 101 or Math 103 with a grade of C or better or placement.
CL
Philosophy 105Q1: Ethics (XC)
Analysis of the principal theories of ethics and their practical application to problems concerning the individual and society. Proposed methods of justifying moral principles will be examined. Students cannot receive credit for both Philosophy 105Q2 and 106 (the Honors version of the course).
ICK
Philosophy 120Q1: Philosophy of Human Nature (XC)
A critical examination of different perspectives on human nature, human flourishing, and the relation between human beings and nonhuman life forms, the environment, and nature generally.
SUS
Physical Science 101Q1: Workshop Physical Science (XL)
A hands-on course covering basic concepts in physical science through active engagement with guided computer-based laboratories, student-directed projects, interactive demonstrations, and class discussions. Emphasis on the nature and limits of science. For elementary education majors and non-science majors.
SUS
Physics/Astronomy 112Q1: Energy in Today's World (XL)
Focus is on the physics of energy, energy production, and energy consumption, conservation practices and alternative energy sources. Prerequisites: Completion of the minimal University general education math requirement or qualifying for Mathematics 104 or higher via the Mathematics Placement Exam.
SUS
Physics/Astronomy 115Q1: Space Exploration and Science (XL)
Have you ever dreamed of going into space? We will use basic physics concepts and algebra to study space exploration. How can we reach other planets? What do humans need to survive in space? In what ways does sustainability play a role in our ability to live on other planets? In addition, we will examine basic space, science and rocketry. Prerequisites: Mathematics 103 or higher level math.
SUS
Political Science 111Q1: Culture and the Politics of Memory (XS)
This course focuses on a current global issue or set of issues. Students will gain an ability to analyze, understand, evaluate, and appreciate the complex dynamics that shape our collective capacity to address global challenges in a complex and interconnected world. The course provides an introduction to governance in societies with different cultural perspectives and examines different vantage points of political actors tasked with governing (global, transnational, national, and local) in societies outside the United States.
ICK
Political Science 112Q1: Power, Justice and the State (XS)
Power, Justice, and the State invites you to consider critical themes of public interest. Why do we have a state? What should the state do and why? What should it not do and why should it not? Sate power may obviously be used for ill, but when and how can it be used for good? Does citizenship create obligations about how to treat others as well as benefits citizens? We will consider several major schools of thought about this, which we label theories of justice. We will discuss the strengths and shortcomings of these theories in practice, looking in depth at various arenas of state involvement.
ICK
Political Science 113Q1: The Democratic Arena (XS)
Strong democracy requires citizens who are informed, knowledgeable, and actively engaged in the political process. This course will provide students with the orientation they need to make sense of the complex social questions that make up the nation's public agenda. First, we will explore the rules of the political game. We will then examine the popular debate over major social problems. Lastly, we will devote considerable attention to those contested topics that challenge students to understand, care about, and become involved in national and local policy debates.
CL
Political Science 114Q1: The Politics of Race and Sex (XS)
The Politics of Race and Sex invites students to explore similarities and differences in the values, history, and influence of U.S. cultural groups through the lens of representation in government. What does it mean for a group to receive representation? What forms can representation take? How does representation (or a lack of representation) impact the identities and meanings a group applies to itself, and its relationships with other groups? We will examine these questions by investigating current theories of representation, with a critical eye toward the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. Moreover, we will apply these theories to the real world through attending events hosted by cultural groups present at UWO and throughout the Fox Valley.
ICK
Political Science 116Q1: Environmental Politics and Sustainability (XS)
This course examines the political forces and challenges to developing and adopting sustainable environmental policies in the United States. This course provides an overview of the U.S. political system, sustainability as a lens of inquiry, and the policy making process. What values do we want to sustain? Do environmental policies support these values? Specific policy areas examined include air, water, land, energy, waste, plant, and animal life.
SUS
Psychology 102Q1: General Psychology: Ethnic Studies (XS)
A beginning course in psychology designed to provide an understanding of contemporary approaches to human behavior and to lay the foundation for additional work in psychology. Students must complete a course research requirement. Credit can only be received for one of the following courses: Psychology 101, 102, 104 or 110. This course will focus on the intercultural knowledge and competence question and counts toward the Ethnic Studies Requirement.
ICK
Radio-TV-Film 140Q1: Reality Check (XC)
This course will help you understand how your perspective of reality show events and emotions can be skewed by the manipulation of footage. Students will also learn about how preproduction, production, and post production can alter the realness of reality television. Additionally, this course will explore the social communities created through reality shows in multiple forms of engagement.
CL
Social Justice 101Q1: Introduction to Social Justice (XS)
This is an introductory course focused on social justice, designed to provide an understanding of contemporary issues related to social justice and in identifying and assessing relevant social, economic and behavioral factors which impact people experiencing injustice and oppression. Topics including race, gender, class, disability, gender orientation and environmental injustice, (historic and current) will be explored. Corrective measures which have been used as well as potential corrective measures, will also be explored. Credit cannot be received for both Social Justice 101 and 102.
SUS
Social Justice 102Q1: Introduction to Social Justice (XS)
This is an introductory course focused on social justice, designed to provide an understanding of contemporary issues related to social justice and in identifying and assessing relevant social, economic and behavioral factors which impact people experiencing injustice and oppression. Topics including race, gender, class, disability, gender orientation and environmental injustice, (historic and current) will be explored. Corrective measures which have been used as well as potential corrective measures, will also be explored. Credit cannot be received for both Social Justice 101 and 102. Course will focus on the Intercultural Knowledge and Competence question and count toward the Ethnic Studies requirement.
ICK
Sociology 101Q1: Introduction to Sociology (ES) (XS)
Orientation to the sociological perspective. Basic sociological concepts, research procedures, processes of human interaction, and social institutions.
ICK
Sociology 111Q1: Race, Ethnicity, and Society (ES) (XS)
This course is designed to cultivate and enhance your cultural and racial literacy through the employment of sociological perspectives. Broadly defined, sociology is an inquiry about the relationships between society and people, and in this course, the focus is on developing a sociologically-based intercultural and interracial knowledge and understanding. The course explores the ways in which social forces shape the ways we tend to think and act as social beings, the opportunities and obstacles that are unevenly distributed along racial/ethnic lines, and the consequences and implications of such inequities.
ICK
Theatre 150Q1: Introduction to Theatre Design (XC)
An introduction to the basic elements of theatre from both the Western and non-Western perspective with a special emphasis on the role of the theatrical designer and the process of design.
ICK
Theatre 160Q1: Introduction to Acting (XC)
Basic theories and techniques of acting. Body and voice training as a basis for development of dramatic characterization. Application of course content through performance presentations. Signature question of "How do people understand and create a more sustainable world?" will serve as a focus for the course.
SUS
Theatre 180Q1: Creative Process (XC)
This course explores the nature of creativity in ourselves through Theatre games and exercises. It will expand awareness, stimulate imagination, and develop freedom of expression. The class will focus on increasing observation skills, discovering abilities of the body and voice, gaining knowledge of self and raising self confidence. In addition, this class will heighten the student's understanding of Theatre, dramatic action and performance on stage and in all artistic disciplines.
CL
Theatre 205Q1: Fundamentals of Acting (XC)
Basic theories and techniques of acting. Body and voice training as a basis for development of dramatic characterization. Application of course content through presentation of scenes from distinguished dramatic literature. The USP Signature Question connected with this course is based in gaining knowledge in civic knowledge and civic engagement in understanding that the self is always embedded in relationships, a social location, and a specific historic moment. As individuals, we need awareness of self and awareness of how to relate to and connect with others. Actors create characters by empathizing with and reflecting on the given circumstances of an imaginary person's life experience and then share that experience with other actors and audiences
CL
Women's Studies 201Q1: Intro to Women's Studies (XS)
Introduction to social scientific analysis of the cultural construction of gender and how it affects women's experiences past and present. Includes interdisciplinary study of women's issues in the family, work place, media, education, politics, and other cultural institutions, as well as intersections of ethnicity, class, and gender. Provides an introduction to the origins, purpose, subject matter and methods of Women's and Gender Studies as a discipline for majors/minors and others interested in the field.
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