| MLA Course Descriptions |
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| 70000 Level Courses (70000-70199) *70013 MEN, WOMEN AND SOCIETY: NEW DEFINITION OF ROLES An examination of new ideas, data and theories to interpret changing roles of men and women in contemporary society. *70023 EXPRESSIONS OF RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL VALUES IN THE ARTS An analysis of the visual arts, architecture, and music as expressions of religious and cultural values. Development of these art forms in Western culture as well as the formation and roles of symbols and iconic forms of communication are investigated. *70053 RECENT SPORTS-CENTERED AMERICAN LITERATURE This course focuses on the literary uses of sports and attempts to explore why American writers find them so congenial for their creative purposes. A primary focus will be on the interrelation of sports and American culture and values, raising such questions as: Have sports become the new American religion? Are sports important because they are life-like, or a substitute for life? What is the nature of the sports mystique? Have we lost our perspective on sports? This course examines the relationship between light and human health. Topics will include: the aging visual system, light and the circadian system, yellow jaundice, vitamin D deficiency. A specific focus of the course will be "hands on" experiences of light as it is used for human health. 70073 ENERGY RESOURCES, ALTERNATIVES, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES A study of distribution of the world’s energy resources and a look at alternative sources of energy such as wind, tides, geothermal, synfuels, solar, and nuclear power. Environmental issues including air and water pollution, solid waste, pesticides, toxic substances, etc., will be addressed as will new techniques for finding and evaluating earth resources utilizing satellite data and the Internet. This course examines the comic tradition in the British novel from the eighteenth century to the present. It uses representative major works of narrative prose fiction to illustrate various types and techniques of comedy. Another purpose is to study the nature of the novel and its role in the history of British literature. 70113 NATIVE PEOPLES OF THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST An overview of the native Americans of the region from pre-contact times to the present. Relations and differences among native groups are emphasized as well as interactions with non- Indian groups. Efforts to "whiten" the native population ranging from Spanish missionary activities in the 16th century to the federal government’s "termination policy" in the 1950s are analyzed. *70133 THE CONTEMPORARY MEXICAN NOVEL IN FILM This course examines three contemporary Mexican novels -- The Old Gringo (1985), Like Water For Chocolate (1989), and Esperanza's Box of Saints ( Santitos ) (1999) and the film version of each book. We will discuss how the works treat crossing borders, and how society is presented differently in the two mediums -- novel and film. Each work also studies the similarities and differences of the two countries (cultures) that seem destined to coexist, according to Alan Riding, as “distant neighbors.” 70173 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE This course will attempt to answer such questions as: What were the origins of English and why and how has it changed over the years? How does our language work? Why don't we all speak the same way? Who decides what "correct" English is? How do children learn to speak their language without specific instruction? What is the state of our language today and how might it change in the future? *70183 THE MEDIA AND PERCEPTIONS OF REALITY The complexity of our society makes it necessary for us to draw what we know, or think we know, from information about events, trends, and even people from the mass media. Yet few people are trained as consumers of information produced by the media. This course examines the various perceptions of reality that the mass media create, exploring some of the reasons why these perceptions occur. |