Integrative Studies 101: Southern Discomfort: Self and Others

Fall 2013

Syllabus

Through a shared first-year experience, we will examine representations of and reflections on the self to develop as individuals in relationship to others.  Subject matter will confront students’ conceptions of selfhood, their relationships with others, the moral and ethical values that guide them, and the influences that shape the formation of identities.  We will read, discuss, and respond in writing to a variety of texts from the four knowledge domains: the humanities, the arts, the social and behavioral sciences, and the natural and physical sciences. The central theme for INT 101 is “Self and Others”: focusing in particular on the nature of the self and its relationship with others, we will examine how the apparent “wholeness” of identity is constructed from diverse elements and experiences. We will begin by discussing how a place – in this case, the American South – shapes identity, and then expand our discussion to examine two case studies – the Scopes Trial of 1927 and the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, 1932-1972 – to see the ways in which that constructed self is challenged in the face of community crises. Throughout these explorations we will work to integrate data, approaches, and perspectives of the four domains with critical thinking and a conscious, focused attention two writing. Course content and assignments will be reflective of how the self and its relation to others has been imagined and defined by writers, thinkers, artists, and scholars representing the four domains of knowledge (the arts, humanities, natural science, and social science).  As a Writing Instruction course, substantial attention, both in instruction and course work, will be given towards developing the practical skill of writing.  We will fashion through multiple genres of writing an expression of the self in relation to others.

Great Books 407: The Age of Ambiguity  

Fall 2013

Syllabus

This is the last in the chronological sequence of GBK courses, bringing us into the twentieth century. Although it presents us with the chronological period closest to our own, it will still require an effort of the imagination to put ourselves in that era as we read.  In many ways the changes that occurred in the last hundred and fifty years challenge or revise much of what was considered “great.”  However, the questions about human suffering and human longing have not changed.  A sustained effort to engage the ideas will help us more clearly understand our current cultural crises and dilemmas.

Senior Capstone 457: Quest for Wholeness

Fall 2013

Syllabus

In this course we will consider the nature of the human condition as one in which we seek to find meaning and fulfillment in life. We will look for answers to this “quest” for meaning both in the texts we read and within ourselves in the hopes that we can determine what makes us whole, or complete, human beings, and how that wholeness might be achieved out of apparent “brokenness.”