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The courses listed herein have been approved by the faculty as authorized by the Board of Trustees. Prerequisites (if any) and the General Education Requirement(s) which each course fulfills (if any) are noted following each course description.
ENGL 402 - Seminar in Selected Writers and Topics in Literature
4.00 credit hours An intensive study of (a) selected writer(s) and topics in literature. Depending on the instructor, the seminar may focus on a group of writers in an historical period-for example, Latinx novelists or poets of the late 20th-early 21st centuries, or LGBT poetry and novels across time. Other offerings may include non-canonical writers of the 19th century, while others focus on emerging genres such as graphic novels or horror fiction. Whatever the writer(s) or topic(s), this seminar challenges students with rigorous reading and writing, as well as an extensive final research project.
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 200, two 200-level literature courses and one 300-level literature course.
4.00 credit hours Students explore the novel as a genre with an emphasis on its history, on representations of self, other, nation and on the material history of socio-cultural issues. Course content, region, single or multiple authors, and historical focus varies depending on instructor, though the focus remains the novel—with its champions, critics and profound effects on readers. Literature Across Time.
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 200, two 200-level literature courses and one 300-level literature course.
4.00 credit hours Intensive study in the ways people aim to persuade one another in different contexts, recognizing that audiences and situations are multiplied by technology. Students critique current presentation techniques with attention to how each succeeds or fails. The class collaboratively creates multimodal projects for real- world purposes such as a personal or professional website, persuasive video or audio essay; promotional project for local advocacy group or public performance. Formal presentations follow inquiry-guided research.
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 212; one 200- or 300-level writing course.
ENGL 414 - Classical Rhetoric and Democracy in Composition
4.00 credit hours The origin and development of the arts of rhetoric from the Greek Sophists through Aristotle, through Cicero and Quintilian, to the Medieval trivium. The second half of the course turns to the renewed flourishing of the liberal arts and later reemergence of democracies around the world. Students consider what it means to read, write and speak as ethical citizens who hope to nurture and sustain democratic values.
Prerequisite(s): One 200- or 300-level writing course; ENGL 212 recommended.
ENGL 424 - Postcolonial Rewriting of Western Texts
4.00 credit hours Students examine postcolonial rewritings of European and indigenous texts and genres to examine how changes in the cultural and political context affect aesthetic choices. Students experience a number of challenging literary and theoretical texts.
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 200, two 200-level English courses and one 300-level English course; ENGL 334 recommended.
4.00 credit hours Workshop class focuses on analytical skills in reading and writing poetry, especially in relation to craft, form and theory of the genre. Students situate their own work within poetic theory, imitate other poets, perform scansion, thoroughly revise their work and present on poets or poetry. Varying themes around poetic devices such as lines and sentences, rhythm and sound, received forms and prosody.
4.00 credit hours Theory and practice in experimental and fabulist forms that resist and respond to the norms of conventional literary realism through structural, stylistic or thematic innovation, and via the artful use of collage, unreliable narration, cut-up techniques, stream-of-consciousness, mixed genre, word/image hybrids and meta-fiction and nonfiction.
4.00 credit hours Theory and Practice in nontraditional and/or experimental forms that transcend traditional stage drama, to include researching, writing, editing and performing works of devised theatre, documentary theatre, autobiographical drama, absurdist theatre, abstract theatre, historical/period drama and/or stage adaptation.
4.00 credit hours Topics vary depending on instructor, but may focus on a single writer; a theorist or theoretical perspective; a period of time and place. If writing-focused, varying topics such as hybrid and digital genres; the rise of the chapbook; writing Y.A. fiction; novella writing; the ethics of workplace writing; truth in writing in an age of “fake” media, and so on. If language-focused, varying topics such as language and gender, language in politics, education, or media; or a consideration of the ways class, race, and nations use language in the struggle for legitimacy and control.
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 200, two 300-level English courses.
4.00 credit hours All majors in English or English-Writing complete a capstone seminar. Following reflection on what was learned across English courses, students propose and write an extended, professional quality final project. In collaboration with peers, students conduct research, or develop a creative work, then draw on habits of mind and skills as they produce a thesis or project. All students present this work publically. Students also consider what it means to be a professional in the discipline, exploring ethical dimensions of work as they plan for life after graduation.
4.00 credit hours Introduces the evidence for anthropogenic climate change, including how the global climate system works, the impact of human activities on climate, and climate modeling to predict future patterns. Examines physical, chemical and biological impacts of climate change and the pros and cons of options available to ameliorate the changes now underway. Includes integrated laboratory experience.
4.00 credit hours (Same as BIOL 106.) An overview of biological and physical processes that affect the environment in the context of current environmental issues. Topics include population, community, ecosystem ecology, conservation biology, water and air pollution and natural resource management. Includes integrated laboratory experience.
4.00 credit hours Introduction to interdisciplinary approaches from humanities, social sciences, sciences and sustainable business to understanding the economic, scientific, social and cultural complexity of U.S., transnational and global environmental issues. Introduces basic principles of environmental science, core texts from American environmental writers and essentials for understanding US environmental policy.
Cardinal Directions Designation(s): U.S. Power Structures. iCon(s): Sustaining Our World.
4.00 credit hours Students learn competing definitions of sustainability, study its practical application on campus and in the Chicago metropolitan area, and investigate what is required from all of us to achieve sustainability. Topics include management of water, waste, energy, food production and mitigation of effects on “people, planet, profit.” The course includes community engaged learning and field trips to sustainable projects in action.
Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Community Engaged Learning. iCon(s): Sustaining Our World.
4.00 credit hours (Same as ENGL 224.) Encompasses the classics of nature writing from Anglo-American literary traditions to the practice of eco-criticism, through which a wider range of novels and other texts can be analyzed. With these texts, students explore how literature participates in cultural formations of the relations among humans, their environment and other forms of life. Readings include several genres: poetry, non-fiction and science-fiction from the 19th century to the present.
4.00 credit hours (Same as: PHIL 225.) After a brief examination of philosophical ethical frameworks, the following will be considered: the history of environmental ethics; the problem of the “moral status” of nonhuman animals and other aspects of nature: the environment and “the good life,” ethical issues related to population growth, sustainability, diminishing/vanishing resources and the use of cost benefit analysis in environmental policy.
4.00 credit hours The basics of U.S. environmental philosophy, politics and law are covered through the interdisciplinary examination of specific cases such as snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park, the drought in California and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
ENVI 240 - Introduction to Environmental Economics
4.00 credit hours (Same as: ECON 240.) Examines impact of economic activity on the environment and shortcomings of the market system in valuing environmental costs and benefits. Traditional regulation of the U.S. economy, including command and control policies are briefly discussed. Recent development and application of new and potential economic instruments to improve environmental quality are the focus; other topics include the valuation of environmental resources and prospects for sustainable development.
Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Social Sciences. iCon(s): Sustaining Our World.
4.00 credit hours (Same as HIST 248.) This broad exploration of American history from an environmental perspective examines the ways that different groups of Americans adapted to and altered the landscape, and analyzes their changing ideas about nature. The course begins in the colonial era and examines nineteenth-century economic growth and twentieth-century environmental awareness. Key themes include the new perspective of environmental history, the role of region in America, and reading the landscape.
Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Humanities, Ethical Dimensions, U.S. Power Structures. iCon(s): Experiencing Place, Innovating the World, Sustaining Our World.
1.00-3.00 credit hours (Same as: BIOL 250.) Field study in biology: students work off-campus in a field environment for research in ecology, zoology, botany, environmental science or related areas. Timing and location vary according to faculty interests and research opportunities. May be offered May term, summer, or in conjunction with study abroad. Recent offerings include study of desert ecology in Arizona and estuarine ecology on the Gulf Coast. May be repeated once with different content and instructor consent.
ENVI 255 - Agriculture and the Environment: Educating Tomorrow’s Consumers
4.00 credit hours Introduces economic and environmental considerations facing contemporary agriculture. Surveys the environmental impact of an array of past agricultural practices and present-day technologies and innovations from crops to livestock, conventional and precision farming to organic practices. Includes field trips to a variety of farms and agribusinesses in the region.
Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Social Sciences, Global Understanding, Community Engaged Learning. iCon(s): Sustaining Our World.
ENVI 260 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
4.00 credit hours Geographic Information Science (GIS) links data to locations to explore spatial relationships. GIS is a research and problem-solving tool used in sciences, social sciences, and business analytics for mapping and evaluating the relationship between different spatial information. This course introduces basic GIS concepts such as spatial data sources and structures, projections and coordinate systems, data editing and creation and geospatial analysis.
ENVI 290 - Topics in Contemporary Environmental Issues
4.00 credit hours Intensive study of a selected topic in environmental studies that integrates principles and approaches from a specific discipline or methodology to explore a particular environmental issue or perspective.
4.00 credit hours (Same as: ACCT 303.) Accounting and business concepts are applied to sustainability projects within the greater College community. After covering a foundation of cost and managerial accounting concepts, students will work on teams to plan, implement and assess environmental opportunities available to the College. Projects may include cost-benefit analysis, capital budgeting or sustainability certification opportunities.
4.00 credit hours (Same as: ANTH 305.) Examines human engagements with the physical environment from early homo sapiens to the present. Topics include major adaptive strategies (foraging, horticulture, intensive agriculture, pastoralism and industrialism) and their social correlates and environmental consequences; factors that lead to collapse of complex societies in the archaeological past; mercantile and colonial engagements and resulting changes in resource use; and contemporary resource conflicts between small-scale societies and states and corporate interests.
Prerequisite(s): One of: ANTH 145, ANTH 165 or ENVI 120. Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Social Sciences, Global Understanding. iCon(s): Innovating the World, Sustaining Our World.
4.00 credit hours Increasing worldwide demand for energy presents complex environmental, economic and political challenges. This course examines our current U.S. energy system and the political factors that govern it, the environmental and economic trade-offs for a variety of fossil fuels and alternative energy sources, the environmental and economic compromises necessary to power the world in the 21st century and possible paths to a sustainable energy future.
4.00 credit hours This case-based class examines a range of international environmental issues and the basics of international environmental lawmaking, then asks students to apply their understanding in a simulated United Nations negotiation to develop an environmental treaty.
4.00 credit hours Examines the concept of environmental justice through interdisciplinary lenses. Beginning by examining different definitions of “environmental justice,” various frameworks are used to analyze environmental issues through the lens of social justice and human inequality. Through selected case studies, the course examines a number of topics and questions, which include the advantages and drawbacks of current systems of production and consumption, who bears the burdens and who enjoys the benefits of our current environmental and social system and what kinds of alternatives are available.
4.00 credit hours (Same as: BUSN 362.) An introduction to business sustainability, through readings and conversations about topics such as: the distinction between bolt-on versus integrated sustainability strategies, sustainability’s effects on supply chains and the local and global communities, globalization’s effect on sustainability, managing sustainability in services and in manufacturing industries, finally how sustainability efforts are perceived by other stakeholders.
ENVI 375 - Symposium in Environmental Experiential Component
0.00 credit hours In this portion of the experiential requirement for the Environmental Studies major, students, faculty and occasional guest speakers present research, internship and activist experiences. Students taking this course observe, question, discuss and analyze presented research results. Environmental Studies majors take this course once prior to presenting their own work in ENVI 475.
4.00 credit hours The Chicago metropolitan locale provides an ideal location to study the intersections of urban, suburban and rural environmental issues such as regional environmental interdependence, urban ecology, sustainable cities, suburban sprawl, transportation, restoration/reuse of brownfields, green spaces in urban, suburban and rural environments and agriculture and the city. This course explores these issues with particular attention to their relationship to the local history and politics of Chicago.
4.00 credit hours (Same as BUSN 462.) Sustainability performance measurement is analyzed in detail including its objective, importance, and the many conditions that affect the method employed for measurement. More specific topics covered include: various sustainability performance measurement frameworks, the challenges and opportunities of sustainability performance measurement, performance measurement differences in service/manufacturing and distinct industries, and performance measurement within different scopes: event, product, company, supply chain.
4.00 credit hours In this practice-based class, students draw upon their interdisciplinary knowledge of the values and motivations of a variety of stakeholders and methods of iterative, evidence-based, interdisciplinary problem solving, to serve as pro bono environmental consultants for local nonprofit organizations, local governments or businesses.
ENVI 475 - Symposium in Environmental Experiential Component
1.00 credit hours In this portion of the experiential requirement for the Environmental Studies major, students, faculty and occasional guest speakers present research, internship and activist experiences in the format of a professional meeting. Majors who have completed their experiential project take the symposium for one credit hour and present the results of their experiential project.
Prerequisite(s): Completion of experiential project and ENVI 375.
4.00 credit hours Introduces students to the field of exercise science as a discipline and profession. Topics include the role of physical activity on morbidity and mortality, methods and techniques the fitness professional will use to develop positive lifestyle behaviors in their clients, basic components of fitness, liability concerns and considerations, professional roles and certifications, careers in fitness and health, and facility management among others. Observations at various exercise science related facilities are required. Required: Physical activity may be utilized to facilitate learning experiences in this class. Participate at a level at which you are comfortable or consult the instructor.
2.00 credit hours A class designed to allow students to engage fully in an ongoing research project or develop a project of their own. Activities will vary according to project needs and student background, but may include literature review, recruitment of participants, data collection, and/or statistical analysis. This course may be repeated once for credit.
2.00 credit hours In-depth study of safe and effective training techniques including resistance training using free weights, weight machines, resistive bands, body weight and other major fitness equipment. Plyometric, speed and agility drills and core stability exercises are studied. Proper execution of exercise along with spotting techniques and appropriate cuing are emphasized. Students are expected to demonstrate mastery of techniques. Physical activity is required in this course.
4.00 credit hours Investigation of cellular mechanisms of various body systems and the impact of acute exercise and prolonged training on those mechanisms; in-depth study of bioenergetics and metabolism; mechanisms associated with fatigue and recovery, and special populations are discussed. Laboratory required. Required: Physical activity may be utilized to facilitate learning experiences in this course. Participate at a level at which you are comfortable or consult the instructor.
2.00 credit hours Application of nutritional principles. Topics discussed include nutritional programming for daily life, management of body composition, hypertrophy, physical activity, hydration, pre and post-competition nutrition, supplementation, and eating disorders. Students practice skills to help them develop healthy nutritional habits for life.
2.00 credit hours A project-based class designed to engage students with community partners or institutional departments. Students work with the agency or department to assist in project development, implementation, or assessment. This course may be repeated once for credit.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 250. Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Community Engaged Learning.
4.00 credit hours Comparison of fitness tests and techniques followed in schools, health/fitness clubs and cardiac rehabilitation programs. Development of fitness assessment proficiencies and certification requirements of various certifying boards. Special populations are covered. Practical fieldwork. Exposure to fitness computer software programs. Required: Physical activity may be utilized to facilitate learning experiences in this course. Participate at a level at which you are comfortable or consult the instructor.
4.00 credit hours Provides the fundamental knowledge of exercise programming. The integration and application of kinesiology topics are applied practically through direct :client-practitioner interaction. Scientific principles are applied to the design of exercise programs that encompass the health-related components of physical fitness. Topics include exercise prescription for the general adult population, special populations and athletes including design of programs to enhance mobility, balance, strength, power, endurance and muscle hypertrophy.
4.00 credit hours An in-depth examination of sport-specific demands, work capacity enhancements, movement skills development, periodization programming, and regeneration techniques. The student learns to properly analyze any sport in terms of specific conditioning demands and be able to design a training prescription for any sport.
4.00 credit hours A course examining acute physiological adaptations to exercise and chronic physiological adaptations to exercise training. The student will learn to prescribe exercise as medicine to mitigate disease and improve health outcomes of clients. This is an advanced clinical exercise physiology course covering exercise metabolism, immunology, cellular and molecular physiology, ECG, endocrinology, and pathophysiology.
2.00 credit hours An in-depth, research-based course on how certain environmental stresses alter the physiological responses to exercise. The environmental stressors covered include: altitude, heat, cold, diving, microgravity, hyper-gravity, and air pollution.
2.00 credit hours Students engage with their internship cohort and reflect on the internship experience. Provides students the opportunity to reflect on the internship experience. Course includes weekly reflections of fieldwork interactions, group discussions of discipline related topics, and a culminating project.
Prerequisite(s): KINE 317, EXSC 347 and Exercise Science Clinical Coordinator Approval. Concurrent enrollment in EXSC 497.
10.00 credit hours Students complete a 15 week, fully immersed, field-based experience in an approved facility. The facility is selected through cooperation between the student, the Exercise Science Clinical Coordinator, and an agency supervisor. Students must apply one term in advance through the Exercise Science Clinical Coordinator.
Prerequisite(s): KINE 317, EXSC 347, and Exercise Science Clinical Coordinator Approval. Concurrent enrollment in EXSC 490. Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Community Engaged Learning.
4.00 credit hours An introduction to the critical analysis of film through an examination of the technical, formal and stylistic aspects of cinematic production. Weekly screening sessions required.
4.00 credit hours A survey of the major developments in American cinema from the invention of motion pictures to the present, with emphasis on directors, aesthetic innovations, technological advances, government policies and business practices. Major focus on Hollywood studios with some attention to independent, experimental and “art” film. Weekly screening sessions required.
4.00 credit hours An examination of the environmental impact of film production (including the changes to production processes and oversight throughout history). Additional focus on representations of the environment in fiction and non-fiction films (including depictions of animals/animal life, human-animal relationships, nature, and human impact on the natural world).
Prerequisite(s): FILM 100 or ENVI 120. iCon(s): Sustaining Our World.
4.00 credit hours An introduction to major movements, waves, or schools throughout the history of global film with an emphasis on aesthetic trademarks, cultural and historical context, and directors. Additional focus on the shift of scholarly attention from national cinema(s) to global and transnational characteristics of contemporary film. Weekly screening sessions required.
Prerequisite(s): FILM 100 or ARTD 100. Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Humanities, Global Understanding. iCon(s): Thinking Globally.
4.00 credit hours An examination of television’s history as a cultural form (from early broadcast through innovations such as the remote, VCR, cable and streaming) alongside theoretical accounts of television’s uniqueness as a form distinct from other moving-image media. Weekly screening sessions required.
FILM 390 - Special Topics in Film and Screen Studies
4.00 credit hours An intensive study of an area within film or screen studies. Courses could focus on the films of one nation, director, or genre; screen adaptation; music and moving images; animation; experimental film and video; recent screen technologies; etc. Weekly screening sessions required.
4.00 credit hours The study of key theoretical models and strategies for comprehending the uniqueness of film and television as texts, cultural documents, and aesthetic experiences. May include intersections with existing theoretical models such as spectatorship, gender theory, critical race theory, psychoanalysis, Marxism, (post)structuralism, queer theory, and post- colonialism. Weekly screening sessions required.
4.00 credit hours An introduction to corporate financial management. Topics include financial statement analysis, discounted cash flow analysis, bond and stock valuation, common stock/debt financing, risk and return, cost of capital, and capital budgeting.
4.00 credit hours A broad-based course on personal financial planning and wealth management. Topics include financial planning, tax management, housing decision, insurance planning, personal investment, professional ethics and conduct, retirement and estate planning.
2.00 credit hours This course examines global financial market activities, including topics such as exchange rate determination and its effects, international arbitrage, interest rate and purchasing power parity, forecasting exchange rate, measuring and managing exchange rate risk, and multinational capital budgeting.
4.00 credit hours Topics vary depending on student interest and faculty expertise. Topics and prerequisites are announced in advance and placed in the course schedule. May be repeated with different content.
4.00 credit hours Study of topics related to investment tools and portfolio management including fundamental analysis, technical analysis, stock and bond valuations, portfolio analysis, efficient market hypothesis, and international financial markets.
4.00 credit hours The study of measuring and managing the risks faced by financial institutions. Topics include the organizational and regulatory structure of the financial services industry.
2.00 credit hours Study of advanced corporate finance related theories and practices. The topics are cash flow estimation and risk analysis, capital structure, distribution for shareholders, and working capital management.
2.00 credit hours Application of econometric models to detect and replicate patterns in time series business and economic data. The course covers forecasting trends, forecasting seasonality, forecasting cycles, forecasting volatility, and contemporary forecasting methods.
FINA 475 - Derivatives: Markets, Pricing and Applications
4.00 credit hours Students learn about financial derivatives and their use in managing risk and creating leverage. Topics include American options, forwards, futures and swaps. Emphasis is on applying learned strategies to control risk or leverage returns arising from fluctuating stock prices, interest rates, exchange rates and commodity prices.
4.00 credit hours Introduction to coding in a programming language(s) used in Quantitative Finance. Topics include from data handling, data visualization, data analysis and financial modelling.
4.00 credit hours Introduction to the basic structures of the French language and cultural practices, with emphasis on listening and speaking. Taught in French.
4.00 credit hours Continued introduction to the French language and cultures of the Francophone regions of the world. Language skills expand to include expression beyond the present tense. Taught in French.
4.00 credit hours Development of reading, writing, listening and speaking skills at the intermediate level in the context of an exploration of the cultures of the French-speaking world. Taught in French.
4.00 credit hours Continued development of reading, writing, speaking and listening skills at the intermediate level in French, in the context of an exploration of the cultures of the French-speaking regions of the world. Taught in French.
4.00 credit hours Communicative approach to develop written proficiency in descriptive and narrative prose. Attention given to awareness of rhetorical techniques and cultural context.
1.00-4.00 credit hours Students assist faculty with pedagogical or other projects in French. Activities vary according to the project needs and student background, but may include such work as the preparation of materials for language learning or assisting faculty through bibliographic research.
4.00 credit hours An introduction to the works of women writers from Medieval France to contemporary France and Francophone cultures. Taught in French.
4.00 credit hours A survey of the development of French culture and civilization from its origins to the beginning of the Fifth Republic. Taught in French.
4.00 credit hours A study of France under the Nazi occupation in World War II, including topics on collaboration, rescue and resistance, survival and memory. Taught in French.
1.00 credit hours Preparation of a collection of documents including revised work from prior courses, reflections on the student’s growth as a French major and intercultural questions. Additional assignments may be included but the portfolio must represent all five skills and include evidence of the student’s extracurricular participation in the French program. Required for the French major. Taught in French.