ARCHIVED 2022-2023 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Liberal Studies
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Mission Statement
The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) program produces thoughtful citizens and professionals sensitive to both the lessons of history and the pressing needs of today. The degree equips students to work productively in diverse communities and communicate effectively with precision, accuracy and grace.
The MALS degree provides students with an opportunity to engage with great ideas across a broad range of fields. Students explore how humans relate to their communities and the natural world and how they understand themselves through small discussion-based and Socratic classrooms. Students also learn how to consider these great ideas in the context of ongoing societal issues and the pressing concerns of our own times.
The blended format (a mix of online and in-person classes) and hyflex option (choosing online for an in-person class) for the liberal studies degree provides the flexibility of completing the degree while ensuring that students will be closely connected with faculty and classmates through in-person discussions.
The program not only provides students with the research and communication skills that lead to career advancement but also allows students the freedom to create a program of study that best serves their professional or personal needs. Students have 15 elective hours to pursue their interests and scholarly curiosity.
Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
MALS 500 - Great Ideas 3.00 credit hours
Focus on both interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue by looking at milestones of thought and expression across historical time and geographical space that deal with specific topics of universal and enduring concern, such as love, justice, family, history and nature. Graduate-level research also covered, including formulating research questions, identifying appropriate methods and conducting and presenting research.
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MALS 512 - Religion, Ritual and Symbol 3.00 credit hours
A cross-cultural examination of how religious beliefs and institutions, concepts of the magical and myths and rituals shape our view of reality. The course surveys some of the major ways the understanding of these things has evolved, focusing particularly on structural analysis of symbol systems.
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MALS 514 - Examining Identity in American Film 3.00 credit hours
Film is in many ways the quintessential American art form. Sensational, innovative, revolutionary, it is uniquely suited to express not only the vitality and joy of the American spirit, but also to reveal the violence and oppression that ride the darker currents of our shared life. This class covers the gamut of American-made films, from the silent era to the world of Netflix and Hulu, and focuses on questions of identity, prejudice, violence and technology.
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MALS 522 - Sport in a Multicultural World 3.00 credit hours
Explores the function of sport in American society as utilized by various constituencies. Draws from historical, sociological, anthropological and literary texts, as well as film analysis. Reading and class discussions analyze the role of sport in the construction of culture, the nature of cultural change over time and the various meanings of sport among sub-cultures. Ethical questions, such as the role of sport in establishing, reinforcing or resisting dominant social values are considered. Students should also gain an appreciation and respect for alternative cultures.
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MALS 524 - Gender and Art 3.00 credit hours
The study and critique of feminist and gendered strategies for analyzing art and culture. The course explores how women, men and those who identify in other ways have portrayed their experiences in literature, theater, music and the visual arts, and how art forms have been shaped by evolving notions of gender across cultures.
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MALS 532 - Science Today 3.00 credit hours
From arguments over cloning, genetically modified foods or nuclear missile defense, many of the major issues of the day emerge from the worlds of science and technology. Addresses some of these cases in order to: 1) help students understand what science is, as both a social and an intellectual enterprise; and 2) discuss what role it plays—and should play—in our society.
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MALS 536 - Spotting Bullsh*t, Fake News and Cognitive Biases 3.00 credit hours
Because we all now know that it’s unhealthy to smoke, we don’t fall for the old ad that once informed us that “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette!” But other facts circulated in contemporary science and society are just as phony without being so easily recognized. Looks at how data and statistics can be used to mislead and deceive and how participants can develop a critical yet open-minded view of claims made in medicine, business and economics, and science. Also reviews recent work on fake news and cognitive bias.
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MALS 550 - The City 3.00 credit hours
A comparative study of urban development and the nature and growth of urban populations in various parts of the world. The course also explores various images, theories and attitudes toward the city and how these are related to ways we perceive the social problems arising with urban growth and propose solutions to them.
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MALS 552 - Power and Performance: Gender and Sexuality in the Contemporary United States 3.00 credit hours
Examines gender and sexuality in contemporary United States society, occasionally using international examples for comparison. Reviews theories of the social construction of gender and sexuality; the role of socialization in reproducing expectations of how one performs gender and sexuality; the function gender and sexuality play in negotiating power and inequality in social institutions such as the family, work, policy and media systems; and the intersections of gender and sexuality with race, ethnicity and class.
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MALS 562 - The U.S. Healthcare System and Patient Advocacy 3.00 credit hours
Examines the various components of the U.S. healthcare system, both public and private, emphasizing the ways that healthcare in the United States is organized, delivered and financed. Special attention paid to moral issues as they relate to the healthcare system and to the practical implications of this discussion in advocating for patients and their families.
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MALS 599 - Independent Study 1.00-3.00 credit hours
Introduction to graduate study in a topic integral to the student’s academic and professional plans not covered in a regular course.
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MALS 612 - Reading Through Time 3.00 credit hours
A long view of the origins of written language and, more specifically, reading as a practice within different historical contexts. Focus on the reading of literature and, more broadly, humanistic letters in an effort to understand what we mean by the “imagination.” New media and transitions between orality and literacies figure in course readings.
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MALS 614 - Migration and Immigration in Mediterranean History 3.00 credit hours
Explores frequent, large-scale movements of people and migration in the Mediterranean world through case studies from several periods, starting in ancient Greece and Rome and extending to the near present. Drawing on many types of sources, considers a variety of questions about immigrant experiences: Why did they leave home? How did they travel? What kind of lives—and what kind of welcome—did they find in places they settled? Also examines several concepts of general importance to the field of migration studies, including ethnicity, identity and diaspora.
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MALS 628 - Neoliberalism and Popular Culture 3.00 credit hours
Study of the political-economic system known as neoliberalism and its impact on popular culture. Engage with several influential accounts of the neoliberal order from a variety of perspectives and apply those concepts to representative films, television series, and songs of the neoliberal era (approximately 1980 to the present), placing them in political and economic context.
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MALS 632 - Images of Nature in the Renaissance 3.00 credit hours
For the ancients, nature was a kind of divinity intrinsically related to human beings. Now, nature is a thing apart, to be studied, analyzed and mined for resources. In the Renaissance, however, there was no clear agreement as to the nature of nature; instead, there was a thousand and one novel and fascinating conceptions all jostling for supremacy. Alchemists, philosophers, playwrights and artists all painted nature with their own brush and contributed to the modern understanding. Examining the splendid array of imagery and argument around nature in the Renaissance, students see the origins of our own assumptions and prejudices about nature and question them, as well.
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MALS 648 - Natural Resources and Environmental Economy 3.00 credit hours
An examination of the market system and the impact of economic activity on the environment, focusing on the application and use of economic instruments in improving environmental quality. Other topics covered include the valuation of environmental resources and prospects for sustainable development, plus traditional regulation of the U.S. economy, including command and control policies.
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MALS 654 - East Asia on the Edge 3.00 credit hours
This course examines the society and culture in the World’s Fastest Changing Region. During the past century East Asia has undergone an unprecedented transformation that has seen it emerge as a center for global technological development and social change. Explores the new urban cultures that have emerged in countries like China, Japan and Korea, and the social issues that have arisen as a result.
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MALS 658 - The Social Consequences of New Media 3.00 credit hours
Studies the confluence of “new media” technology and its implications for profound social change, impacting everything from the way we raise our children to the way we conduct war. Explores perceived benefits and detriments of new media today, and considers future social consequences of this dynamic mode of technology and communication.
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MALS 660 - Philanthropy: In Theory and in Practice 3.00 credit hours
Human history is full of stories of those with more resources supporting the welfare of others, with systems such as collectivism, almsgiving and patronage emerging along the way. Examines historical modes and modern theories and practices of philanthropy (foundations, humanitarianism, crowdsourcing, etc.) and considers the moral, ethical and financial imperatives over time to “give” in the United States and other cultures.
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MALS 690 - Special Topics 3.00 credit hours
Topics will vary and take advantage of faculty expertise and student interest. Repeatable with different content.
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MALS 695 - Comprehensive Examination 3.00 credit hours
Students prepare for and take an exam designed to test their writing and discussion skills. A single topic (e.g. Frankenstein, poverty, “the Devil”) serves as the focus of a set of readings on which students must write an extended critical essay and conduct themselves in discussion.
Prerequisite(s): 24 credit hours in MALS and MALS 500 .
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MALS 696 - Capstone Project 3.00 credit hours
Students draw upon what they have learned in their MALS courses as well as their own professional, personal, and communal commitments to design and carry out an interdisciplinary research project. Methods and products vary.
Prerequisite(s): 24 credit hours in MALS and MALS 500 .
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MALS 697 - Internship 1.00-3.00 credit hours
The course is designed to provide students with practical experience by applying liberal studies concepts and technical skills learned in the classroom. This course may be repeated for credit for up to three credit hours.
Prerequisite(s): Instructor consent.
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MALS 699 - Independent Study 1.00-3.00 credit hours
Advanced graduate study in a topic integral to the student’s academic and professional plans not covered in a regular course.
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