A study of ecology, evolution and biological diversity, with an emphasis on scientific investigations in the natural areas in and around the university. The course, which is scheduled for one afternoon each week, meets the general education requirement for a natural science course but does not fulfill the requirement for a laboratory science course.
Business
The instructional objective is to provide students with an understanding of the concepts that are fundamental to the use of accounting. Students will focus on the accounting cycle and the preparation of financial statements, including balance sheets, income statements, and statements of cash flows, as well as on the use of financial ratios. A decision-making approach is employed which involves critical evaluation and analysis of information presented. Analytical tools are integrated throughout the course
This course examines legal principles, considerations, and structures affecting managerial decisions. The course initially focuses on the anthropological underpinnings of the legal concepts of “liability”, “limited liability”, and “corporate” form with readings coming from Yuval Harari’s Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. With that background in place, the course then examines legal parameters and constraints through corporate, tax, and securities laws impacting managerial decisions in the areas of “choice of entity” (with a focus on sole proprietorships/tax-disregarded entities, partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations, both “C” and “S”), taxation, management structure, intellectual property, capital infusions, mergers, and acquisitions.
A selection of topics are explored depending on interest. This course may be repeated once for credit when the topic differs.
Chemistry
This course addresses both of these intersections between science and the arts by considering the role of chemistry in the production and interpretation of art and artifacts from theoretical and practical perspectives. The course also examines the application of chemistry to art conservation and archaeology. This course may not be used in to satisfy requirements for the major or minor in Chemistry. Lecture, three hours.
Community Engaged Learning
A selection of topics are explored depending on interest. This course may be repeated once for credit when the topic differs.
Economics
The course introduces students to the field of economics, and explores a variety of topics spanning both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Using basic algebraic and graphical techniques, it lays the foundation for how economists model the world using mathematics to study how individuals, firms and governments make choices and how they affect the world around us. Microeconomic topics include consumer theory, producer theory, behavior of firms, externalities, and the role of the government in the economy. Macroeconomic topics include determination of output, unemployment, interest rates, inflation, monetary and fiscal policies, and economic growth.
English
This writing-intensive introduction to literature written in English may include a selection of formal verse, fiction, drama, and at least one play by Shakespeare. The course is designed to develop the student’s imaginative understanding of literature along with the ability to write and speak with greater clarity. It is intended to be of interest to students at any level of preparation.
Speculative fiction is a genre that asks “what if,” allowing us to imagine alternative social arrangements while holding up a mirror to our own assumptions about culture and human identity. The nationality and time period of speculative fiction examined in this course may vary based on the instructor. In different semesters, this class may focus on such topics as the origin and development of science fiction, featuring such writers as Mary Shelley and H.G. Wells; climate speculative fiction (Richard Powers), feminist speculative fiction (Margaret Atwood, Ursula K. Le Guin), or Afrofuturism (Octavia Butler, N.K. Jemisin).
Finance
This course addresses the concepts underlying corporate finance and equity markets. Topics include financial statement analysis, time value of money, security valuation, capital budgeting, capital structure, dividend policy, and working capital management.
French and French Studies
Readings in representative authors, themes and periods from France and from other Francophone countries.
An examination of the French-speaking world and its language, literature, culture, art, music, and political life. Topics vary from year to year, but the course would typically include cultural themes, novels, short stories, poetry, film, and drama from France, French-speaking Europe, North and West Africa, Quebec, and the Antilles. This course may be repeated once for credit when the topic differs.
Geology
A study of the geological features and processes that shape the earth's surface and subsurface. Lectures detail major components of the earth and the dynamic processes that generate them (including rocks, minerals, fossils, mountain belts, ocean basins, tectonic activity, magma formation, and climate change). Environmental issues related to geology (earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity, groundwater contamination, and coastal and stream erosion) are major topics of discussion. Field-oriented lab exercises utilize excellent geological exposures of the Cumberland Plateau and the nearby Appalachian Mountains. Lecture, three hours; laboratory and field trips (including one weekend trip).
A study of climate change, its causes, and the impact of such change on sea level, glacial regimes, and the development of life through geologic time. Special emphasis on evidence for past and recent climate change.
History
This course focuses on Race, Class, and Identity in American history since the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 to the present, emphasizing specific political, social, and economic developments. It examines such topics as expansion, Populist and Progressive movements, the Great Depression, the World Wars, reform and dissent in the 1960s and the Vietnam conflict.
International & Global Studies
Readings in representative authors, themes and periods from France and from other Francophone countries.
An examination of the French-speaking world and its language, literature, culture, art, music, and political life. Topics vary from year to year, but the course would typically include cultural themes, novels, short stories, poetry, film, and drama from France, French-speaking Europe, North and West Africa, Quebec, and the Antilles. This course may be repeated once for credit when the topic differs.
Through the reading of selected detective novels from around the world, this course examines the globalization of terrorism, environmental problems, and immigration, among other topics. The novels selected will reflect not only the above-mentioned problems, but also how society reacts to them, and how these problems affect us in our lives.
This course examines the development of Latin American cinema within a chronological framework. Students become familiar with major cinematic themes, movements, and works from Latin America. The course fosters an analysis of cinema through film language and theory, and in conjunction with Latin America's cultural and historical context. Taught in English.