We all desire to have a meaningful connection to the place we call home and the people that surround us. But how do people form a sense of self and develop a sense of belonging to a place? How do social categories such as race & ethnicity, gender, and immigration shape what it means to belong in a place?
This course answers these questions by considering the place of Latino immigrants in the United States. We will interrogate how group boundaries such as race and ethnicity are formed, the role of immigration legislation in shaping how we think about Latinos in the U.S., the social progress and inequality U.S.-born Latinos and Latino immigrants face, and how Latino immigrants come to call many places home, including Tennessee. In doing so, we will also look back to previous immigrant groups, like Italian immigrants, and how they achieved their "American Dream".
While this course focuses on the Latino experience it also will allow students to explore key sociological understandings of the broader relationship between groups and how they experience a sense of belonging and well-being in the United States. Students may be able to explore their own family or local history using materials covered in class to develop a critical insight into the way categories such as race & ethnicity, gender, and immigrant shape social belonging in the United States and how it compares to the Latino experience. All are welcome and all belong in this course.
This course examines the cultural, environmental, financial, historical, legal, political, and social contexts of real estate investment. Beyond developing the requisite skills to navigate tax structures and analyze real estate markets, students identify critical approaches to real estate investment and apply them to discussions on the ownership and management of single-family residences, residential rental properties, and commercial buildings.
A liberal arts education provides students with writing, speaking, and analytical skills to succeed in business. This course provides students with an actionable job search strategy that utilizes those “liberal arts skills,” that guides students to identify business career paths that employ those skills, and that emboldens students to acknowledge and emphasize their liberal arts skills and how these skills can benefit their employers in the near and long term. In particular, this course (i) covers job search strategies and career planning for students pursuing jobs in business or adjacent to business (ex. consulting, law, and STEM); (ii) uses real-world examples of jobs at existing companies to demonstrate how to find jobs, network, apply for jobs, and interview successfully; and (iii) incorporates personal finance topics throughout, especially compensation and benefits (i.e., we talk about money in this course). Summary course exercises will tie multiple concepts together, such as using an individual industry to illustrate how to find and attain various jobs. Course work and lessons, with an emphasis on group learning in pairs or small groups, followed by large group discussions, will apply students’ liberal arts skills of writing, speaking, and critical thinking and analysis. By the end of the course, students will have an actionable job search plan to supplement their broad understanding of applying a liberal arts education to different career paths in business.
Organized around a genre rather than a single historical period or geographical context, this course will help students to understand what novels are and how they work. Students will read a set of novels from a variety of traditions alongside material drawn from the critical fields of novel theory and narratology. Possible texts to be determined, but may include novels by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Vladimir Nabokov, Toni Morrisson, and/or Salman Rushdie.
This course introduces the fundamental concepts of financial risk, focusing on market risk, credit risk, and liquidity risk. It emphasizes identifying, measuring, and managing risk using quantitative tools and trading strategies. Using theory and real-world examples, students will develop a foundation in risk management practices commonly used in financial institutions and capital markets.
This interdisciplinary course, co-taught by an internationally recognized physician-psychoanalyst and the historian-director of Sewanee’s Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation, examines the cross-generational impacts of traumatic incidents of racist violence and injustice. In addition to exploring the benefits and challenges of combining these different disciplinary methodologies, the course also uses a comparative analysis of a series of historical case studies. Students will interact with experts in the field of restorative justice to study how people in the past and present have responded to redress the effects of racist hatred and violence through language, art, and collective action to heal the wounds and fractures that are legacies of American slavery and institutional racism.
An exploration of contemporary American politics research through the lens of gun politics: Second Amendment constitutional law, political psychology, political behavior, media, and policy design/efficacy. Main themes seek to integrate both behavioral and institutional approaches to the study of politics.
This course examines the production and consumption of various types of media, such as news articles, books, films, podcasts, advertisements, video games, and social media, and explores their effects on human cognition, emotions, and behaviors. The course also explores the broader societal and cultural impacts of media messaging and discusses how media shape, and are shaped by, identities, social relationships, and intergroup dynamics. By learning psychological and communication theories and methodological approaches to studying media, students will cultivate media literacy, develop critical thinking skills, and gain a better understanding of how media create distinct virtual realities for individuals and influence their navigation of both online and offline life.
Why do we make the choices we do? What shapes our thoughts and decisions? And why should we care? This course engages these questions and more, integrating insights from psychology and related fields to help us better understand how our minds work. We’ll consider some of the many factors that impact our thoughts and decisions, along with potential implications for individual and collective well-being and ways of being. We’ll also explore how a better understanding of thinking and deciding can inform our identities and commitments, our relationships and interactions, and our efforts to envision and cultivate a more just and equitable world.
How can psychology be applied to strengthen communities and promote social change? This course explores how people influence, and are influenced by, the social environments they are part of. Examine the role of psychology in understanding and addressing social issues through collaborative, action-oriented approaches. Explore the psychological factors that shape community engagement, empowerment, and resilience. Learn about theories and methods that guide community-based research and intervention, with a focus on participatory approaches that prioritize the perspectives of those most affected by social injustices. This course prepares students to apply psychological principles to real-world challenges.
This course examines effective methods to communicate psychological topics to diverse audiences in both face-to-face and mediated contexts. Through project-based learning, students will engage with primary psychological sources and develop effective and appropriate communication skills. Key elements include analyzing the needs and perspectives of various audience groups, from professionals to the general public, and communicating with or facilitating communication among different stakeholders. The course covers various settings, including oral presentations, online presence, workshops, and digital platforms such as social media, blogs, and podcasts.
This course explores loss as an inextricable part of human development and the personal loss process, resulting from various experiences and occurring throughout the lifespan. Loss, as examined in this course, includes not only that which arises through death but also the psychological, emotional, relational, physical, and situational changes that affect us throughout our lives. Special types of losses and their impact on human development will be examined. This course will explore loss's seminal role in human development and its potential to be transformative or life-threatening. Coping mechanisms that can facilitate healthy adaptations to change and loss, personal growth, and the complex relationship between different types of losses and age, developmental stage, and individual characteristics will be addressed.
This course explores the historical role of theatre as a powerful tool for radical imagination and social change. Through case studies, performance analysis, and experiential learning, students will examine how theatre has been used to foster community dialogue and inspire collective transformation.