Computer Science: Special Topics  (Upper Division).  Prerequisite: Junior/Senior Standing. Prof. Wayne Summers

Study of topics of special interest in computer science, or directed experience in computer science by means of lecture, discussion, seminar, and research.  (The History of Computing course provides students with a historical and cultural educational experience. This program will enhance students’ understanding of another culture at a level not typically experienced. Our students and faculty will experience the history of computing firsthand by exploring several of the sites instrumental in the development of early computing devices.)

Computer Science – Introduction to Information Technology (Lower Division)—Prof. Summers

Official Course Description: This course provides an introduction to computer and information technologies. It discusses the nature of information, computer hardware, software, communications technology, and computer-based information systems. The theory is complemented by practical work aimed at gaining basic proficiency with different types of widely used application software.  (3 credits).  

History—Tudor and Stuart England (Upper Division). Prof. Kathleen Comerford

1485-1714 was a decisive era in the making of modern Britain and the modern world, during which English monarchs reformed religion, patronized artists, made constitutional changes, and created a global empire.  We will examine this 230-year period along primarily political and social lines: “reason of state,” the development of bureaucracies, diplomacy (foreign and domestic), and responses to the growing gap between church and state.  The course ends with the end of the Stuart Dynasty, and with it, the end of native English, Welsh, and Scottish monarchs.

History—Western Civilization II (Lower Division). Prof. Comerford

The major themes of this course are commerce, culture, empire-building, politics, religion, and technology.  We will study those themes in five continents over five centuries.  Because the course takes place over such a short period, and is so interactive, I will require a minimum of 2 effective contributions (i.e., real input into the class discussion, not simply “yes” or “no”) per meeting in order to earn a discussion grade of B.  Discussions are mandatory.  We will also take mandatory field trips once a week.

Psychology—The Developing Individual (Lower Division). Prof. Daugherty

The course presents an overview of theories of human development to develop competencies, application, and analysis of principles of growth and development through various lifespan circumstances.  The course emphasizes themes of growth and development, origins of child study, models, theories, and research findings in developmental psychology and the individual across seven stages of development. 

Psychology—Social and Cultural Contexts and Their Influence on Child Development (Upper Division). Prof. Daugherty

This course is designed to examine contextual influences on child development.  Social, cultural, and historical contexts will be emphasized as they relate to children and adolescents’ psychsocial, cognitive, and physical growth and development.  Issues of child behavior will be addressed by comparing and contrasting cultural and social experiences. Course activities will include child observations, field trips, and field assignments designed to provide practical learning experiences through observation, data gathering and analyses.  A major objective of the course is to develop an appreciation and understanding of social and cultural contexts and their impact on children’s developmental outcomes.

The History of England as told by Cinema (Lower Division). Prof. Todd Hoffman

Each country has in many ways rewritten its own history through the powerful medium of film.  By offering a representation of the past through an entertaining and realistic form, many come to view the history of a country by its imaginatively recreated expression on the screen.  Often, however, the accuracy of the history is made secondary to the form and structure of the narrative; in other words, telling a good story supplants historical authenticity.  This says as much about how a nation chooses to define itself through its own story as it does about history itself.  This class will explore how England has told its own story on film.  We will pay particular attention to the representations of the British monarchy, how England defines itself as a Nation and a people, how its colonial past is represented on screen, why a particular film chooses to represent England in the way that it does by placing the film in its own historical context, and how its current multi-ethnic population has created changes in its self-representation.  

Film Techniques and English Cinema (Upper Division). Prof. Hoffman

This class will introduce the student to the various creative elements of film and how they work together to construct a cohesive artistic product.  The course will provide students with basic knowledge of editing, cinematography, sound, and many other features of the creative process of filmmaking.  In addition, we will be particularly focused on how English cinema has produced its own unique technical style, how the formal components of filmmaking can be analyzed to elucidate a distinctive set of English themes and how English culture resonates through its adaptation of film genres. 

Political Science—Current International Issues (Upper Level). Prof. Kerwin Swint

This course is an analysis of vital international issues.  Sources of international order, conflict and war, determinants of foreign policy, global actors, and the dynamics of political interaction between nation-states, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations are examined.  

Political Science—American Government in Global Perspective (Lower Level). Prof. Swint

This course is the introduction to the study of political science.  It acquaints the student with the main institutions, foundations, and processes of American government and politics, within a context of understanding the global political environment.  American government is taught within a comparative framework to expose students to government processes in European democracies.  There is a strong emphasis on British political development, the Westminster model of parliament, and the Atlantic relationship.

English—Popular Culture: London as Text (Upper Level). Prof. Gerald Lucas

This course examines the idea of “London” in literature, architecture, visual art, technology, music, and film.  We will study cultural texts that inform the ideological construction of “London” and visit some of the key places that define it as a historical place and a cultural construct.

English—World Literature II (Lower Level). Prof. Lucas

World Literature II examines national literatures Britain and the continent from the Renaissance to the present. World Lit II will explore texts—poems, novels, novellas, plays, and short stories—in their historical and cultural contexts as well as consider how those texts still inform our views of ourselves today.

Economics—Current Issues in Economics (Upper Level). Prof. Clifford Lipscomb

Introduction to the economic analysis related to consumer behavior.  Topics covered will include rational choice models, behavioral models, environmental influences on consumer behavior, market segmentation, models of consumer demand, and economic welfare analysis.  

Economics—Survey of Economics (Lower Level). Prof. Lipscomb

A survey of basic economic concepts with applications to public policy issues.  This course will cover diverse topics related to the European Union, the costs of war and terrorism, the economics of art, as well as more traditional topics in economics (real estate trends, minimum wage law, and transportation).  Each student will have to complete an individual research project.  

Theatre—Theatre Appreciation (Lower Level).  Prof. Harbour

What better way to become a more knowledgeable audience member than to study theatre in London?  Your laboratory will be the great theatres and acting companies in one of the world’s foremost theatre cities. In this course we will study how productions evolve.  This study will include a detailed look at the work of the director, and the actors, as well as the scenery, costume, lighting, and other designers.  For field trips the class will attend productions at the Royal National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, the West End (London’s Broadway), and perhaps even London’s off-off Broadway, the “fringe.”

Theatre—Shakespeare in Production (Upper Level). Prof. Harbour

Shakespeare: a man for all ages.  Shakespeare wrote plays that, four hundred years later, still speak to modern man.  In this course we will read five of Shakespeare’s plays that are being produced in London this summer.  We will discuss the play and the ways that it might be produced.  Then we will attend a production of that play at a theatre in London.  Finally, we will then discuss the production and evaluate the choices made by the directors, actors, designers, etc.  Some of the theatres that we might attend include the Globe Theatre, the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Open Air Theatre in Regents’ Park, and other theatre that are producing plays by Shakespeare.

The "Other" Britain: The Caribbeans, South Asians and the Romani in London  (Upper Level). Prof. Sunita Manian