Doing the Right Thing: A Global Strategy for Good Business - BADM 191E
Gerald Evans, Management Information Systems
This GLI seminar addresses the issues businesses face in doing the right thing. While it is very easy to find examples in the media of corporations and corporate leaders doing the wrong thing and abusing the public trust, it is more difficult to find examples of companies doing the right thing. This seminar encourages students to explore the areas where companies can make a positive impact on global society through the use of practices that promote ethical corporate citizenship. Coverage focuses on current events, drawn from the Wall Street Journal and other publications, and includes specific topics of:
- Corporate social responsibility
- Financial markets and ethical practices
- Sustainability
- Developing countries and their developing markets
- Privacy and security in an electronic world
- Corporate philanthropy
- The role of public policy
Food and Society in a Globalized World - SOCI 191S
Teresa Sobieszczyk, Sociology
Drawing on materials from Sociology, Women’s and Gender Studies, Economics, Environmental Studies, and Political Science, this interdisciplinary course will give freshman an opportunity to explore various dimensions of the global food system, from production to consumption. As we examine where our food comes from and how it gets to our table, we become aware of how little knowledge we have of the processes involved in producing, trading, and distributing our food. How do food production and distribution relate to structures of power and inequality nationally and in the global system? How is our disconnection from food production, distribution, and consumption impacted by and reflected in our disconnection from the communities within which we live?
Global Climate Change: Science, Society, and Ethics - BIOB 191N
Art Woods, Biological Sciences
Climate change is an extraordinarily important, multidisciplinary topic, with broad interest and appeal for students. However, most students understand climate change, at best, superficially. All students have heard of climate change, and most have opinions about the validity of climate science—but few can discuss it in any depth. This is in part because the science is complex and in part because scientists often do a poor job of communicating their findings and perspectives. The proposed seminar will prepare students from all backgrounds to participate in ongoing local, national, and global conversations by: (1) laying out the basic science in lay-person’s terms; (2) discussing the structure and validity of climate models; (3) discussing how projected changes in climate will affect both human populations and the ecology and physiology of plants and animals; (4) and analyzing current and past efforts to legislate energy and climate policy.
Human Genetics, Your Family, and Global Health Care - BIOB 191N
Sarah Certel, Biological Sciences
This course addresses two fundamental biological and societal questions; how do genes direct and/or influence our health, and how do cultural, climate, ethical, and political issues affect treatment of genetic diseases? Students will acquire a practical knowledge of the principles of human genetics, which will serve as a basis to understand inherited diseases, application of family information, and genetic testing. Students will learn how the physical, cultural, and political environment impacts treatment of genetic disease. We will also address the ethical issues surrounding costs of genetic testing–-who should pay for such information and does society benefit from the treatment or prevention of genetic disease? The course will provide fundamental genetic-related information including:
- Sufficient background to understand the biology of genes and genetic issues as they relate to family inheritance, genetic test results, and disease conditions.
- Solid foundation in genetic terminology and concept.
- Basic knowledge of complex ethical dilemmas surrounding availability and interpretation of genetic testing.
- Understanding of cultural and economic considerations that influence availability of genetic testing and treatment of diseases with genetic components.
Human Rights Issues in Contemporary Latin American Literature and Film - MCLG 191L
Clary Loisel, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures
This course addresses two fundamental biological and societal questions; how do genes direct and/or influence our health, and how do cultural, climate, ethical, and political issues affect treatment of genetic diseases? Students will acquire a practical knowledge of the principles of human genetics, which will serve as a basis to understand inherited diseases, application of family information, and genetic testing. Students will learn how the physical, cultural, and political environment impacts treatment of genetic disease. We will also address the ethical issues surrounding costs of genetic testing–-who should pay for such information and does society benefit from the treatment or prevention of genetic disease? The course will provide fundamental genetic-related information including:
- Sufficient background to understand the biology of genes and genetic issues as they relate to family inheritance, genetic test results, and disease conditions.
- Solid foundation in genetic terminology and concept.
- Basic knowledge of complex ethical dilemmas surrounding availability and interpretation of genetic testing.
- Understanding of cultural and economic considerations that influence availability of genetic testing and treatment of diseases with genetic components.
Issues in Global Public Health - PSCI 191X
Peter Koehn, Political Science
The overarching seminar question is: “What transnational, national, and local policies and skills will help us address current and future challenges to global health?” Public health by nature is multidisciplinary; we cannot achieve positive population health outcomes without collaboration of multiple disciplines and sectors. To function as informed and active citizens in a world suffused by proximate, distant, and transnational health challenges, students must develop awareness and sensitivities about public-health issues of global concern. Big and enduring issues include the impact of social and political inequities on the global burden of illness in general and on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in particular, health impacts of climate change and international development, undernourishment and malnutrition, sanitation and access to clean water, the obesity epidemic, funding disparities, the “fatal flow of expertise” from low-income to wealthy countries, transnational and indigenous health care, health as a human right and development resource, health implications of displacement, migration, travel, and health care, rural and reservation health challenges, armed conflict and health, public-disaster and health-emergency preparedness/response, quarantines and isolation, optimism/fatalism, and academic preparation for emerging transnational challenges. The seminar will engage as well as inform. By confronting issues of global health in their first year, students will become aware of rewarding opportunities to focus their baccalaureate education, to prepare for professional careers, and to carry out personal responsibility as a concerned citizen. The academic foundation is the Institute of Medicine’s 2003 recognition that public-health literacy is an “`essential part of the training of citizens’” and that it “prepares students to contribute to the health of the public through positive decision-making and constructive action in personal, professional and civic arenas.”
Music, Meaning and Manipulation - MUSI 191L
James Randall, Music
Although we are inundated with music in our everyday lives—via iPods, radio, advertising, soundtracks of TV and film—most of us never learn the critical listening skills necessary to decode how music influences beliefs and behaviors. Music sells us products, political candidates, and systems of thought in increasingly sophisticated ways, yet most are oblivious to music’s specific role. Key to becoming an informed and responsible citizen in the 21st century is an appreciation of how music shapes understanding of the world, particularly in an age of media saturation. This course is an experiential investigation into how advertisers, filmmakers, politicians, and religious leaders use music to shape ideas, what we buy, and the groups to which we belong. How does music communicate meaning? We’ll take an interdisciplinary approach with primary readings drawn from neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, musicology, communications and film to explore how music influences and constructs personal identity and group affiliations. Assignments include written analyses of music’s role in media, politics, and advertising, as well as creative projects in which students use music to generate messages in the form of mock advertisements, short film collaborations, and other creative works. No prior musical experience is required.
News Literacy: Truth v. Truthiness - JOUR 110Y
Ray Fanning, Journalism
Every day we're bombarded with an avalanche of information. But how do we decide what to trust? In News Literacy, students will develop the skills to become smarter news consumers and more active citizens, locally, nationally and globally. The emphasis is on building critical thinking to deconstruct the news and get to the truth, to separate assertion from verification and to look for fairness and balance in print, broadcast and Internet-based reporting
The Net Effect - JOUR 191H
Lee Banville, Journalism
Monday, Wednesday 11:10am-12:30pm
This course does not fulfill a General Education requirement. Why is Tumblr worth $1 billion? How many people credit the Internet for helping them find their spouse and blame it for their divorce? Would you expect that two different people googling the same term would get two different sets of results? Why is Facebook lame now? Is the Internet the same in the U.S. and in France? The answers may surprise you. This class will challenge students’ preconceptions of the Internet and social media. Students will read about how the Internet – initially imagined as a way of making all information available to the public (and still thought of by many as a global library open to all) -- has evolved into a media that is both highly filtered but one that also possesses the power to topple governments and empower citizens.
The Power of Numbers - GEO 191N
Rebecca Bendick, Geosciences
Open today’s newspaper. Watch the news on TV. Read your favorite online source. Regardless of specific choices, three common themes immediately emerge: our modern society and the issues we face are globally integrated, have important quantitative components, and are discussed using the tools of science and mathematics. The strong influence of quantitative information in our lives mandates equally strong numeracy skills. By conveying why numbers and mathematical concepts matter in all aspects of modern life, then providing students with powerful tools to approach these issues and decisions, this course is intended to provide a basis for lifelong learning, both within and outside of the University. This course will also provide foundational skills for students’ more thorough and sophisticated exploration of big and important issues within the Global Leadership framework