Humanities

An introduction to Western Music. Students listen to, read about and discuss the great music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern periods. (Fulfills Humanities requirement)

Provides a historical overview of American popular music, from the mid-19th to the turn of the 21st century, including folk, jazz, ragtime, blues, swing, show music, motion picture music, country, rock and roll, soul, heavy metal, pop, grunge, rap and Latin / African music. Students will be required to listen to music associated with these styles. (Fulfills Humanities requirement)

A Liberal Arts education provides students with the opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary coursework with the goal of discovering who they are, what they value, and how they might contribute to the human community through meaningful work. With that goal in mind, this course creates practical points of entry into Liberal Arts scholarship. Students will be introduced to the way language functions, how scholarship is produced, how canons are formed, and the integration of generative Artificial Intelligence into their academics and future profession.

Provides a historical overview of film from its inception to the present day. In addition to exploring textual elements such as narrative, characterization, plot and symbolism, film’s technical elements (mise-en-scène, cinematography, lighting, editing and sound) are considered. Emphasis is on film as both cultural artifact and institution. Major films, developments, genres, directors and movements are studied and the technical vocabulary needed to interpret, analyze and appreciate film is developed. (Fulfills Humanities requirement)

This is a reading, writing, speaking, and listening course that presents the skills and methods of critical thinking as a way to explore and evaluate ideas.  Formative skills such as distinguishing fact and opinion, making inferences, detecting biases, reasoning inductively and deductively, and spotting logical fallacies are introduced sequentially, then applied to analyzing and evaluating selected readings. Stress is also placed on having students develop greater confidence in their ability to make rational choices about political, moral, and social issues. (Fulfills Humanities requirement)

This course explores the relationship between American film and American culture. The emphasis is on film as a product of a specific period of time; its potential to both reflect and challenge American ideals will be considered. Readings, film screenings and discussions will focus on genre, important films/filmmakers and key developments within the industry. Prerequisites: ENGL110M or equivalent, or permission of the instructor. (Fulfills Humanities requirement)

The Humanities explores what it means to be human within a contemporary or historical context. The Humanities provide us with the broad frameworks within which enduring questions of existence, relationships, values, and aesthetics can be examined from multiple perspectives. The Special Topics in the Humanities course changes thematically each semester and may explore ideas around evil, love, race, gender, sport, spirituality, and those strands which connect us and make us human. Prerequisites: completion of ENGL110M or ENGL110XM.

The Humanities discipline considers what it means to be human within a contemporary or historical context. The Humanities provide us with the broad frameworks within which enduring questions of existence, relationships, values, and aesthetics can be examined from multiple perspectives. It is the basis of a Liberal Arts education. This course proceeds from the premise that in order to identify with and feel empathy for the Other, one must first know oneself and be secure in one’s own identity. If I am not in tune with my own humanness, how can I connect with the humanness in Another? The Arts (literature, music, painting) can help us see ourselves and others in a deeper way. The Arts provide us with two things: (1) A record of the individual artist’s exploration of themselves and the world and (2) An opportunity to recognize ourselves in their art. In this course, students will be exposed to a wide assortment of paintings, poems, literature, music, and drama/film, looking at both the author/composer/artists and their work. For the Liberal Arts student, this course contains a strong interdisciplinary component that will provide a unifying thread to their studies, while modeling the significance of the humanities across the curriculum. Students will engage in a series of guided journal reflections in a research essay focused on an author/composer/artist or theme of their choosing, and compile a thoughtfully curated digital gallery making thematic connections among various genres of art. Prerequisite: Completion of ENGL110M or 110XM

A popular criticism of academia is summed up in the term “Ivory Tower.” The image is one of distance and aloofness, and implies that a college education, particularly in the Liberal Arts, has little real-world application. Students will trace the through line across their interdisciplinary courses and connect concepts to the communities in which they will live, vote, and work. They will reflect upon coursework, applications of education, and investigation of career paths. Faculty will also mentor students through the process of setting future-oriented goals for continued personal and professional development. Prerequisites: ENGL110M or ENGL110XM

The Human Communication in Nursing course seeks to prepare students entering the healthcare field with essential communication, conflict management, and relationship skills. The course serves as a preceptorship class in which students will learn the skills necessary to serve as a preceptor, to navigate difficult conversations, and to communicate clearly with a multidisciplinary team during an emergency.  Upon successful completion of the course, students will enter the field with the skills necessary to serve as a preceptor once they have received the proper orientation and skillset at an organization.

The course is also one steeped in the Humanities. Students will consider how the narrative form (story) and reflection intersect with healthcare, specifically the nursing profession and patient care. Through this exploration students will hone their communication skills and reflect on the humanity of their practice. The course employs literature, film, autoethnography, journaling, and creative nonfiction to shape the relationship of both caregiver and patient. In addition to preceptorship preparation, students will engage in scholarship and story composition through the construction of a memoir.

Prerequisites: Completion of ENGL110M or ENGL110XM and Licensure as an LNA, MA, LPN or RN and or successful completion of NURS111M