Apr 20, 2024  
2019-2020 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
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2019-2020 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

Course Descriptions

 

Technology and Public Policy (TPP)
  

  • TPP 001 - (NS) Introduction to Environmental Systems

    Semester Hours: 3
    Fall, Spring
    Develops an understanding of environmental science and applies it to environmental public policy issues. Fundamental scientific principles discussed include conservation of energy, atmospheric transport, radioactivity, biodegradation and thermodynamics. Public policy issues include acid rain, global warming, nuclear energy, recycling, asbestos and toxic wastes. (2 hours lecture, 2 hours laboratory.)
  

  • TPP 004 - (NS) Introduction to Forensic Science

    Semester Hours: 3
    Fall, Spring
    Accidents, crimes, terrorist activities, and natural events can result in harm to people and property. Forensic investigation uses the scientific method and principal laws of the natural sciences to explain facts surrounding these events. This course covers handling evidence, fingerprint identification, footprint identification, microscopic and trace element examination; and fire, structural failure, vehicular accident, crime scene, and various nondestructive material investigations. The laboratory instructs students in the techniques and science used and allows the student to judge which are the best techniques for determining important facts surrounding the event in question. (2 hours lecture, 2 hours laboratory.)
  
  
  

  • TPP 014F - First-Year Seminar

    Semester Hours: 3-4
    Fall
    This course gives first-year students the opportunity to work in a seminar format with a member of the faculty in an area of the faculty member’s research interests. 

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    The course is open to first-year students only. Topics vary by semester. This course is offered for distribution credit; consult the Semester Planning Guide for proper category listing. Students may take only one 14F or 12F seminar and only one 14S or 12S seminar.
  

  • TPP 014S - First-Year Seminar

    Semester Hours: 3-4
    Spring
    This course gives first-year students the opportunity to work in a seminar format with a member of the faculty in an area of the faculty member’s research interests. 


    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    The course is open to first-year students only. Topics vary by semester. This course is offered for distribution credit; consult the Semester Planning Guide for proper category listing. Students may take only one 14F or 12F seminar and only one 14S or 12S seminar.
  

  • TPP 015 - (NS) Designing the Human-Made World

    Semester Hours: 3
    Fall, Spring
    An introduction to design of devices and structures created by humans.  Discussion of the design process with links to laws of science that underpin the devices.  The development of problem-solving skills is embedded in the student design projects. (2 hours lecture, 2 hours laboratory.) The course is designed to promote the development of student competency in the oral presentation of technical information.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Credit given for this course or ENGG 015 , not both.
  

  • TPP 019 - Technology and Society

    Semester Hours: 3
    Spring
    The interrelationship between technology and society in the past and present is established. The technological achievements of major civilizations from the Egyptians and Babylonians through the classical Mediterranean, Medieval, Renaissance and modern industrialized eras are all examined. The worldviews of different cultures toward technology are investigated, as well as both the desired and the unforeseen consequences of technological change. The course is designed to promote the development of student competency in the oral presentation of technical information.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Same as ENGG 019 .
  

  • TPP 060 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    This course introduces students to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) foundations, concepts, and application techniques. GIS are used to encode, store, analyze, and report spatial data and provide a repository, which can be constructed, maintained, edited and analyzed. By linking different information technologies such as mapping and database management systems, spatial information can be used to facilitate management and decisions in a wide array of fields. These include marketing, industrial and commercial location, resource inventory and management, environmental impact assessment, urban planning, transportation, tracking crime data.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Same as GEOG 060 .
  

  • TPP 110 - Energy and Society

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    The effect of the production, distribution and consumption of energy by man on the environment and society. Examination of the scientific principles associated with the energy problem and energy forms such as petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear, geothermal, solar and others with respect to characteristics, availability and magnitude of these resources. Various technologies are studied to determine the techniques for conversion to electric energy and other forms. The priorities and policies for future development, the social conflict between demand and environmental degradation are considered.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Permission of instructor.
  

  • TPP 112 - Technology and Human Values

    Semester Hours: 3
    Fall, Spring
    Investigation of the origin, nature, and status of human values in contemporary forms of technological civilization. The course combines three elements of coverage: survey of basic axiology (study of values); introduction to philosophy of technology (including its relations to science and society); examination of engineering ethics and/or aesthetics (including professional duty, cultural conscience, and environmental responsibility).

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Sophomore standing required. Same as PHI 091 .
  

  • TPP 113 - Technology and Defense Policy

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    Emphasis is on weapons technology (ABM’s, long range missiles, nuclear weapons) and how evolving technology influences and is, in turn, influenced by changing policies in military security and arms control. Analysis of major U.S. policy decisions concerning strategies, arms control and military systems. The technological, environmental, political, strategic and budgetary factors affecting these decisions are examined.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Same as PSC 113 .
  

  • TPP 114 - Technology and Urban Problems

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    An examination of technological, social and economic factors which influence the planning and design of urban areas. Analysis of topics such as (1) land use, water use, pollution and energy factors used in the planning of housing, schools, hospitals, factories and recreational facilities, and (2) urban transportation problems involving methods of mass transportation, pollution, energy, parking and traffic safety.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    TPP 110 .
  

  • TPP 115 - Environmental Planning

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    Local, regional and national environmental goals, policies and planning are examined. The course includes environmental quality control, land use planning, pollution abatement policies, environmental impact studies with regard to public works projects, utilities and large industries, The National Environmental Policy Act and Environmental Regulations and Enforcement.
  

  • TPP 116 - Technology and Communications Policy

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    The examination of the usage and potential control of communications. Topics include use and effectiveness of media, public and private policy with regard to communications, social, political, legal and economic factors, and assessment of regional and national communications systems. Typical of the technologies to be examined are cable TV, computerized instruction, communications satellites, newspapers, radio and standard TV.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    ECO 131  or approval of instructor.
  

  • TPP 117 - Technology Assessment

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    Consideration of the management and control of technology by government. Examination of the interaction of institutional, political and technical considerations. Development of techniques for anticipation of social, economic, human and environmental consequences of technological development in order to provide the public and policy makers with the bases for decision making.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    TPP 110 , PSC 105  or approval of instructor.
  
  
  

  • TPP 130 - Media Technologies and Public Policy

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    Provides an interdisciplinary examination of new technologies, their impact on the media, global communication systems, and the international information society. Considers and analyzes who are the new media players, the legal and personal implication of media ownership patterns, fragmentation of society, and the controversial shaping nature of telecommunication and information technologies on the dimensions of our culture, social structure, economy, and politics.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    MASS 011  or approval of instructor. Same as MASS 130 .

University Perspectives (UNIV)
  

  • UNIV 001 - Academic Success

    Semester Hours: 1
    Fall, January, Spring, Summer
    This course will assist students in developing academic (e.g., reading; note taking; test taking), time management, communication, financial management, and wellness (e.g., managing stress and avoiding substance abuse) skills; gaining self awareness regarding personal learning styles; and becoming familiar with the various resources and support services available to students. 

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    This is an online (Blackboard), self-paced, eight-week course. Not for liberal arts credit. Pass/Fail grade only.
  

  • UNIV 006 A-Z - Special Topics: Careers and the Liberal Arts

    Semester Hours: 1

    In this course students will explore and articulate their own professional interests, identify learning experiences that will help them achieve their long-term professional goals and plan to engage in those experiences, and practice writing materials they can use for applications and participating in interviews for internships, jobs, and admissions to graduate and professional schools.  Students will gain a deeper understanding of the learning outcomes of a liberal arts education and practice describing, in both speech and writing, the transferable skills they will have acquired in their liberal arts majors.  Course activities will include panel discussions with Hofstra alumni who are liberal arts graduates now working in the private, public, and non-profit sectors.  

    Current Special Topics

    UNIV 006A: Careers in the Liberal Arts

    This course, co-taught by Dr. Rosanna Perotti (Political Science) and Ms. Sabeen Sheikh (Career Center), is designed to help HCLAS students discover their career interests (first few weeks) and explore options and opportunities at Hofstra that they can take advantage of to prepare for the best possible “launch” to those career trajectories after graduation.
    Highlights of the course include three alumni speaker panels, scattered throughout the semester, featuring Hofstra alumni who majored in the liberal arts and then went on to careers in the private sector (businesses large and small), the public sector (government agencies on the local, regional, state, and national level), and the non-profit sector (including social service agencies and political lobbying organizations).
    The faculty teaching the course try to recruit alumni whose majors at Hofstra reflect the majors of students in the given semester.  The curriculum also features a presentation on how to prepare to apply for graduate or professional school.
    If you’re sure you know what you want to do after you graduate, this course could help you make your best choices to achieve that very goal.  If you’re unsure as to what you want to do after you graduate, this course will help you figure that out.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Sophomore standing.  Grading is Pass/Fail.  No liberal arts credit.  
  

  • UNIV 101 - University 101

    Semester Hours: 1
    University 101 is designed to assist first-year students in making a positive adjustment to and to assimilate into University life. Students will discuss topics that have an impact on a college experience, and they will also learn about important resources and support services available at the University.  Through discussions, readings, and assignments students will develop the skills and awareness that will serve them throughout their years at Hofstra and in the future.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Not for liberal arts credit.

Women’s Studies (WST)
  

  • WST 001D - (IS) Women, Sex and Power

    Semester Hours: 3
    Fall, Spring
    An interdisciplinary course that introduces concepts central to women’s studies through the study of a variety of gender-related issues. Students learn about the historical roots of women’s inequality, the impact of changing gender roles on the lives of women and men, and the relationship of gender and sexuality to other forms of human diversity such as race and ethnicity, social class, nationality, and physical ability. This course prepares students for more discipline-specific courses in other departments with special focus on women, as well as for further course work in women’s studies. Students engage course materials both in written assignments and in collaborative discussions of issues and texts.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    [Formerly (IS) Introduction to Women’s Studies.]
  

  • WST 008 - (IS) Female Identity Through Art and Literature

    Semester Hours: 3

    Once a Year
    This course will explore the theme of female identity as expressed in both literary and visual texts. What societal factors contribute to the shaping of one’s identity? What cultural stereotypes have been attached to women? How have these stereotypes been upheld–or rejected–in Western art and literature? Through our reading of critical essays, short fiction, drama, and poetry and our examination of visual texts (paintings, photographs, advertisements, films) we will explore these issues. We will also consider the correlation between the literary and visual arts–how they speak to and inform each other.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    none

     
  
  
  
  

  • WST 014F - First-Year Seminar

    Semester Hours: 3-4
    Fall
    This course gives first-year students the opportunity to work in a seminar format with a member of the faculty in an area of the faculty member’s research interests.


    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    The course is open to first-year students only. Topics vary by semester. This course is offered for distribution credit; consult Semester Planning Guide for proper category listing. Students may take only one 14F/12F seminar and only one 14S/12S seminar.
  

  • WST 014S - First-Year Seminar

    Semester Hours: 3-4
    Spring
    This course gives first-year students the opportunity to work in a seminar format with a member of the faculty in an area of the faculty member’s research interests.


    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    The course is open to first-year students only. Topics vary by semester. This course is offered for distribution credit; consult Semester Planning Guide for proper category listing. Students may take only one 14F/12F seminar and only one 14S/12S seminar.
  

  • WST 102 - (IS) Body Politics

    Semester Hours: 3
    Once a Year
    This course addresses the various ways that people imagine, represent, regulate, and discipline their own and others’ bodies. For instance, how do understandings of the human body vary across cultures or at different historical moments within a culture? Whose bodies are privileged and whose bodies are marginalized? How are our bodies marked by social practices? We will consider how science and medicine, law, philosophy, literature, and the media contribute to individual and shared understandings of our bodies. We will also explore how claims regarding the natural facts of the human body have been used to organize, justify, enforce, and resist unequal social relations.
  

  • WST 103 - Theories of Feminisms

    Semester Hours: 3
    Once a Year
    This course will examine some of the theories that exist within the field of feminism, focusing on their differences from each other and on the significance of their contributions to the concept of gender equality. This course serves as an in-depth introduction to the various theoretical frameworks that continue to inform scholarship in the field of women’s studies.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WST 001D .
  

  • WST 150 A-Z - (IS) Topics in Women’s Studies

    Semester Hours: 3
    This course will offer an in depth study of major issues in Women’s and Gender Studies. Topics will reflect current developments in the field and will address issues such as women’s roles in work, family, sexuality, and reproduction; language, representation and performance; feminist politics and policies; transnational and cross-cultural perspectives of gender; and the impact of science and technology on women’s lives.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Subjects will change from semester to semester and the course may be repeated for credit when topics vary. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule.
  

  • WST 151 A-Z - Special Topics in Women’s Studies

    Semester Hours: 1-4
    Periodically
    Studies in special topics in the field of women’s and gender studies. Topics vary by semester. May be cross-listed with courses in other departments or disciplines. 

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    May be repeated for credit when topics vary. As individual subjects are selected, each is assigned a letter (A-Z) which is affixed to the course number. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule.
  

  • WST 180 - Women’s Studies Seminar

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    An examination of the interdisciplinary research methods and techniques used in women’s studies. Students will choose and pursue a semester-long research project on a related women’s studies and/or gender topic. The research project will culminate in an oral presentation to the class and a written paper.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WST 001D . Restricted to WST majors  and minors  with at least junior standing. May not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis.
  

  • WST 197 - Departmental Honors Candidacy: Essay

    Semester Hours: 3
    Fall, Spring
    Research for and writing of a substantial essay in women’s studies. Open only to women’s studies majors  who are eligible and desire to graduate with departmental honors. Interested students must secure, before registration, written permission of the instructor who will supervise the essay. 

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Minimum overall GPA of 3.6. May be repeated for credit up to a maximum of 6 s.h., if taken in both fall and spring of senior year.  May not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis.
  

  • WST 198 - Independent Study in Women’s Studies

    Semester Hours: 1-4
    Fall, Spring
    Individualized course of readings or plan of study prepared by student in consultation with and under the guidance of a faculty instructor. Written and/or other requirements for completion are established by the faculty instructor.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Permission of instructor and of the director of Women’s Studies. May be used in partial fulfillment of requirements for a minor in Women’s Studies . May be repeated for credit up to a maximum of 6 s.h.
  

  • WST 199 - Internship in Women’s Studies

    Semester Hours: 1-6
    Periodically
    This internship program provides students with an opportunity to apply academic and theoretical knowledge to practical situations. A minimum of 28 to 168 hours of work in an approved academic, government, non-government, or research institution is combined with academic work including an in-depth term paper that situates the internship experience within the broader framework of theoretical women’s studies scholarship.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Successful completion of at least 18 semester hours of women’s studies courses , including WST 001D . May not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis. May be repeated for credit up to a maximum of 6 s.h.

Writing Studies and Composition (WSC)
  
  
  

  • WSC 002 - Composition

    Semester Hours: 3

    Fall, Spring, Summer

    Continued instruction in expository writing, and an introduction to writing in the disciplines of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Reading and writing assignments are organized around a central theme.

    Current Special Topics

    Brains, Genes, and Lingo

    Students will refine basic writings skills, prepare for the proficiency exam, and develop advanced rhetorical and research skills. Thematically, in keeping with John Dewey’s emphasis on student interest driven learning, students will be invited to pursue individual projects in brain-mind dynamics, investigate a particular type of organ cancer, and wrestle with aspects of the limits of contemporary free speech. As this is an introductory course in writing across the disciplines, no prior science background is required.

    TBA

    The course will explore how we use and abuse the land on which we live, including the Hofstra campus and surrounding area. Field trips will include the Bird Sanctuary and other Hofstra locales. Readings are designed to match the theme, as well as the student’s major area of interest.

    Forgiveness: Issues and Perspectives

    Should we always forgive those who have hurt us? What is empathy? How do our childhood dramas live on in adulthood generating empathy and/or enemies? Can we forgive our own insensitivities and betrayals? What enables us to reopen our hearts? What are the biological, psychological, and social effects of prolonged anger? How is forgiving others a mirror image of forgiving oneself? How can groups divided by prejudice and hatred come to live together in peace? Aside from imprisonment, how can criminals be rehabilitated? How can parents, spouses, teachers, business leaders nurture empathy and social intelligence?

    Sleep and Dreams: An Inter-disciplinary Investigation

    Sleep. All living things require it in some form or other. By rough estimate, human beings spend 1/3 of their lives doing it. Next to love, but more than money, we crave it most. You’d probably rather be doing it now than reading this, yes? So, to meet you half way, this semester our course theme is “Sleep and Dreams: An Inter-disciplinary Investigation.” Readings for our course will consist of texts in the Natural Sciences (Biology, Neurology), Social Sciences (Anthropology, Psychology) and Humanities (Literature). We will engage with these texts through reading response, class discussion, and composition. The composition portion of our course will focus on students’ continued practice in developing thesis and

    argument, through each stage of the composition process; discovery, organization, drafting and revision. All major assignments are designed to give students a proper grounding in the kinds of academic writing with which they will be engage during their Hofstra careers.

    Travel and Community in American Life

    From the wagons of the western frontier to the building of the railways and highways, travel in America has taken many forms. In WSC 002, we will explore the theme of travel in American life and how travel for purposes such as recreation, business, education or social escape affects individuals, communities and the natural world. Through reading the work of various authors, we will discuss, question and write about travel as an integral aspect of American life and identity.

    Parameters of the Mind

    First and foremost, this is an advanced composition course in which I hope to help you improve your writing using a variety of essay topics from many different disciplines. You will be writing essays of different lengths and in a variety of styles, emphasizing comparison/contrast, analysis, and argumentation. Our thematic focus will be on the human desire to discover the many dimensions of the human mind, its imaginative voyages, and its hidden potential. To that end, we will begin by reading, discussing, and writing about the “fantastic,” first as it appears in fairy tales. Next, we will examine the “findings” in the field of parapsychology. Finally, we will look at the mind’s attempt to envision where science will lead us in the future. You will be reading and writing evaluations of essays by psychiatrists, anthropologists, linguists, medical doctors, novelists, etc.—and perhaps come to some conclusion on your own of what we want to believe, what we should believe, and what we may decide to disbelieve. Hopefully it will be an interesting journey.

    Pop People, Words and Music

    The goal of this course is to make a critical assessment of popular culture over the past 50 years or so. We will focus on lifestyles, technology, music, film, TV, art et al with a possible comment on the direction pop

    culture is, will be and/or should be taking. There will be three (3) papers (in a way, one large paper in three parts) showing some logical progression/evolution/devolution of pop culture: a genesis, a turning point and the current state of affairs.

    Through a Glass Darkly: Viewing America Through Its Movies

    If art reflects life, it does so with special mirrors. – Bertrolt Brecht, poet and playwright

    The mirror is the imitation of life. What is interesting about a mirror is that it does not show yourself as you are, it shows you your own opposite. – Douglas Sirk, film director.

    The cinema uses the language of dreams. - Federico Fellini, film director.

    As the above claims might suggest, we would be foolish to think movies offer us a realistic picture of our lives. In real life, folks can’t fly, heroes don’t banish evil-doers, and few of us find true love with sea-monsters. And yet, would movies really hold such a fascination for us if they did not speak to our real lives in some meaningful way? In this course we will view the movies as projections of our own cultural anxieties, values, beliefs, and ideals. Like a psychoanalyst interprets dreams (the “movies” we create in our sleep), we will examine how Hollywood films transform our fears, hopes, and desires into stories, images, and emotions that speak to us on levels we may not always be aware of. Through close film study, secondary texts, class discussions, and presentations, we will examine the complex relationship between our movies and ourselves, and consider how these powerful cultural products reflect, shape, and distort the social, political, and psychological realities of our lives.

    Les Misérables

    A work of art that has transcended the disciplines and forms, reminds us of an important power that silence has: “When the beating of your heart”/”Echoes the beating of the drums,”/”There is a life about to start”/When tomorrow comes!” The first is a sound that remains largely unheard unless we seek it, and the second is a sound that is difficult to ignore. However, “Do You Hear The People Sing?” places the same amount of weight on both of them. Silence, in both its implied and literal forms, is a concept with the power to inspire and transform literature, awaken society, and symbolize both the beauty and sadness found in the natural world. In this course, we will examine the concept of silence in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

    Social Justice and Diversity

    Multicultural perspective on advocacy for social justice and an affinity to identify the appreciative value of diversity are still imbued within marginalized ethnic, racial, and gender differences. This course examines how written discourse in the Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Humanities has contributed morally, legally, financially, politically, and

    scientifically either to exacerbate or to preclude bias, and it explores how individuals can empower themselves as conduits of civility, civil liberty, and civil rights.

    Dust, Depression, Drama – the 1930s

    Think about the United States during the 1930s. What do you see: street-corner-storefronts crowded with out of work men selling apples and pencils? This was the time when “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” - the popular 1931 song expressing the hard times of the Great Depression and the broken spirit of American individualism - replaced the optimistic tune “Blue Skies” of the 1920s. In addition, 1930 saw the start to nearly ten years of an extreme drought that ruined midwestern farmers, decimated their farmlands, and forced families into sharecropping or tenant farming.

    Our course, “Dust, Depression, and Drama: A look at the 1930s through the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, and a Decade of Film, Dance and Music,” investigates the events that dramatically changed America’s attitudes and expectations. And for some relief, we’ll view some of the entertainment that gave people a much needed emotional and spiritual escape from those difficult times.

    The Rhetoric of Hip-Hop

    Unlike any other subculture in American history, the Hip-Hop culture has transcended ethnic boundaries. We will examine the social conditions under which Hip-Hop emerged as a cultural force in American society. We will probe economic, social, and political controversies evoked by Hip-Hop culture. Students will also examine the shift in societal attitudes regarding these issues. The course will delve far beyond mainstream beats and mumble rap, and begin to frame Hip-Hop in a global and sociological context. Students will analyze its role as a voice for those subjugated by systematic oppression. This class requires students to independently research and write about many aspects of Hip-Hop culture.

    Dangerous Reproductions Professor Reesman 002 20 20824 TR 9:35-11:00 WSC 002 furthers the writings skills established in WSC 001 and provides you with a more in depth study of language and its varied aspects. The purpose of this course is to develop critical and analytical thinking to improve writing on the college level. You will be engaged in conversations to discover how the humanities and sciences address ideas that are part of the human experience both in the past and present. An exploration of many genres will provide you with an understanding of how a variety of writers have found ways to express their viewpoints on cultural, social, and political issues

    that influence our lives. A variety of reading selections will be presented on the theme of “Dangerous Reproductions,” a broad theme that encompasses topics on sexual reproduction, scientific reproduction, artistic reproduction, historical reproduction, literary reproduction, and cultural reproduction.

    The Gothic

    In this course, students will explore the broad genre known as the Gothic by attempting to define the term “Gothic.” Students will supplement their studies with critical analysis on the Gothic genre, critiquing and adapting their approaches and theories through writing. Students will view classic thriller films, read short stories by writers such as Angela Carter, and read articles on the psychology behind fear.

    Identity, Memory and Molecules Professor Stein 002 26 20688 TR 11:10-12:35 002 27 21046 TR 12:45-2:10 This course asks the question: How do our memories contribute to the construction of our persona, our “self”? One way we will pursue the answer to that question is through an examination of a graphic memoir, the best-selling work Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. We will use Bechdel’s memoir to ask other questions: What can memoir tell us about the role of narrative in our daily lives? What is society’s influence on our memories? And what does actually happen, on a molecular level in our brains, when we remember something? In addition to Bechdel’s work, we will read and discuss texts by scientists and scholars who are working to understand human memory.

    We will explore the theme of memory and personal identity while continuing to practice a variety of academic writing designed to improve students’ writing skills while at Hofstra and in their future careers.

    Writing from Both Sides of the Brain

    This composition class will examine the role of creative thinking in a robust society. Stanislavsky’s “Method” parallels Freud; Meisner’s work mirrors Autism research. The Arts tap into our collective unconscious. The Arts can reflect our society’s unfolding narrative, help us metabolize rapid changes, restore community, and help us decide what it all means. Readings will include Carl Jung’s “Man and His Symbols”, Joshua Foer’s “Moonwalking with Einstein”, and Kim Addonizo’s “Ordinary Genius”.

    Wicked Problems: Solving Social Challenges Through Science and Stories

    This section of WSC 2 seeks to improve students’ writing abilities through the analysis of “Wicked Problems.” This term refers to social ills that are so tangled and complicated that they defy our attempts to solve them. A few examples include Poverty, Inequality, Crime, Addiction, Family Dysfunction, Historical Trauma, and Housing Insecurity. Our class will examine how scientists, artists, and leaders use writing, rhetoric, and argumentation as they wrestle with these and other problems. Ultimately, students will gain

    exposure to different writing forms across the disciplines, and cultivate their own abilities in writing and analysis.

    The City

    “By its nature, the metropolis provides what otherwise could be given only by traveling; namely, the strange.”

    ― Jane Jacobs In this WSC2 course we will consider the city. The city has often been a place associated with both excitement and danger. We will consider the fantasy of the city as depicted in film and literature as well as the documented reality of lived experience. The course will draw on readings from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences as we think about the ways cities are constructed and about the people who inhabit them. Our work will consist of critical reading and discussion and we will also begin our own process of drafting, writing, and rewriting as we develop our own arguments and analyses.

    Bad History

    George Santayana famously wrote, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” but can anyone remember all the past? Which past should I remember? Whose past? Maybe history isn’t one memorizable narrative but billions of individual stories and perspectives. If you told your own life story, which events would you include or leave out? Would you tell it as a tragedy? Comedy? Coming-of-age story? In this class, we’ll consider the distance between history and myth, story and storyteller, the event and how it’s remembered. We’ll uncover histories, doubt histories, and write our own.

    The Business of Sports

    The influence that sports has on the world is the strongest it has ever been. Over the last 100 years, the world of sports has transformed from simple athletic competitions to a multi-billion dollar industry. From the clothes and shoes children wear to the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies, the sports industry impacts people personally and globally. The Business of Sports will examine how athletes have gone from the semi-professional individual to purveyors of a global brand, and how industries have been created or modified to accommodate this new business world. Behind every sports hero, every winner, and every loser, is an army of people wrestling over dollars and television coverage. This section of WSC 2 will study the evolution of the sports world through interdisciplinary texts, multiple forms of media, and discussion of the industries that thrive behind the veneer of the sports world.

    Decisions! Decisions! Decisions!

    The interactions and decisions of adolescents are often influenced by a combination of human nature, social interaction, and the physical environment. In this course, we will examine the complexities of human nature and how personal experiences and human interaction coupled with inborn characteristics often influence adolescents in the difficult task of making moral and ethical decisions.

    Using readings and writings in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, we will concentrate on this central theme and focus on critical reading, thinking, and writing. Through written essays, creative projects, and research, we will explore the intricacies of the adolescent mind.

    NON-CONFORMITY

    Sue Coe writing about the horrors of the slaughterhouse, Fly writing about the people living on the margins, squatting in abandoned buildings, Hubert Selby Jr. writing about the illusion of the American dream, Timothy “Speed” Levitch writing about the dark side of capitalism, etc—all these writers are known as non-conformists and are often even labeled outlaws for daring to write about the truth. These courageous writers, as well as many others, using ink and fire, challenge the reader to remove the cataracts of conformity from their eyes and really see the truth. In this course, we will read some non-conformist writers and discuss why truth-telling is important in a land where, as Alan Watts so bluntly put it, “it’s taboo to really know yourself.” And at the same, time we will attempt to write our non-conformist essays. #truthtellers #non-conformity

    Cultural Myths and Realities: An Exploration in Personal and Social Identity

    What is identity? What directs who you are and the choices you make? Is our environment or our internal “make-up” what directs us to make the choices we do? In this course we will look at the historical, scientific, philosophical, and cultural factors that might determine our thinking about who we are and what develops our ideology. We will examine the cultural myths and realities that shape these decisions and question whether some of these factors are our decisions at all. We will also investigate how social stereotyping can often lead to the misuse and abuse of power, how beliefs about culture, language, race, gender, and genetics play into our personal and social identities, and how historical and current political environments impact our ideas on who we are. To answer these questions (and many more), our readings for the course will consist of interdisciplinary texts examining the varied intersections culturally and physically that define who we are and what choices we make in our lives through reading responses, class discussion, and composition. The composition portion of the course will focus on students’ continued practice in developing thesis and argument through each stage of the composition process—discovery, organization, drafting, and revision. All major assignment assignments are designed to give students the proper grounding in academic writing, critical analysis, and argumentation.

    The Art of Interpretation

    Have you ever been moved by a film, story, painting, poem, song, dance or play? What happens when we are confronted by artistic achievement that deepens our humanity? This course examines how the experience, interpretation, discussion and de-coding of art changes us. The four graded essays will be drawn from readings in the Natural Sciences (Biology, Chemistry), Social Sciences (Psychology, Anthropology) and Humanities (Literature, Aesthetics) as well as encounters with many genres of transformational art.

    Hacking the Climate: Geoengineering and the Coming Climate Crisis

    With carbon emissions continuing unabated, even after repeated efforts to reach global consensus on reducing them, scientists, economists, business leaders, environmentalists, and others are taking a hard look at methods of intervening in natural processes on a global scale to avert what many see as an impending ecological disaster. Call it hacking the planet, playing God, tuning the weather, fixing the sky, or simply madness, the debate over its viability has begun. This course weighs the legal, ethical, economic, political, and scientific arguments being made for and against geoengineering for their implicit assumptions, values, and rhetorical methods. Although the course addresses the scientific bases for various geoengineering proposals, its focus is on scrutinizing the logic and rhetoric of the arguments for and against geoengineering and on writing in response to these arguments.

    Love, Marriage, and Friendship

    Love, marriage, and friendship: which of these ideals is most important to us as human beings? Can love for one’s partner be compatible with deep friendship with one’s friends? Does marriage require love? What historical, scientific, philosophical, and cultural factors might determine our thinking about these ideals? To answer these questions (and many more), our course takes an interdisciplinary approach towards examining the varied.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001 . May not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis. The Writing Proficiency Exam is given as part of the course.
  
  
  
  

  • WSC 014F - (CP) First-Year Seminar

    Semester Hours: 3-4
    Fall
    This course gives first-year students the opportunity to work in a seminar format with a member of faculty in an area of the faculty member’s research interests.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    This course is open to first-year students only. Topics vary by semester. This course is offered for distribution credit; consult the Semester Planning Guide for proper category listing. Students may take only one 14F or 12F seminar and only one 14S or 12S seminar.
  

  • WSC 014S - (CP) First-Year Seminar

    Semester Hours: 3-4
    Spring
    This course gives first-year students the opportunity to work in a seminar format with a member of faculty in an area of the faculty member’s research interests.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    This course is open to first-year students only. Topics vary by semester. This course is offered for distribution credit; consult the Semester Planning Guide for proper category listing. Students may take only one 14F or 12F seminar and only one 14S or 12S seminar.
  

  • WSC 030 - Writing for Work and the World

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    A critical writing workshop that examines the use of language in business settings. Students will analyze texts in professional and public contexts and learn critical writing practices that support audience-appropriate workplace communication – including successful cover letters, resumes, and emails. Additional assignments may include practice in working with digital media, including public documents like mission statements, brochures, websites, or newsletters. Students will leave the class with a portfolio of work that represents their unique interests and abilities.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001 . Required for all students enrolled in the LAB – the major in a liberal arts discipline with a minor in general business  – program. May not be used to satisfy the general university humanities requirement. (Formerly Business Communication.)
  
  

  • WSC 050 - Scientific Writing

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    A critical writing workshop that examines the use of language in scientific and technical settings. Students will develop their critical and scientific reasoning skills and apply them to writing projects. Each student will produce at least one multi-part project in a structured format including an introduction, methods, results, and discussion. Students will learn to clearly explain data, discuss them in the context of existing knowledge, and draw reasonable conclusions. Writing projects will include text-based assignments and work in visual formats such as poster layouts or PowerPoint slides. The use of other appropriate media (e.g., blogging platforms or annotation software) may be included.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001  or permission of the instructor.  Does not fulfill AA/CP/LT or general humanities distribution requirements. (Formerly Scientific Communication.)
  

  • WSC 101 - Practicum in Writing Center Pedagogy

    Semester Hours: 4
    Fall, Spring
    Students will study the issues and methods of writing center pedagogy through researching the history of writing centers in postsecondary American education and studying landmark works in composition theory. Students will also observe and participate in writing tutorials at the Hofstra Writing Center. Engagement with a variety of writing center resources – scholarly articles, blogs, archival materials, tutoring handbooks – will culminate in a research project. Frequent written and oral reflection, as well as small-group work, will be central to the course. Students who complete this course may be eligible to work as Hofstra Writing Center consultants. 

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001  or permission of the instructor. May not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis. Credit for this course or WSC 180E, not both. (Formerly WSC 180E, Writing Consultancy Matters.)
  

  • WSC 102 - Grammar for Writers

    Semester Hours: 3
    Fall, Spring
    This course explores the construction of the English language. Strengthens logic, writing, and language-learning skills. Useful for writers, future editors or educators, as well as students studying foreign languages and speech pathology. Students interested in taking the LSAT, GMAT, MCAT, or GRE exams will also benefit from this course.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001 . Same as ENGL 102 . (Formerly Grammar.)
  

  • WSC 103 - (AA) Words and Meanings

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    This course is a study in English-language awareness, with special attention to word origins, vocabulary development, metaphor, and semantic change. It focuses on the ways English words come into being, adapt, change, and expire. Some emphasis will be placed on the history of the English language as a cultural subject.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Prerequisite or corequisite: WSC 001 , or permission of instructor. Credit given for this course or ENGL 103 , not both. (Formerly Structure of English.)
  

  • WSC 104 - Introduction to Writing Studies

    Semester Hours: 3
    This course surveys the discipline of writing studies, providing a theoretical and historical background to the field.  Students will explore theories of writing practices, from how writers compose to how writing constitutes identity.  Through guided and scaffolded assignments, students will learn the core principles of knowledge in the discipline of Writing Studies as a multimodal discipline.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001  and/or prior approval by the department chairperson. May not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis.
  

  • WSC 109 - Examining Narrative Medicine

    Semester Hours: 3-4

    Periodically

    Narrative Medicine is designed to foster critically engaged empathy in a clinical setting. The field draws on literature, film, media, philosophy and the clinical sciences to enable clinicians to recognize, absorb, metabolize, interpret, and be moved by the stories of illness.  Through closely examining such texts, students will develop an understanding of the role of narrative in the clinical setting as well as an appreciation of narratives about medicine.  Students will write papers that demonstrate close reading, the ability to read texts against one another, and/or to apply theoretical material to narrative texts.  Reading will include literature, theoretical texts and reflective work by physicians.  Prerequisite

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001 . Same as ENGL 109  .  May not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis.  Credit given to this course or ENGL 109, not both.
  

  • WSC 110 - The Art of the Essay: Advanced Composition

    Semester Hours: 3
    Fall, Spring

    Students design several research projects and develop a portfolio of compositions–primarily essays–that convey the students’ unique talents and interests. The class will read exploratory, narrative, and research-based essays, using each form as a model for thinking and writing in academic and popular contexts. Students remediate some essays from print to digital formats.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001 . WSC 110 may be substituted for WSC 002  with permission of the departmental chairperson. (Formerly Advanced Essay Writing: Beyond the Term Paper.)
  

  • WSC 119 - (CC) Strategies of Writing Against Power and Oppression

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    This course investigates resistance writing strategies exercised by peoples around the globe. Rhetorical practices rooted in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean, and among the indigenous peoples of the Americas and Australia are the main emphasis. The course will address how various peoples have used writing to tell their stories, present their points of view, and advocate for their causes.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Prerequisite or corequisite: WSC 001 , or permission of the instructor.
  
  

  • WSC 121 - (AA) Technologies of Writing

    Semester Hours: 3

    Periodically

    This course explores the various ways humans write and have written since the beginning of writing.  In short, this is a survey of the practical methods or systems of meaningful inscriptions – knife, brush, quill, paint, ink, pencil, print, and pixel — and of the sites of writing itself — clay, animal skin, parchment, linen, wood pulp and cyberspace.  By studying the material origins of writing, students will come to understand how the making of writing simplifies and complicates communication.

     


    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001 , or permission of the instructor.
  

  • WSC 122 - (AA) Navigating the Information Ocean: Research, Writing, and the Web

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    This course explores how learners and researchers decide which Web sources and information are reliable, valid, and appropriate for specific purposes and audiences, as it investigates the meanings of literacies in the digital age. Students may compose in multiple media.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Prerequisite or corequisite: WSC 001 , or permission of instructor.
  

  • WSC 123 - (AA) Writing the Past in the Present: Nostalgia Through Humor and Mourning

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    This class will examine various manifestations of nostalgia: electronic, written, visual, classical and popular. We will seek out sites of collective and individual memorials in movies, the web, music and classical texts. Additionally, we will read critical essays that address nostalgia as an academic subject. Ultimately, students will produce a “nostalgia project” that might take any number of forms, but must be defended as a site of memory.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Prerequisite or corequisite: WSC 001 , or permission of the instructor.
  

  • WSC 124 - Digital Compositions

    Semester Hours: 3

    Periodically

    This course introduces students to principles of effective writing in digital environments. Contemporary writers compose by using a variety of platforms to produce different forms – blogs, emails, slide shows, videos, audio documentaries, tweets, websites, and much more.  Contemporary writers need to be mindful of not just how to compose on digital platforms but what these digital forms afford.  This course challenges students to learn technical skills and critical understanding. Students will study and design Web-based projects that seek to effect change in their local or networked environments.  Students will research the impact of digital communication on social media audiences in order to produce effective digital compositions.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Prerequisite or corequisite: WSC 001 , or permission of instructor.  May not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis.
  

  • WSC 130 - Professional Business Writing

    Semester Hours: 2-3
    Fall, Spring
    Students will learn the forms and functions of specific business writing genres and receive an overview of the basic ethics of professional communication with particular attention to collaborative and hierarchical contexts. Writing assignments may include correspondence, newsletters, press releases, literature reviews, and reports. Research will be integrated into assignments across the semester

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Prerequisite or corequisite: WSC 001  or permission of instructor. Not for liberal arts credit. May not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis.
  

  • WSC 131 - (IS) Activist Writing, Community Engagement

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    This course provides students with writing strategies to advocate for social change within both their campus and their broader communities. Students will design and complete projects with a substantial fieldwork component that includes engaging in a dialogue with a campus or community partner, identifying a problem that can be addressed through writing, and producing written material that attempts to address the problem. Students will read about, write within, and reflect upon professional writing advocacy genres, including social and news media, letters and pamphlets, professional reports, and grant applications. 

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001  or permission of the instructor. May not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis.
  

  • WSC 132 - (AA) Communicating Science in Public Culture

    Semester Hours: 3
    Periodically
    Scientific information is generally written and presented to peer audiences before being adapted for the general public. The representation of scientific information is therefore of interest to many different audiences. This course will allow students to examine and critically assess the means by which scientific information is adapted and communicated for various audiences. Students will expand their understanding of the forms and functions of science communication in structured, peer reviewed formats and assess how that material is adapted into other genres.  Writing assignments will include at least one structured scientific document (abstract, poster, slide kit and/or paper) and at least one adaptation of peer-reviewed scientific material to another format (such as creative nonfiction, blog, or video).

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001  or permission of the instructor.  May not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis.
  

  • WSC 134 - Technical Writing

    Semester Hours: 3

    Students are introduced to different types of workplace documents and are given opportunities to practice writing them.  Students learn useful methods for creating effective workplace documents and apply these strategies in the writing of a variety of documents from one-page letters to multi-page reports that include both clear writing and evidence of quantitative reasoning through data visualization.  Students learn to assess readers’ needs and develop written communication with coherent structure, clear style, and compelling page layout.

     

     



    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001  
  

  • WSC 155 A-Z - Independent Readings in Writing Studies and Composition

    Semester Hours: 1-4
    Periodically
    Independent studies in academic and professional writing and rhetoric across the disciplines. Students will read selections assigned by the instructor and prepare written work.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001  and permission of instructor. Any course may be taken a number of times so long as there is a different letter designation each time it is taken. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule.
  

  • WSC 156 A-Z - Independent Readings in Writing Studies and Composition

    Semester Hours: 1-4
    Periodically
    Independent studies in academic and professional writing and rhetoric across the disciplines. Students will read selections assigned by the instructor and prepare written work.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001  and permission of instructor. Any course may be taken a number of times so long as there is a different letter designation each time it is taken. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule.
  

  • WSC 180 A-Z - Special Topics in Writing Studies and Composition

    Semester Hours: 1-3

    Periodically
    Studies in academic and professional writing and rhetoric across the disciplines. These courses deal with specific issues, themes, and/or rhetorical styles and conventions.

    Current Special Topics

    WSC 180V: Action Writing

    American essayist Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation. In this course students will practice “unquiet desperation” through the act of writing. Students will write a series of personal narrative essays that act as a form of protest against injustices in the world. Some possible topics include: racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, domestic violence, environmental issues, animal abuse, etc.  Students will also read several essays from the textbook and discuss the writers’ pleas, voices, styles, connections with their audience, etc.  Franz Kafka compared power of written words to an ax and our the silent, numb insides as a sea of ice the ax must crack apart. By the end of the semester, each student will hopefully have a collection of powerful essays that have hopefully cracked parts open of his or her frozen sea.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001 . As individual subjects are selected, each is assigned a letter (A-Z) and added to the course number. Any course may be taken a number of times so long as there is a different letter designation each time it is taken. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule.
  

  • WSC 181 A-Z - Special Topics in Writing Studies and Composition

    Semester Hours: 1-3
    Periodically
    Studies in academic and professional writing and rhetoric across the disciplines. These courses deal with specific issues, themes, and/or rhetorical styles and conventions.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001 . As individual subjects are selected, each is assigned a letter (A-Z) and added to the course number. Any course may be taken a number of times so long as there is a different letter designation each time it is taken. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule.
  

  • WSC 199 - Internship in Writing Studies and Composition

    Semester Hours: 1-6
    Periodically
    This course is designed for writing studies minors . It gives students an opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills gained in the classroom in practical work situations.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    WSC 001 , minimum GPA of 3.0, and prior approval by the department chairperson. A preliminary interview will be held with the student and the department chairperson or the faculty internship director to establish the nature of the academic work associated with the on-site work of the internship. There will be a minimum of 3 meetings between the student and the supervising faculty member. A minimum of 28 hours of on-site work per semester hour is required, accompanied by a minimum of 10 hours of academic work per semester hour – for example, weekly reading/writing assignments and a final essay. Final grade will be based on both academic and on-site performance. An on-site evaluation of “poor” will result in a final grade no higher than C. May be repeated for credit up to 6 semester hours. May not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis.

English as a Second Language (ESL)
  

  • ESL 001a - Introductory English Grammar, Reading, and Writing

    Semester Hours: not for credit
    This course is designed for non-native speakers of English with novice-low proficiency in reading and writing as defined by the ACTFL proficiency guidelines.  The course focuses on understanding key word and formulaic phrases across a range of highly contextualized texts, many related to college life.  The course will help students improve their vocabulary and understand predictable language, such as found on train schedules, maps, and signs.  Students will also derive meaning from short non-complex texts that convey basic information.  It will help students meet limited basic practical writing needs using lists, short messages, postcards, and simple notes.  Students will also learn how to recombine vocabulary and structures to create simple utterances on familiar (or rehearsed topics).  Through this course students will improve their reading and writing skills to the novice-high proficiency level.
  

  • ESL 001b - Introductory Listening and Speaking in English

    Semester Hours: 0
    This course is designed for non-native speakers of English with novice-low proficiency in listening and speaking (ACTFL).  In this course, students will learn to successfully manage uncomplicated communicative tasks in predictable social situations.  Students will respond to simple, direct questions or requests for information and will learn to ask formulaic questions and understand their responses.  Cultural topics covered will include those most necessary for survival in American academic culture, such as basic personal information, preferences, immediate needs (i.e., food and drink, health and wellness), as well as topics related to life on a university campus (i.e., College life, study habits, and time management.  Through this course, students’ listening and speaking proficiency will improve though class activities and homework assignments that help them apply their knowledge in the modalities of listening and speaking.  Through this course, students will improve their listening and speaking skills to the novice-high proficiency level. 

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Novice-low proficiency in listening and speaking (ACTFL) as defined by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines.
  

  • ESL 002a - Intermediate English Grammar, Reading, and Writing I

    Semester Hours: 0
    This course is designed for non-native English-speaking students with novice-high oral and listening proficiency as defined by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines to enhance their interpretive listening and viewing skills, interpersonal and presentational oral skills.  They will learn to understand short non-complex listening and viewing texts that convey basic information and deal with basic personal and social topics to which the listener or viewer brings personal interest or experience.  Students will learn to extract meaning from short connected texts featuring description and narration on familiar topics related to predictable situations, as well as from short news reports from local and national news.  They will practice and improve their listening and speaking skills (interpersonal and presentational) by combining and recombining known elements and conversational input. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand spoken texts and speak on a broad range of topics, communicating their own meanings at the intermediate-mid level (ACTFL).

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Novice-high proficiency in reading and writing as defined by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. (May be demonstrated by successful completion of ESL 001a )
  

  • ESL 002b - Intermediate Listening and Speaking in English I

    Semester Hours: 0
    This course is designed for non-native English-speaking students with novice-high oral and listening proficiency as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines to enhance their interpretive listening and viewing skills, interpersonal and presentational oral skills.  They will learn to understand short non-complex listening and viewing texts that convey basic information and deal with basic personal and social topics to which the listener or viewer brings personal interest or experience.  Students will learn to extract meaning from short connected texts featuring description and narration on familiar topics related to predictable situations, as well as from short news reports from local and national news.  They will practice and improve their listening and speaking skills (interpersonal and presentational) by combining and recombining known elements and conversational input. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand spoken texts and speak on a broad range of topics, communicating their own meanings at the intermediate-mid level (ACTFL).

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Novice-high proficiency in listening and speaking as defined by the AFTFL Proficiency Guidelines. (May be demonstrated by successful completion of ESL 001b )
  

  • ESL 003a - Intermediate English Grammar, Reading, and Writing II

    Semester Hours: 0
    This course is designed for non-native English-speaking students with intermediate-mid proficiency in reading and writing as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines.  The course focuses on improving students’ grammar usage, broadening their vocabulary, improving their academic writing, and enhancing their interpretive reading strategies so they can narrate and describe in different time frames when writing about everyday events and situations in paragraph length discourse using complex syntax.  Students will use a broad range of texts to study conventions of academic writing, which they will use in practice: generating ideas, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing, with the goal of enabling students to master summarizing, paraphrasing, and reflecting upon assigned reading materials.  By the end of the course, students will improve their reading and writing skills to the intermediate-high level (ACTFL).

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Intermediate-mid proficiency in reading and writing, as defined by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. (May be demonstrated by successful completion of non-credit bearing ESL 002a )
  

  • ESL 003b - Intermediate Listening and Speaking in English II

    Semester Hours: 0
    This course is designed for non-native English speaking students with intermediate-mid oral and listening proficiency as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines to enhance their interpretive listening and viewing skills, and interpersonal and presentational oral skills.  This course focuses on effective strategies for listening to oral presentations, participating in classroom and general academic discourse, giving presentations, and leading discussions.  Students will also watch local and national news to promote discussion about the news and the different perspectives embedded in news broadcasts.  At the end of the class, students will be able to understand longer spoken texts supported with visual cues (i.e., PowerPoint presentations and video texts) and will be able to provide spoken narrations and descriptions in all time frames in paragraph-length discourse with complex syntax in rehearsed topic areas.  By the end of the course, students will improve their listening and speaking skills to the intermediate-high level (ACTFL).

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Intermediate-mid proficiency in listening and speaking as defined by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. (May be demonstrated by successful completion of non-credit bearing ESL 002b )
  

  • ESL 004a - Intermediate English Grammar, Reading, and Writing III

    Semester Hours: 0
    This course is designed for non-native English-speaking students with intermediate-high proficiency in reading and writing as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines.  It focuses on improving students’ grammar usage, broadening their vocabulary, enhancing their interpretive reading strategies, analyzing cultural content in the texts, and improving their academic writing so they can narrate and describe in different time frames when writing about everyday events and situations.  Students will read a broad range of texts, and improve their mastery of the conventions of academic writing with special attention to well-structured paragraphs and the rhetorical structure of longer essays.  By the end of the course students will improve their reading and writing skills to the advanced-low level (ACTFL).

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Intermediate-high proficiency in reading and writing as defined by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. (May be demonstrated by successful completion of non-credit bearing ESL ESL 003a )
  

  • ESL 004b - Intermediate Listening and Speaking in English III

    Semester Hours: 0
    This course is designed for non-native English-speaking students with intermediate-high oral and listening proficiency, as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines, to enhance their interpretive listening and viewing skills, and interpersonal and presentational oral skills.  Students will practice and improve their skills in understanding spoken English on different topics.  The primary goals are the development of interpretive listening and viewing skills with a focus on the language functions of narration and description in all time frames in content areas, including current events. Course activities will also help students expand the range of effective strategies used for listening to presentations and lectures, participating in and leading class discussions, giving presentations, and improving their pronunciation.  By the end of the course students will improve their listening and speaking skills to the advanced-low level (ACTFL).

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Intermediate-high proficiency in listening and speaking as defined by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. (May be demonstrated by successful completion of non-credit bearing ESL 003b )
  

  • ESL 105 - Advanced Reading, Writing, and Grammar I

    Semester Hours: 3 s.h.
    This course is designed for non-native English-speaking students with advanced-low reading and writing skills as defined by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. Students will read increasingly longer and more sophisticated texts on a broad range of topics, improving their reading strategies, and will practice various types of academic writing, building toward longer texts written in formal tone, gaining fluency in the organizational structure of writing in the American academic setting. The course will also help students improve their command of English grammar and broaden their vocabulary. 

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Advanced-low proficiency in reading and writing (may be demonstrated by successful completion of non-credit bearing ESL 004a ).
  

  • ESL 106 - Advanced Listening, Viewing, and Speaking I

    Semester Hours: 3
    This student-centered class for non-native speakers of English aims to maximize opportunities for students to improve their speaking and listening skills.  Goals include development of students’ interpretive listening and viewing skills, with a focus on the language function of narration and description.  This class will help students develop effective strategies for listening to lectures, participating in classroom and general academic discourse, and give presentations.  The course will also provide a focus on pronunciation training and oral fluency practice.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Advanced-low proficiency in listening and speaking (may be demonstrated by completion of non-credit bearing ESL 004b ).
  

  • ESL 107 - Phonetics Practicum

    Semester Hours: 1-2

    This student-centered practicum aims to maximize student opportunities to practice and improve their pronunciation and communication skills in context.  The course is designed for non-native English-speaking students to polish and enhance their communication skills with a special focus on pronunciation. The course will help students to speak English more clearly, confidently, and accurately by helping students with all aspects of pronunciation including the sounds of English, stress, rhythm, and intonation. The class will provide students with communication practice activities and interactive tasks that focus on different themes which help them improve their pronunciation and communication skills.
  

  • ESL 108 - American Academic Culture in the Classroom

    Semester Hours: 1 - 2
    This course will focus on the nature of university classroom and course interactions in speaking and writing, with learning tasks focused on typical classroom assignments, including oral presentations, leading discussion, short reports, and written summaries.  This course will help students move from advanced low toward advanced high (ACTFL) in terms of their speaking and writing proficiency.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Advanced-low proficiency in reading and writing as defined by the ACTFL proficiency guidelines (may be demonstrated by the successful completion of ESL 4a).
  

  • ESL 109 - American Academic Culture Outside the Classroom

    Semester Hours: 1 s.h.
    This course will focus on the nature of university peer interactions outside the classroom, with learning tasks focused on informal social interactions in the context of student clubs and organizations.  Learning tasks will help students move from advanced-low proficiency toward advanced-high proficiency (ACTFL).  The course is designed to develop nonnative speaker oral and listening skills relevant to establishing and maintaining direct conversation and communication in English. It focuses on a range of skills, including improving listening comprehension, participating in discussions and debates, understanding conversational strategies, giving group presentations, and asking and answering questions.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Advanced low-proficiency in listening and speaking as defined by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines (may be demonstrated by successful completion of ESL 004b ).
  

  • ESL 110 - Discourse Strategy Practicum

    Semester Hours: 1-2
    This course will help student improve their English discourse strategies through using logic and critical thinking, and developing presentational skills. Students will participate in different persuasive and informative speech topics. Students will learn to format arguments in English, create mind maps, and list the arguments for both sides of a debate. In this course, students will learn debate formats, and such skills as how to take the floor (and keep it), interpreting resolutions, developing affirmative and negative case constructions, conducting cross-examinations, and evaluating arguments.
  

  • ESL 111 - Advanced Reading, Writing, and Grammar II

    Semester Hours: 3 s.h.
    This course, designed for nonnative speaker of English with advanced-mid proficiency in reading and writing (ACTFL), focuses on improving students’ grammar usage, broadening vocabulary, improving academic writing, and enhancing interpretive reading strategies.  Students will study the conventions of academic writing while reviewing grammar and prose mechanics.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Advanced-mid proficiency in reading and writing (may be desmonstrated by successful completion of ESL 105 ) as defined by the ACTFL proficiency guidelines.
  

  • ESL 112 - Advanced Listening, Viewing, and Speaking II

    Semester Hours: 3 s.h.
    This course, designed for non-native speakers of English with advanced-mid oral and listening proficiency (ACTFL), will enhance their interpretive listening and viewing skills and interpersonal and presentational oral skills to help them succeed in academic, professional, and social pursuits. Students will practice and improve skills in spoken English on abstract topics in extended discourse. They will work at improving argument and hypothesis, giving presentations, participating and leading discussions, and other areas of general academic discourse.

    Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
    Advanced-mid proficiency in listening and speaking (may be demonstrated by completion of ESL 106  ) as defined in the ACTFL proficiency guidelines.
 

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