Human Condition (Domestic & Global)

3 hrs. Introduction to examining the human condition in cross-cultural perspective. Consideration of the diversity and commonality among human cultures and societies. Includes experiences and perspectives from a wide range of human groups by examining their technologies, economic systems, family life, political structures, art, languages, and religious beliefs and practices.

3 hrs. Archaeology of human evolution from the appearance of Homo sapiens to earth’s earliest societies with an emphasis on cultural development of complex civilizations in the Middle East, Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

3 hrs. There is growing consensus among professionals in the intelligence and security fields that climate change has very real impacts on demographic displacement, vulnerability of growing masses of people to severe disasters (both natural and human-made) and that there are serious near- and long-term implications for national and global security. This course examines current and emerging forms of threats to nations and human communities that result, at least in part, from climate change.

3 hrs. The purpose of this course is to explore ethnical citizenship through an examination of global slavery and human trafficking. We will begin with a brief look at historic slavery in Europe and Africa and some of the "timeless" aspects of slavery, including sexual abuse, relationships with free people, economic roles, access to freedom or manumission, and rebellion. We will then proceed to a more in-depth examination of African slavery in the Americas, including the United States, between roughly 1492 and the late 1800s. Finally, we will draw from our reflections on historic slavery to examine contemporary forms of human trafficking. Throughout the course we will discuss several common themes in accounts of enslaved and/or trafficked people: their legal status; demographics and work routines; treatment; "conditions of life"; community and culture; access to freedom; relationship to the culture and society of free people; historic and contemporary consumer demands for enslaved and trafficked humans; and life after liberation.

3 hrs. Introduction to history of art; Ancient through Medieval.

3 hrs. Introduction to history of art; Renaissance through Modern.

3 hrs. This class is set up with a study abroad as its focus, which will provide students with hands-on learning experiences designed to increase understanding of another cultural and economic environment different from their own. Through a variety of assignments and site visits, students will gain an invaluable introduction to various countries; their ecology, history and geography, as well as current cultural, business, and, in some cases, environmental practices.

3 hrs. Broad historical, cultural, theoretical, and formal consideration of artful expressions by English speaking peoples from the earliest documentary witnesses through early modernity.

3 hrs. Broad historical, cultural, theoretical, and formal consideration of artful expressions by English speaking peoples from the British Romantic Movement to contemporary world writing.

3 hrs. Examination of responses to the Holocaust in literary texts and visual narratives. Includes issues of survivor testimony and representation, the possibilities and limitations of language and cinematic images, the role of memory, and questions of ethics and trauma.

3 hrs. Applying various perspectives from the arts, humanities, and social sciences to selected topics and issues in Irish literature, culture, and history. 

• Includes visits to notable related sites in Ireland.
• Generally offered as a Summer Study Abroad course.

3 hrs. A variety of learning experiences, including cultural readings, lectures, presentations, class discussions, and tours of iconic cultural and historical sites will allow students to examine culture’s role in an individual identity and reality formation. Students will explore France through many lenses with the objective of reaching a greater understanding of its cultural, historic, and linguistic diversity, culminating in a cultural comparison between France and the U.S.

• Generally offered as a Summer Study Abroad course.

3 hrs. Global geography is the study of people, places and the connections between them. How people give meaning and character to different places, and how the growing level of interdependence between those places shape and reshape the cultural, political, economic, and environmental nature of individual societies and global society as a whole.

3 hrs. Spatial perspectives on the dynamics of socio-cultural and human-environmental interactions, including processes, patterns, and systems examined from local to global scales of analysis. Through these perspectives, the course examines global human diversity and commonality via topics that include globalization, culture, population, sustainability and economies, while incorporating theories, findings, and works that illuminate the human condition.

3 hrs. A survey of global history from 1800 to the present, examining the events and processes that shaped the contemporary world. (World History course)

3 hrs. A thematic exploration of global history, emphasizing diversity and the comparative study of the human condition in historical perspective. May be repeated on different topics.

3 hrs. Within a Study Abroad experience, exploring multiple components of a specific culture firsthand; attention to the interrelationships among various cultural components such as history, religion, social values and practices, community organization, and language; course activities and requirements designed to increase intercultural understanding and effective interactions among individuals across different cultures.

• Generally offered as a Summer Study Abroad course.

3 hrs. This course introduces multiple philosophical traditions around the globe. One focus is on finding common and diverging themes demonstrating shared human interests across differences. Another is the demonstration of unique philosophical ideas and developments of societies and cultures often given little attention in traditional philosophy courses.

3 hrs. Multidisciplinary study of death, dying, and bereavement across cultures, religious and ethnic groups, and historical periods, with attention to ritual and memoir, ethical dilemmas at the end of life, and psychology of mourning.

3 hrs. Survey of various approaches to international relations with special emphasis on application to historical and contemporary cases.

3 hrs. This course will help students investigate the effect of politics and power by studying how people around the world respond to political problems. Students will learn about political science concepts related to government rules and institutions, political behavior and social movements, public policy, ideas and ideology, or others and apply them to current political problems that people are wrestling with around the world. May not be repeated on different topics.

3 hrs. Living religions with emphasis on texts, beliefs, tradition, values, and practices.

3 hrs. In recent years, “human rights” has become among the most powerful ways of thinking about and fighting for a more just world. This course provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of human rights as a concept, a set of laws and institutions, and as a set of political and cultural practices with a particular focus on the sociological study of human rights. The course will begin with a study of the foundations of human rights that seeks to answer questions such as “What are human rights?” and “How or why do we have these rights?” Students will investigate the practice of human rights and the political structures that enable us to address human rights violations around the globe with an emphasis on the relationship between the individual and society. Finally, this course will allow students to consider the most salient, and often controversial, contemporary human rights challenges we face today, here in the U.S. and abroad.

3 hrs. Social movements occur when people break from their ordinary, everyday lives and try to make broad social change. In this survey course we will examine the social, cultural, and political forces that that launch social movements, form the trajectory of movements, and shape counter-movements. We will look at historical and current cases, looking at how social movements are formed, and what makes them successful or unsuccessful.

3 hrs. This course explores foundational topics in education from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives at an introductory level. A major goal of the course is to help students deepen their understanding of and appreciation for education as a fundamental human endeavor that includes, but ultimately transcends formal schooling.

3 hrs. This course orients students to conceptual practice issues regarding social welfare within a global context and across a range of global social issues. Students will use global contextual frameworks to examine the dimensions of social problems (e.g. racial/ethnic discrimination, access to education, poverty, health care, child-well-being, food security, violence, cultural conflicts, colonization, urbanization and modernization, effects of climate change, etc.) in the United States and other countries. Students will utilize these frameworks to assess intervention methods at a variety of practice levels (e.g. working with individuals, families, groups, communities, policies) being used to address social problems in different countries. The course prepares students to use professional knowledge, values, and skills in practice in interdisciplinary collaboration with international populations and communities, whether in work with immigrant/refugee individuals, families, groups and populations in the United States, with international social welfare organizations, or on-site work in other countries.

3 hrs. An interdisciplinary approach for understanding intercultural perspectives and developing effective intercultural skills for meeting the challenges of today's interconnectedness of societies and cultures both locally and globally.

3 hrs. This course provides students the opportunity to explore firsthand a range of identities, communities, and conceptions of the human condition. Engage in effective critical inquiry to address complex topics in a global context. By analyzing ideas, works, and institutions, alongside the act of traveling abroad, UNI students will develop habits of mind characterized by thorough exploration of issues, ideas, histories, artifacts, and theories, including the collection and analysis of evidence before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion in relationship to another culture or one's own.

3 hrs.  Interdisciplinary study of women's and gender issues from historical and contemporary perspectives, using the methods and theories of feminist scholarship and gender analysis. Topics may include study of systems of domination and subordination, stereotyping and gender bias, intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, class.

3 hrs. This class is dedicated to the interrogation of institutions of oppression and the ways that power circulates. We will examine the constructed and essential components of sex, gender, sexuality, and relationships to see how these axes operate in everyday life and in institutions. The approach taken is decidedly eclectic, with influences from history, feminism, queer theory, performance studies, linguistics, the arts, sociology, STEM, and law.

3 hrs. Recent theoretical developments have challenged stereotypes by showing how myriad "masculine" identities (of and for both men and women) are produced within specific cultural domains. Masculinities, in their various forms, shape the lives of both men and women, and this course will use an intersectionality perspective to explore the construction, reproduction, and impact of masculinities on the cultural institutions of politics, education, work, religion, sports, family, media, and the military, to name a few. Paying careful attention to the conjunctions between materiality and culture, this course will interrogate how masculinities shape individual lives, groups, nationalisms, organizations, and institutions.