Human Condition (Domestic & Global)

Branch out, and expand your understanding

The aim of this category is to expand students’ understanding of the many possible meanings of being human. By urging students to branch out beyond their own specific background, they will learn to think about their experience from a broadened perspective. This category includes courses from a wide range of disciplines. Students will take two courses from this category: one with a domestic or U.S. focus, and one with a global or international focus.

Human Condition (Domestic) Course Listing

ANTH 2003 People of the Great Lakes (coming soon in Spring 2023)

3 hrs. Survey of Great Lakes cultures and societies from the Ice Age to the 21st Century.

COMM 2456 Communication and Popular Culture

3 hrs. Introduction to the critical analysis, study, and performance of popular culture artifacts, phenomenon and texts. Special emphasis given to the socio-political implications and technological advances affecting popular culture consumption in U.S. culture.

COMM DM 1611 Media Literacy

3 hrs. Analysis and critique of the production and consumption of media messages to develop students as ethical and active digital citizens.

CRIM 2152 Crime and Community

3 hrs. Exploration of the connection between community characteristics and crime with an emphasis on crime in the inner city. Students are presented with theories that address why some neighborhoods have concentrated crime and learn about what scholars, organizers, police, and politicians can do to reduce crime.

EDPSYCH 2030 Dynamics of Human Development

3 hrs. Students in this course will examine the social contexts of human development (0-18 years of age) and the theoretical and historical perspectives that inform our understanding of development. In particular cross-cultural lenses will be used to uncover the cultural nature of development. Implications of these perspectives for supporting the development of individuals across multiple domains (e.g., physical, cognitive, psychosocial) will be discussed. Examination of diverse viewpoints, theories, and methods of inquiry provide an avenue for students to develop skills in critical thinking and analysis and communicate their findings both orally and in writing.

ENGLISH 2420 Survey of American Literature

3 hrs. Historical, cultural, theoretical, and/or formal study of literature from the geographical area that has become the United States. Genres may include drama, fiction, film, non-fiction, poetry, and other literary and cultural texts.

ENGLISH 2520 Multicultural Literature

3 hrs. Selected texts from multicultural literatures of the United States (e.g., African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, Jewish American, Native American); may also include texts from postcolonial literatures.

FAM SERV 1010 Human Identity and Relationships

3 hrs. Use of social science theory and research to understand psycho-socio-cultural influences in the development of identity and interpersonal relationships. Emphasizes application of current research and theory to facilitate positive individual growth and committed intimate relationships.

FAM SERV 1020 Family Relationships

3 hrs. Understanding contemporary families as they exist in their cultural context. Exploration of how families change and adapt to normative and non-normative challenges. Application of family theory and current research in order to understand family dynamics.

FAM SERV 1140 Exploring Family Diversity in America (coming soon in Spring 2023)

3 hrs. Exploration of diverse family/kin networks in America. Explore similarities and differences with issues such as: family characteristics, life-cycle (e.g., marriage, children), adaptation, and impacts of systemic forces (e.g., oppression).

HIST 1110 US History to the Civil War & Emancipation

3 hrs. Events, factors, and personalities which shaped social, economic, and political development of the United States from settlement to end of Reconstruction.

HIST 1120 US History since the Civil War & Emancipation

3 hrs. End of Reconstruction period to present, including economic, diplomatic, intellectual, political, and social factors.

PH 2520 Maternal and Infant Health

3 hrs. Provides an overview of maternal and child health concepts, issues and trends. Topics covered include conception, pregnancy, childbirth, lactation and public health, prevention, and epidemiological issues in maternal and infant health.

POL AMER 1014 Introduction to American Politics

3 hrs. Politics is about the exercise of power. This course examines the basic structure, organization, and institutional powers of American government. We will also examine how diverse citizens in the U.S. are linked to government through such things as political parties, interest groups, and elections.

POL GEN 1020 Political Problems in the US: (topic)

3 hrs. This course addresses topical political problems in the U.S. with a focus on problems related to human differences and diversity. Examples of topics may include wealth and income inequality, inequities in the criminal justice system, disparities in education policy, or the partisan divide. As part of addressing these problems, the course also covers different theoretical perspectives for thinking about politics, and supports students in developing skills for critically assessing information sources.

PSYCH 1001 Introduction to Psychology

3 hrs. Survey of basic principles in psychology including cognitive, emotional, social, developmental, and biological processes, and the scientific research methods used to learn about these processes. Course requires participation in psychological research; or an alternative acceptable to both students and the department which provides a similar educational experience.

RELS 1060 American Religious Diversity

3 hrs. American Religious Diversity examines the meanings and functions of religion in the United States by focusing on minoritized and marginalized religious identities, communities, and institutions. Drawing upon methods used in the cultural study of religion, students will gain greater awareness of the rich diversity of religious life in the United States while also learning about historical instances of religious intolerance within US history.

SOC 1000 Introduction to Sociology

3 hrs. Why do we do the things we do? Why is our society the way it is? Sociology teaches students to understand human behavior in an increasingly complex and dynamic social world. Students analyze how and why people act, think, and feel the ways they do. Identity, relationships, institutions, social structures, and the sociological perspective are topics covered.

SW 2045 American Racial and Ethnic Minoritized Populations

3 hrs. This course will be a survey of cultural American minorities, with attention to minority groups in Iowa. It will involve a multi-disciplinary approach with particular emphasis on geographic origins, linguistic traditions and current modes of economic subsistence. Introduction to folkways and mores of each group will be covered.

TESOL 2015 Language Today

3 hrs. Examination of linguistic diversity within the U. S. with a focus on how language use is related to personal and group identity.

Human Condition (Global) Course Listing

ANTH 1002 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

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.

ANTH 2300 World Prehistory and the Rise of Civilizations (coming soon in Spring 2023)

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.

ANTH 3010 Climate Change, Human Migration and Conflict (coming soon in Spring 2023)

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.

ENGLISH 2320 Survey of English Literature I: Beginnings to Early Modernity

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

ENGLISH 2340 Survey of English Literature II: Romantics to Post-Colonialism

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.

ENGLISH 3148 The Holocaust in Literature and Film

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.

ENGLISH 3162 Ireland: Literature, Culture, and History

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.

GEOG 1110 Global Geography

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.

GEOG 1120 People, Cultures, and Environments

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.

HIST 1210 Making the Modern World

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)

HIST 3210 Problems and Perspectives in Global History: (topic)

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.

LANG 2020 Constructing Cross-Cultural Bridges (coming soon in Spring 2023)

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.

POL INTL 1024 International Relations

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

POL GEN 1041 Global Challenges: (topic) (coming soon in Spring 2023)

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.

SOC 1070 Introduction to Human Rights (coming soon in Spring 2023)

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.

RELS 1020 Religions of the World

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

TESOL 3565 Intercultural Perspectives (coming soon in Spring 2023)

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.

WGS 1040 Women and Gender Studies: Introduction

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.

WGS 2040 Introduction to LGBTQ+ Studies (coming soon in Spring 2023)

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.

WGS 2050 Masculine Cultures (coming soon in Spring 2023)

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.