Current Social Issues

Theatre for Social Change is a study of contemporary social/political theatre. Students will examine plays significant to the development of the genre, such as The Laramie Project and The Vagina Monologues. In addition to analyzing the elements of the script – setting, characters, actions, and themes – students will study each play’s production history and impact on theatre and on society at large. They will research, write about, and present on applied theatre forms and a published play.

Using films, photos, and texts we will explore what 1930s artists, authors, and journalists experienced in the communities around them during the Depression Era. Their impressions of social issues including poverty, class gaps, labor, government bailout plans, and a depleted agricultural landscape will form the backdrop for a critical discussion of the parallels between the Thirties and contemporary social issues related to today’s Financial Crisis.

From Birth of a Nation (1915) to Crash (2004) and beyond, film has both mirrored and shaped racial tensions in U.S. society. This FYS will focus on how film has represented and misrepresented pivotal moments and issues in U.S. history and U.S. racial mythology. The course will be organized on a loose chronological basis, beginning with silent film and moving through more contemporary films. However, the course will not be a history of race or a history of film in the U.S. but rather a snapshot of important historical moments in U.S. race relations.

This course explores the forms, functions, techniques, technologies, and institutions of human communication with the goal of enhancing understanding of the complex dynamics of social interaction. Topics include communication and meaning; language, thought, and communication; non-verbal communication; gender and communication; intercultural communication, and media.  This course also counts as PCA 127.

This course examines the history of the U.S. Supreme Court and its role as the interpreter of our fundamental rights.  What provisions of the U.S.

Using research, creative writing, and personal experiences, this seminar will explore various issues of multiculturalism and diversity on the St. Lawrence campus and in America today. We will engage a variety of texts to investigate the links between identity and oppression by race, class, gender, sexual orientation, differing abilities, and religion.

Why has America pursued a pro-suburban development policy over the past century, and what are the consequences of this societal preference?   Scholars from such diverse fields as economics, environmental studies, demography, engineering, government, and ethnography wrestle with these fundamental questions on a daily basis, and they will drive our research, discussions, and hands-on activities throughout the semester.  Of particular interest to our class is the impact that suburban bias has had on America’s transportation systems, popular culture, housing supply,

This seminar will explore the relationship between faith and freedom through the lens of the African American experience in the United States. The course is, in part, historical, as we find the origins of black religion within the experience of slavery. This seminar is also a personal and theological exploration of the sustaining faith of black people in a land where the Bible was used to justify slavery and continuing oppression. Through the oral tradition, black sacred music anchored the faith and sustained a strong sense of community among African Americans.