First Year Program Spring Course Descriptions (FYS)

What do a Hollywood war film and an ancient myth have in common? More than you'd think. Both are technologies for processing the things that frighten us most — violence, chaos, the enemy at the gates — and turning them into stories we can live with. This theme asks why we keep telling these stories, who benefits from them, and what it would mean to tell different ones. Expect to leave with a sharper eye for the myths hiding inside the movies you thought you already knew.

War Films Since Vietnam (B. Cowser)

We will interrogate Hollywood's fascination with the ""war movie"" genre, focusing on those produced since roughly 1980, screening films like ""Apocalypse Now,"" ""Full Metal Jacket,"" ""Saving Private Ryan,"" ""The Thin, Red Line,"" and ""American Sniper.""  Though these films are considered “popular,” each engages with historiography (the composing of history and histories) by presenting the viewer with a narrative vision of the past, one which deserves close critical scrutiny since these films may be the only ‘texts’ younger generations will encounter which deal with these conflicts. This course fulfills the HU general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 1:50pm-4:00pm.

Monsters and Myths (K. Self)

This is a class about mythology as a broad category.  Most of the class, we'll stick with conventional examples of mythology from Ancient Greece and Rome, Old Norse mythology, and a smidge of Irish mythology.  We'll take a good look at monsters in the Greek and Old Norse mythologies.  In the second half of the class, we'll apply the category of myth to Christmas and Disney movies, especially princess movies.  We'll talk about the monsters in Disney and Christmas.  The underlying goal of the course is to consider the intersections of myth, monsters, and power in society.  Sometimes monsters are only imaginary, but sometimes people are construed as monsters.  In other words, sometimes human beings are called monsters and that designation can mean they are treated very differently than other human beings.  Myth can be fun and entertaining (it usually is), but it usually treats very serious matters.  Especially when we look at myths in the religions that tell them, we can see that myths can also be very consequential. This course fulfills the HU general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 1:50pm-4:00pm.

What does it mean to love well? What kind of world are we building — and for whom? These two courses use fiction as a lens on the deepest questions about human connection and social possibility. One looks outward at dystopias and satire, asking what our systems reveal about our values. The other looks inward at romantic and familial relationships, asking what our stories reveal about our expectations. Together they make the case that fiction isn't escape — it's one of our sharpest tools for understanding the world we actually live in.

Building Better Worlds: Satire and Empathy in Speculative Fiction (R. Jewell)

What kind of world are we building—and what does it ask of us as human beings? Speculative stories, from familiar dystopias such as Fahrenheit 451 and The Hunger Games to contemporary fiction by George Saunders, often portray societies that promise safety, efficiency, or perfection, only to reveal the hidden costs of control, conformity, and fear. Both disturbing and relatable, these stories act as mirrors, helping us see ourselves more clearly, reflect on who we might become, and think about how we might build better worlds together.

Students will explore a range of speculative works that use imagination, satire, and empathy to examine human values, social systems, and the complexities of moral choice. Through discussion, creative and analytical writing, and research, students will consider how these works challenge assumptions about responsibility, fairness, and care, and what they reveal about our own world. This course fulfills the HU general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 1:50pm-4:00pm. 

(Un)Love Stories: questioning relationships in film and literature (L.R. Lutz)

All stories are about relationships, whether romantic, familial, platonic, or any other kind. Whether we are creating fiction, consuming media, or living our lives in the real world, it’s important to understand how those relationships work, what their dynamics are, and how we talk about them. What are the differences between healthy and unhealthy partnerships and what makes them difficult to establish, difficult to maintain, or difficult to leave? What do we mean when we say “I love you” or when we say “I’m sorry”? In this class, we will explore the dynamics between characters in popular film and literature to unpack our preconceptions about relationships and how we can better make sense of the way we approach human connection in our own lives. Tuesday/Thursday 1:50pm-4:00pm. 

History isn't just battles and treaties — it's also what people wore, where they came from, and what they got up to when no one was watching. This theme takes a wide-angle view of human culture, tracing how the societies and eras we inhabit shape who we become. Whether you're examining the politics of a hemline, the philosophies that built Asian civilization, or the surprising private lives of the scientists who changed the world, you'll come away with a richer, stranger, more human sense of the past.

Sex Lives of Scientists (R. Bara)

Marie Curie often slept with a small jar of radium near her pillow. The continuous, yet very toxic, glow soothed her. Alan Turing began codebreaking as a teenager at boarding school. While many scientists claim that their work stands alone and bears no connection to their private lives, we cannot help but wonder about their personal journeys. What made them so great? What made their ideas so influential? And, what did they do when they were not “doing science”? In this seminar, we will read several recent graphic biographies of scientists and view films based on these books. We will examine the ways biographers, artists, and filmmakers work to craft stories about real people, and take a look at archival materials, historical footage, and the narratives that get told again and again about scientists. Students will write a research paper that explores and examines one of these retellings. Taking a cue from the scientists we study, who might also have been athletes, musicians, lovers, and adventurers of all kinds—in addition to being great minds—students will have an opportunity to explore the way their own passions might inform their work as thinkers, writers, and speakers. This course fulfills the HU general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 1:50pm-4:00pm. 

Dragon & Tiger: Intro to Asia (Z. Zhang)

This course provides a comprehensive overview of Asia, covering geography and history, philosophy and religions, society and culture, literature and arts, as well as critical issues that have shaped Asian society such as colonization, family, and gender, and fascinating themes/topics such as kung-fu film and Oriental art/wisdom of living and healing. Through this course, students will gain the basic knowledge about Asia, new perspectives beyond commonplace views and generalizations, as well as research and analytical skills to Asian studies and beyond. This course fulfills the HU general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 1:50pm-4:00pm. 

Fashion through the Ages: From Togas to T-shirts (T. Cooper)

What we wear is a representation of who we are, as individuals and as a society. How did we get from simple draped garments to the fast fashion epidemic? What characteristics identify the clothing of certain periods?  How did cultural norms, societal expectations, technology, politics, and art influence the world of fashion?  What influences the choices of modern designers? Historical clothing is both fundamentally set in its time and predicated on what came before.  This course will examine the fashions of the past to understand the context in which they were worn and the connections between the clothing of the past, present, and future. This course fulfills the ARTS general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 1:50pm-4:00pm. 

What if the most honest account of how the world works came from a spy novel? This theme pairs one of the great Cold War fiction writers with a rigorous course in political economy — and finds that they're asking the same questions. Who controls the global system? How do nations and markets shape everyday life? And how much of what we're told is true? These courses will leave you permanently skeptical of simple answers — and much better equipped to ask the right questions.

The Perfect Spy: The Cold War and John Le Carré (J. Jockel)

This FYS will sample the Cold War work of the great British spy novelist John Le Carré. It will also view and discuss the feature film versions of “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” and “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.” Students will write a research paper on an aspect of Cold War espionage, literary or historic, of their choosing. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

Political Economy: Understanding 21st Century Geopolitical Economy (J. Jayman)

Geo-political economy is an essential area of study in the 2020s for students from all backgrounds. This course considers economic crises, wars, climate change, pandemics, rising nationalism, among others major issues shaping our world to ask a famous question: Who gets what, when, how, and why? Political economy gives us the tools to understand how global systems shape everyday life, and how our own choices fit into those systems. In considering the crises of globalization, students explore how today’s global political economy was built: from early ideas of progress and humanism and the rise of capitalism, through the violence and gains of colonialism, and into the modern era reproducing historical inequality and ecological destruction at an increasing pace. There is sharp focus in the period after World War II, when the United States shaped global institutions that still influence politics and economics today. At the same time, we pay close attention to the growing influence of other nations—from Europe, but also Asia, Africa and Latin America—whose importance in geo-politics and geo-economics has rapidly emerged in the 2000s. The course considers globalization from multiple angles—its promises, its failures, and its unintended consequences. This course encourages you to think reflexively: not just about global systems “out there,” but about how your own daily life is connected to them. Through readings, debates, case studies, and research projects, you’ll build strong analytical skills and a solid foundation in social science thinking. By the end, you’ll be able to explain how the global political economy works, why it produces both progress and crisis, and what different futures might be possible. This course fulfills the SS general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

Electric cars, solar farms, and organic vegetables all sound like solutions — but are they? This theme digs into the tangled relationship between the economy, energy, and the environment, asking whether the systems we've built to create wealth can also save the planet, or whether something more radical is required. From the fields where migrant farm workers organize to the policy rooms where energy futures are decided, these courses follow the money, the food, and the carbon.

Economics to Save the Planet (D. Murphy)

In an age of extraordinary technological advancement, nations face an enduring challenge: how to balance prosperity, security, and environmental responsibility. The 21st century has brought immense improvements in living standards, yet questions remain about the long-term sustainability of our economic and energy systems. Are current environmental concerns evidence of an impending crisis, or signs that we must innovate smarter, not simply spend more? This course explores the complex relationship between the environment, the economy, and energy. Economic growth has lifted billions from poverty and remains a key pillar of stability-but it also depends on reliable, affordable energy and responsible management of natural resources. Can we continue to grow while maintaining environmental integrity? Or is the pursuit of growth itself the foundation of a secure, prosperous future? Students will examine competing perspectives on energy and environmental policy, from neoclassical economics to emerging biophysical and ecological models. Rather than assuming one path forward, we will critically assess how societies can best safeguard both economic and environmental resilience. Ultimately, the course invites students to consider how to ensure a secure, stable, and prosperous future-one that balances human ingenuity with the realities of a finite planet. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

Energy and the Environment (G. Repicky)

Why did every car manufacturer in the world aim to convert to all electric by 2035 and then back off? And what does it mean if a lot of that electricity continues to come from fossil fuels? Does the US rejoining (and then leaving... again) the Paris Climate Agreement matter or is the agreement too weak to have any real impact? Why are rural areas around the North Country fighting solar and wind farm development? Why didn’t we see sustained growth in the American Coal industry despite the first Trump administration’s promises and policies?  Decisions being made today about energy production and consumption will lead to economic, political, social, and environmental consequences that will remain with us for decades, maybe even centuries. As a result, thoughtful citizens across the country are demanding to be a part of the decision-making process. In this course, students will delve into aspects of the energy debate through course readings and discussion, as well as their own research projects. Please note that this course will make extensive use of technology, such as WeVideo, and audio recordings in both the research process and for the production of the final projects. This course fulfills the SS general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

Farmers, Eaters, Organizers: Agricultural Life and Literature with CBL (S. Lee)

This class explores what the public intellectuals Ramachandra Guha and Joan Martinez Alier call “the environmentalism of the poor.” How do rural workers in the United States and around the world sustain life and resist harm in the era of climate catastrophes, corporate monopoly, labor exploitation, and forced migration? How do creative expressions in poetry, fiction, filmmaking, and grassroots organizing give voice to the people, and how do their voices come back to us as consumers, food bloggers, and eaters? How might collective consciousness emerge out of our engagement with questions of responsibility and pleasure when it comes to earth-based consumption? Readings will be drawn from pastoral poetry across the ages and from modern/contemporary fiction and non-fiction featuring agricultural labor, farm work, and migrant life. The literary works in this course will ask us to consider issues like how immigration policies have been shaped by farm work, the history of tenant farming and sharecropping, key cases of labor organizing, the rise of agribusiness, global impacts of monoculture and extractivism, and a resurgence of indigenous ethics. In the second half of the semester, you will each develop a research project based on our discussion of these issues. Alongside our literary study, you will work in local farms and other organizations in the area related to food systems and land sovereignty. This course fulfills the HU general education requirement. This course includes an experiential learning component known as Community-Based Learning (CBL). Students in CBL courses actively engage in their learning by spending two hours a week outside of class time, across the semester, in a placement with one of our community partners. Students then connect their community placement experiences with course content. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

Whether you're writing a memo, giving a presentation, or reading a room full of people who aren't saying what they mean, communication is the skill that underlies everything else. This theme approaches it from three angles: the craft of writing clearly and persuasively for professional contexts, the art of speaking with confidence and intention, and the vast universe of meaning that travels without words at all. These courses will make you sharper in every direction — on the page, at the podium, and in the silences in between.

AI and Workplace Communication Complexity (M. Whalen)

Effective communication is essential to success in any profession. Yet communicating clearly and persuasively has become increasingly more complex with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI). This course will survey emerging benefits and challenges of integrating AI into daily work. Together, we will explore professional business communication - and how AI is transforming the ways in which employees develop, deliver and evaluate information for their key stakeholders. We’ll develop practical skills for preparing informative emails, recommendations, proposals and other forms of organizational communication. We’ll practice organizing ideas, researching relevant topics, constructing justified and evidence-based arguments and, overall, communicating with greater clarity, credibility and purpose.  
By gaining appreciation for appropriate use of AI, risks of misinformation and importance of fact-checking/source evaluation, we’ll survey how job skillsets are being reshaped by AI today - and how employees will be increasingly called upon to leverage AI’s efficiency and innovation, while (at the same time) keep the critical importance of ethics, accountability and trust at the forefront. Similar to producing a business “white paper,” every student will participate in the rigorous process of preparing a research paper (on a for profit or not-for-profit, organizational topic) - and then participate in small groups to present their findings in poster sessions during SLU’s Festival of Science and Creativity in the Spring Semester.
Please Note: This course will provide a few, limited opportunities for use of AI in coursework.  An Acceptable Use of AI Course Policy will be presented and reviewed during  class. AI use will only be allowed in instances where it is specifically designated in the directions for course assignments. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 
 

Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say: Rhetoric & Public Speaking (A. Rife)

Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say: Rhetoric & Public Speaking - Why do some speakers enchant you, while others bore you to sleep? How can a speech inspire people to act or persuade them to act against their own interests? The answer lies in rhetoric. In this class, we'll explore how speeches move, persuade, and inspire audiences while experimenting with rhetorical choices in the speeches we create. Through rhetorical criticism and scholarly research, we’ll investigate how speakers make meaning and what their choices can teach us about our own speaking. Along the way, we'll consider what we want our words to do, how others interpret them, and how to craft messages that reflect our values. You’ll leave knowing how to notice, practice, and analyze rhetoric, so you can say what you mean and mean what you say. This class counts as PCA 111: Public Speaking and fulfills the ARTS credit. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am.  

The Uncanny World of Non-Verbal Communication: Meaning Beyond Words (B. Yang)

Did you know that much of what we communicate and interpret goes beyond spoken and written words? Regardless of the different aspects of our identities, nonverbal communication is critical to how we communicate, interact, and understand one another. However, the meanings behind these behaviors are not always the same, especially across different cultures, social contexts, and unique situations. This course will focus on identifying and exploring how nonverbal communication influences our everyday interactions, including those within and between different ethnic and racial groups, digital spaces, institutions and organizations, and public environments (e.g., restrooms, gas stations, restaurants, etc.).  Additionally, students will be introduced to different research methods, with a particular focus on ethnography. Through observations, discussions, and hands-on research activities, students will learn how to identify, examine, and interpret nonverbal behaviors across different settings. Through these experiences, students will explore how cultural norms, social expectations, and the environments we occupy influence how we communicate and interpret the behaviors of others.  Lastly, students will have the opportunity to develop their academic writing and research skills, including learning how to write academic papers using APA 7th edition citation style. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

What drives a person to run farther than seems possible, or spend a lifetime chasing a molecule no one else believed in? And what does science actually tell us about why we fall in love? This theme explores the human side of science — the ambition, obsession, and physical and emotional limits that define our experience. These courses take the body and mind seriously as objects of scientific inquiry, and ask what we learn about ourselves when we push at the edges of what's known.

Endurance (A. Fox)

At the 2026 Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, after 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 cycling, and 25.2 running, Solveig Løvseth led Taylor Knibb by more than a minute with just a mile to go. But then she slowed, wobbled, tried again, staggered… and collapsed. Knibb passed her and won the race. Løvseth finished eighth. You might think maybe Knibb got lucky. Maybe you feel bad for Løvseth. Last year, though, the roles were reversed—Knibb collapsed inside of the last 5k while leading, and Løvseth passed her to win. What is it about endurance that is so appealing to the human species? Why do humans regularly pursue goals that involve long periods of suffering? What conditions make for hard work over extended timelines in pursuit of a goal? In this course we explore human endurance, professional and recreational. We will focus on both individual personal narratives, and the science behind human endurance. We will explore what it takes to endure in life and sport. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

The Science of Attraction and Relationships (M. Carpenter)

Our romantic and sexual relationships are among the most impactful in our lives. Being desired by and desiring others drives much of our behaviors, including how we dress, what we post online, and even how we spend our money. Throughout this course we will provide a broad overview of the research topics, methods, and findings related to the scientific study of intimate relationships. Content will include an investigation of how our early attachment to caregivers influences our relationships as adults, the factors (physical and otherwise) that influence our initial attraction to others, theories of relationship initiation, growth, and maintenance, as well as predictors of relationship dissolution. We will examine different relationship structures, including “friends-with-benefits” and consensual non-monogamy, as well as cross-cultural differences in attraction and relationship norms. This course is grounded in social psychology and personality psychology theory and is not intended as a self-help course or a proxy for relationship counseling. When you are finished with this course you will have a greater understanding of the factors that promote relationship satisfaction. Through our exploration of this topic, students will develop their research and oral communication skills. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

Molecules That Changed History (S. Tartakoff)

What makes a pepper spicy, a medication work in the body, or TNT explode?  It all boils down to something smaller than our eyes can see, MOLECULES! Modern science has made some pivotal discoveries on a molecular level that have altered the directions of historical timelines.  Spices and the subsequent spice trade and colonialism, antibiotics and the preservation of human life, and explosives and their applications to society are just a few molecules we will explore in this class and their impacts on humankind. While gaining some foundational organic chemistry knowledge along the way, we will discover the economic, physical, social, and political effects of 17 molecules. Writing  and effective communication will be an important part of your future career whether you plan to be a scientist, doctor, or storyteller. The written assignments and oral presentations are tailored to improve your communication skills and will cover a variety of styles and formats culminating in a research project on an important historical molecule. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

When something breaks — a person, a relationship, a community — what do we do? This theme brings together three courses that wrestle with that question from different angles: the experience of grief and how it can become a force for change, the formal world of courts and legal careers, and the restorative traditions that ask communities to come together and make things whole. Together they offer a richer, more human picture of what justice and healing can actually look like.

Radical Grief (E. Kissam)

"Grief carves a place in the heart and sits there forever. But when focused, it can be a powerful motivator. Sadness becomes resolve and pain becomes action." -Deborah Harkness

Grief and loss are normal, inevitable, and universal human experiences. Grief is interwoven in our sociocultural context. Grief and loss can cause us to question our identity, relationships, and beliefs. It can take away our sense of control, and agency- which may lead some people to action. 

We will practice critical thinking, research, communication skills, and self-reflection while looking at how grief and loss have informed your world view. This course fulfills the HU general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

The Justice We Make Together: Restorative Practices for Healing and Change (E. Oey)

Why are K-12 schools moving to restorative practices rather suspensions and expulsions? How are colleges and universities using restorative processes to address issues such as bias incidents, sexual misconduct, and campus climate? How are restorative and transformative justice approaches reshaping criminal and juvenile justice systems? And what can we learn from Indigenous communities, where peacemaking and circle processes have long traditions of restoring harmony and balance? Through case studies, videos, guest speakers, games, and hands-on circle practice, we will examine the principles and applications of restorative justice and practices across multiple contexts - from classrooms and residence halls to community justice programs and tribal courts. We will explore the values that ground restorative work, including respect, responsibility, relationship, and repair, and gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to make restorative practices effective and sustainable. Students will select a restorative initiative in education, law, or other community context to analyze, and consider how these practices contribute to justice, healing, and transformation in a setting that interests them. Together, we will keep asking the critical question - does restorative practice work, and if so, for whom and under what conditions? Is this the justice we wish to make together? This course counts as a Peace Studies elective. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

So You Want to Be a Judge (J. Sieja)

The course analyzes the judicial life cycle. We will examine who goes to law school, who gets clerkships, what clerks do, competing in state judicial elections, the federal nomination process, the day-to-day life of a judge, workload issues, getting along with judicial colleagues, moving up in the judicial hierarchy, retirement, and death. We will approach questions from the perspectives of multiple disciplines--primarily political science, but also sociology, history, and economics. This course fulfills the HU general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

What makes art valuable — and who decides? This theme brings together three very different windows onto that question. A woodblock print, an Indigenous comic, a hit song: each is a creative act embedded in a culture, a market, and a history. These courses ask how artistic traditions get made and passed down, how commerce shapes and sometimes corrupts creative work, and what it means to tell your own story in a visual language that belongs to your community. Together they train you to see not just what things look like — but what they're worth, and to whom.

Selling Out: Music and Capitalism (F. Schenker)

When Taylor Swift first moved away from her country roots towards a pop sound, some fans called her a “sell out.” They thought she was chasing money instead of her artistic vision. This insult, though, does not always sting. Many musicians reject the idea that “selling out” is necessarily bad, especially as the rise of streaming has transformed how they can make a living. This course explores changing ideas about “selling out” and the tension between creativity and commercialism through a close examination of a variety of sources and topics ranging from ideas about the musical “genius,” the punk rock ethos, and questions of racial authenticity, among others. Formal music training is not required. This course fulfills the HU general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

Mokuhanga: Many Artists/Many Voices (M. Schulenberg)

This combined studio art/research course will introduce students to mokuhanga, the Japanese style water-based woodcut process. Students will produce original woodblock prints in addition to research projects that utilize artwork from the University’s collections. We will study the history of Japanese printmaking, popular imagery and subjects, how to analyze visual material, and contemporary trends. Students will learn the use of tools and materials specific to this process, as well as inking, registration, and printing techniques. This course fulfills the ARTS general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

Indigenous Comics, History, and Power (T. Little)

How do Indigenous comics use visual storytelling to produce knowledge, contest historical narratives, and imagine different futures?
Stories shape what communities remember, whose knowledge they recognize, and which futures they can imagine. This interdisciplinary first-year seminar examines Indigenous comics as works of literature, visual culture, historical interpretation, and political thought. Students will learn how panels, gutters, perspective, colour, lettering, and relationships between words and images create meaning. Readings from Moonshot, This Place: 150 Years Retold, Three Feathers, Super Indian, and selected mainstream comics will introduce questions of representation, authorship, colonialism, sovereignty, land, law, memory, and futurity. Students will place individual stories within their cultural and historical contexts while considering how comics challenge conventional definitions of literature, evidence, and knowledge. Through scaffolded source analysis, visual close reading, discussion, and independent research, each student will develop a sustained argument about how a graphic narrative intervenes in a larger historical or contemporary conversation. This course fulfills the ARTS general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

Some things have been with us for a very long time — dogs, stories about the frontier, the act of reading. This theme takes the long view, asking what we can learn from relationships and traditions that have endured across decades and millennia. How did humans and dogs become inseparable? What does our nostalgia for Little House on the Prairie reveal about who we think we are? And what happens to reading — and to us — when the iPhone replaces the book? These courses zoom out to ask the biggest questions about where we've been and where we're going.

Odyssey to iPhone: the Future of Reading (P. Doty)

For most of the history of higher education intense reading of lengthy texts was pretty much like breathing: students did it to survive. However, as the world now orbits the iPhone and reading on a personal and societal level has been thrown into question. This course is going to be an experiential and theoretical study of what it means to read, and via academic research and speculative journalism we are going to try to envision what the future of reading will be. To do this we are going to read The Odyssey, as a way to ground ourselves as readers, and from this turn our attention to what the future holds for books, literature, and humanity. This course fulfills the HU general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

Woof: Dogs and Their People: A History (H. Eissenstat)
 

We're often told that dogs are our best friends-and with good reason. Humans and dogs have been living, working, and playing side by side for tens of thousands of years, longer than with any other domesticated species. But how did this partnership start? Why do we love dogs so much, and how has that love shaped both them and us? How has our thinking about this relationship changed over time? In this course, we'll explore the long history of humans and dogs together, while also looking at how History connects with other fields like literature, anthropology, and the life sciences. This course fulfills the HU general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am. 

Prairiecore: Little House on the Prairie, Then and Now (S. Barber)

In this course, we'll revisit the work of a master of American myth-making, Laura Ingalls Wilder, whose Little House books cast a long shadow. With the assistance of literature scholars, historians, and film critics, we will explore how Wilder's book and the popular 1970s television series exploit nostalgia for a vision of the American West with narratives that center white pioneers and traditional ideals of gender, family, and independence. We will consider how these narratives erased or excluded the stories of those who battled for civil rights for women, indigenous people, and people of color--both during the 1870s and 1970s. In addition, we'll watch several episodes of the 2026 reboot of the TV show and try to understand the appeal of contemporary prairirecore. This course fulfills the HU general education requirement. Tuesday/Thursday 8:50am - 11:00am.