Mar 28, 2024  
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]

Courses


 
  
  • EN 408 - Tolkien and Medievalism


    In this course we will explore the major works of J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion) in light of the medieval texts that influenced him, including Beowulf, Old English elegiac poetry, the European romance tradition, and Old Norse sagas.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: At least Sophomore standing.

    LSC/Core: Literary Studies/ Literature & The Arts

  
  • EN 410 - Senior Seminar


    Designed to be an English major’s most important course, the one in which students most fully demonstrate the skills acquired in the previous years of reading, writing, and studying. The course culminates in a senior thesis and presentation. As far as possible, student choice of subject matter will be honored.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Permission of Instructor Required; EN/AM Majors Only; Seniors Only.

    LSC/Core: NA/ Literature & The Arts

  
  • EN 413 - Topics in Literature


    A course on a topic not offered by the department in a given semester or not customarily offered on a regular basis.

    Credits: 4

    LSC/Core: Literary Studies/ NA

    Notes: May be repeatable as long as the topic is different.

  
  • EN 414 - Writing Center Internship Seminar


    Required upon completion of EN314, this half-course seminar meets once a week to offer continuing education and support for Writing Center “core” coaches, who work in teams to fulfill the Writing Center’s mission in such areas as advertising, public relations, continuing education, website development, assessment, and improvement of services. This course may be taken twice.

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: EN 314 and permission of the instructor.

    Notes: Students may repeat the course up to two times.

  
  • EN 420 - Independent Research in English


    An independent research project pursued in consultation with an English instructor.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Only students with a B average or higher in the English major. Permission of the instructor.

  
  • EN 450 - English Honors Seminar


    This advanced seminar, open to students by invitation, focuses on a topic of the instructor’s choosing.  In recent years topics have included Utopian Literature, Aesthetics, Myth and Literature, and Glamour.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: English majors only or permission of instructor.

    LSC/Core: NA/ Literature & The Arts

    Notes: May be repeated.

  
  • ENG 099 - AEP Prep


    This course introduces students to supported undergraduate content coursework.  Courses reflect subject matter from areas of student interest such as business and the social sciences.  Course readings and assignments reflect a graded level of difficulty. Along with lectures, a variety of media and learning activities are utilized.

    Support Courses for the content course are aimed at developing learners’ academic skills. Materials and assignments in support courses are aligned with the academic course texts and tasks covering writing and grammar, reading and vocabulary,  and oral skills: listening/note-taking and speaking/pronunciation. Skill based labs are included for the support courses to give the learners’ more practice with academic skills

    Credits: Variable

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: None, but need permission of instructor as part of AEP program.

    Notes: This is a variable credit course (3 to 12 credits) depending on placement.

  
  • ENG 100 - Academic Reading and Writing


    This course supports international students in the development of academic skills in reading and writing in conjunction with an undergraduate cooperative course chosen from regular course listings in the Saint Michael’s Catalog. Students will apply principles of composition as well as critical reading skills and strategies with attention to academic discourse styles and vocabulary. Basic research skills and other aspects of academic orientation to written texts are also addressed.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Admission to AEP Level 1

  
  • ENG 102 - Introduction to Literature


    ENG 102, Introduction to Literature (for non-native English speakers), introduces the principles of literary analysis and appreciation through the reading of the first-year seminar common text and selected works of fiction, poetry, and drama. Additionally, the students will complete writing assignments on the readings. The genre selections are chosen and treated with the students’ cultural backgrounds in mind. Successful completion of ENG 102 fulfills the requirement in the Arts and Literature category of the Core Curriculum. .

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Admission to AEP Level II or equivalent English proficiency.

     

    LSC/Core: Literary Studies/ Literature & The Arts

  
  • ENG 103 - English for Academic Purposes


    Supports academic skills development and provides further instruction in academic reading and writing through the content of the undergraduate cooperative course.

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Admission to the AEP Level 1 or permission of the Instructor and ELP Director.

  
  • ENG 104 - Advanced College Writing


    The purpose of Advanced College Writing for international students is to help students improve their reasoning and writing skills, especially writing for academic puposes. Text material is read and analyzed for content and purpose as well as for the rhetorical patterns of English. Attention to specific writing tasks, advanced grammar and persistent linguistic problem areas will receive class attention. A research paper with a formal oral presentation is the final course project.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Admission to AEP Level II or equivalent English proficiency.

  
  • ENG 105 - Advanced Grammar for Writing


    This course examines English grammar necessary for college writing.  Students will broaden their knowledge of English grammar and improve their abilities to produce accurate English at both the sentence and discourse level.  Students will (1) identify grammatical constructions in their own and others’ writing; (2) be able to articulate meanings associated with those constructions; (3) improve their ability to produce accurate English using appropriate constructions; (4) improve their ability to write effectively under time pressure; and (5) sharpen their proofreading and editing skills.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: AEP Level 1 acceptance.

  
  • ENG 106 - Academic Oral Communication Skills


    This course supports international students in the development of academic skills in listening and speaking in conjunction with an undergraduate cooperative course chosen from regular course listings in the Saint Michael’s College Catalogue.  Students learn effective strategies for taking notes on lectures and videos, understanding vocabulary, preparing for tests, and researching topics.  The students improve their speaking skills through learning about tools for effective presentations, preparing formal individual and/or group presentations with visual aids, and participating in class discussions.  As members of a team, students learn about group dynamics and effective teamwork by collaborating on projects with undergraduate native English speakers.  .

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: AEP Level 1 acceptance.

  
  • ES 103 - Sustainability: Environmental Science Perspective


    An overview of the challenges to global sustainability, from an environmental science perspective. Major course units will include biodiversity, natural resources, energy, water, food and global climate change. Includes discussion of ethical dimensions of these challenges, as well as a call to action on both a local and global scale.

    Credits: 4

    LSC/Core: Scientific Reasoning/Scientific Inquiry

  
  • ES 105 - Nature and Culture


    This course explores our understanding of the natural world from the perspective of the Humanities, reading both canonical and contemporary writers in the Environmental tradition. The course examines the ways particular ideas and attitudes toward nature have either contributed to the current environmental crisis or have inspired and continue to inspire new thinking on how to ameliorate the worst effects of past attitudes and practices. The course asks how we can productively transform our own thinking to become more thoughtful and wise contributors to environmental debates, by becoming sophisticated and generous-minded interpreters of texts, the world and our own experience.

    Credits: 4

    LSC/Core: Literary Studies/ NA

  
  • ES 106 - Environment and Society


    This course is a social science based investigation of the complex relationship between humans and their environment. The emphasis will be on both the impact people have on the environment in relation to social, economic and political contexts but also how environmental scarcity shapes human interactions. Important concepts such as ecosystems, resource, sustainable development, carrying capacity, climate change adaptation/mitigation and economic utility will be introduced as well as an overview of political economy, institutions for environmental governance and issues of ecological economics economics.

    Credits: 4

  
  • ES 107 - Environmental Science


    This course is a science-based investigation of the Earth as a system, with application to understanding many issues in contemporary environmental policy. Science is an attempt to discover how nature works. Through careful observation, measurements, experimentation, and modeling, students will explore issues in contemporary environmental science. These include climate change, biodiversity, deforestation, ecosystem structure and function, population, biogeochemical cycling, energy, as well as investigations of environmental problems, their causes, and solutions.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Open to Majors only during registration; all non majors during open registration.

    Fee: Yes

    LSC/Core: Processes of Scientific Reasoning/ Scientific Inquiry

  
  • ES 201 - Environmental Research Methods


    Research methods applied to study of environmental problems.  Methods and skills to be developed may include qualitative research, policy analysis, rapid assessment of development, ecosystem services valuation,  cost-benefit analysis, approaches to conflict resolution and negotiation, scientific analyses of water, soil and biodiversity, investigative journalism, as well as more general skills of map work, field note-taking,  data analysis, technical report writing and oral presentation.  Pathways to learning about environment and career choices will be discussed.
     

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: ES-106 and ES-107; Environmental Studies and Environmental Science Majors Only; Sophomore standing or above.

     

    Fee: Yes

  
  • ES 211 - Water Resources


    A geographical examination of human-environment relations in the context of water. Built on a foundation of hydrology/water resource management, the course examines the development and resolution of conflict over this critical natural resource. Possbile topics include the hydrological cycle; surface and groundwater processes; the distribution and development of water resources at a variety of spatial scales; water quality and human health; water law; globalization and the commodification of drinking water supplies; international conflict over water supplies; water and human rights.

    Credits: 4

    Crosslisted: GG-211

  
  • ES 220 - Maps and Apps: Space and Place in Electronic Environments


    An exploration of maps and mapping in electronic environments.  Students will explore the fundamental premises of cartography and apply them in various Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environments.  Course topics include map creation and analysis, virtual globes, exploration and use of online “public” mapping and spatial analysis services, and basic use of GIS software.  The principle objective is to investigate an array of mapping and spatial display environments rather than develop expert GIS users.

    Credits: 4

    Notes: This course will not be open to students who have already received credit for ES-260: Geographical Information Systems. (Students who complete ES-220/GG-220 may, however, move on to complete ES-260).

    Crosslisted: GG-220

  
  • ES 225 - Food Systems & Sustainable Agriculture


    Students will explore the structure and function of the contemporary food system with a focus on Vermont, a small rural agricultural state, and compare it to historical models before launching into a rich investigation of ecological agricultural practices.  The Permaculture Site and field visits to local farms will serve as a living classroom as we study sustainable agriculture through the lens of agroecology.  This approach will inform students about the role that ecology and systems thinking must play in the designing and managing of sustainable food systems.

    Credits: 4

  
  • ES 243 - Environmental Study of Sustainable Places


    The past several decades have witnessed the rise of an environmental consciousness rooted in “sustainable development” and “green economy” paradigms.  This course is designed to explore through cultural, ecological, political, geographic and artistic lenses, how societies are integrating ecological sustainability throughout their cultures, institutions and policies.

    Credits: 2

  
  • ES 244 - Environmental Study of Sustainable Places - Wales Field Trip


    This two-week study abroad course in May focuses on how Wales in the United Kingdom has integrated ecological sustainability throughout its culture, institutions, art, and policies.  Cultural and environmental field studies, on-site guest lectures, exchange of research and artistic projects with University of Wales students and faculty will complement coursework.

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: ES 243

    LSC/Core: Global Issues that Impact the Common Good/ NA

  
  • ES 253 - Coral Reef Ecology


    Coral reefs are coastal marine ecosystems that are among the most complex, diverse and fragile on our planet. This half-course will cover the application of basic ecological principles to this unique ecosystem, an introduction to the species endemic to the community, and a discussion of the major threats to the ecosystem, both natural and anthropogenic.

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: (BI-151 Minimum grade C) or ES-107; Juniors and Seniors Only.

    LSC/Core: Processes of Scientific Reasoning/ Scientific Inquiry

    Notes: Must complete both ES253 and ES254 to earn LSC/CORE credit

    Crosslisted: BI-253

    When Offered: Fall
  
  • ES 254 - Coral Reef Ecology Field Trip - Cuba


    An intensive 10-day field course to study coral reefs and associated habitats. The course will focus on the ecology, behavior and interrelatedness of the tremendous variety of organisms living in association with a coral reef. Group work and research project.

     

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: ES253

    LSC/Core: Processes of Scientific Reasoning/ Scientific Inquiry

    Notes: Students will earn LSC/CORE credit after completing both ES-253 and ES-254.

    Crosslisted: BI-254

    When Offered: Fall

  
  • ES 260 - Geographic Information Systems


    This course provides an introduction to the field of Geographic Information Systems, including cartography, visualization, and analyses of geospatial data. Students will learn the basics of mapping/cartography (e.g. scale, projections, map design), create maps with commonly used digital data (e.g., aerial photographs, census boundaries, digital elevation models), and master basic methods of spatial analyses. Both concepts and hands-on techniques will be taught in this course. 

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Environmental Studies Majors/Minors, Environmental Science Majors, and Human Geography Minors Only.

  
  • ES 301 - Advanced Topics in Environmental Studies


    A course on an advanced topic in Environmental Studies, not offered on a regular basis. Consult with the instructor before enrolling to determine topics to be studied.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Environmental Studies Majors/Minors, Environmental Science Majors only.

     

    FALL 2019:

    ES-301-A Ecological Restoration

    An examination of the science, applications, practices, and ethics of the rapidly growing field of Ecological Restoration.  Students will gain a global perspective while also designing and engaging in local restoration efforts. 

    ES-301-B Living in Place

    Cabins, tents, yurts, teepees, earthships, tree houses, geodesic domes . This course considers visionary concepts for living in intimate and often sustainable relationships with natural environments. Along the way we will consider architectural wonders, tiny houses, ecological urbanism, and biophilic/green design.

     

    Notes: May be repeatable as long as the topic is different.

  
  • ES 305 - US Environmental History


    An examination of the relationship between humans and the environment in US history, from the Colonial Period to the present.Topics include, but are not limited to, colonial perspectives on nature, popular environmental movements, commodification of the natural world, and environmental justice.

    Credits: 4

    LSC/Core: NA/Junior Seminar

  
  • ES 306 - Environmental Justice


    An examination of environmental justice as a movement of resistance to the environmental risks experienced by economically and politically marginalized communities.  Students consider the ways systemic inequalities, driven by race/ethnicity, class, or gender, lead to disproportionate environmental and health risks, and how communities respond to them.

    Credits: 4

    LSC/Core: NA/ Engaging Diverse Identities AND Junior Seminar

    Notes: Course will count towards Justice and Sustainability as a foundation course in that track. Will count as elective for other tracks.

  
  • ES 307 - The Environmental Humanities


    The Environmental Humanities is an emerging transdisciplinary field that seeks to reimagine what it means to be human in a shared, endangered world. This course examines the field’s critical theories and their applications to such topics as ecological grief, the environmental arts, ecological spiritualities, interspecies ethics, techno-utopianism, and ecotourism.

    Credits: 4

  
  • ES 308 - Environmental Education


    An introduction to the field of Environmental Education. Topics include the role of nature in the classroom and the idea of a ‘nature deficit disorder’; environmentally-centered pedagogies and teaching practices; and professional opportunities in environmental education. Field visits and campus natural spaces – forest, farm, gardens & natural area – will become the classroom.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Environmental Studies, Environmental Science, and Education Studies Majors only or by permission of instructor.

  
  • ES 310 - Environmental Hazards


    The course focus lies at the intersection of natural systems and human interactions. Environmental Hazards include both natural hazards (extreme geophysical and biologic events) and technological hazards (disasters originating from industrial processes or infrastructure). Emphasis will be placed on both the geography, description, frequency of physical characteristics as well as understanding human dimensions (risk, vulnerability, mitigation).

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: ES 201

    LSC/Core: Global Issues that Impact the Common Good/ NA

  
  • ES 311 - Community and Environmental Planning


    An introduction to community and environmental planning from an applied geography perspective. Foundational topics include the evolution of the American urban system and the internal structure of cities; the evolution of planning as a legal and regulatory facet of American society; planning techniques and tools; approaches to environmental problem solving at local and regional scales. Supplementary emphases may include housing and community development, economic development, historic preservation and transportation. The class has a fieldwork component. Students are introduced to the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: At least one geography course or permission of the instructor.

    Crosslisted: GG-311

  
  • ES 320 - Environmental Conflict Resolution


    This course will explore the field of Environmental Conflict Resolution (ECR) with the goal of preparing students on how to analyze conflicts between groups of people over environmental protection, natural resource exploitation/extraction and pollution. Real world case studies at both the domestic and international level will be explored.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Environmental Studies Majors/Minors and/or Peace and Justice Minors and/or Global Studies Minors Only or Permission of Instructor.
     

    LSC/Core: Global Issues that Impact the Common Good/ NA

  
  • ES 325 - The Politics of Food


    Investigates the connections between food choices and political and cultural power; considers decisions about production and distribution as economic, environmental, and social, from farms to restaurants, slaughter houses to home kitchens; explores the paradox of abundance and famine side-by-side in the world, revealing day-to-day politics as well as alternatives approaches.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions:   Junior or Senior standing only.

    LSC/Core: Global Issues that Impact the Common Good/ Engaging Diverse Identities

    Crosslisted: PO 325

  
  • ES 327 - Environmental Policy


    An examination of the key drivers of environmental policy at a variety of geographic scales. Course themes may include policies related to endangered species, environmental impact analysis, air and water pollution; toxic and nuclear waste; environmental justice; and energy policy and its externalities. Supplementary emphases may include: globalization and environmental policy through treaty and protocol; the evolving role of non-governmental organizations and social movements in environmental policy.

    Credits: 4

    Crosslisted: PO 327

  
  • ES 330 - Sustainable Food Systems


    Beyond choosing farm fresh ingredients, what is a sustainable food system? How has sustainability been promoted locally and globally? This course studies a specific sustainable food system outside the US in comparison with the scientific, social, and political development of such a system in Vermont.

    Credits: 2

  
  • ES 332 - Eco and Environmental Art


    This course will lead students to an understanding of interdisciplinary artwork that can be defined as EcoArt or Environmental Art through creative production, research, and analysis. These terms describe artworks created over the past 40 years that focus primarily on ecological or environmental issues.

    Credits: 4

    LSC/Core: Artistic Experience/ Literature & The Arts OR Junior Seminar

    Crosslisted: AR-332

  
  • ES 335 - Sustainable Food Systems Case Study


    Beyond choosing farm fresh ingredients, what is a sustainable food system? How has sustainability been promoted locally and globally? This away course studies a specific sustainable food system outside the US, examining the scientific, social, and political development of such a system through site visits and discussions with leading practitioners.

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: PO 325 or ES 330

    LSC/Core: Global Issues that Impact the Common Good/ NA

  
  • ES 337 - Farm and Food Intensive Spring


    The first of two half-courses focused on on-farm skills; grounded studies of plant biology, entomology, and soil science; and farm planning, readiness and season extension.  This course should be completed prior to Farm and Food Intensive Fall, although the courses may be completed out of order with instructor permission.

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Previous or Concurrent Enrollement in ES-225

  
  • ES 339 - Farm and Food Intensive Fall


    The second of two half-courses focused on on-farm skills; grounded studies of plant biology, entomology, and soil science; and farm harvest, food safety and season extension.  This course will be the equivalent of a half course delivered in approximately 11 weeks with an appropriate increase in the per week workload for students. This course should be taken after the completion
    of Farm and Food Intensive Spring, but the course may be completed out of order with instructor permission.
     

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Previous or Concurrent Enrollment: ES-225

  
  • ES 340 - Sustainable Entrepreneurship


    What makes a business both environmentally sustainable and a good business? How are environmental impacts measured by businesses themselves, by sustainable business practice collectives, and by governments at various scales?  This course will use Vermont’s vibrant social entrepreneurial sector as a case study in assessing the environmental, social and economic impacts of established and emerging social/green businesses.

    Credits: 4

  
  • ES 351 - American Wilderness


    Among all the tenets of American environmentalism, nothing has been more formative, and controversial, than society’s evolving views on Wilderness. This course offers an opportunity to examine Wilderness through a wide variety of texts, perspectives, and experiences.  The approach in the course will mirror the interdisciplinary nature of Wilderness thought, policy, geography, and politics.

    Credits: 4

  
  • ES 353 - Buddhism and the Environment


    An introduction to the interface between Buddhist philosophy/meditation and the exigencies of contemporary environmental awareness, activism, and personal and societal practice.  Students explore Buddhist perspectives on ‘seeing’, the senses, consumption, liberation, equanimity, interdependence, and impermanence, all in the context of the very modern and constantly evolving environmental challenges of our day.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: ES and ENV students only

  
  • ES 355 - Animal Studies


    An introduction to the field of Animal Studies, the interdisciplinary study of the relationship between humans and other animals. Traversing the humanities and social sciences, we will consider such topics as animal rights, animality, zoos, movies and cartoons, children’s literature, animals and the law, and the ethics of animal ownership.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: ES and ENV students only

  
  • ES 410 - Senior Seminar in Environmental Studies


    A capstone course bringing Environmental Studies seniors with different foci in the major together to examine a topic in depth and from an interdisciplinary perspective.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: ES-201; Environmental Studies Majors Only; Seniors Only.
     

  
  • ES 411 - Senior Seminar in Environmental Science


    This course provides the capstone experience in Environmental Science.  Students will apply interdisciplinary scientific knowledge to an in depth exploration of a specific topic.  Students will review environmental literature, demonstrate oral and written communication skills, and discuss societal implications of environmental science, including its moral and ethical dimensions within the broader context of the liberal arts.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Seniors only; Environmental Science majors only

  
  • ES 499 - Internship


    Qualified Environmental Studies majors may apply for academic internships at a variety of off-campus sites including non-profit organizations, government agencies, public utilities and businesses. Requirements include extensive work at the internship site and related readings, written reports, and an oral or poster presentation, supervised by an Environmental Studies faculty member.

    Credits: Variable

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Environmental Studies majors and minors only.  2.7 G.P.A. or higher.  Juniors and Seniors only.

    Notes: May be repeatable.

  
  • EXP 401 - Seminar in Experiential Learning


    In this course, students create a scholarly personal narrative (SPN) that documents, examines, and reflects upon their individualized learning experiences in fulfillment of the experiential learning requirement.  Students enter the course with at least one substantial focal experience in mind which they have completed prior to taking the course.

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Students in their final year at Saint Michael’s College.

    When Offered: Fall/Spring
  
  • FR 101 - First Semester French


    A course designed to develop basic language skills and introduce students to the cultures of the French-speaking world.

    Credits: 4

    LSC/Core: Second Language/ Second Language for B.A.

    Notes: No credit given for FR-101 if credit has been given for a higher level of French.

  
  • FR 102 - Second Semester French


    This course follows FR 101 and continues the development of students’ basic language skills in all areas. Some course material will be based on French and Francophone culture.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR 101 or Placement.

    LSC/Core: Second Language/ Second Language for B.A.

    Notes: No credit given for FR-102 if credit has been given for a higher level of French.

  
  • FR 200 - French Applied Language Component


    Students who have completed FR 102 may continue to develop their proficiency through applied language components of courses taught in English. This allows students to read and discuss, in French, selected texts and materials pertinent to the subject matter of the course. These courses may be offered in a variety of disciplines. Students meet weekly with their instructor(s) to discuss the texts in French. Those who successfully complete the language portion of such a course will receive credit for a half course.

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR 102

    Notes: May be repeatable.

  
  • FR 201 - Business French


    This course will help prepare students to use their French-language skills and cultural understanding to function in a business or professional environment (whether in the commercial or non-profit sector) by providing them opportunities to enrich their vocabulary and further develop targeted language skills through communicative activities.

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR-102 Minimum grade C, or Placement.

  
  • FR 202 - French for Health Professions


    This course seeks to help students become more fluent overall and ready to work in a French-speaking context, particularly in a health-related professional setting. Students will also learn about different cultural perspectives on health and medicine in the French-speaking world, as well as different public health and healthcare systems.

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR-102 or higher OR placement at or beyond the third-semester level.

    LSC/Core: Second Language/Second Language for B.A

    Notes: Counts as elective for FR Major/Minor.

  
  • FR 203 - Third Semester French


    This course follows 102 and offers further development in all language skills. Some course material will be based on French and Francophone literature and culture.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR 102 with a grade of C or better; or equivalent placement.

     

    Notes: No credit will be given for FR-203 if credit has been given for a higher level of French.

  
  • FR 206 - Fourth Semester French


    This course follows FR 203 and offers further development of students’ intermediate language skills in all areas. Some course material will be based on French and Francophone culture.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR-203 Minimum grade C, or Placement.

  
  • FR 208 - Conversation in French


    This intermediate-level conversation course emphasizes speaking skills: vocabulary, pronunciation, accuracy of expression, confidence, and fluency. Students will also practice listening, reading, and writing skills through class discussion and assignments. Course topics will focus on current affairs and contemporary social, political, and cultural issues in France and the Francophone world.

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR 206

  
  • FR 270 - Senegalese Culture


    This course will give you a solid introduction to West African culture through the study of Senegal in an interdisciplinary approach (history, religious and film studies, literature, sociology, linguistics.) in order to get a good understanding of what Senegalese society is like today.

    Credits: 2

    LSC/Core: Students must also complete FR-271 or GL-271 to earn LSC/CORE credit.

    Crosslisted: GL-270

  
  • FR 271 - Service and Culture in Senegal


    You will spend two weeks in Senegal and learn about Senegalese culture through an interdisciplinary approach and by having excursions and visits, lectures by guest speakers, service and hands on activities, interactions with the locals, and class discussions.

    Credits: 2

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR-270 or GL-270

    LSC/Core: NA/ History & Society AND Engaging Diverse Identities

    Crosslisted: GL-271

  
  • FR 297 - Voices of Resistance in the Francophone World


    We will listen to voices of resistance throughout the Francophone world, from people who want to radically change their situations, in the hope of making the world a better place. Our texts and films will be on the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, the Maghreb, First Nations in Canada, France, and Iran.

    Credits: 4

    LSC/Core: Global Issues That Impact the Common Good/ History & Society AND Engaging Diverse Identities

  
  • FR 308 - Advanced Conversation


    The study and practice of oral expression. Class activities are related to different aspects of French and Francophone culture.

    Credits: Full

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR 206 with a grade of C or better; or equivalent placement.

    Notes: In French.

  
  • FR 310 - Advanced Communication and Culture


    This course is designed to help students consolidate their grammar and vocabulary skills as they develop their writing skills. The goal is to foster students’ critical reflection and self-correction, thereby increasing their independence in the craft of writing.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR 206 with a grade of C or better; or equivalent placement.

     

    Notes: In French. Fulfills Written Communication requirement for the French major. Students may take FR 310 and FR 343 concurrently.

  
  • FR 313 - Topics in Francophone Culture


    Explores cultures of French-speaking countries and regions outside France (Québec, Africa, the Caribbean, New England, etc.). Courses could cover such topics as: the culture of Québec; Haitian culture through its art; sub-Saharan Francophone literature; New England’s Franco-Americans; or the oral tradition in Francophone culture.

     

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR-310 Minimum Grade of C (when offered in French)

    Notes: May be repeated for credit barring duplication of materials. If the course is offered in French, it may be applied to major/minor credit. If offered in English, an ALC in French may be available.

  
  • FR 315 - Topics in French Culture


    Explores the cultures of France. Courses could cover such topics as Paris as a center of French culture, medieval France, the Enlightenment, or women in France.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR 310 (when offered in French)

    Notes: May be repeated for credit barring duplication of materials. If the course is offered in French, it may be applied to major/minor credit. If offered in English, an ALC in French may be available.

  
  • FR 321 - Intercultural Québec


    This course will help you learn more on our closest international and Francophone neighbors, the Québécois. We will explore Québec’s history and culture through its rich diversity and interculturalism, from the First Nations, the French pioneers and the slaves in New France, to today’s new Québécois coming from Haiti, China, Algeria, Rwanda, or Senegal.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR-310

    LSC/Core: Historical Studies/History & Society and Engaging Diverse Identities OR Junior Seminar AND Engaging Diverse Identities

  
  • FR 343 - Literary Studies in French


    Familiarizes students with different literary genres and styles and introduces them to the principal literary movements and authors of French and Francophone literature.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: (FR-204 or FR-310) Minimum grade C, (FR-310 can be taken concurrently with Permission of Instructor)

    LSC/Core: Literary Studies/ Literature & The Arts

    Notes: In French. Must be taken at Saint Michael’s College if counting for the major.

    When Offered: Spring
  
  • FR 435 - Readings in Francophone Literature


    Readings in Francophone literature from outside France (Québec, Africa, the Caribbean, etc.). Courses could cover such topics as: French-Canadian women authors, Haitian literature of the diaspora, literature of the Négritude movement in Africa and the Caribbean.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR-343 or FR-313 or FR-315 when offered in French, Minimum grade C

     

    LSC/Core: Global Issues that Impact the Common Good/ Literature & The Arts

    Notes: May be offered in French or English. May be repeated for credit barring duplication of materials.

  
  • FR 440 - Readings in French Literature


    The course may be based on a single author, work or movement or may be of a topical nature. Past courses include “Medieval Literature” and the “Nineteenth-Century Novel.”

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR 343

    LSC/Core: NA/ Literature & The Arts

    Notes: May be repeatable as long as the topic is different.

  
  • FR 445 - Poetry in French


    An exploration of poetry leading to an appreciation of its uniqueness as a genre.  The course will discuss what makes poetry different from other literary forms and will provide the student with a better understanding of poetry, authors, and traditions and with the tools of poetic analysis.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: FR 343

    LSC/Core: NA/ Literature & The Arts

  
  • FR 460 - Senior Seminar


    In the capstone course for majors, students use the skills and knowledge gained over the course of their studies on campus and abroad to produce a substantial academic essay written in the language of the major. The theme of the essay depends on the particular year, professor, and student.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: Senior French majors only.

  
  • FS 102 - The Afterlife


    This seminar explores how cultures in different times and places have imagined what happens to human beings after death.  It will also examine how beliefs about the afterlife are related to questions of power, authority, and ethics in this life.  All major world religions, and some localized indigenous traditions will be covered.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 111 - The Examined Life


    In this course we will examine our lives by writing about them, using “lenses” from various fields (literature, history, philosophy, or psychology, for instance) to see ourselves from different angles. We will write personal narratives/memoirs of our own, using what we have learned to further explore the writing process and examine our own lives.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 113 - Creative Writing Seminar


    This is a course in creative writing.  An essay (from the French essayer, to try) is a try, an attempt to articulate a world. We will read models in a variety of genres and then write our own tries, in a workshop format.  No previous experience in creative writing is required.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

    When Offered: Fall
  
  • FS 115 - The American Environmental Imagination


    This course is designed to introduce students to American literary and cultural representations of the natural environment, examining a variety of writings that have shaped the way that we understand and treat nature. We will consider a number of relevant disciplines, including environmental philosophy, politics, aesthetics, and ethics.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 116 - Snow: The Art & Science of Alpine Crystals


    This course offers an introduction to the literature, science, and technology of alpine crystals, as well as an exploration of “winter mountaintop sublimity.”  Our focus will be on reading, writing, and animated discussion about snow and ice crystals as they are featured in prose, poetry, and scientific experiments. Coursework requirements include four formal essays, a longer essay with a research component, an oral presentation, and a field trip. 

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 117 - Joan of Arc


    Illiterate peasant, mystic, and military leader during the Hundred Years War, Joan of Arc (d.1431) was captured and eventually executed for witchcraft and heresy. Her life and death allow us to explore issues associated with gender, war, heresy, and politics in the pre-modern world. Contemporary literature and films will also demonstrate her influence today.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 118 - Performance, Art & Social Justice


    This course examines how various forms of artistic performance and visual art are uniquely equipped to engage us in dialogue about divisive issues and lead us toward action to fight social injustice.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 122 - Music and the Human Experience


    This First Year Seminar explores the power of song as it relates to the human condition. The class will examine music’s many dimensions – cultural, social, political, etc. – and how music can address and engage in issues from gender, identity, healing, and spirituality to stereotypes, oppression, solidarity, and the “other.”

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 123 - On Memory


    What is memory? Why do we remember? What role does memory play in constructions of self and society? Can we exist without memory? This course will explore such questions on memory, which have been posed and debated since antiquity.  Our study will be interdisciplinary, considering these problems through the lenses of psychology, sociology, neuroscience, and history.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 124 - Human Rights in China


    What do human rights mean in China, the world’s second largest economy and a country that contains nearly one quarter of humanity? This seminar will be an intellectual journey exploring human rights in China in historical, political, social, and cultural contexts, through scholarly materials, primary sources, literature, and films.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 126 - Sports Stories


    This course focuses on sports-centered stories, novels, nonfiction books, and films and explore what these works teach us about honesty, fairness, endurance, faith, solidarity, disappointment, pain, and other essential facts of life.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 127 - Storytelling


    This course will explore storytelling as a literary art, as a cultural and familial practice, and as a form of historical documentation. We will consider how stories shape perceptions (of nature, of nation, of community, of family, of self), and vice versa. Examples will include diverse modes of engaging others, preserving traditions, defining traditions, and communicating within and across cultures and subcultures through narrative. Students will also examine the integrations of storytelling practice in and across virtually all academic and professional fields.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 128 - Journey Stories


    We use stories to make sense of our world and to share that understanding with others. This seminar reads, examines, and listens to the stories people tell. Students will tell their own stories, attend a Moth Story Slam, and interview other people to give them an opportunity to tell their own story. We will use these stories to develop a common language and understand both the inner and outer landscapes of our lives.

     

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 139 - Resistance and Empowerment


     This seminar will explore the theme of resistance and empowerment in significant works of writing and films to better understand how words and images can be used as artistic, social, and political tools to give voice to those who are otherwise forgotten, ignored, discriminated against, or excluded.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 140 - Place and Placelessness


    This seminar examines conceptions and experiences of place. We live in a world of distinct, memorable and meaning-infused places. By exploring spaces and places which seem to resonate with meaning, we will probe how the essence of the meaning of place can be imposed and maintained (or resisted and denied?), and how we define ourselves and others through and within places.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 147 - Skull Wars


    This course examines how celebrity-seeking, competition, sexism, and racism dominate knowledge production in physical anthropology and the hunt for human ancestors. We will explore how numerous scientists and popularizers leverage academic publishers and the media for selfish ends and explore how historical western imperialism, and its attendant racisms, have plagued, and continue to plague, the science of paleoanthropology.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 149 - Africa and Its Peoples


    This course is an introduction to the continent of Africa and the people who inhabit it. The goal is to give students a deeper appreciation for the diversity within Africa, as well as the important role Africa has played in world history. We will use a largely chronological approach starting in the deep past and working our way to the present. The course is divided into 5 major sections. These include:

    I. Emergence of a continent and evolution of humanity
    II. Early African societies
    III. Colonialism and the African slave trade
    IV. The emergence of modern African nations
    V. The present and future of Africa: opportunities and challenges

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 150 - Black Voices of Democracy


    African American writing and music are fundamentally American traditions that express the gaps between democratic ideals and social realities.  From the time of slavery to the present, Black writers have used the prophetic power of voice—spoken, sung, and written—to move the nation towards transformation, freedom, and equality.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 153 - Peace and Justice


    This course is designed as an introduction to the subject of social justice through the study of social justice issues in the context of the lives of individuals who envision(ed) a more just society and endeavor(ed) to live by that vision. We will study issues such as nonviolence, racism, and social and economic inequality, and individuals such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Paul Farmer. This course includes a community service component.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 154 - Race, Gender, & Ethnicity in Media


    Our society is fundamentally affected by our understanding of race, gender and ethnicity. In this class we will explore how these categories are constructed and function in society and the ways they are shaped by the media. Media portrayals profoundly influence our perspective on the world. We will seek to understand the impact of these media depictions.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 156 - Memoirs of Race, Gender, & Sexuality


    This course examines critical autobiographies from around the world that explore structural racism, misogyny, and homophobia, and that offer individual stories of self-discovery and resistance.  Grounded in comparative reflections on identity in text and film, the course builds knowledge from the experience of what it means to be different and to act politically.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 158 - Society, Identity, & Race


    This course examines race, power dynamics in society, the creation of identity, and the nature of racial injustice.  We will explore the formation of racial identity and the power of radical critique in response to powerful external forces and the inherent human drive to shape and determine one’s own self.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 161 - Technology and Ethics in Society


    The interplay of technology, sociology, and ethics will be considered in this seminar course. We will consider both recent and historical impacts of technological innovation on the American landscape as well as the broader and more recent influence of globalization. Course participants will study current research and trends in computing and consider their impact on our society and the world. We will consider the ethical, sociological and economic dilemmas created by the introduction of new technologies.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 162 - Science and Technology that Changed History and You


    From ancient history to today’s technological age, fundamental scientific discoveries and new technologies have impacted all aspects of change in human society. Through readings, writings, discussions, and hands-on experiments, we will examine the discoveries and inventions that have affected some of the major turning points of history as well as the science hidden behind many social, economic, and political changes.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 170 - Medieval Magic & the Divine


    This seminar will explore medieval French epic, heroic, and romantic tales including Marie de France’s Lais, Chretien de Troyes’ Lancelot, and the Song of Roland (all in translation), as well as descriptions of the period. Students will gain insight into what these works reflect about medieval beliefs on the topics of magic and the power of God.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 182 - The Social Construction of Humanness


    This course will introduce students to the questions: What makes us human? To what extent do variations in characteristics (e.g., sex, gender, dis/ability, stature, body morphology, and race) impact our perceptions of humanness?  To what extent is being human biologically determined, socially constructed, or an emergent property of both?  Have notions of what it means to be human been fixed or have they varied throughout history? This course must be taken along with the lab science course BI 106 The Cellular and Developmental Biology of Being Human.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only; Co-req: BI-106-The Cellular and Developmental Biology of Being Human

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • FS 184 - Robotics, Technology and the Evolving Self


    As the world of technology becomes increasingly complex, we must be able to combine imagination with logic. Imagination allows us to dream beyond what is; while logic helps us to operationalize those dreams. Key elements of this course are related to underlying concepts in physics.

    Credits: 4

    Prerequisites/Restrictions: First-Year Students Only

    LSC/Core: First-Year Seminar

  
  • GG 101 - Introduction to Human Geography


    An overview of the central themes of systematic human geography: the creation and recreation of places; and an understanding of their interdependence in the context of globalization. Core topics include: human-environment relations, demography, cultural identity, geographies of political space, and a spatial history of the world economy.

    Credits: 4

    LSC/Core: Global Issues or Social and Institutional/ History & Society

    Notes: Optional Applied Language Component

  
  • GG 102 - Introduction to Physical Geography


    This course is a systematic study of elements that compose the Earth’s physical environment: weather/climate, vegetation, soil, and landforms. The emphasis of the course is on these processes, but human-environment relationships are also examined.  Labs promote hypothesis testing, sampling, and experimentation on processes and interactions occurring in the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.

    Credits: 4

    Fee: Yes

    LSC/Core: Processes of Scientific Reasoning/ Scientific Inquiry

  
  • GG 201 - Urban Geography


    A geographic perspective on urbanization and a variety of contemporary urban problems. Possible topics include perceptions and images of urban areas; approaches to the study of urbanization and the spatial structure of urban systems; architecture and urban design; social structure and the urban experience; the evolution of residential and non-residential land-use patterns; investment and disinvestment in central cities; and the role of politics and planning in urban development. Emphasis is on the processes characteristic of North American cities.

    Credits: 4

 

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