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| Courses
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Anthropology
| Art | Astronomy
| Chemistry | Economics
| English | Geology
| History | Humanities INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY | ANTH 101 WO The course exposes the aims and accomplishments of anthropology. It surveys the guiding concepts and approaches and some current findings of biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and sociocultural anthropology. It covers aspects of genetics, micro and macro evolution, primate and hominid evolution, the origin of culture and early cultural developments of hominines, the origin of anatomically modern humans, origin of agriculture and cultural complexity, and the emergence of early agricultural states. Materials in the course illustrate the vast diversity of human cultures, considering such aspects as sex, gender, marriage, and family; language and cognition, enculturation and socialization; play, art, myth ritual, and worldview; social organization and power; subsistence and economy; kinship and larger social structures; and finally, culture change and globalization. But we also seek to evaluate the underlying universal aspects of culture and the fundamental biological homogeneity of the human species. Thus the course is not designed to train anthropologists but to reveal what anthropology has to tell us about the human condition and how the methods and concepts of anthropology can contribute to critical thinking. Above all, the course seeks to impart a sensitivity to cultural bias in the workings of our own culture and explores the problems generated by that ethnocentrism by critically evaluating the demands on our loyalty and action by political parties and religious figures, lawmakers, special interest groups, employers, family, friends, and our community.
INTRODUCTION TO ART | ART 101 VC A general survey of the fine and applied arts with emphasis upon building a general understanding of the techniques, styles, and history of art.
INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY | ASTR 217 TV This first-year college survey course includes scientific methods of research, deductive reasoning applied to mysteries in Astronomy, using materials from a variety of sources, presenting research information in technical writing format, and (for those who have access to equipment) some day and night sky observing. Areas of study will include physics background material, observational techniques for amateurs and professionals, planetary science in the context of the Solar System, the Sun, measuring the stars, stellar evolution, stellar remnants, the Milky Way galaxy, galaxies in general, galactic evolution, cosmology and the early universe, and the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. The course will be competency-based, will include a significant writing component, and will require use of critical thinking skills.
INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS | ECON 101 WO This course is designed to introduce economics and the economic approach to the problems created by scarcity. Specifically, the course will be economics for non-majors: fundamental concepts of economic analysis with application to contemporary problems. The student should learn what a market system is and how it has come to be the dominate economic system in the world today. Also the student should be able to evaluate free market outcomes as to their effectiveness and efficiency using the traditional tools of economic analysis. The student will also be asked to analyze possible social/political interventions into the market to solve contemporary problems, as well as the effectiveness of past interventions.
COMPOSITION: GENERAL | ENGL 101 WO English 101 is a college level expository writing course, which focuses on informative prose and builds toward the art of a documented paper. Students develop an understanding of themselves as writers by participating in public discourse about various social issues through threaded conversations, synchronous chats, and e-mail. Embanet (a software vendor) will provide us the "virtual classroom," the software to get there, and the customer support you will need to succeed. Students will examine the relationship among writer, audience, and purpose, and practice writing prose through a recursive process. Students completing this course should be able to write essays (of at least 750 words) demonstrating the conventions of standard written English and manuscript presentation.
COMPOSITION: CRITICAL ANALYSIS | ENGL 202 VC English 202 is a continuation of writing skills practiced in English 101 directed towards writing expository/argumentative and critical/analytical themes focusing on literature as their subject matter. English 202 continues the instruction of research methods begun in English 101, emphasizing the proper preparation of a research paper. Skills gained in this course should help students improve their ability to perform such tasks as writing for a variety of purposes and audiences, writing critically and analytically in a variety of settings, and creating formal, written research projects.
WORLD LITERATURE | ENGL 245 WO This survey course covers stories, poems and plays from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Australia, Europe and the Middle East. Seven of the ten units follow the thematic arrangement of chapters in the main text, Stuart Herschberg's The Many Worlds of Literature ("Family and Cultural Heritage," "Coming of Age," "Gender," "Class," "The Individual and the State," "Exile," and "The Spiritual Dimension.") There is also an introductory unit designed to give you an overview of the course, familiarize you with Embanet, and give you information on where to go for technical help and help with research and writing. An additional unit covers theories and practices of literary criticism, which you will need to complete the critical analysis assignments in the other units. Finally, there is a unit devoted to the novel you will be reading for the course, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.
SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE | ENGL 250 WO This introduction to the cultural diversity of American literature celebrates the rich variety of American voices. The course focuses on the literary contributions of African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinas/Latinos, European Americans, and Native Americans and introduces the literary genres of poetry, fiction, drama, and essay as it explores the dominant themes that have shaped the American literary tradition. In turn, students will develop their own literary aesthetic and learn to recognize the role their own cultural identity plays in responding to works of literature.
INTRODUCTION TO GEOLOGY | GEOL 101 WO This introductory course explores the processes that are responsible for forming and shaping Earth. Those processes comprise a series of intertwined systems that interact to produce Earth's continents, oceans, atmosphere, and life. The course incorporates online messaging and conferencing, as well as World-Wide-Web (WWW) assignments and independent field projects.
GEOLOGY OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST | GEOL 210 WO This course examines the present-day geology and geologic history of the Pacific Northwest as deduced from rocks, sequences of rock layers, fossils and structures. Topics include plate tectonics, volcanism, rocks and minerals, faults and folds, geologic age determination, map reading, mountain building, glaciation, rivers and floods. Requires a field excursion to a site chosen by the student. Includes laboratory.
This course will familiarize the student with the development of human endeavors from prehistoric time to the late Middle Ages. Emphasis is placed on the cultural, social, political and economic aspects of the great civilizations of this period.
The American Cinema telecourse explores how Hollywood films work technically, artistically and culturally to reinforce and challenge Americans' national self-image. Topics include the elements of film language, the studio system, popular genres and classic Hollywood cinema. The goal is to help students become active and critical viewers. Course outcomes/goals and objectives
Course details (subject to change without notice) This TeleWeb course combines video with online instruction. You will need access to a computer with an Internet connection. Expect to spend 2 to 4 hours per week online. 10 video lessons plus additional feature films, written assignments Robert Hendrick
LEARNING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY | LIBR 105 WO Emphasis will be on building the skills and techniques for successful lifelong learning and identifying personal learning styles and strengths that facilitate learning in an online environment. Through a quarter-long research project on a global issue, participants will examine various strategies for locating, evaluating, and applying information resources in the research process with attention to information policy issues like censorship and freedom of information.
MATHEMATICAL REASONING | MATH 108 WO This terminal course in mathematics covers a variety of topics often encountered in many fields of study. A variety of topics are that are generally discussed include probability, statistics, history, finance and modeling.
Humanities option for the nonmusic major. Lectures, readings, recordings, video presentations, guest artists and live concert attendance with emphasis on guiding the student to musical understanding and appreciation of the musical sytle and forms of the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Emphasis is on European classical literature.
HEALTH AND WELLNESS | PEH 181 VC This course emphasizes the relationship between course content and lifestyle choices in order to foster a better understanding of health issues today. Current issues include, but are not limited to, physical fitness and nutrition; weight management; stress and emotional health; chemical use and abuse; communicable and non-communicable disease; health-smart consumerism; the contemporary health-care system; aging, death and dying; and environmental health issues.
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY | PHIL 101 WO This course confronts the big questions human beings have struggled with for millennia, and engages in dialog with some of the world’s greatest thinkers and seekers. Examines important terminology, chronology, and conceptual language of some of the great philosophical traditions.
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY | PSYC 101 VC This course is a survey of the discipline major areas and it includes scientific methods of research, critical thinking in controversial areas, accessing and assessing related materials from a variety of sources, and presenting information in APA format. Areas of psychology to be studied include biological processes, sensation and perception, consciousness, learning, memory, cognitive processes, intelligence, motivation, emotion, life-span development, personality, psychological disorders, psychotherapy, health and stress, and social psychology. This course is competency-based, writing intensive, and critical thinking oriented.
PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY | SOC 102 WO Sociology is the study of social groups, structures, processes, institutions, and events. This course will focus on understanding and applying the sociological perspective, which stresses the importance of the impact of social forces external to the individual in shaping people's lives and experiences. The idea that we are all profoundly affected by the society in which we live is the guiding light of sociology. Sociologists also study the ways in which people, as they interact, shape their social systems. Topics studied will include socialization, social interaction, culture, groups, social structure, deviance, social inequality, social class, race, gender, institutions (political, economic, educational, family, and religious), collective behavior and social change. Students will be asked to learn the basic concepts, theories, and perspectives of sociology, to see how these operate in terms of social processes, structures, and events, and to apply this knowledge to better understand the social world.
SOCIOLOGY OF RACE AND ETHNIC GROUPS | SOC 151 VC A historical overview of minority and ethnic relations studies. Examination of topics and theories related to the diversity of selected cultures. Topics include prejudice and discrimination, dominant-minority relations, European Americans, Native Americans and Hispanic Americans. |
