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STEP 1000-09A
Apple of My I: Food, Identity, and You
Ever wondered how true that old cliché, “you are what you eat,” is? This phrase is often used to encourage healthy eating. But can what we eat impact us in ways beyond physical health? By combining self-reflection, our family histories, and analysis of popular food brands and trends, this class will ask, how can the food around us imprint our values? Subsequently, how can the foods we eat be used to assert our convictions? This class is relevant to those studying history, American studies, family and consumer science, business, sociology, English, gender studies, nursing, and more. If you learn best in courses that intersect your experience with the ideas of others, this class will suit you. Assignments require you to dovetail reflection with research and interviews. By taking this class, you will grow as a student while better understanding yourself and your history.
STEP 1000-10A
Cultures Of Work
Messages about work and success are all around us – from social media and education to our families and local communities. In this class, we will explore different cultural attitudes and beliefs about work and success and how they influence society, human behavior and values. We will test common assumptions and explore multiple perspectives about work to better understand how we think about our own success and future. The course will use close reading, active learning and discussion, and a self-directed research project to explore this theme and practice critical and creative thinking that is essential in students’ professional and personal lives.
STEP 1000-11A
Sports, Cultures, & Society
From the Roman Colosseum to the modern football pitch, sport has historically played a role in human experience and culture. In this course we will look at early/historical sport, social issues, sports entertainment, youth and professional athletics, and much more as we build critical reading and research strategies, develop critical and compelling research projects, and learn to analyze cultural phenomena through the lens of sports. If you are interested in athletics, media, marketing, gender studies, human culture, and/or social issues and social change, this class is for you!"
STEP 1000-13A
CREATIVITY ACROSS CULTURES
Forbes magazine recently declared creativity “the skill of the future.” But what exactly is creativity? Where does inspiration come from? Who can be creative and what does it look like across cultures and disciplines? In this class, we will explore these questions and how creativity is valued and manifested in human culture. We will use texts from a variety of genres, active discussion, and a self-directed research project to examine creativity’s influence on human culture and behavior, and practice critical and creative thinking. Students from ALL majors and disciplines who want to bring more creative energy to any part of their life are encouraged to register.
STEP 1000-14A
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES MEDIA SUCCESS
Are you interested in learning about cultures, difference, and reaching across divides? At a time when cultural difference becomes a source of anxiety, it is critical to learn the importance of cultural awareness in understanding each other. In this class, we will explore media from new lenses by examining books, social media, films, and short stories to grow our knowledge about other cultures and build an understanding based on mutual respect. This class will grow your ability to think critically about the many stories that shape who we are!
STEP 1000-17A
A DAY IN THE LIFE
How do you tell the story of your life? What do we learn when we encounter other people’s stories? Can understanding your life story help you succeed in college and beyond? This class will study written and digital stories about college students to understand how our stories shape our day to day lives. In addition to reading essays and memoirs about college experiences, we will explore social media, online blogs, podcasting, and vlogging as forms of digital storytelling. Assignments include weekly readings and reflections, a group presentation, and a research-based digital storytelling project. No experience with social media, blogging, or vlogging is necessary; just an interest in learning more about how we tell stories about ourselves in writing and online.
STEP 1000-18A
Narratives of the American West: Representations in Media
We usually picture the American West by thinking of a rugged, horseback cowboy on sagebrush-dotted plains. This Western identity lives on in film and in television (think Longmire or Yellowstone). But, more importantly, it lives on in perceptions of Western identity, nationally and globally. Anyone who has lived in the American West can confirm this story of a mythicized West is not always accurate. If the portrayal of Western identity isn’t right, why is it still so common in film, TV, and other popular media? Is there value in maintaining a classic Western mystique? These questions, and others, are the focus of our class. We will examine more accurate and more complex representations of Western identity through media portrayals of the American West. If you have interest in sociology, archival work, American Studies, Indigenous studies, or film and media studies, this class is for you!
