Liberal Arts Courses

Graphic Medicine

Course No. QR 250  Credits: 3.0

In this course, students will create their own graphic narratives to communicate information about contemporary health and wellness trends. Creative projects will be informed by student research questions such as "How does weather affect mental health?" or "Is maternal health determined by race?" or "Why do the structures of certain neighborhoods help people to survive heatwaves?" Through lectures, close-reading practices, hands-on activities, written reflections, and field trips to local organizations, students will learn statistical skills, practice honing research questions, and develop techniques for plotting data and creating narrative representations of quantitative information. For the final project, students will collect, interpret, and then communicate public health data in a graphic narrative. 3 credits.

Business of Art

Course No. QR 275  Credits: 3.0

This course provides an introduction to business for artists. Through applied practice, students will gain a foundational understanding of business models in the arts, financial literacy and budgeting, data analysis and data visualization, marketing, fundraising, organizational management, entrepreneurship, business communications, and other areas. This course will prepare students for success as arts professionals, administrators, and creative leaders. 3 credits.

Business of Art

Course No. QR 275  Credits: 3.0

This course provides an introduction to business for artists. Through applied practice, students will gain a foundational understanding of business models in the arts, financial literacy and budgeting, data analysis and data visualization, marketing, fundraising, organizational management, entrepreneurship, business communications, and other areas. This course will prepare students for success as arts professionals, administrators, and creative leaders. 3 credits.

Data Visualization

Course No. QR 282  Credits: 3.0

Data Visualization is the art of representing information through graphics, images, and interactive designs. In this course, student will explore principles and practices of data visualization to support communication, storytelling, decision-making, and the analysis of information. They'll conduct research, interpet data, and make design decisions for real-world contexts, while gaining skills with a variety of professional tools. 3 credits.

Data Visualization

Course No. QR 382  Credits: 3.0

Data Visualization is the art of representing information through graphics, images, and interactive designs. In this course, student will explore principles and practices of data visualization to support communication, storytelling, decision-making, and the analysis of information. They'll conduct research, interpet data, and make design decisions for real-world contexts, while gaining skills with a variety of professional tools. 3 credits.

Social Justice Through Social Sciences

Course No. SS 224  Credits: 3.0

How can our work towards social justice be improved? One was is by strengthening and expanding our understanding of issues of inequity. In this course, we build this understanding through various disciplines of science science, such as law, sociology, economics, psychology, and political science. Because social sciences explore human behavior, relationships among individuals, and how people interact and act in organizations and the larger society, this academic field is key to understanding how social justice efforts must address multiple dimensions. This course enables students to achieve key goals of a liberal arts education, including cultivating self-awareness, fostering socially-respoonsible skills and practices, and promoting creative problem-solving. 3 credits.

Basic Theories of Psychology

Course No. SS 308  Credits: 3.0

This course will offer an overview of the basic theories of psychology and how they apply to human development. We will explore the questions of what motivates people to do what they do. How and why do people change as they grow from infants to adults? How do we develop in our ability to play, to work, to love and to be ethical human beings? The course will cover the major personality theories of Freud and his understanding of the unconscious, Erickson, Jung with his description of the shadows and archetypes in the human mind and Rogers' humanistic psychology as well as learning theories and systems of moral development. The course will also cover the major feminist critiques of these systems. There will be a brief overview of psychological problems such as major depression, schizophrenia, phobias, etc., as well as some methods of treatment. 3 credits.

Abnormal Psychology

Course No. SS 309  Credits: 3.0

How does the psychological community, the legal community and society at large determine what is abnormal? How do we as individuals make decisions about what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior? How do culture, religion and geographical location influence the definitions of normal behavior? It is these questions and others we will explore in this class examining the diagnosing, treatment and experimental study of psychopathology. Through lectures, case presentation, videos and required readings, you will develop an appreciation, understanding, and knowledge of behavior labeled as "abnormal." You will also enhance critical thinking skills, utilize methods of naturalistic observation and gain a sense of compassion and sensitivity for those who live with mental health disorders. 3 credits.