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2021-2022 University Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]
Course Descriptions
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LAS 188 - The Self in Transition 3 Credit Hours
This seminar focuses on ways that the self is shaped and revised through major transitions such as going to college, crossing borders, and falling in (and out) of love.
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LAS 199 - Mindful Crossroads to Compassion and Awareness 3 Credit Hours
Buddhist monk and social activist Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that there is nothing we experience that can’t be approached with mindfulness and compassion. Our seminar will focus on understanding Hanh’s identification of Christianity with Buddhism to better understand how we experience ourselves in the world. Through literature and film, we will focus on the discovery and the formation of personal identity by asking, What are the key influences on a person’s development? How does the “self” interact with a community? How can mindfulness lead to a better understanding of who we are as individuals?
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LAS 201 - Our Common Home 3 Credit Hours
This seminar will consider the effects of climate change on the stability of various areas of the world, engaging in discussions about sustainability, social justice, and responsibility for our common home.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 202 - Our Only Hope: Building and Living 3 Credit Hours
This seminar will draw from multiple disciplines, including natural science, theology, social sciences, political strategy and philosophy, and ethics, to engage the issue of climate change and humanity’s relationship with the natural world and with one another - both in local settings and among a global community. The topics of innate human dignity and rights, such as property, work, access to resources and healthcare, are discussed in relation to how these rights can coordinate within a world of limited resources and societies that encourage conflict.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 203 - What Will Become of Us? Exploring Our Ecological Future Through Speculative Fiction 3 Credit Hours
As the catastrophic effects of climate change become increasingly apparent, fiction writers continue to explore humankind’s tenuous relationship with nature. In addition to the common text, we will also read a diverse collection of ecologically-minded fiction, otherwise known as “cli-fi,” as we discuss prescient issues concerning the natural world and our place in it. Readings will range from 20th-century novels (The Drowned World, Parable of the Sower) to current bestsellers (The End We Start From, American War). We will also read short stories and supplemental nonfiction pieces while considering how we can both participate in the modern world and retain a deep respect for the environment and its conservation.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 204 - Intersectional Environmentalism 3 Credit Hours
As climate change continues to capture the world’s attention and questions are raised about how to approach this problem, it’s worth considering how people talk about the environment. How do we imagine and discuss our relationship to the outside world, and how does this engagement reflect societal issues. This course will examine how the environment can be used as a metaphor for social engagement. We will examine a variety of texts–articles, novels, TV shows, films, photography–to see how the use of nature sheds light on issues of class, race and gender.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 205 - Food, Diversity, and Environmental Justice 3 Credit Hours
Race, poverty, food access, health disparity and environmental injustice are intricately linked in the U.S. Communities who are poor bear an unequal burden from hazardous environmental exposures and agricultural waste. People of color are more likely to live in food deserts and face issues of food insecurity. The recent water crisis of lead contamination and shut offs in Michigan are evidence of these disparities. In alignment with the U.N. position that food and water is a human right, all people should have access to a safe food and water supply. A recent report from the U.N. highlighted ways that the U.S. falls short among developed countries, particularly for minority communities, and how this contributes to race/ethnic health disparities. Students in this course will gain an understanding of these issues and discuss how they might participate in advocating for positive change.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 206 - Vacation: Summer Family Road Trip 3 Credit Hours
This seminar will explore the idea of “man in his environment.” Each week we will pile in the metaphorical mini-van and travel somewhere in the United States, learning about various locations and moments in environmental history. Potential stops may include Mesa Verde, where we will study the Ancient Indians and how they interacted with the environment; the Grand Canyon where we will hike to Supai to live with the Havasu Indians and learn about their connection to the sacred land and the history of oppression of native people for their Land; the Everglades to study how man’s manipulation of the ecosystem (making canals) impacts that ecosystem; the Pacific Northwest to study alternative energy and how that is being integrated into the human world; and other locales and lessons.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 207 - The Ladder and the Web 3 Credit Hours
In this seminar, we will study selected classic and contemporary texts that explore connections-physical, ethical, and spiritual-between human beings and the natural world, and we will apply what we learn from studying those texts to current environmental issues. The question that governs the course can be expressed [deceptively] simply: What is the proper relationship between humankind and nature? The simplicity of the question is deceptive because within it reside a number of other questions, the most urgent of which is whether, given the consequences of humankind’s activities over the past few hundred years, it’s simply too late to ponder such questions. What have we done to the earth? What can we do now? In confronting such questions, we will draw both comfort and guidance from such great American nature writers as Thoreau, Muir, and Carson and from a great modern treatise, Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 208 - The Consumer, The Producer, and the Environment 3 Credit Hours
If we are what we eat, what exactly are we eating today? How is food produced in the United States? Food politics and policies in the United States have heated up in recent years, as legislators, regulators, educators, farmers and many others battle over subsidies, restrictions and questions of public health. What shapes our choices as consumers? How do these choices impact our lives and our communities? How do our choices impact the environment? Is this sustainable? We will explore these critical issues as we learn about food production in the US.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 209 - The Natural World, Conflict, and Mediation: Taking Care of Our Common Home 3 Credit Hours
It has been reported that we only have a small window in which to save our Sister, Mother Earth. She allows us to experience her beauty, she provides us with food and water and most importantly - air to breathe. So then, why do we exploit her, maybe even to the point of destruction? Our views on climate change differ tremendously. In this class, we will examine debates between supporters and naysayers and the conflicts among various entities (diverse societies and cultures, governments and organizations). You will learn how mediation can be used as a tool to find a path forward, sharing responsibilities to save her before it might be too late. “This sister cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her” (Laudato Si).This seminar includes a circle practice (drawn from restorative justice models) in which students will explore questions related to the course texts and vocational exploration.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 212 - Making Our Best Effort: Caring Together for Our Common Home 3 Credit Hours
If we are to attempt sensible approaches and communal efforts to care for the earth and its people, how will we envision the best steps and the desirable outcomes of this essential project? How can we learn from the writings of Pope Francis in Laudato Si, and many important contributions of other leaders and thinkers, to care for this earth, our common home, in just, responsible, and beneficial ways? These questions will guide us as we seek to understand how ecological and spiritual responses to the need to care for our earthly home are both valuable and indispensable.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 213 - Latin America: The Assault of Its Natural World 3 Credit Hours
This sophomore seminar seeks to explore the myth and reality of Latin America through a discussion of the impact of the collision of the European and American worlds at the end of the 15th century. During this period, Native Americans, Europeans and Africans would be brought into direct contact and often violent confrontations. This resulted in the oftentimes careless exploitation of the natural resources of Latin America and in doing so would alter the course of history of this region. This course will identify and trace key features and trends of this part of world. The lessons learned from this story will assist us in taking responsibility for shaping the future of our natural world.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 215 - Stewardship, Food, Energy, and How Humans React With the Environment 3 Credit Hours
The population of the world is increasing and our burdens as a society on the environment are increasing. This course will investigate the cost of humans on the environment. We will also discuss ways we can mitigate these costs and be better stewards of the environment. Topics will include the environment, ecology, biology, farming, energy production and energy flow. The course will use books, films, lectures, discussions, and projects to expand our understanding.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 240 - Ecological Intelligence 3 Credit Hours
In our everyday lives we interact regularly with consumer goods that we have acquired through the market system. In many cases we are disconnected from the origin of the raw materials as well as the production of these goods. This course will develop knowledge and strategies to be aware of the raw materials used, and the production methods employed, to produce consumer goods. We will explore our power as consumers to support outcomes, such as environment and sustainability issues, that are important to us.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 248 - Facing the Future in a Changed World 3 Credit Hours
How can humans flourish in a world remade by climate change and ecological breakdown? In 2018, sustainability expert Jem Bendell argued that we must focus on resilience (“how do we keep what we really want to keep?”), relinquishment (“what do we need to let go of in order to not make matters worse?”), and restoration (“what can we bring back to help us with the coming difficulties and tragedies?”). More recently, Pope Francis has said that current efforts to change human behavior in response to the climate crisis fall far short of what is needed. In this seminar, you will draw on knowledge and skills from many different sources to propose plans for resilience, relinquishment, and restoration on the Dominican campus, in surrounding communities, and in the world at large, and you will explore how local and global actions are linked.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 274 - Business and the Environment: Towards a Global Sustainable Economy 3 Credit Hours
This seminar explores the role of Business in creating an environmental friendly global economy. The seminar builds on the triple bottom line; People, Environment and Economy to explore the role business can play in creating a sustainable global economy. Students will examine the role that cultures, governments and regulations play in creating business opportunities that will create an environmentally friendly economy.
Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and completion of a first-year seminar.
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LAS 406 - Categorizing the Good Life 3 Credit Hours
It is human nature to categorize. Categories help us make sense of and provide a lens through which we view the world - categories such as race, culture, religion, gender, and many more. This seminar will explore the ways in which “the good life” can be categorized and how categories can benefit or challenge us in unanticipated ways, from stereotypes to biased technology to subject headings in library catalogs.
Prerequisite(s): Senior Standing
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LAS 408 - A Good Family, A Good Life 3 Credit Hours
What each person considers to be a “good” family varies by that individual’s experience and upbringing as well as their culture, religion, and a myriad of other variables. Using a family systems theory approach, this course will examine the philosophical, psychological, sociological, and anthropological perspectives on the family as a social unit, as well as a social context in which one can experience a good life. This seminar includes a circle practice (drawn from restorative justice models) in which students will explore questions related to the course texts and vocational exploration.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 408 - A Good Family, A Good Life 3 Credit Hours
What each person considers to be a “good” family varies by that individual’s experience and upbringing as well as their culture, religion, and a myriad of other variables. Using a family systems theory approach, this course will examine the philosophical, psychological, sociological, and anthropological perspectives on the family as a social unit, as well as a social context in which one can experience a good life.This seminar includes a circle practice (drawn from restorative justice models) in which students will explore questions related to the course texts and vocational exploration.
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LAS 420 - Searching for the Good Life through The Long Term 3 Credit Hours
In the fall of 2019, Dominican University’s O’Connor Gallery will host Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project (PNAP)’s The Long Term, an exhibition consisting of multimedia art that emerged from classes and collaborative work out of Statesville prison from 2016-18, led by artists, writers, and members of PNAP. The theme of the exhibition centers around people serving extraordinarily long prison terms (60, 70, and 80 years) and the effects these sentences produce: long-term struggles for freedom, long-term loss in communities, and long-term relationships behind the prison wall. Through the lens of the show’s content, its programmatic offerings (i.e. visiting artist performances, workshops, screenings, and discussions), long-form peace circles, and the main text Aristotle’s Ethics, students will engage and grapple with the idea of the “good life” by creating dialogue, writings, and their own visual responses through Risograph prints.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 421 - The Good Life, Creativity, and the Pursuit of Happiness 3 Credit Hours
This class explores the connection between creativity, ethics, happiness, and living a “good life”. Student will be engaged in discussions about creativity as a pursuit in personal, professional, and community spheres and how creative exploration functions as a tool to examine the past and plan the future. The class includes the study of the connections between creativity, community service, and social responsibility, as well as exploration (theoretical and practical) of the impact of individual and community creativity in the creation of a more just and humane world. This course will also include visits to and from individuals engaged in a variety of creative pursuits. This seminar includes a circle practice (drawn from restorative justice models) in which students will explore questions related to the course texts and vocational exploration.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 423 - Finding the Right Balance in Life 3 Credit Hours
We have many responsibilities in life that pull us in many directions - family, work, school, community, our spiritual life, and our mental and physical wellbeing. Besides responsibilities, we also need fun, enjoyment and relaxation. How do we accomplish this successfully? Great minds have identified “The Good Life” as a life of balance: What is the right balance to human life? What have philosophers, doctors and other successful people determined? What can we find? Aristotle thought the answer lied in living a life of virtue. We will explore Aristotle’s thoughts and whether virtuous conduct can provide us with balance. An additional foundational tool in the course may be The Rule of Saint Benedict, a writing by the Saint from over 1500 years ago, in which he attempts to prescribe certain essentials for the balanced life. The course will also explore the quest for balance in a multi-disciplinary manner, looking for answers through a lens that will consider nutrition, exercise, learning and spirituality. A course objective will be for each student to find his or her own unique life balance that will serve as a guidepost for the future.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 432 - The Ethical Superhero 3 Credit Hours
This course explores the moral and ethical nature of superheroes. By employing Aristotle’s discussion for what leads to living a good life, the students explore whether or not the superheroes they know actually live such a life and should serve as role models for others-or whether or not there are some moral questions that need to be dealt with when considering the relationship of the superhero to society. The course will utilize various superhero texts, from Watchmen to Superman: Red Son, to explore the nature of the ethical and moral superhero, and students will conduct an in-depth analysis on one superhero in an effort to answer the question of the course: what does it mean to lead a good life?
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LAS 435 - Who Should I Become? 3 Credit Hours
Our families, our schools, and society as a whole encourage us to think about what we will become in the world, but it may be more difficult to think about who we will become. Through reading, discussion, and writing about Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics, Friedrich Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil, Stephen Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature, and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, students will explore where the systems of ethics we inherit come from; how ethical systems relate to our biological natures; and what we mean by happiness and how we find it.
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LAS 436 - Selfies and Sharing: Balancing Individuality and Community 3 Credit Hours
We live in a highly individualized society, made more so by the digital applications and social media with which we engage on a daily basis. This course seeks to understand how best to balance a sense of individuality with a commitment to community by exploring what it means to express and embrace one’s own identity while also engaging with a larger group, be it our friends, family, colleagues, classmates, or any other group to which we belong. How do we determine how our self-expression impacts those around us? What do we identify as good or ethical and how do we identify and respond to what is bad or unethical in a digital world saturated with opinion and commentary? The aim is to acknowledge how we recognize our social responsibility through individual action.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 438 - Man’s Freedom: Torment or Grace 3 Credit Hours
This LAS senior seminar will focus on the concept of Freedom and ways in which individuals either cherish their freedom and flourish within it or are tormented by it and ruined by it. As Dostoevsky suggests, perhaps nothing is more desirous to man than freedom, yet nothing is more terrible. Literary works from Dostoevsky, C.S. Lewis, and Yukio Mishima will help us explore a variety of external and internal enslavements. Greek and Existential philosophers will help us understand the impact values have on freedom and happiness. Inspiring stories of special survivors will also be highlighted: stories of those who endured great trauma and oppression only to cherish and promote freedom all the more.
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LAS 440 - Whose Life Is It, Anyway? The Ethical Mandate of Memoir 3 Credit Hours
This seminar focuses on how authors and their readers wrestle with issues of self-representation and fact in writing and reading memoir and other life narratives. Our inquiry begins with Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, a text that provides a dynamic frame to consider how the good life-or the lack of it-is being recorded by increasing numbers of authors today in the nonfiction genre of life writing. Excerpts from The Ethics of Life Writing, by Paul Eakin, and of writings from some of the earliest memoirists (Sei Shonagan, Rousseau, Montaigne, St. Augustine) will serve as a foundation for interpreting memoirs by Vivian Gornick, David Eggers, Mary Karr, Tobias Wolff, Art Spiegelman, and other contemporary authors. By crafting a memoir essay of your own, you will have the opportunity to examine the fictional techniques that authors employ to shape true stories.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing
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LAS 441 - Beyond Good and Evil 3 Credit Hours
For Nietzsche, concepts of good and evil are not absolute: “What an age experiences as evil is usually an untimely reverberation echoing what was previously experienced as good-the atavism of an older ideal.” We will use Nietzsche’s dramatic revaluation of values in The Genealogy of Morality and (selections from) Beyond Good and Evil to enable an investigation of Aristotle’s ethical system in his Nichomachean Ethics. We will read texts (for example, Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Huysman’s Against the Grain, Baudelaire’s Flowers of Evil) and view films (such as Fellini’s La Dolce Vita) that will enrich our exploration of matters related to good and evil.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing
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LAS 442 - Justice and the Common Good 3 Credit Hours
This seminar pursues the question of how we ought to live in light of the tension between the individual and society. With Aristotle as our central figure, we will also engage three modern thinkers who are broadly Aristotelian-Sandel, Maritain, and Nussbaum-in our quest to uncover the common good. Along the way, we will address issues of class, race, and gender, as well as the challenges and possibilities of our pluralistic society.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing
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LAS 443 - Dark Side of Aristotle’s Ethics 3 Credit Hours
As a primer for leading a virtuous life, Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics outlines the framework to create the quintessential human being. This course will examine the literary reverse of Aristotle’s vision through the works of existential authors such as Kafka, Camus, and Sartre. Dante’s Inferno will also be examined to illustrate the ultimate plight of the lost souls who exist without hope for redemption. Together, all these works will serve to underscore the importance of the ethics as a pivotal work of “human architecture.”
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LAS 444 - What is Happiness? 3 Credit Hours
Everyone wants to be happy. But what is happiness? How can we attain true happiness? Are some things essential for human flourishing? How should we live? Are virtues and values the key to happiness of self and others? What is the virtuous life? Is it possible to be happy in this life? Using Aristotle’s Ethics as the main text, this seminar will critically evaluate his idea that happiness consists in living the good life and compare it to other accounts of happiness such as egoistic hedonism, utilitarianism, and existentialism.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 445 - Good Life: Fate and Responsibility 3 Credit Hours
What are the roles of fate and responsibility for “the good life?” How does deliberation allow us to grapple with the determinants of fate and accept responsibility for our actions? In this seminar, we will answer those questions through the lenses of both science and literature. After developing a framework for approaching “the good life” through a close reading of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, we will explore the issues of fate and responsibility in genetics and in works of poetry and short fiction. In the final weeks of class, student will analyze the value of both science and literature for “the good life” and anticipate where issues of fate and responsibility will surface in their lives and intended careers.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 446 - Education’s End 3 Credit Hours
Dominican University hopes that its students will develop “an emerging sense of personal and professional vocation” and come to “possess character, knowledge, and skills to take informed, ethical action in the world and to influence others for the good” (Vision for Undergraduate Education). This seminar asks seniors approaching graduation to recall and take stock of their own learning over the last few years, to make connections across their coursework, to track changes in their assumptions, beliefs, and values, and to envision their future selves. Recollection and reflection on each student’s trajectory will be done in dialogue with diverse readings, films, and other media introduced in the seminar, all exploring the basic question of discerning one’s calling and leading a life that “pursues truth, gives compassionate service, and participates in the creation of a more just and humane world.” This seminar includes a circle practice (drawn from restorative justice models) in which students will explore questions related to the course texts and vocational exploration.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 459 - Mask, Individual, and Society 3 Credit Hours
Through a study of texts such as Machiavelli’s The Prince and Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier, we will explore the various roles an individual plays in society. We all wear masks, both real and imaginary, in our interactions with others. What do these writers tell us of the nature and function of such masks? What is the ethical status of masking? What are its social functions? How does masking help shape the individual and society?
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LAS 460 - Right Relationship 3 Credit Hours
All relationships - filial, friendly, erotic - are tempered by such emotions as jealousy, obsession, self-doubt, fear, etc. Through literature and spirituality, we shall explore how relationships can be destroyed and healed. Readings include King Lear, The Color Purple, Like Water for Chocolate, As We Are Now, and Tuesdays with Morrie.
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LAS 461 - The Art of Contemplation 3 Credit Hours
Aristotle argues that contemplation is the aim and fulfillment of a good and happy life. Modern scientific studies similarly indicate that meditative and contemplative practice promotes mental, physical, and spiritual health and development. By providing students access to practical skills in and reflective understanding of meditation and contemplation as found in classical Western Christian and Asian traditions as well as modern applications, this seminar aims to assess the cogency of Aristotle’s doctrine as well as the place and value of these arts in the light of contemporary research and the students’ own experience.
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LAS 462 - Personal Conduct and Character and Professional Ethics 3 Credit Hours
The topic of professional ethics and personal morality will be the subject matter of this course. The approach will be interdisciplinary, with various insights into ethics and values from several professional perspectives (business, law, nutrition, genetics, medicine, etc.) Simultaneously, students will engage in ongoing discussion about personal ethical conduct and character.
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LAS 465 - Aikido as Contemplation 3 Credit Hours
This seminar will literally put our virtue in action. Students will learn the fundamentals of Aikido, a Japanese martial art that emphasizes the harmonious exchange of energy, as a form of contemplation. This is not just a theoretical course. Students will actually do the physical work of learning Aikido, so students need to wear sweatpants (not shorts) and t-shirts.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 466 - The Pursuit of Happiness 3 Credit Hours
Everyone wants to be happy. But what is happiness? How can we attain true happiness? Are some things essential for human flourishing? How should we live? Are virtues and values the key to happiness of self and others? What is the virtuous life? Is it possible to be happy in this life? Using Aristotle’s Ethics as the main text, this seminar will critically evaluate his idea that happiness consists in living the good life and compare it to other accounts of happiness such as egoistic hedonism, utilitarianism, and existentialism.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 471 - Literary Underworlds 3 Credit Hours
As a primer for leading a virtuous life, Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics outlines the framework to create the quintessential human being. This course will examine the literary reverse of Aristotle’s vision through the works of existential authors such as Kafka, Camus, and Sartre. Dante’s Inferno will also be examined to illustrate the ultimate plight of the lost souls who exist without hope for redemption. Together, all these works will serve to underscore the importance of the ethics as a pivotal work of “human architecture.”
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 476 - The Pursuit of Truth in a Culture of Confusion 3 Credit Hours
An investigation of the effects of mass-mediated communication and information as a mass commodity on values, particularly the value of truth. In an age of information glut, where for all intents and purposes every possible point of view is represented, all points of view appear to have the same value. The idea of having and clinging to “values” implies evaluating ideas–seeing which ones are “better” than others. All ideas are not equal; otherwise “values” as such are irrelevant. At the same time, all our mass-mediated messages are biased toward the technological culture that brings them to us. We spend more and more time communicating with (or through) our technologies, and less and less time communicating with one another through real, human, interpersonal means–discourse. The Dominican idea of the disputatio–the pursuit of truth through mutually respectful disagreement, debate, and criticism–has been replaced with accommodatio–an unfortunate willingness to reject truth, except as an entirely subjective experience.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 486 - Ethical Communication 3 Credit Hours
How we communicate with one another determines who we are as a community and as individuals. In a world that is seemingly coming together and growing smaller due to communication technologies, we must guard against assuming we know how to communicate with people. If we are to build stronger communities and grow as individuals, we have to deal with the problems of communicating in our modern society and culture. We need to confront the challenges of how to use these technologies to communicate ethically by starting with what is meant by ethical communication. In this seminar, we discuss what it means to use communication technologies to communicate ethically: whether it is individual to individual, across gaps in beliefs, or even the creation of mass media. In reading Aristotle’s Ethics, we will consider how his values of character are being affected by the methods of communication we engage in on a daily basis, and then, conversely, how these values could be applied to improve these methods.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 489 - You Are What You Eat: Good Food for the Good Life 3 Credit Hours
What should we eat for the good life? In this seminar, we will explore the ethical and aesthetic values that inform our daily decisions about food. We will explore the moral obligations that do (or might) guide those decisions, the role of pleasure in determining what counts as good food, the environmental and social consequences of food production and distribution, and the cultural and religious significance of what we eat.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 490 - Being Good in a World of Gray 3 Credit Hours
How is it possible to be good in a world where there are very few absolute rights and wrongs? How do you ethically choose the lesser of two evils? This seminar will examine what it means to be good through readings from Aristotle and then attempt to apply those ideas to historical situations and fictional parables. Questions of justice, personal responsibility, and the greater good will be explored through readings of Victor Hugo, Ursula LeGuin, Simon Wiesenthal, and others, and discussion will be key to that exploration.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 492 - The Good Woman; the Good Life 3 Credit Hours
What does it mean to be a “good” woman? Is there one ideal or many? Is the good woman also a happy woman, especially when and where it has been “a man’s world”? Building on the foundation of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, this seminar examines texts-both non-fiction and fiction-describing the virtues and behavior of the “ideal” woman, one who consequently lives a happy life.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LAS 493 - Love’s Failings and Fruition 3 Credit Hours
This seminar will examine how what we love and the way we love plays a major role in attaining a good life. Readings from philosophy, religion, and literature will help us explore the link between love and morality. Some works, like the Inferno, Othello and The Bluest Eye will help us analyze the failings of corrupted or immature love. Other writers, like St Augustine, Thich Nhat Hahn, and Thomas Merton, will offer us wonderful insight into the traits and benefits of higher, holier love. We will examine how some loves are self-centered and exploitative whereas others seek nurture, worship, and communion.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
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LIB 000 - Information Literacy Workshop 0 Credit Hours
A noncredit workshop offered by the library to transfer degree completion students who have not completed English 102 at Dominican as the way to fulfill the foundation requirement. Students will learn the basics of library research including the ability to locate both print and electronic sources by searching library databases for articles and books; effectively using the internet for academic purposes; evaluating information critically; and using the information ethically and legally. This course is offered on a satisfactory/fail basis. Students will be expected to spend time in the library to complete hands-on exercises.
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LIS 701 - Core Values, Ethics, and Issues in the Library and Information Professions 3 Credit Hours
Covers core values and ethics central to the library and information professions, including intellectual property, privacy, access, confidentiality of records, codes of ethics, intellectual freedom, and censorship. Includes an analysis and comparison of social, cultural, economic, and political factors that influence access to information and the development and provision of information services. Examines the role, function, and influence of information policies at the organization, local, national, and international levels and their impact on information flow and core professional values. Considers the library and information professions and practice within a diverse and global context.
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LIS 702 - Facilitating User Learning and Information Needs 3 Credit Hours
Provides an introductory overview of information behaviors and information needs, seeking, retrieval, evaluation, use, and sharing in relation to professional practice. Investigates the application reference interview and research consultation skills to the design and delivery of information services and resources. Considers learning theories and principles in relation to information literacy and fluency. Examines instructional approaches and strategies for formal and informal learning contexts, different information settings, and virtual environments.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 (or concurrent enrollment)
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LIS 703 - Organization of Knowledge 3 Credit Hours
Provides an overview of principles, methods, and systems in the organization of materials and information in a variety of library and related settings. Introduces at a basic level the use and interpretation of Resource Description & Access (RDA), subject headings (Library of Congress Subject Headings), classification (Dewey Decimal Classification & Library of Congress Classification), authority control, and Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC21). Introduces foundational concepts of knowledge representation and taxonomies.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 (or concurrent enrollment)
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LIS 707 - Leadership, Marketing, and Strategic Communication 3 Credit Hours
Introduces leadership theories and practice to promote effective interpersonal, small group, and organizational communication in library and information settings. Covers communicating a leadership stance, using effective leadership, marketing, and communication management techniques and practices, and applying design and systems thinking to create and implement information services, tools, and resources. Examines marketing principles and collaborative leadership approaches to promote services and collections and to advance organizational goals. Discusses advocacy for libraries, archives, and information agencies. Covers project management techniques.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 (or concurrent enrollment)
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LIS 708 - Evidence-Based Planning, Management, and Decision-Making 3 Credit Hours
Introduces research concepts, principles of research design, measurement, and qualitative and elementary quantitative data collection and analysis techniques commonly employed in library and information settings. Covers methods and approaches for assessing library and information services, programs, and resources with the goal of demonstrating value to the users and constituent groups served by the organization. Emphasizes designing, planning and managing research and assessment projects. Considers strategies to use research and assessment findings and to communicate results.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 709 - Foundations of Technology 3 Credit Hours
Provides an overview of information technology infrastructures and the underlying concepts embodied in databases, operating systems, hardware, and software applications. Covers website creation, network technologies, webhosting, and file transfer protocol (FTP). Develops competencies for advanced Internet-based searching, application of business intelligence software (e.g., MS-Excel), and creation of data visualizations.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 (or concurrent enrollment)
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LIS 710 - Information Divides 3 Credit Hours
The rise of the Information Society has brought with it great advances in knowledge creation and dissemination by employing a wide range of information and communication technologies (ICTs). This has enhanced knowledge, wealth, power, and comfort - but not for all. Digital divides have emerged, especially among underrepresented groups and those without access to online information. This course addresses different types of digital divides and their defining characteristics, especially with regard to economics, education, health, and democracy. Learning experiences in this course will employ literature-based discussion and research-based investigations into specific digital divide issues. Offered in summer.
Listed also as INF 430
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 711 - History of the Text: Early Books and Manuscripts up to the Printing Press 3 Credit Hours
This course provides an overview of the early history of the written word, focusing on the use of texts from antiquity up to the age of the printing press. Site visits to local repositories provide hands-on experience with papyri, clay tablets, parchment, vellum, and rare books. Readings and discussions will explore what is meant by the term “text” in order to deeply investigate the methodologies of book history and textual criticism.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 713 - Introduction to the Preservation and Conservation of Library and Archival Materials 3 Credit Hours
Introduces students to the concepts and fundamentals of preservation and conservation of library and archival records and materials. Students learn about the environmental and structural causes and control of deterioration, conservation and repair, storage and reformatting, disaster preparedness and risk management, binding, and security. Students are also introduced to strategies and best practices for preservation planning and management of preservation programs and resources.
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LIS 718 - Storytelling for Adults and Children 3 Credit Hours
The art of storytelling is perfected through presentation and self-evaluation. Students will develop their own styles and methods of presentation. Readings in folk literature as well as more contemporary and classical sources are required. Students will present stories regularly in class or elsewhere, plan storytelling programs and learn to evaluate and provide critiques of storytelling.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 or permission of instructor
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LIS 719 - History of Children’s Literature from Western Europe to the United States 3 Credit Hours
This course focuses on the history and development of children’s literature in Western Europe (primarily Great Britain) and the United States from the Middle Ages to the end of the twentieth century. Texts are selected to represent different historical periods as well as a range of authors and illustrators with an emphasis on works of historical significance. Cultural and social contexts in which these works were created, distributed, and read as well as the impact of technological changes on the development of children’s literature will be considered. Examination of literary genres across decades will include a discussion of the changing concepts of childhood and multiculturalism, and historical controversies and challenges. Coursework includes reading, discussion, written assignments, and presentations.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 720 - Picture Books and Emergent Literacy 3 Credit Hours
In depth consideration of theory, research, technology, and practice of supporting early literacy development in children birth to six. Topics covered include: research in pre-literacy language acquisition and brain development; picture book evaluation, selection and sharing specific to early literacy; design of programs for young children (storytime) and the adults who support them (workshops) to enrich early literacy skills; creation and use of interstitial, book-expanding activities and elements (fingerplays, songs, rhymes, flannel board stories, etc.); exploration of the philosophical underpinnings of literature sharing with young children and its purpose and value.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 721 - Library Materials for Children 3 Credit Hours
Selection, evaluation and use of media for children in elementary and middle schools and public libraries. Materials in curricular areas are studied along with an examination of the relationships of materials to developmental characteristics and individual differences of the child, to curriculum and recreation, to the exceptional child, and to a multicultural society.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 722 - Library Materials for Young Adults 3 Credit Hours
Selection, evaluation and use of media for young adults in middle and secondary schools and public libraries. Materials in curricular areas are studied along with an examination of the relationships of materials to developmental characteristics and individual differences of young adults in contemporary society, to curriculum and recreation, to the exceptional young adult and to a multicultural society. .
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 723 - Services for Children and Young Adults 3 Credit Hours
Introduction to the planning, promotion, implementation and evaluation of literature-sharing services for children and young adults in school and public libraries. Emphasis is placed on techniques, such as presenting parent/ teacher workshops, storytelling, presenting book talks and story programming.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 and either LIS 721 or LIS 722
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LIS 724 - Integrating Technology into Programming, Services and Instruction 3 Credit Hours
An overview of media technologies used in the teaching/learning process. Emphasis is given to: the relationship of learning theory to use of media (including interactive and multimedia technologies); the role of the library media specialist in facilitating effective creation/production use of media by students and teachers in elementary, middle, and secondary schools; copyright issues; and planning for technology.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 725 - Curriculum and School Libraries 3 Credit Hours
Introduction to the history, current trends and integration of curriculum as it relates to the school library media program serving students in elementary, middle, and secondary schools. Emphasis is on collaborative planning and teaching between the library media specialist and teachers.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 726 - Learning Theories, Motivation, And Technology 3 Credit Hours
Candidates examine various theories of learning and motivation and apply their understandings in the design of learning opportunities for students. Candidates explore the use of concepts underpinning the use of learning technologies and the use of computers in a constructivist classroom. They study productivity and online tools and acquire skills for using technology in instruction. Students develop competence in the methodologies and strategies for integrating technology into classroom activities. Additionally, candidates examine research related to human, legal and equity issues concerning the use of computers and related technologies in educational settings.
Listed also as EDU 528
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 728 - Clinical Experience - Student Teaching 6 Credit Hours
Practical experience in elementary, middle or secondary school library media centers totaling 400 hours. Students are placed in an elementary/middle school and a middle/secondary school setting for two, non-paid, supervised clinical experiences. Fee required. Credit: five semester hours of student teaching credit (does not count toward the MLIS degree).
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 , LIS 702 , LIS 703 , LIS 707 , LIS 708 , LIS 721 , LIS 722 , LIS 725 , LIS 773 , and LIS 724 , or LIS 754 , or LIS 768 , or LIS 786 ,or LIS 882 , or LIS 884 , and approval of the field experience coordinator.
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LIS 730 - Cataloging and Classification 3 Credit Hours
Advanced study of cataloging and classification systems with the primary emphasis on practical application of current standards and conceptual models, such as Resource Description & Access (RDA), IFLA Library Reference Model (LRM), and Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC21), along with subject classifications and vocabularies, such as Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), Library of Congress Classification (LCC), and Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Students will explore the history and principles of library cataloging standards, authority work, the challenges of developing and maintaining subject standards, meeting the needs of diverse communities, competencies within and advocacy for the cataloging profession, as well as current topics of discussion within the cataloging profession, such as emerging technologies and ethical issues. Students will catalog a variety of information resources and explore questions relevant to the material.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 , LIS 703
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LIS 732 - Indexing and Abstracting 3 Credit Hours
The fundamentals of indexing and abstracting in theory and practice; formation of vocabularies; construction of a thesaurus; systems of indexing; effects of systems upon information retrieval; style and format of abstracts; evaluation of abstracting services; and requirements of users of abstracts.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 and LIS 703
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LIS 734 - Learning Theories and Instructional Designs 3 Credit Hours
This course focuses on the identification and application of educational and technology-related research, the psychology of learning theories, and instructional design principles in guiding use of computers and technology in education.
Listed also as EDU 777
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 , LIS 703 , LIS 724 , and School Library Media Program Director Permission
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LIS 740 - Advanced Reference Services 3 Credit Hours
An in-depth analysis of reference and information sources in a variety of subject areas. This course deals with major disciplinary literature in digital and print reference materials in business, humanities, social sciences and sciences. It includes a study of the structure of the literature and organizations in each field, as well as, advanced training in addressing reference questions and research problems.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 and LIS 702
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LIS 744 - Government Information Resources 3 Credit Hours
Selection, acquisition, and organization of government publications in all formats; the use of government information for reference purposes. Introduction to e-government, e-policy, and the organization of government.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 745 - Searching Electronic Databases 3 Credit Hours
Advanced study of the principles, concepts and skills needed in reference and information services in order to help answer users information queries by searching electronically accessible databases. An overview of existing and state-of-the-art information systems, and the development of appropriate search strategies.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 748 - Collection Management 3 Credit Hours
An overview of collection development and management for libraries and information centers. The evaluation and selection of materials in all formats will be discussed. Particular emphasis will be given to an analysis of issues related to access of electronic content. In addition, methods for managing print, digital, and multimedia collections will be examined. Publishing trends and emerging information product formats will also be studied.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 749 - Crisis Informatics 3 Credit Hours
This course explores the inter-connectedness of information, people, and technologies in a crisis. In particular, it examines how information is managed, organized, coordinated, and disseminated during a crisis; it analyzes information needs and seeking behaviors during a crisis, and explores how information and communication techniques can support communities in a crisis. Students reflect on lessons learned from past crises, and develop strategies to manage future crises. This course will equip students with the knowledge and skills to enable them to be key players in crisis response.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 750 - Information Storage and Retrieval 3 Credit Hours
A course designed to consider the basic principles of information: its generation, communication, storage and subsequent dissemination. Emphasis will be upon various theories of information generation and control and on the environment surrounding information utilization, including such topics as user characteristics, file design, utilization of efficient and appropriate search strategies, and measurement of the effectiveness of information systems. Current research will be presented for analysis.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 or IM 701
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LIS 751 - Database Management Systems 3 Credit Hours
An introduction to database concepts, database design and database implementation. Examines the role of data in the library/information environment and the application of database principles in information storage and handling. Students will have hands-on practice with a database management system.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 or IM 701
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LIS 752 - Oral History 3 Credit Hours
Also listed as HIST 307.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 753 - Internet Fundamentals and Design 3 Credit Hours
An introduction to the fundamentals of the Internet, including its origins, evolution, architecture, current issues, and future. Students will gain a basic understanding of Web content languages, Web site management, and design/usability principles. Critical Internet Issues such as security, privacy, copyright, and governance will be discussed within the context of library and information services.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 754 - Systems Analysis and Design 3 Credit Hours
Most information professionals will participate in systems analysis and design over the course of their career. For some, systems analysis and design will be a primary activity while others will work with systems analysts on projects within their organizations. This course will introduce the concepts and techniques of systems analysis and design focusing on their application to information systems and services. This course will explore formal methods for modeling systems and industry practice techniques of analysis that are used to address problems and opportunities in information-based organizations.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 755 - Information Policy 3 Credit Hours
An overview of information policy issues, both intra- and inter-organizational. One major cluster of topics covered includes the role, the organization, and the effect, particularly as it concerns productivity, of information services within the organization. A second major cluster concerns the policy issues relating to inter-organizational creation and use of information, including economic, legal and social issues, and broad policy concerns such as trans-border data flow and national information policies.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 or IM 701
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LIS 756 - Leading People and Organizations 3 Credit Hours
Listed also as MGMT 602
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 757 - Digital Asset Management 3 Credit Hours
Listed also as IM 757
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LIS 758 - Community Informatics 3 Credit Hours
Explores contemporary theory, research, and practice in community informatics. Community Informatics (CI) is broadly defined as the use and application of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in local communities. Topics covered include: foundations of CI; community networking and information systems, differences in access and use of ICTs by communities social inclusion and social exclusion ( the digital divide); public access to technologies; social capital and social networks; policy issues; digital citizenship; building community in libraries, and global approaches to CI. Topics are discussed in the context of local, national, and international case-studies.
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LIS 759 - Digital Libraries 3 Credit Hours
Digital Libraries are an important component of library services involving all aspects of the information cycle: creation, collection, organization, dissemination, and utilization. The course will provide an introduction of major Digital Library concepts to library and information professions focusing on developing the skills necessary to design and implement successful digital projects.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 760 - International Librarianship 3 Credit Hours
An introduction to library and information service outside the United States, placing the service within the socio-economic and cultural context. Allows student to learn about library and information service in selected countries through class sessions and individual reading and research. Encourages students to develop the ability to make thoughtful analyses of issues in providing library and information services.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 761 - Marketing and Public Relations 3 Credit Hours
A seminar focusing on skills needed by libraries to research, plan and implement an effective public relations program for all types of libraries. Five components are covered: general background, planning, design, implementation and marketing of the library.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 763 - Readers Advisory Services 3 Credit Hours
A course on serving adult reading needs which addresses fiction (mystery, science fiction, romance, western and more), non-fiction (self-help, biography, and history) and links among the fiction and non-fiction genres. The relationship of readers advisory services with reference and other library programs, research on adult reading, and popular reading in an information society will be examined. Students will also gain experience in adult book discussions.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 768 - Social Media and Emerging Technologies 3 Credit Hours
This course examines the latest applications of social media and emerging technologies in library and information services or other areas. Students will experience an immersive learning environment via popular social media platforms and hands-on practices in the lab. Multimedia information creation and dissemination, new online business models, data security, ethics and privacy issues will also be explored.
Listed also as EDU 790
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 770 - Management of Libraries and Information Centers 3 Credit Hours
Development of the basic theories and principles of management and their application in the organization and operation of libraries and information centers. Particular stress will be given to goals, policies, personnel, structure, work division, communications, leadership, budgets, systems analysis and future directions in administration.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 771 - Public Libraries 3 Credit Hours
An introduction to the public library. Emphasis is on the history and theory of public library service and on library law and finance. Special problems such as censorship and the evaluation of public library service are also considered.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 772 - Academic Libraries 3 Credit Hours
Administrative issues and service patterns peculiar to the academic library. Attention is directed to the relationship between the functions of the library and the program of higher education.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 773 - School Libraries 3 Credit Hours
Introduction to the history, purpose, functions, structure and management of the school library media program serving students in elementary, middle and secondary schools. Broad planning in areas such as curriculum, personnel, facilities, finance, acquisitions and public relations. Examination of contemporary issues, legislation and technologies. Review of psychological frameworks of elementary, middle and senior high school students and the social issues affecting children and adolescents as well as the exceptional child.
Prerequisite(s): Prerequisites or co-requisite: LIS 701, 703, 704
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LIS 774 - Special Libraries 3 Credit Hours
Introduction to the objectives, organization and operation of special libraries, with emphasis on fields of student interest.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 775 - Introduction to Archival Principles, Practices and Services 3 Credit Hours
Introduces students to the principles of archival work and practice. Students articulate an intellectual framework for identifying, describing, and evaluating archival records, documents and materials. They learn the principles, concepts and methods used in archival appraisal, acquisition, arrangement, description, reference and outreach, access, and advocacy. This course also introduces students to the history of the archival profession and the value of archival records and repositories in society.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 776 - Music Librarianship 3 Credit Hours
History, objectives, functions and administration of music libraries serving music schools, universities, public libraries and research institutions. Library resources for musical research. Acquisition, cataloging and classification of music scores and sound recordings.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 777 - Issues of Access, Advocacy, and Policy in Youth Services 3 Credit Hours
Exploration of issues in library service to children and young adults, including access, with respect to collection leveling and classification, labeling, and intellectual freedom; advocacy, with respect to clarification and articulation, in writing and speech, of purpose and relevance; and policy, with respect to young peoples coming to, borrowing from and taking advantage of library materials, services and space.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701 and LIS 704
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LIS 779 - Planning and Design of Library Space 3 Credit Hours
Introduction to basic principles involved in planning, developing, and assessing library facilities. Emphasis will be placed on current and emerging approaches to library design and the ongoing transformation of the library space.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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LIS 783 - Digital Humanities 3 Credit Hours
The Digital Humanities is an interdisciplinary academic field that combines the application of computational resources, tools, and methods with the traditional humanities fields such as literature, history, and philosophy. Libraries have been instrumental in the development of the digital humanities by providing the underlying data, access to tools, and technical support for researchers. In this introductory course, students will explore the history, theory, and practice of digital humanities. Students will work with various tools for text mining and entity extraction, text encoding, social network analysis, topic modeling, and creative visualization.
Prerequisite(s): LIS 701
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