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Undergraduate Bulletin 2014-2015 [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]
Course Descriptions
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HNPS 200 - Government Policies and Their Effect on Social Justice 3 hours
A review of the effects of government policy on organizations that champion social justice. A survey of 10 social justice interest areas from housing to health care and how government policy in Illinois effects outcomes. Policy, law and funding models in other communities will be researched to identify potential improvements.
Prerequisite(s): Honors program only or consent.
This course satisfies the social sciences core requirement.
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HNPS 305 - Violence, Religion, and the Hope for Peace: Can We Survive the Clash of Civilizations? 3 hours
Listed also as HNID 305
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HNPY 102 - General Psychology-Honors 4 hours
Listed also as PSYC 102 .
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HNSM 160 - Evil and the Paradox of Hope 3 hours
The Brothers Karamazov will interrogate us about our convictions, assumptions, and deepest questions, including those related to the dynamics of evil, suffering, and cruelty, and the perhaps paradoxical hope for meaning, purpose, and goodness. Can evil be explained or are explanations evil? Where is “God” during earthquakes, genocides, and the suffering of one innocent person? Where are we? Seminar participants will propose and discuss additional course materials and readings emerging from our sustained dialogue with Dostoevsky’s text.
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HNSM 161 - Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? 3 hours
In a court of law, a defendant’s life hangs upon guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.” But in the journey from doubt to certainty (and the likelihood of a roundtrip!), what is the role of faith? With the help of Dostoevsky, Camus, Freud, Kierkegaard, Augustine, and others, this seminar will grapple with questions of faith and reason, doubt and certainty, and the restless search of the self for truth.
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HNSM 165 - Suffering, Grace, and Redemption 3 hours
Flannery O’Connor once stated that “there is no suffering greater than what is caused by the doubts of those who want to believe.” In this freshmen honors seminar, students will read, think, speak and write about what it means to suffer toward understanding -one’s own faith or non-faith, as well as one’s societal, familial, or intellectual place in society, in general. Students will be challenged to read carefully and to think deliberately about our common course text, Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, as well as works from various authors, including O’Connor, C.S. Lewis, Mark Twain, and others.
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HNSM 168 - Love and Faith 3 hours
Love and faith are widely considered the most essential and profound of human experiences; at the same time, they are often seen in strictly emotional or irrational terms. In this course we will explore the role of the intellect in love and faith. Does “thinking too much” necessarily hinder our ability to act in passionate relationships or to believe in God? How do we practice love and faith thoughtfully? These are the kinds of questions that will guide us as we pursue answers in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov as well as in other works of fiction, philosophy, and popular culture (primarily music and film).
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HNSM 169 - Dostoevsky, Dominican, and the Daily News 3 hours
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov is in every sense a “classic” when it comes to exploring deep thoughts and sometimes subtle, sometimes explosive passions. But great literature is not the only place where thoughts and passions live. “Intellectual passions”, as the philosopher of science Michael Polanyi called them, inform the sciences and other academic disciplines in a university such as ours and an astonishing array of thoughts and passions are bundled together in the daily news. In this seminar we will read and relate three texts, each of which points beyond itself: The Brothers Karamazov, myBulletin, and the New York Times. How do the brothers in Dostoevsky’s novel teach us to understand anew both our education and the wider world? How might reading the three “texts” together illuminate our lives?
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HNSM 170 - Thoughts and Passions on Trial 3 hours
Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov leads up to a murder trial which, along with this great novel as a whole, turns out to be a trial in more than one sense of the word. In this seminar we will consider the trial of Dmitri Karamazov along with other trials, both from the past (Socrates, Jesus, Adolf Eichmann) and in our own day. As readers, we may find ourselves in the role of judge or jury, prosecutor or defender, character witness or expert for either side. But we may just as likely find ourselves, with our own thoughts and passions, to be on trial as well. Great trials, as the word implies, can try the soul-but they can also teach.
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HNSM 257 - Good Life: Morality, Conscience, and Virtue 3 hours
What is a good life? This deceptively simple question will guide us through this course as we explore what it means to be a human being and citizen and to live a good life from the perspective of ancient Greek philosophers (Plato and Aristotle), a 17th century British philosopher (Hobbes), an 18th century Anglican bishop and moral philosopher (Butler), a contemporary philosopher (Midgley), and a contemporary moral psychologist (Callahan). We will engage a number of questions related to our search for “the good life.” What is morality, and why do people behave morally? Are human beings inherently good, or is moral behavior contrary to our natural inclinations? Does the moral life consist of obligations and demands that we must meet, or is morality concerned with the qualities and characteristics that we embody? Can we make universal claims or judgments about what is good and just? What role do reason, emotion, religion, and conscience play in all of this? We will consider these questions in relation to the course readings and in light of our own experiences, current events, and challenges facing the world today.
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HNSM 261 - Gender Issues in Western Political Thought 3 hours
An exploration of gender issues in Western political thought through major texts and commentaries, as well as accounts of popular political discourse.
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HNSM 262 - Globalization and Civilization 3 hours
What does it mean to be a citizen in today’s world? How will the “next generation” preserve humane values in the world of tomorrow? From a close reading of Plato’s Republic, Jared Diamond’s Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Sigmund Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents, Samuel Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations, and Jonathan Sack’s The Dignity of Difference, students will explore the possibilities and problems of achieving peace, security, and prosperity in the midst of a rapidly changing social and physical environment.
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HNSM 263 - Plato’s World Society Tomorrow 3 hours
In The Republic, Plato asks the questions, What does it mean for a human being to be just? And is it worth it? To answer the questions he takes the scenic route, and examines the political community as a whole. In so doing, he sets the foundations of Western political philosophy - and raises some of its most challenging questions. What is the best government? How far can a state regulate the life of its citizens? How are rulers to be chosen? Can politicians serve the public, or are they bound to be corrupt? We will examine these foundational questions and their relevance in today’s world, while keeping in sight Plato’s original intention: an examination of human beings as moral beings.
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HNSM 264 - Individual, Community, Justice 3 hours
The answer to the question “What is Justice?” is at least in part dependent on one’s understanding of what it means to be human. In this course we will examine differing paradigms of what it means to be human and then ask how each understands the nature of justice. We will explore how an emphasis on either individualism or communalism affects one’s understanding of justice and thus one’s responsibility to her or his community. Finally, we will examine concrete examples of how these differing paradigms of human nature and justice respond to acts of injustice. Possible examples to be explored are The Nuremberg trials, cases brought before the International Criminal Court or South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing
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HNSM 265 - Rights, Responsibilities, and Living Together 3 hours
This seminar considers the foundational shared text of Plato’s Republic in light of a major tenet of Catholic social teaching, rights and responsibilities, and how the rights of an individual balance with one’s responsibility to the common good of society. The seminar will examine a range of issues from modern political tensions to everyday problems of the average college sophomore. The reading material will lead students to evaluate how we make decisions as individuals and interact with families, faith communities, neighbors, and strangers.
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HNSM 352 - Darwin, Monkeys, Computers and Shakespeare 3 hours
What makes human beings human? Can 100 monkeys with iPads produce Hamlet? The central work of the course, Darwin’s Origin of Species, presents an evolutionary theory that questions the existence of a natural end for man. For most Darwinians, man is just another animal that evolves without any particular end. There is a natural being that is biologically driven and a human being who is culturally constructed, but no natural human being. Since man has no natural end, then no society, culture, or behavior can be universally wrong, just culturally unacceptable. This course will examine whether a Darwinian natural moral sense in the species can exist by discussing topics such as a parents love of children, conjugal bonding of opposite sex partners, slavery, and psychopaths. Along with Darwin’s major work and smaller readings, we will read Darwinian Natural Right: The Biological Ethics of Human Nature by Larry Arnhart.
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HNSM 363 - Science and Responsibility 3 hours
An examination of the relationship of intellectual and social contexts with the process of doing science, raising issues of responsibility that arise at the intersection of science and other human activities. The course will focus on Darwin’s Origin of Species and on questions relating to global warming and/or climate change.
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HNSM 366 - Darwinian Thinking Across Disciplines 3 hours
Evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky famously said that nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. This seminar will explore what it might mean to see all of human knowledge through the lens of Darwinian thinking. Students will use insights from evolutionary science to explore topics in their own disciplines and, drawing on each other’s disciplinary knowledge and expertise, will develop proposals for interdisciplinary research or social action projects.
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HNSM 381 - Continuous and Discrete 3 hours
Darwin’s great book, “Origin of Species” can be looked at as raising the question whether the line of descent from one species to another is continuous transition or progression. In this way, it prepares us to think about the difference between human beings and other natural beings. Is the difference between human beings and the non-humans the world in which they live? The continuous and the discrete is a theme with many variations. What is the relation between a point and a line, between rest and motion, between particles and waves, between knowing and learning. This course will explore as many of these topics as time allows.
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HNSM 382 - Contemporary Issues: Science and Technology 3 hours
Scientific discoveries in the 19th century stimulated the rapid growth of technology that is both blessing and bane to contemporary society. The seminal work of John Dalton, Charles Darwin, James Maxwell, et al., led to revolutionary advances in the physical and biological sciences, which in turn gave us tools capable of dignifying or demeaning our collective existence. In this course we will focus on the origin and history of two contemporary and contentious technological issues, specifically, genetic engineering and nuclear energy. Along the way we will explore the scientific method, the differences between science and technology, and the interdisciplinary nature of rational decision making.
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HNSM 383 - The Evolution of Science: Human Being and Natural Being 3 hours
This course will begin with a close reading of Darwin’s Origin of Species, leading to some questions for discussion. How did Darwin understand evidence? Does experiment play any role in Darwin’s science? How does Darwin’s understanding of science as present in Origin of Species differ from that of Karl Popper or Thomas Kuhn? Matt Ridley’s The Red Queen will give us a basis for talking about how modern genetics contributed to the evolution of the science of evolution. Throughout the course we will have in mind two questions: What is nature? And how do we know that we know?
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HNSM 384 - Evolution, Eugenics, and Disability in America 3 hours
Does Darwin’s theory of evolution change our understanding of what it means to be human? We will begin with Origin of Species, then explore the contentious issues of eugenics and disability in American history and contemporary society.
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HNSM 453 - The Wisdom and Power of This World Only? 3 hours
To what extent can human beings, individually or together, control the course of history? Must men and women use all human means, including coercion and violence, to right the wrongs of this world and to protect themselves and others? Or is there available to humanity some sort of otherworldly wisdom and power in suffering that, as Saint Paul wrote, is “folly to the Greeks?” Is there, as one theologian suggests, sometimes a “grace of doing nothing” when others suffer? Or would we be obliged to battle injustice even if, in the words taken from a famous treatise on war and peace, “God did not exist or took no interest in the affairs of men?” In this seminar, we will join in conversation with extraordinary writers who have explored such questions in unusual depth.
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HNSM 462 - The Book of Job, Oedipus the King, and King Lear 3 hours
These three great texts, from the Old Testament, from fifth-century (BCE) Athens, and from Renaissance early 17th-century England, are towering works of three great cultures, representing some of the very finest attempts of the human imagination to come to grips with the spiritual and philosophical problems that trouble us endlessly: How are we to understand the dilemmas, the catastrophes, and the triumphs of the human spirit of human existence in relation to the divine? How can an understanding of tragedy as a genre help us to realize who we are as human beings?
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HNSM 463 - Tragedy and Hope 3 hours
How much power do human beings really have? What is the relationship between human power, divine power, human suffering, and hope? In this seminar, students will discuss literary texts that put forward these and related questions. Careful study of the three classic works - the book of Job from the Hebrew Bible, the Greek tragedy Antigone, and Shakespeare’s King Lear - will enable students to engage with questions of human agency in a world where suffering seems inescapable, even strangely necessary. Additional readings from Friedrich Nietzsche, St. Therese of Lisieux, and others will allow seminar participants to consider how art and spiritual practice influence our understanding of suffering and hope.
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HNSM 464 - Personal Transformation 3 hours
There is a saying that “change is inevitable; growth is optional,” but how is it that some people are forged by suffering while others become defeated? Does this have something to do with how we see ourselves in relation to our difficulties? Is it a matter of faith? good luck? chance: In looking at what Job, Oedipus, Lear, and the poetry of T.S. Eliot can offer us, perhaps we can fortify ourselves to “suffer” in the real sense of the word and we might say, as the voice in “Ash Wednesday” articulates, “Teach us to care and not to care/Teach us to sit still.”
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HNSM 465 - Learning the Hard Way: Know Yourself to Know the World 3 hours
Antigone, Job, King Lear and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight share a common theme of what disasters that having power without wisdom can bring; ignorance, especially of one’s self, can wreak havoc in a world where human suffering is somehow connected to our understanding of human agency and divine power. This semester will be devoted to exploring ways of achieving wisdom and self-knowledge, as well as, a discussion of how our society constructs the concepts of both human and divine power and wisdom.
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HNSM 466 - Wisdom and Suffering 3 hours
Does suffering bring wisdom? Is that wisdom worth what it costs? Conversely, can too much knowledge cause us to suffer? Is there a difference between knowledge and wisdom? What do we hope wisdom will bring to our lives? Through critical readings and discussions of Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex”, Shakespeare’s “King Lear”, ” The Book of Job” and Aristotle’s “Poetics”, we will explore these and other questions.
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HNSM 467 - Tragedy and Response: the Measure of Our Lives 3 hours
The novelist Peter DeVries’ asserts, “What people believe is a measure of what they suffer”. But, our texts (Job, Oedipus Tyrannus, and King Lear) ask, Is what people suffer also a measure of what they believe? In this seminar, these classic texts will guide our consideration of this and related questions: What are the alleged sources of our suffering? Does knowing the source(s) matter? How to respond to one’s suffering? To the suffering of others? And when no response is adequate, what then?
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HNTA 350 - Images of Women in Drama-Honors 3 hours
Listed also as THEA 350 .
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HNTO 122 - The Gospels-Honors 3 hours
Listed also as THEO 122 .
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HNTO 273 - Great Women Mystics 3 hours
Listed also as THEO 273
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HNTO 371 - Law and Legal Reasoning in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam 3 hours
Listed also as THEO 371 .
Prerequisite(s): Honors program only.
This course will satisfy the theology core area requirement
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HNTO 383 - The Book of Revelation and Apocalyptic Literature 3 hours
This course will examine the Book of Revelation in its context and ours, with attention to the origin of apocalyptic literature in the late Jewish prophetic tradition, the advent of the third millennium, theological eschatology, and the implications of the resurgence of the apocalyptic in our time.
Prerequisite(s): Honors Program or consent of instructor.
This course will satisfy the theology core area requirement.
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ID 090 - Student Success Workshops 0 hours
Offered throughout the semester, these one-hour workshops empower students with the skills necessary to complete their studies successfully. Through a series of interactive activities, presentations, and real case studies, students learn techniques to solve their particular problems that interfere with lifelong learning. Topics covered are reading and writing strategies, time management, and test-taking skills. This is a noncredit seminar open to all who wish to enhance their academic skills and learn new techniques. This course is offered on a satisfactory/fail basis.
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ID 091 - Academic Success: How to Study in College 0 hours
Do you want your study habits to produce better results? Would you like to create new and more effective habits? This workshop emphasizes self-exploration, personal growth, and wise decision-making and coverts such specfic skills as note-taking, test-taking, time managment, and other skills needed to ensure success in college.
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ID 102 - Strategies for Academic Success 3 hours
This course, through proven strategies of self-assessment, guided journaling, and critical thinking case studies, will empower students to attain success in their academic and personal lives. The course stresses self-exploration, personal growth, and wise decision making. Woven into each unit are the essential study skills of reading, note-taking, test-taking, time management, writing, and other skills needed to ensure student success.
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ID 103 - The Art of Reading Well 1 hour
Individualized reading instruction. Entrance scores/placement results may require some students to take this course as a prerequisite for ENGL 102 . This course is graded on a satisfactory/fail basis and may be taken for credit more than once.
Prerequisite(s): Placement or consent of instructor.
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ID 110 - Career Planning and Major Exploration 1 hour
This course is designed to help students with selecting college majors and identifying potential careers within their chosen fields. Students will develop a strong foundation for major/career planning through career assessments, industry research and personal reflection. We will explore a variety of career options and determine the required skills, certifications and/or advanced degrees necessary for employment. Upon completion of this course students will have a better understanding of their career interests and the academic programs to support them in their desired fields. This course is offered on a satisfactory/fail basis.
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ID 190 - Portfolio Development 1 hour
For first-year students seeking to build and maintain a portfolio of their work at Dominican, with particular attention to integrating learning across courses and over time. Students enrolled in the course will reflect on their academic and co-curricular experiences at Dominican, and connect ideas, theories, and methods encountered in multiple courses. At the end of this course, students will have assembled a portfolio of their best work, which may be developed in their subsequent years in college and, ultimately, shared with others (potential employers, graduate admissions committees, etc.).
Prerequisite(s): Freshman seminar (LAS or honors).
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ID 210 - Becoming a Campus Change Agent 1 hour
How do you use your knowledge of leadership theory and social change as well as your leadership skills to make change in our campus community? What recommendations do you have to create a more just and humane campus experience for Dominican students? This 1-credit capstone course for the Leadership Certificate is designed as a research project in which students will choose a campus issue they would like to see changed. Using their background on the stages of social change, students will conduct research and make recommendations on options for addressing their particular issue.
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ID 260 - Interdisciplinary Topic 1 hour
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ID 290 - Portfolio Development: Sophomores and Above 1 hour
This course is for students at the sophomore rank or above seeking to build and maintain a portfolio of their work at Dominican, with particular attention to integrating learning across courses and over time. Students enrolled in the course will reflect on their academic and co-curricular experiences at Dominican, and connect ideas, theories, and methods encountered in multiple courses. At the end of this course, students will have assembled a portfolio of their best work, which may be developed in their subsequent years in college and, ultimately, shared with others (potential employers, graduate admissions committees, etc.).
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or above. (ID 190 is not a prerequisite.)
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ID 450 - Independent Study 1-8 hours
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ITAL 101 - Elementary Italian I 4 hours
This course introduces students to the Italian language by listening, speaking, reading and writing Italian in a cultural context. Students will develop a basic proficiency in all language skills through a study of Italian grammar and vocabulary.
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ITAL 102 - Elementary Italian II 4 hours
This course continues to develop the four language skills.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 101 or equivalent.
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ITAL 192 - Italian for Spanish Speakers 4 hours
We will use students understanding of Spanish to move more quickly through the Italian material. This course introduces students to the Italian language by listening, speaking, reading and writing Italian in a cultural context. Students will develop a basic proficiency in all language skills through a study of Italian grammar and vocabulary.
Prerequisite(s): Placement by exam. Students who have taken ITAL 201 or above or placed into ITAL 201 or above may not take this course.
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ITAL 201 - Intermediate Italian I 4 hours
This course reinforces and builds upon basic skills in Italian through development of the four language skills. Compositions and dialogues in conjunction with daily written and oral exercises reinforce grammatical concepts.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 102 with a minimum grade of C- or placement through examination.
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ITAL 202 - Intermediate Italian II 4 hours
This course completes the grammar cycle and continues the development of reading and writing skills with an emphasis on written and spoken communication. Visual, oral, and written materials form the point of departure for work in enhancing students’ communication skills.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 201 or equivalent.
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ITAL 255 - Italian Civilization and Culture I 3 hours
An introduction to the history and culture of Italy from the medieval through the Renaissance periods by examining the geography, visual arts, literature, customs, economy, politics, and lifestyles of the time.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 202 or equivalent.
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ITAL 256 - Italian Civilization and Culture II 3 hours
An introduction to the history and culture of Italy from the Baroque period to the present by examining the geography, visual arts, literature, customs, economy, politics, and lifestyles of the time.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 202 or equivalent.
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ITAL 260 - Italian-American Culture 3 hours
An exploration through film and literature of the position of Italian-Americans in the United States during the 20th and 21st centuries. This course is conducted in English.
Listed also as MFL 260 .
This course will satisfy the literature core area requirement.
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ITAL 263 - Women of the Italian Renaissance 3 hours
In the Italian Renaissance women were visible not only at the subject of male writers and artists, but as writers and artists in their own right. This course considers women both as objects of male works and as active contributors to culture by exploring the literature and art of the Italian Renaissance. This course is conducted in English.
Listed also as SWG 263 .
This course will satisfy the literature core area requirement.
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ITAL 264 - Modern Italian Women Writers 3 hours
This course will focus on the 20th century works of Italian women writers such as Elsa Morante, Natalia Ginzburg and Dacia Maraini. We will consider the position of women and literary production in Italy from World War II to the present. This course is conducted in English. The course does not count towards the Italian major or minor.
Listed also as MFL 264 and SWG 264 .
This course will satisfy the literature core area requirement.
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ITAL 275 - Dante’s Inferno 3 hours
This course provides an understanding of Dante’s Inferno through a close examination of the text, while also exploring visual commentary of the text. A study of manuscript art of the Inferno presents the historical context in which the work was circulated in its earlier years. This course is conducted in English.
Listed also as MFL 275 .
This course will satisfy the literature core area requirement.
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ITAL 276 - Dante’s Divine Comedy I 3 hours
This course will first study Dante’s La Vita Nuova as the preparatory text to Dante’s great poem, the Divine Comedy. The majority of this course concentrates on the poem’s first canticle, the Inferno. Through a close examination of the text, this course will look to the poem’s manuscript art as the visual commentary that accompanied the work in its earliest circulations. It will also consider the art that shaped the poet’s creation of the poem and the places it describes. This course is conducted in English.
Listed also as MFL 276
This course will satisfy the literature core area requirement.
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ITAL 277 - Dante’s Divine Comedy II 3 hours
This course will study the Purgatorio and the Paradiso—the second and third canticles of Dante’s great poem, the Divine Comedy. Through a close examination of the text, this course will look to the poem’s manuscript art as the visual commentary that accompanied the work in its earliest circulations; it will also consider the art that shaped the poet’s creation of the poem and the places it describes. This course is conducted in English.
Listed also as MFL 277 .
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 276 is recommended but not required.
This course will satisfy the literature core area requirement
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ITAL 280 - Italia Oggi (Italy Today) I 3 hours
Designed to engage students with Italy’s most contemporary sense of culture, this course moves over four topics and combines media (internet journals, film, YouTube) with traditional genres (short stories, poetry, popular music) to create a virtual immersion experience in which language is experienced and produced in its most current usage. Students will gather and share information through class discussions and through participation in Skype communities. This course is conducted in Italian.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 202 or equivalent.
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ITAL 281 - Italia Oggi (Italy Today) II 3 hours
Designed to engage students with Italy’s most contemporary sense of culture, this course moves over four topics and combines media (internet journals, film, YouTube) with traditional genres (short stories, poetry, popular music) to create a virtual immersion experience in which language is experienced and produced in its most current usage. Students will gather and share information through class discussions and through participation in Skype communities. This course is conducted in Italian.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 202 or equivalent. Completion of ITAL 280 - Italia Oggi (Italy Today) I is recommended but not required.
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ITAL 295 - Italian Cinema 3 hours
The development and evolution of Italian cinema after World War II to the present. A survey of Italian film directors such as Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, and Giuseppe Tornatore. This course is conducted in English.
Listed also as CAS 295 .
This course will satisfy the fine arts core area requirement.
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ITAL 300 - Advanced Grammar and Composition 3 hours
Development of writing skills with emphasis on the complexities of structure and idioms and composition techniques.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 202 or equivalent.
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ITAL 301 - Advanced Discussion 3 hours
Development of increased fluency in spoken language in a variety of forms through conversations, reports, and the use of relevant contemporary materials contained in films, magazines, and newspaper articles.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 202 or equivalent.
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ITAL 320 - History of the Italian Language 3 hours
This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the evolution of the Italian language. Course material covers La Questione della Lingua, linguistics, and dialects.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 300 .
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ITAL 345 - Business Italian 3 hours
An introduction to written and oral Italian as it applies to the business profession. Provides exposure to current Italian commercial structures, business practices, and terminology, and cultivates business-related communication skills.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 255 , ITAL 256 , ITAL 300 , or ITAL 301 .
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ITAL 360 - Italian Short Story 3 hours
A study of the novella from the Middle Ages to the present.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 255 , ITAL 256 , ITAL 300 , or ITAL 301
This course will satisfy the literature core area requirement.
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ITAL 365 - Literature of the Italian Middle Ages 3 hours
The course covers the literary production of the Italian Middle Ages. Works include the poetry of the Duecento and an introduction to masterpieces by Dante Alighieri and Giovanni Boccaccio.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 255 , ITAL 256 , ITAL 300 , or ITAL 301 .
This course will satisfy the literature core area requirement.
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ITAL 366 - Literature of the Italian Renaissance 3 hours
The course covers the literary production of the Renaissance. Works include those of Francesco Petrarca, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Ludovico Ariosto, among others.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 255 , ITAL 256 , ITAL 300 , or ITAL 301 .
This course will satisfy the literature core area requirement.
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ITAL 367 - Literature of the Italian Romantic Period 3 hours
The course begins with the pre-Romantic works of Ugo Foscolo and focuses on the literary production of Alessandro Manzoni and Giacomo Leopardi. Includes a discussion of the Italian Romantic movement within the context of European Romanticism.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 255 , ITAL 256 , ITAL 300 , or ITAL 301 .
This course will satisfy the literature core area requirement.
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ITAL 368 - Literature of Modern Italy 3 hours
An introduction to Italian literature from the 20th century to the present through a study of representative selections of prose and poetry.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 255 , ITAL 256 , ITAL 300 , or ITAL 301 .
This course will satisfy the literature core area requirement.
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ITAL 399 - Directed Study 1-4 hours
Directed study open only to students who have already taken all Italian courses offered in a given semester. Students will work closely with the instructor.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing and consent of instructor.
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ITAL 450 - Independent Study 1-4 hours
Independent study is for students who have already taken all Italian courses offered in a given semester.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing and consent of instructor.
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LAS 123 - Dragons, Secret Agents, Wizards, Saviors, and You 3 hours
This course serves as your introduction to the Liberal Arts Seminar sequence of the core curriculum. A Liberal Arts Seminar at Dominican is a discussion-centered course focused on a class-level theme. All freshmen explore the same theme - “The Examined Life”. In this course, we will approach this primarily through the lens of fantasy, science fiction, and psychology.
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LAS 124 - Who I Am and the Choices I Make 3 hours
In this seminar we will explore how who I am and what I value influences the choices I make. Similarly, we will explore how the choices I make will influence who I become. We will read selections from economics and psychology to explore choice theory and decision making.
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LAS 125 - Journeys of the Self 3 hours
From the ancient through the modern, narrative forms have employed the physical journey as a metaphoric foundation for psychological journeys to self-awareness. Utilizing the common text and selections from alternative texts ranging from Gilgamesh, to Hamlet and Don Quixote, Virginia Wolff’s Orlando, Hesse’s Siddhartha, and others we will read closely, think critically, discuss passionately, and write concisely about the singular inward journeys that lead to self-awareness and to the subsequent focus of the self on service to the directed life.
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LAS 126 - Writing the Self and Its Other 3 hours
Modern individuals regard themselves as singular, authentic beings, capable of self-knowledge. In this seminar we will study the origins of the modern self as a self-conscious “subject,” contained within gender, racial, national, economic and religious limits. However, we will also consider more fluid forms of identification, deemed antagonistic, even mutually exclusive, by dominant discourses. By examining these two modes of self-representation, we will question the role of self-awareness, individuality, and individualism across different cultural and religious traditions. We will also consider how the development of “personal identity” is intrinsically tied to the act of reflection, invention, and writing of one’s self and its other. Readings will include essays, short stories, memoirs, philosophical and religious discourse, poetry, film and novels. This seminar may require off-campus service-learning hours.
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LAS 127 - The Artist and the Examined Life: Meditation on Craft 3 hours
Using a variety of artistic methods including drawing, painting, collage and the practice of creating block prints, we will explore the process of making art as a spiritual endeavor and examine how making art is a mindful and reflective expression of ourselves and our perspective of the world round us. We will examine the self as artist and the interdependence of the artist and society.
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LAS 128 - My Education 3 hours
The course focuses on how to understand the concept of learning and identifying when one has attained knowledge, be it in a formal or informal setting. Questions the course can address include: How do I identify moments of learning and self-awareness? Who/what serve as exemplars from which I derive paths to knowledge? At what point in time do I feel that I serve as an exemplar for others? How do I define education?
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LAS 131 - The Natural Self 3 hours
Beginning with the story of one man’s search for his genetic identity, continuing with an exploration of the human genetic heritage, and ending with a discussion of what this all means about who we are and our place in the world, this seminar examines the relationships between biological life, the self, and the planet.
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LAS 132 - A Groovy Movie: You in the 1960s 3 hours
In this class we will enter a portal and go back in time. The first day of class will be in Levittown, New York, the day before John F. Kennedy was shot, and the last day of class will be in in the quad of Kent State University, May 4, 1970. You will participate in historical events, not to learn about them, but to be in them and of them. We will study aspects of the self through the lens of history. You will explore friendship as a member of a platoon in Vietnam, travel to India with the Beatles to experience spirituality, come to understand dissent when you protests as a student at Kent State, learn about fairness as you fight for equal rights with feminists, and look for a deeper meaning as you become one with a bird named Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Each unit will be paired with readings from classical scholars as well as modern writers, and we will use films and YouTube videos along with our readings. There will be vibrant discussion with no wrong answers, only answers that lead to more questions, in the never ending search to answer the question: who am I?
Prerequisite(s): Freshman only.
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LAS 133 - The Civil Disobedient Self 3 hours
Are you willing to take a stand? Are you willing to act upon your beliefs? Individual and communal nonviolent resistance—civil disobedience—has a long history. Its writings constitute a significant body of work, which includes Greek texts, Hebrew scripture, oral declarations, abolitionist tracts, and other works pertaining to social justice, civil rights and peace movements. Students will read, think, and write critically about the extent to which social activism has impacted individuals and society. This seminar includes a required service activity.
Prerequisite(s): Freshmen only.
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LAS 134 - The Courage of Leadership 3 hours
In this seminar, we will consider the role of courage in shaping one’s identity as a leader. We will use various texts and discussions to investigate the following questions: Do you have the courage to be yourself? Do you have the courage to make decisions that are consistent with your values? Do you have the courage to change and challenge the “norm”? This course will help you explore who you are now and help you discover the leader you want to become in the future.
Prerequisite(s): Freshmen only.
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LAS 135 - Success! 3 hours
This course serves as your introduction to the seminar sequence of the core curriculum. A seminar at Dominican is a discussion-centered course focused on a class-level theme. All freshmen explore the theme of “the examined life.” In this course, we will approach this theme from an exploration of facets of succeeding. The guiding questions for the freshman seminar will be addressed directly and reflected in corresponding questions oriented around the concept of success.
Prerequisite(s): Freshmen only.
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LAS 136 - Choosing Your Path 3 hours
How did I become who I am? Who will I be in the world? Choosing your path in the world calls for active reflection on your past, your present, and your future. Through the process of structured discussions and with the help of readings and other materials, we will investigate your history and your values, seeking insight into what makes you who you are and how your values shape who you hope to become. Using stories from the lives of others, we will study ourselves.
Prerequisite(s): Freshmen only.
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LAS 137 - Heritage and Identity 3 hours
In this seminar, we will explore the ways that our individual identities are connected to and shaped by our heritage. To what extent is a person’s identity influenced by the culture(s) to which s/he belongs? What is the role of ethnicity? Of family? Of tradition? Of customs? As we consider these questions, we will read various texts (fiction, non-fiction, autobiography, and poetry) that also examine the idea of heritage, revealing both the gifts and the burdens that individuals can inherit. This course will ask you to think about who you are now, where you’ve come from, and what you might become in the future. This seminar will require off-campus service hours.
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LAS 138 - Personal Awakenings, Social Struggles, and Dreams of Transformation 3 hours
Some of our most intense learning experiences can feel like awakenings from mistaken understandings of our world. We experience some of these awakenings – like learning that we have the power to reason our way through misunderstandings with loved ones or morally complicated social situations – as empowering turning points in our lives. Not all of these awakenings are pleasant. Learning that others are suffering and denied opportunities due to systematic injustice can leave us feeling ill at ease and less at home in the world. But awakenings, whether gratifying or upsetting, call us to ask ourselves many questions. How do we hold onto new insights, feelings of purpose, and desires to relate differently to others once we have these moments of awakening? What personal, social, and political forces encourage us to live less mindfully and justly? Must we change our lives? In this seminar, we will explore these questions and examine how writers, philosophers, religious thinkers, leaders of social movements, and other people of conscience have answered these questions. But we will not assume that mindfulness is something we leave to the experts. Through in-class exercises (including five-minute memoirs, group discussion, and civil debate) and reflective essays, participants in this seminar will pursue the work of mindfulness independently and with one another.
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LAS 139 - Self and Leadership 3 hours
This seminar will examine the development of the self as a leader. Looking at leaders throughout history, both famous and unknown, students will discover what they value in others and themselves. Leadership will be discussed from the perspective of historical development and context in which individuals find themselves living.
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LAS 140 - Re: Visioning the World 3 hours
Contemporary life gives us access to more images and visual information than ever before, but sometimes without any meaningful context. In this seminar we will explore ways to learn about ourselves through understanding as well as creating our own visual vocabulary.
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LAS 141 - Social Selves - Got Privilege? 3 hours
We will examine the role social forces play in shaping one’s sense of self, and how communities can play both positive and negative roles in our development.
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LAS 142 - Moral Compass: The Means to Find Oneself 3 hours
Using the lens of selected literary works, students will be challenged not only to find their moral compasses, but also learn to use them as a means to uncover their own personal identities in the midst of life’s numerous obstacles. This quest of self-discovery happens not only in the great tribulations of life, but also in the mundane and ordinary stretches of existence. This seminar sheds light on the great importance of utilizing one’s moral compass each and every day, as well as the significance it plays in understanding and shaping one’s personal identity.
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LAS 144 - Wealth, Poverty and Identity 3 hours
To what extent is who you are determined by what you have? This seminar will examine the connections between material affluence and identity. We will develop working definitions of wealth and poverty, and through the examination of a variety of texts we will study the many ways that conceptions of identity are influenced by being rich or being poor. We will also discuss the environmental implications of materially determined identity, and we will consider not only American wealth and poverty, but also the extreme poverty and income inequality that exist in developing countries throughout the world.
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LAS 147 - My Authentic Self - Roads Taken and Not Taken 3 hours
What is the authentic self? How does it interact with the other (family, friends, society at large, and culture)? Is the true self historically conditioned and culture-relative? Is our conception of ourselves related to our knowledge and understanding of other people? This course helps you to recognize the person you are becoming. Looking back, you will reflect on the decisions that have brought you to where you are, and ask if your life has deeper meaning because of your experiences. Looking forward, you will consider how you will negotiate all of your choices. How will you shape your hopes and dreams?
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LAS 148 - Who Do You Want to Become? 3 hours
From kindergarten on, we are often asked: What do you want to be when you grow up? This intensifies in late high school and early college as pressure builds to choose a career path. This course asks different questions: Who are you right now? Who do you want to become? How do you become that person? Through engagement of challenging readings and lively discussions, this course examines the forces that contributed to who you are today and the forces that might shape you at Dominican. It also looks to the future and resources, academic and other, you will have for the journey of becoming who you are meant to be, no matter what you end up doing.
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LAS 153 - Faith and Life Today 3 hours
This seminar is designed to help students mature by identifying questions of faith today and coming to understand them more fully in terms of moral principles of decision-making and some of the best prose literature: short stories of initiation. The course does not presuppose literary background or religious commitment, but both are welcome. Students will develop skills in research and in critical reading, writing, speaking, and listening through this exploration. This seminar will require off-campus service hours.
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LAS 163 - Transforming the Self 3 hours
There are many paths to transformation, many ways to grow and change. In the Common text, Living Buddha, Living Christ, transformation occurs through the practice of “mindfulness,” or focusing within. St. Francis of Assisi wrote, “If you want your dream to be, build it slow and surely…stone by stone, build your secret slowly.” In this seminar, you will meet many individuals in world drama who are transformed through their difficult choices. They dream; they risk; they love. Whether characters are historical or fictional, they will guide you along a path of transformation. Ask yourself: how did my struggles, decisions, self-awareness, and search for God, contribute to the shaping of my identity and ultimately to my inner transformation?
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LAS 164 - Exploring the Creative Human Spirit 3 hours
Everyone possesses a creative human spirit. Creative moments are vital to survival and growth. We will learn about how others have used creativity to discover new ideas and products. We will explore ways to encourage our own creative human spirit to surface more often. We will apply the new concepts of creative thought we have learned to propose solutions to both personal and global problems.
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LAS 168 - What’s in a Name? 3 hours
How important are the race, ethnicity, and language of one’s ancestors for determining one’s personal identity? How does this compare with the impact of one’s immediate surroundings? This seminar explores these and other questions by focusing on the experiences of “uprooted” and “transplanted” people at different points in space and time as they search for a sense of self.
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LAS 170 - Doing That Thing You Do 3 hours
This seminar will introduce students to an explanation of human behavior that is frequently used by economists and other social scientists. The rational-self-interest model of who we are and why we do what we do will be examined in the context of other views of human behavior, as illustrated by parables, short stories, novels, plays, and movies.
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LAS 171 - Thinking for Oneself 3 hours
Some say that enlightenment means having the courage to think for oneself, rather than being lazy or cowardly while following the herd and letting others tell us what to believe or do. Others say that life is inevitably lived within a tension between freedom’s open possibilities and destiny’s imposing limitations. We’ll pursue this problematic through writings religious and philosophical, literary and psychological, Eastern and Western.
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LAS 175 - Leadership for Life 3 hours
How does the self become a leader? What does it mean to be a leader? Why do leaders become engaged in the community? In order to develop our full human potential, our leadership skills and abilities need to grow, change, and meet new challenges. The self as leader will be explored through readings, discussion, reflection, service, and interfaith dialogue. This seminar will require off-campus service hours.
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