COM 201 - Introduction to Communication Studies

Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirements.

Satisfies a Communication Studies Interdisciplinary minor requirement.

COM 202 - Methods in Rhetorical Criticism

Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirements.
Satisfies a Communication Studies interdisciplinary minor requirement.

COM 218 - Gendered Communication in Society (= SOC 218)

Examination of the social construction of gender in both personal relationships and professional contexts. Areas to be explored may include culture, verbal and nonverbal communication, family dynamics and close relationships, education, organizational communication, and roles in media.

Satisfies a major requirement in Sociology and in Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Satisfies a requirement in Gender & Sexuality Studies and Communication Studies interdisciplinary minor.
Satisfies Liberal Studies distribution requirement.
 

COM 225 - Interpersonal Communication

A theoretical, practical, and experiential study of the selective, systemic, and individual transactions that allow people to reflect and build personal knowledge of one another and create shared meaning. Readings, discussions, and exercises focus on connecting concepts and models to everyday interactions. Included are issues of diversity, personal identity, human perceptions, language use, mindful listening, conflict management, and nonverbal communication.

Satisfies a Communication Studies interdisciplinary minor requirement.
Satisfies Liberal Studies distribution requirement.
 

COM 230 - Organizational Communication

Study of how communication creates and sustains organizations and is coordinated and controlled to achieve collective outcomes. Such topics as leadership, globalization, workplace collaboration, diversity, and crisis communication will connect theoretical concepts and models to today’s changing world.

Satisfies an interdisciplinary minor requirement in Communication Studies.
Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.

COM 275 - Mass Media & Society (= SOC 275)

This course takes a critical approach to the study of the production and consumption of mass media, focusing on both the media industry in the United States and emerging forms of global media. Drawing upon various media-including television, radio, video games, and the Internet-the course will examine the economic and social organization of mass media, the content of media messages, the relationship between media and the public, the growth of new media technologies, and current dilemmas facing media policy makers. The course assumes that mass media and the industries that produce media products play significant cultural and political roles in contemporary societies.

Major credit in Sociology and Interdisciplinary Minor in Communication Studies.
Satisfies Social Science distribution requirement.

COM 280 - Intercultural Communication

This course explores issues related to the intercultural communication process. We will consider the important role of context (social, cultural, and historical) in intercultural interactions. We will examine the complex relationship between culture and communication from three conceptual perspectives: the social psychological perspective, the interpretive perspective, and the critical perspective. It is through these three conceptual perspectives that we will strive towards a comprehensive picture of intercultural communication. From applying these approaches to the study of intercultural communication, we will also come to appreciate the complexity and dialectical tensions involved in intercultural interactions. This learning process should enhance self-reflection, flexibility, and sensitivity in intercultural communication which students will likely find useful whether interested in studying or working abroad or simply wanting to become better informed intercultural communicators in our increasingly diverse nation and world.

Satisfies the Liberal Studies distribution requirement.

COM 290 - Persuasion and Propaganda

Explores the distinction-theoretically, historically, and in contemporary public discourse- between persuasion and propaganda.  Surveys and provides background in the various meanings and applications of the terms persuasion and propaganda in theory and practice.  Through both scholarly research and case studies, it helps students become more sophisticated and critical consumers of persuasion and propaganda in the “marketplace of ideas.” 

• Satisfies an interdisciplinary minor requirement in Communication Studies.
  Satisfies a Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.

COM 315 - Media Effects (= SOC 315)

An exploration of relevant theories and practices of conducting media effects research in the mass mediated/disseminated communication contexts including television, radio, print, popular culture, internet, and other forms of new media. Topics include health, advertising, edutainment, stereotypes, violence, pornography, music videos, video games, news, and politics.

Satisfies a major requirement in Sociology.
Satisfies Communication Studies and Film and Media Studies interdisciplinary minor requirements.
Satisfies Liberal Studies distribution requirement.
 

COM 328 - Social Media’s Impact on Society

The oldest and most trusted form of human communication is word of mouth. The most developed and pervasive is mass media. Now comes social media, incorporating the qualities of both: word of mouth at the speed of light. Its existence is so new, its effects so stupefying, that few have paused from drinking it in long enough to contemplate how it works and where it is taking our world. Through this course, you will explore the underpinnings of social media, its widespread uses to date and the far-ranging effects those uses are having on culture, media, politics and business (often explained by visiting professionals in those fields). You will also complete a project that applies social media within your chosen field.

Satisfies a interdisciplinary minor requirement in Communication Studies.
 

COM 350 - Communication and Issues of Diversity

The U.S. population continues to become increasingly more diverse, and this increased diversity creates newer, greater challenges for organizations (including government, nonprofit, and corporate entities) as well as for individual communicators. How do our upbringing and biases shape the way we characterize, interact with, and talk about others? The focus of this course is to introduce students to issues of power, race, class, and gender, as related to communication theory and practice.

Satisfies an interdisciplinary minor requirement in Communication Studies.

COM 365 - Language as Social Action

Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.

COM 390 - Special Topics - Voices of Democracy: Great Speeches in U.S. History

Explores some of the most famous (and infamous) speeches and debates in U.S. history.   Beyond learning about great speeches in history, students will reflect on how, in a free society, speech functions as a mechanism for defining our identity, reconciling our political and cultural differences, and affecting political and social change.  Appropriate for students from all years and majors.   

Special topics course titles and descriptions may change.  May be repeated for credit.

Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirements.

Satisfies a Communication Studies interdisciplinary minor requirement.

COM 395 - Independent Study

COM 495 - Communication Theory and Research

The capstone course for the Communication Studies interdisciplinary minor.  The study of a variety of theories of communication as they frame questions and enable the discovery of answers.  Theories cover basic conceptions of the communication process in interpersonal, public, and mass communication.  These theories, and exemplary research growing from them, provide the basis for the investigation of key questions concerning processes of communication. The course culminates in a major project bringing together a variety of theoretical perspectives.  

Prerequisites & Notes
Students should have taken COM 101, COM 201, and at least three courses from one track in the Communication Studies interdisciplinary minor. COM 101 or one elective may be taken concurrently. Instructor’s permission required.  (Spring)

CSC 108 - Explorations in Computer Science

An introduction to the study of computational and algorithmic processes and the insight such study provides into age-old questions about human creativity and intelligence, the nature of social networks, evolution and self-replicating systems, mind-body duality, language, and economic systems.  Students will learn to read and understand short computer programs in a beginner-friendly language. 

Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies Mathematical and Quantitative Thought distribution requirement.
Students entering before 2012: satisfies Mathematics distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
This course is not open to students with prior credit for (or concurrently enrolled in) any computer science course (including PHYS 200 and BIO 209) or any one of MAT 220, MAT 230 or MAT 255. No previous experience with computing is needed or assumed.

CSC 120 - Programming in Humanities (= DIG 120)

DIG 120 - Programming in the Humanities (= CSC 120)

Instructor
Kabala

Computational methods have significantly broadened and deepened the possibilities of inquiry in the Humanities. Programming skills have allowed textual scholars, in particular, to take advantage of enormous digitized corpora of historical documents, newspapers, novels, books, and social network data like Twitter feeds to pose new questions to the written word. We can now trace the changing semantics of words and phrases across millions of documents and hundreds of years, visualize centuries-old plot structures in new ways through sentiment analysis and character networks, and solve long-standing riddles of authorship attribution-among many other exciting feats. This course offers an introduction to computer science through applications in the Humanities. Students will learn to program in the Wolfram Language, aka Mathematica. The Wolfram Language is especially well suited for humanists: its rich documentation and natural language processing capabilities ensure a gentle introduction for first-time programmers, its symbolic computation structure allows us to work with texts written in any language and any alphabet, while its Notebook environment provides an interactive medium for publishing and sharing our results with peers. Mathematica also provides a great springboard for further work in computer science, physical computing, and Digital Studies more broadly.

Satisfies a minor requirement in Computer Science.

Satisfies the Mathematical and Quantitative Thought distribution requirement. 

Prerequisites & Notes
Not open to students with credit for CSC 121, CSC 200 (= PHY 200), or CSC 209 (= BIO 209).

(Spring)

CSC 121 - Programming and Problem Solving

Satisfies the Mathematical and Quantitative Thought distribution requirement.
 

Prerequisites & Notes
Not open to students with credit for CSC 120 (= DIG 120), CSC 200 (=PHY 200), or CSC 209 (= BIO 209).

CSC 200 - Computational Physics (= PHY 200)

(Cross-listed as PHY 200) PHY/CSC 200 is an introduction to computer programming and computational physics using Python. No prior programming experience is necessary. This course will provide students with the skills required to write code to solve physics problems in areas including quantum physics, electromagnetism, and mechanics. Structured programming methods will be covered as well as algorithms for numerical integration, solving differential equations, and more.
 

Satisfies the Mathematical and Quantitative Thought distribution requirement.

Co-requisite: Physics 120 or 130 at Davidson or permission of the instructor. (Spring)

Prerequisites & Notes
Physics 120 or 130 at Davidson, or permission of the instructor.  (Spring)

CSC 209 - Bioinformatics Programming (= BIO 209)

Satisfies the Mathematical and Quantitative Thought distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes

Does not carry Mathematics major credit. Not open to students with credit for CSC 120 (=DIG 120), CSC 121 or CSC 200 (= PHY 200).  (Fall) 

CSC 220 - Discrete Structures (= MAT 220)

 

Prerequisites & Notes
MAT 113 or equivalent, and the ability to program in a high-level language such as Python, C++, or Java at the level expected in CSC 121 or an equivalent course.

CSC 221 - Data Structures

Counts towards the Mathematics major.
Satisfies the Mathematical and Quantitative Thought distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Computer Science 121, 200, 209, or permission of instructor.

CSC 250 - Computer Organization

An introduction to how digital computers are built and the process by which computer programs expressed in a high-level language are translated into signals to be routed on a digital circuit board. Topics include data representation and manipulation, digital logic building blocks (logic gates, flip-flops), computer memory, assembly and machine code, hardware components and their organization, and the C programming language. 

Prerequisites & Notes
Requires the ability to program in a high-level language such as Python, C++, Java etc., at the level expected in CSC 121 or an equivalent course.

Does not carry Mathematics major credit. (Spring)

CSC 312 - Software Design

Satisfies a requirement in the Computer Science major and minor.

Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: CSC 221

CSC 315 - Numerical Analysis (= MAT 315)

CSC 321 - Analysis of Algorithms

Counts towards the Mathematics major.

Prerequisites & Notes

Computer Science 221, and prerequisite or co-requisite Mathematics 220, or permission of instructor.  (Fall)

CSC 322 - Programming Languages

CSC 324 - Theory of Computation

Mathematical models of computation, and the fundamental capabilities and limitations of computers.  Topics include regular languages, finite automata, context-free languages, grammars, Turing machines, the Chomsky hierarchy, the halting problem, algorithms, decidable and undecidable problems, algorithmic reductions, complexity theory, the classes P, NP, and PSPACE, and NP-complete problems.

Counts towards the Mathematics major.

Prerequisites & Notes
One of Mathematics 220, 230, or 255. (Offered Spring of odd-numbered years.)

CSC 353 - Database Systems

Sciences and societies are increasingly reliant on storing, querying, and processing data. Major scientific endeavors and applications rely on our ability to manage - and interpret - large data sets. In addition, our ability to generate data increases quickly as computational devices become less expensive and more ubiquitous. In this upper-level Computer Science course, we study key algorithmic and structural strategies used in database management systems, including indexing techniques, concurrency control protocols, and parallelism.

Satisfies a requirement in the Computer Science major and minor.

Prerequisites & Notes
CSC 221 (Data Structures)

CSC 357 - Concurrent and Parallel Computing

Core concepts, problems, and techniques related to the construction and maintenance of highly-scalable concurrent and parallel systems, including how computer and network architecture influence performance. Both theoretical and practical perspectives are considered as tools to analyze modern systems.

Satisfies a minor requirement in Computer Science

 

Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: CSC 221

CSC 361 - Computer Graphics

Overview of 2D and 3D computer graphics techniques: line drawing routines, antialiasing, 3D object representation, culling, z-buffers, a-buffers, illumination and shading models, ray tracing, color models, the graphics pipeline, levels of detail, and image processing. Emphasis on understanding and implementing computer graphics algorithms and creating computer generated images using OpenGL and C++.

Prerequisites & Notes
CSC 221 and MAT 150, or permission of instructor. Offered Fall of even numbered years.

CSC 362 - Data Visualization

An introduction to the theory and application of graphical representations of data. Topics include: the human visual system, low-level vision processing, attentive vs. preattentive processes, color vision and color map design, interaction, space perception, and visualization design.

Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: CSC 221. Offered fall of odd-numbered years.

Does not carry Mathematics major credit. 

CSC 370 - Artificial Intelligence

An introduction to the theory, principles, and techniques of Artificial Intelligence. Topics include search, game playing, constraint satisfaction problems, planning, reinforcement learning, knowledge representation, logic, and natural language processing.

Counts towards the Mathematics major.

Prerequisites & Notes
Computer Science 221, and one of Mathematics 220, 230, or 255, or permission of the instructor. Offered Spring of odd-numbered years.

CSC 371 - Machine Learning

Counts towards the Mathematics major.

Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisites: Proficiency in a high-level programming language and data structures, at the level expected in CSC 221, and MAT/CSC 220 (or permission of the instructor). 

Offered Spring of even-numbered years.

CSC 381 - Applications Seminar

Special topics seminar in Applications.

 

Prerequisites & Notes
Permission of the instructor. 

CSC 382 - Systems Seminar

Special topics seminar in Systems.

Prerequisites & Notes
Permission of instructor required.

CSC 383 - Theory Seminar

Special topics seminar in Theory.

Prerequisites & Notes
Permission of the instructor required.

CSC 384 - Seminar

Study of topics of interest in Computer Science.

Prerequisites & Notes
Permission of instructor required.  Eligible for minor credit in computer science or major credit in mathematics by departmental approval.

CSC 395 - Independent Study

Eligible for minor credit in computer science or major credit in mathematics by departmental approval.

Prerequisites & Notes
Open to qualified students with the permission of the department chair. 

CSC 396 - Independent Study

Eligible for minor credit in computer science or major credit in mathematics by departmental approval.

Prerequisites & Notes
Open to qualified students with the permission of the department chair. 

CSC 397 - Independent Study in Advanced Software Development in Science (= PHY 397)

CSC 481 - Seminar

Eligible for minor credit in computer science or major credit in mathematics by departmental approval.

Prerequisites & Notes
Permission of the instructor. 

CSC 495 - Independent Study

Eligible for minor credit in computer science or major credit in mathematics by departmental approval.

Prerequisites & Notes
Open to qualified students with the permission of the department chair. 

DAN 101 - Introduction to Dance

An introduction to the discipline of dance studies, this primarily lecture/discussion course investigates dance as a cultural form and as an artistic, meaning-making system.  Through lectures, discussions, readings, video screenings, attendance at performances, critical writing, and occasional movement sessions, students will build a well-rounded, foundational understanding of major concepts and issues engaged in the study of various dance forms.  No previous dance experience is necessary. 

Students entering 2012 or after: satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.
Students entering before 2012: satisfies the Fine Arts distribution requirement.

DAN 240 - Modern Dance Technique I

Emerging at the turn of the twentieth century, modern dance encourages the development of physical capacities for creative expression. Focusing on proper alignment, body mechanics, and anatomical efficiency, this course introduces the basic principles and technical components involved in performing techniques of Modern Dance.  Though the primary work is in the studio, course work will also include readings, video viewing, discussion, and written analysis. 

No previous dance experience is necessary.

Students entering 2012 or after: satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement. 
Students entering before 2012: satisfies the Fine Arts distribution requirement.

DAN 260 - Dance Composition I

An introduction to the fundamental skills of dancemaking, this course explores the development and crafting of movement for performance. Examining a range of compositional methods and performance approaches, students will develop the basic tools for dance choreography. Coursework will include studio practice, readings, performance viewings, and written assignments.

Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.
Students entering before 2012: satisfies Fine Arts distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
DAN 240 or permission of the instructor.

DAN 282 - Dance, Gender, & Sexuality

Through a transhistorical study of a various styles and forms, this lecture/discussion class examines a variety of issues around gender and sexuality illuminated in the staging, performance, and practice of dance. Understanding dance as a focused site for conceptualizing how bodies make meaning, this course explores the social and historical configuration of dancing bodies and dance’s capacity to form and transform social identities. Course work includes readings, performance viewings, presentations, and written assignments.

Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies Liberal Studies distribution requirement.
Satisfies a major requirement in Gender & Sexuality Studies.
Satisfies a minor requirement in Gender & Sexuality Studies.
Satisfies a requirement in the Interpersonal/Intercultural track in Communication Studies

DAN 284 - Dancing Diaspora: The African American Theatrical Dance Tradition

Drawing on scholarship about the African Diaspora, this lecture/discussion course examines how United States dance performance has shaped and been shaped by ideas about Africanist aesthetics and cultural identities.  Exploring entertainment and concert performances from late minstrelsy to the present day, the class will investigate both how black dance artists have staged their cultural experiences, and how those theatrical representations have been received and interpreted. Course work includes readings, performance viewings, presentations, and written assignments.

Satisfies a major requirement in Africana Studies. 
Students entering 2012 or after: satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.

DAN 286 - (Dis)ability: A Creative Laboratory of Self and Society

In this course students can expect to investigate the idea of disability in a multimodal environment of learning and knowledge production.  Students will engage with lecture, discussion, videos, readings, and creative intersectional explorations that expound upon upon how society and individuals construct the meaning of disability. An undercurrent of this course to examine how the pathologizing of the body (at times disability) is linked with several different identity politics and how depathologizing disability is intertwined with deconstructing interconnected systems of oppression. A few specific examples include the use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in pathologizing homosexuality, the construction of humanness with notions of intellect and consciousness and problematic racial constructions, and the connection between mental health and homelessness.  Therefore this class intersects disability with race, class, gender, sexuality, and education and has the opportunity for students to make connections to other identity categories. This course welcomes students from all background who are open to exploring ideas regarding ability, identity, and our society.

Satisfies a requirement in the Gender & Sexuality Studies major and minor.
Satisfies a minor requirement in Dance.
Satisfies an interdisciplinary minor requirement in Health and Human Values.
Satisfies a Liberal Studies distribution requirement.
Satisfies a cultural diversity requirement.

DAN 340 - Modern Dance Technique II

Designed for students with prior dance training, this movement practice course builds upon student awareness of the principles and techniques of modern dance. Emphasizing further development of the skills of movement execution and expressively, course work will include studio practice, readings, video screenings, and written work.

Students entering 2012 or after: satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.
Students entering before 2012 or after: satisfies the Fine Arts distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
DAN 240 or permission of the instructor.

DAN 360 - Dance Composition II

An introduction to the fundamental skills of dancemaking, this course explores the development and crafting of movement for performance. Examining a range of compositional methods and approaches, students will develop the basic tools for dance choreography. Coursework will include studio practice, readings, performance viewings, and written work.

Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts/Fine Arts distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: DAN 240 or permission of the instructor

DIG 101 - Introduction to Digital Studies

This interdisciplinary course offers a critical approach to contemporary digital culture and digital methodology. Topics will include the history of digital media, the rise of network society, and the influence of digital technology upon narrative, arts, and science. The course will require extensive work with computers, but no prior knowledge is necessary. 

Students entering 2012 or after: satisfies the Liberal Studies distribution requirement.  

Prerequisites & Notes
(Fall)

DIG 120 - Programming in the Humanities (= CSC 120)

Computational methods have significantly broadened and deepened the possibilities of inquiry in the Humanities. Programming skills have allowed textual scholars, in particular, to take advantage of enormous digitized corpora of historical documents, newspapers, novels, books, and social network data like Twitter feeds to pose new questions to the written word. We can now trace the changing semantics of words and phrases across millions of documents and hundreds of years, visualize centuries-old plot structures in new ways through sentiment analysis and character networks, and solve long-standing riddles of authorship attribution-among many other exciting feats. This course offers an introduction to computer science through applications in the Humanities. Students will learn to program in the Wolfram Language, aka Mathematica. The Wolfram Language is especially well suited for humanists: its rich documentation and natural language processing capabilities ensure a gentle introduction for first-time programmers, its symbolic computation structure allows us to work with texts written in any language and any alphabet, while its Notebook environment provides an interactive medium for publishing and sharing our results with peers. Mathematica also provides a great springboard for further work in computer science, physical computing, and Digital Studies more broadly.

Satisfies a minor requirement in Computer Science.

Satisfies the Mathematical and Quantitative Thought distribution requirement. 

Prerequisites & Notes
Not open to students with credit for CSC 121, CSC 200 (= PHY 200), or CSC 209 (= BIO 209).

(Spring)

DIG 210 - Data Culture

“Data” is often considered to be the domain of scientists and statisticians. But with the proliferation of databases across nearly all aspects of modern life, data has become an everyday concern. Bank accounts, FaceTime records, Snapchat posts, Xbox leaderboards, CatCard purchases, your DNA-at the heart of all them is data. To live today is to breathe and exhale data, wherever you go, online and off. And at the same time data has become a function of daily life, it has also become the subject of-and vehicle for-literary and artistic critiques.

This course explores the role of data and databases in contemporary culture, with an eye toward understanding how data shapes the way we perceive-and misperceive-the world. After historicizing the origins of modern databases in 19th century industrialization and census efforts, we will survey our present-day data landscape, considering data mining, data visualization, and database art. We will encounter nearly evangelical enthusiasm for “Big Data” but also rigorous criticisms of what we might call naïve empiricism. The ethical considerations of data collection and analysis will be at the forefront of our conversation, as will be issues surrounding privacy and surveillance.

Satisfies an interdisciplinary minor requirement in Communication Studies.
Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies Liberal Studies distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Fall)

DIG 215 - Death in the Digital Age

This class explores the intersection of death and technology. What happens to our digital personas when we die? How does technology change grieving? What kind of ghosts inhabit our machines? What’s the 21st century equivalent of a gothic haunted house? We will consider these questions and many more as we wrestle with the meaning of death in the digital age. Among the primary sources we will study will be historical archives, media representations of disaster, contemporary horror novels and films, and television series such as Dead Set and Black Mirror.

Satisfies a requirement in the Film and Media Studies Interdisciplinary Minor.

 

Prerequisites & Notes
(Spring)

DIG 220 - Electronic Literature

Love letters written by a computer. A poem two hundred trillion stanzas long. A message encoded in a microbe’s DNA. The mysterious disappearance of a teenager, told through YouTube and IMs. An ocean buoy tweeting mash-ups of Moby Dick. Welcome to the weird world of electronic literature-digitally born poetic, narrative, and aesthetic works read on computers, tablets, and phones. Experimental, evocative, and sometimes simply puzzling, electronic literature challenges our assumptions about reading, writing, authorship, and meaning. Yet e-lit, as it is often called, has also profoundly influenced mainstream culture. Literature, film, comics, apps, and video games have all learned lessons from electronic literature. This course will trace the rise of electronic literature and explore both historic and contemporary works of e-lit. We’ll begin with electronic literature’s roots in avant-garde art and Cold War technology, and follow e-lit through the birth of the personal computer into the era of the Web and smartphone. At every step along the way the expressive power of new media-the way digital media enables and shapes different modes of creative and cultural expression-will be of particular interest to us.

Satisfies a requirement for the Global Literary Theory interdisciplinary minor.

Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing and Rhetoric distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Not offered in 2016-2017.)

DIG 270 - Digital Storytelling (= ART 270)

This course will explore storytelling as an art form, offering methods and strategies for designing and producing short nonfiction digital projects using audio, video, and text. Students will learn to collect stories using digital tools and reflect on how digital tools change the stories we tell. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to a broad set of digital storytelling genres and technologies. It will invite a critical and contextual examination of how digital narrative is constructed and how makers position themselves and their audiences.

Satisfies a major requirement in Art

Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement

 

Prerequisites & Notes
(Spring)

DIG 333 - Digital 3D Studio

A studio art course focusing on the production of digital three-dimensional images, objects, and animations. Assignments focus on concepts and techniques of 3-D modeling, printing and animation. Weekly exercises improve our digital literacy, visual thinking and technical craft. Emphasis on digital experimentation, production and critique.

Satisfies a major requirement in Art.
Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Not offered 2016-2017.)

DIG 340 - Gender and Technology

This class explores the relationship between gender and technology in the digital age. We will consider the countless ways modern technology shapes our attitudes toward and experiences of sex, power, play, and work, and even the way digital technology shapes our bodies. Other topics will include the representation of gender in digital media, feminism and protest in digital spaces, queer gaming, and gender performance through social media.

Satisfies a major requirement in Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Satisfies a minor requirement in Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies Liberal Studies distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Not Offered 2016-2017)

DIG 350 - History & Future of the Book

This class is concerned with the long history, the varied present, and the uncertain future of the book in the digital age. Over the course of the semester we will address three questions: What is the history of the book as a physical and cultural object? How have current disruptions in reading and writing technology changed the way we use and imagine books? And what does the future of the book look like? Along the way we will consider reading and writing innovations such as electronic paper, e-readers, and touchscreen interfaces. We will also design hybrid books ourselves, augmenting conventional printed books with electronic circuits and I/O sensors.

Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies Historical Thought distribution requirement.
Students entering before 2012: satisfies history distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Not offered 2016-2017.)

DIG 360 - Digital Maps, Space, and Place

Space and place - visualized by maps - condition nearly every aspect of our lived experience. Our lives would be very difficult without geospatial markers, (and is very difficult when they’re a challenge to decipher - think the numbering system in Chambers!). It’s almost impossible to imagine everyday experiences, like driving to the store, going for a run on the river run trail, or even locating the best local coffee shop without access to maps. These activities are made all the more easy by the dynamic, interactive digital maps that track our positions relative to the sites that matter to us.

This is a methodology class designed to introduce students to the theories and practices of digital mapping. We will explore space, place and geography through the physical space of Davidson College, using maps of the campus produced throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, contemporary images of campus, and cartographic imaginaries of what the campus could be. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with the reasons for studying maps, the tools needed for geospatial analysis, how to embed and analyze geographical information, and how to link historical maps to modern day geographies.

Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.

Students entering before 2012: satisfies Social Science distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Not offered 2016 -2017.)

DIG 401 - Hacking, Remixing and Design

This seminar will explore hacking and remixing as creative and critical practices.  In the process we will expand the conceptual domains of both terms.  We will explore hacking and remixing across a range of forms, including code, software, social media, and digital writing.  The social, ethical, and rhetorical dimensions of hacking and remixing will also be considered as students design their own hacks and remixes.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Spring)

ECO 101 - Introductory Economics

Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement. 

ECO 105 - Statistics and Basic Econometrics

Application of probability and statistics to economic analysis. Topics include: probability rules, discrete and continuous random variables, confidence intervals, hypothesis tests, correlation, and regression. Spreadsheet software is utilized. An economics research paper is a major component of the course.

Satisfies the Mathematical and Quantitative Thought distribution requirement. 

Prerequisites & Notes
One laboratory session per week.

ECO 114 - Introduction to Finance

This course provides a foundation in the principles and tools of finance, which include financial analysis, the time value of money, capital budgeting and capital structure. It emphasizes an intuitive, logically rigorous understanding of the theory and practice of finance, illustrating concepts that are applicable to public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. Ethical and societal issues related to these principles are examined.  

Does not satisfies a major requirement.

ECO 122 - Introduction to Health Care Economics

This course provides students without an economics background a broad overview of the health economics field.  A foundation of microeconomics principles is developed, and this foundation is then used to analyze leading health care issues.

Satisfies a minor credit in Economics.
Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.

ECO 180 - Selected Topics in Economics (ECO 180-184)

Reading, research, papers, and discussion on selected topics in economics. Each faculty member announces in advance the particular topic or area of the seminar. 

[Not for major or minor credit in Economics.]

ECO 195 - Independent Study

Not for major or minor credit in Economics.

Prerequisites & Notes
Permission of the instructor.

ECO 202 - Intermediate Microeconomic Theory

Satisfies a Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement. 

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101 and Calculus I or equivalent.

ECO 203 - Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory

Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement. 

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101 and Calculus I or equivalent.

ECO 205 - Econometrics

Applications of linear regression analysis to economic analysis. Topics include model specification, parameter estimation, inference, and problems relating to data issues, statistical concerns, and model diagnostics. Statistical software is utilized. An economics research paper is a major component of the course.

Satisfies the Mathematical and Quantitative Thought distribution requirement. 

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101 and either Economics 105 or permission of the instructor. 
One laboratory session per week.

ECO 211 - Introduction to Accounting

Comprehensive study of the theory and problems of valuation of assets, application of funds, corporation accounts and statements; interpretation and analysis of financial statements.

Prerequisites & Notes
Only two courses from Economics 211, 212, and 213 may earn major credit.

ECO 212 - Intermediate Accounting

ECO 213 - Cost Accounting

Study of allocation and utilization of resources. Emphasis on cost behavior, cost allocation, product costing, budgeting, decision-making and control activities related to job-order, process and activity-based costing (ABC) systems.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 211. 
Only two courses from Economics 211, 212, and 213 may earn major credit. (Fall)

ECO 219 - Game Theory and Strategic Behavior

Study of strategic situations in theory and practice. Course begins with the concept of Nash equilibrium and covers refinements of it, addressing ideas such as mixed strategies, preemption, wars of attrition, commitment, repeated games, and signaling.

Satisfies a Mathematical & Quantitative Thought distribution requirement.

 

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101.

ECO 220S - Economic Analysis of Health and Access to Care

Economic perspective on differences in health outcomes and health care utilization across the categories of income, wealth, education, gender and race.  Includes study of theories of time allocation, health production, health insurance and discrimination, and assessment of related empirical research and policies. 

Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.
 

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101 or both Economics 122 and permission of the instructor. 
Recommended, but not required: Economics 105.

ECO 221 - Economic History of the United States

Satisfies the Historical Thought distribution requirement. 

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101.

ECO 224S - Labor Economics

Labor markets, unionization, unemployment, and public policy primarily in the setting of the United States.  Particular focus will be on inequality and discrimination in the labor market.

Satisfies a Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101.

ECO 225 - Public Sector Economics

Analysis of the role the public sector plays in a mixed economy.  Topics include public goods, externalities, tax policy, expenditure policy, budget deficits, and the national debt.  Includes proposals for tax welfare, and health care reforms. 
A student may not receive credit for both Economics 225 and Economics 325.  

Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement. 

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101.

ECO 226 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics

Focuses on the application of economic tools to the evaluation of environmental amenities, the analysis of pollution control policies, the uses of renewable and nonrenewable resources, and the protection of biodiversity.  Examines the strengths and weaknesses of the economic approach to those issues.

Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement. 
Satisfies depth and breadth course requirement in the Social Science Track of the Environmental Studies major or interdisciplinary minor.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101 required; Calculus I or equivalent recommended.

ECO 228 - Financial Economics

ECO 229S - Urban Economics

Role of economics in the development of modern cities. Topics include: the monocentric-city model, urban land values, crime, transportation, education, and taxation.

Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement. 

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101.

ECO 231S - History of Economic Thought

Evolution of economic thought in a social-historical context, from the Mercantilists up to Keynes, with particular attention to the Classical, Marxian, Austrian, Neoclassical, Institutional, and Keynesian schools.

Satisfies the Liberal Studies distribution requirement. 

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101.

ECO 232S - Economics of Migration

Types of migration, economic basis for migration, aggregate and distributional consequences on migrant sending and receiving countries, fiscal and other effects of migration, ‘brain-drain’ and ‘brain-gain’, remittances, migration policy.

Satisfies an interdisciplinary minor requirement for International Studies.
Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101

ECO 234 - Latin American Economic Development

This course combines economic theory, policy and historical accounts to understand forces that have shaped Latin American economic development.  You will gain an understanding of major theories and trends in Latin American development while obtaining the necessary tools to analyze specific development issues and the impact of development projects.

Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101.

ECO 235 - Economics of South Asian Environmental Issues

The goal of this course is for students to learn about the economics of environmental issues in South Asia (defined here as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). The economic tools will include externalities and consideration of common and open access goods. The issues discussed will be topical, and the students will get to choose a topic for their research project.

Satisfies depth and breadth course requirement in the Social Science track of the Environmental Studies major or interdisciplinary minor.
Satisfies a Social Scientific Thought Distribution Requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101.

ECO 280 - Selected Topics in Economics (ECO 280-284)

Reading, research, papers, and discussion on selected topics in economics.  Topics and course numbers will be announced in advance of registration.

Not for major or minor credit in Economics

ECO 295 - Individual Research

Designed for the student who desires to pursue some special interest in economics. A research proposal must be approved in advance by the faculty member who supervises the student and determines the means of evaluation as well as the Department Chair.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 101 and permission of the instructor.

ECO 316 - Computational Economics

Computational methods for building and solving models in the context of economics topics. Methods discussed include agent-based simulations to analyze complex adaptive systems, value function iteration to solve dynamic structural models, and miscellaneous estimation and optimizing techniques.

Satisfies an interdisciplinary minor requirement for applied mathematics.
Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 105 or permission of the instructor.

ECO 320 - Psychology and Economics

Incorporation of psychological insights into economic models, with emphasis on empirical evidence. Also known as behavioral economics. Analysis of how individuals depart from a standard economic model in three ways: 1) nonstandard preferences, such as procrastination, 2) nonstandard beliefs, such as overconfidence about one’s ability, and 3) nonstandard decision making, such as framing effects and the roles of social pressure and peer influences.

Satisfies Social Science distribution requirement.
 

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 105 and Economics 202.

ECO 321 - Research Seminar in Public Choice Economics

Public Choice Economics is the application of economic methods to problems usually within the sphere of political science.  This research seminar is as much a vehicle for developing a student’s research skills as it is a valuable field of inquiry.  The students will actively engage with their peers in learning about Public Choice Economics, in developing a viable research proposal, and in conducting their own empirical research projects.  It is appropriate for either advanced economics-focused students with an interest political science or advanced political science-focused students with an interest in economics.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics focus: Economics 105 (Statistics), either Economics 202 (Intermediate Microeconomics) or Economics 203 (Intermediate Macroeconomics), and a Political Science course above 201.

Political Science focus: Political Science 201 (Methods and Statistics in Political Science), a Political Science course above 300, and Economics 101 (Introductory Economics).

ECO 322S - Health Economics

Analysis of the U.S. health care sector: demand for health, medical care and health insurance;  supply of physician services, hospital services and insurance; health care markets and government interventions; cost effectiveness analysis; comparison of international health care systems. Focus is on policy applications.

Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.
 

 

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 202 required

ECO 323 - Industrial Organization

Theoretical basis for antitrust laws and the regulation of industries. Mergers, market power, economies of scale, barriers to entry, and contestable market theory. Emphasis is placed on past and recent antitrust cases.

Satisfies a Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 202 required.

ECO 324 - Labor Economics

Labor markets, unionization, unemployment, and public policy primarily in the setting of the United States. (A student may not receive credit for both ECO 224 and ECO 324.)

Satisfies a Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 105 and Economics 202 or permission of the instructor.

ECO 325 - Public Sector Economics

Analysis of the role the public sector plays in a mixed economy.  Topics include public goods, externalities, tax policy, expenditure policy, budget deficits, and the national debt.  Includes proposals for tax welfare, and health care reforms. 
A student may not receive credit for both Economics 225 and Economics 325.  

Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement. 

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 202.

ECO 328S - Money and the Financial System

Term structure of interest rates, structure of financial markets, regulatory framework, asset demand theories, Federal Reserve system and operation of monetary policy.

Satisfies a Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 203.

ECO 329S - Sports Economics

Sports economics covers the major economic issues confronted in professional and major college sports. The course examines four topics in depth: (1) the structure of professional sports industry, (2) public finance issues surrounding stadium construction and team ownership in professional sports, (3) labor market issues in professional sports, and (4) the economics of amateur athletics (with a focus on the NCAA).

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 105 and Economics 202.

ECO 333S - Political Economy and Economic Development

This course will analyze the major theoretical arguments to how and why politics affects economic development, and study the ways in which economic development influences politics.  Empirical studies will be analyzed in order to evaluate various policies that may promote the support economic growth and devlopment.

Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 105 or equivalent, and Economics 202.

ECO 337 - International Trade

Economic basis for international trade, determinants and consequences of trade flows, barriers to trade, and trade policy.

Satisfies a Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 202.

ECO 338 - International Finance

Satisfies a Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 203.