Course Descriptions

CLA 141 - Greek Art and Archaeology

May be applied toward a major in Art History.

CLA 142 - Roman Art and Architecture

Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Students at all levels welcome. (Fall)

May be applied toward a major in Art History.

CLA 224 - Medical Etymology

This course explains the Greek and Latin roots of the language of medical science, and encourages mastery of these elements as essential to understanding medical language.  In addition to etymological study, the course will investigate word origins in their cultural and mythological contexts.  Students will learn to become morphological surgeons, dissecting the layered and sometimes cumbersome language of the body and its treatments.

Counts as an elective in the Classics major.
Counts as an elective in the Health & Human Values interdisciplinary minor.

CLA 233 - Justice in a Pure Democracy: Searching for Equal Rights in Ancient Athens

This course will explore how the Athenian community changed over time as it became more democratic.  How “pure” was Athenian democracy, really?  How did the Athenians define who got which rights and responsibilities?  How did their judicial system work?  What role did religion play?  What criticisms did Athenian democracy face?  How did the Athenians respond to attempts to overthrow the democracy?  Readings will include Homer, Aeschylus, Thucydides, and Plato, as well as Aristotle’s history of the Athenian constitution and surviving speeches from legal disputes ranging from homicide to prostitution, inheritance to property rights.

Provides elective credit in the Classical Studies major.
Provides elective credit in the Classical Languages and Literature major.
Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.

CLA 244 - Field School in Mediterranean Archaeology

Satisfies an interdisciplinary minor requirement in Archaeology.

CLA 246 - Ethics in Archaeology and Art

Archaeologists try to understand human culture through its material remains. But though the material comes from the past, archaeology takes place in the present, and the ethical issues confronted by archaeologists are anything but past. Using the case method, this course aims to provide a forum for informed discussion about cultural property and cultural heritage. We will think about what stakeholders are involved in issues raised by archaeology; what ethical, financial, legal, political (and sometimes military) considerations affect decisions these stakeholders make; what legal statutes, ethical codes, and disciplinary practices are involved. The cases set out ethical dilemmas involving stewardship, commercialization, public education, intellectual property, public reporting and publication, indigenous rights, and more, including issues faced by museums.

Satisfies Philosophical and Religious Perspectives distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Students at all levels welcome. (Spring)

CLA 250 - Classical Mythology

CLA 255 - Greek Sports and Athletic Festivals

CLA 280 - Troy and the Trojan War

Employing a multiplicity of approaches and methodologies (art-historical, archaeological, historical, etc.) this course aims to partake in the complexity (impossibility?) of answering seemingly simple questions such as: Was there ever a Troy? Did Homer’s Trojan War ever happen?

Prerequisites & Notes
Students at all levels welcome. (Offered in alternate years.)

CLA 332 - Greeks and Persians

This course explores the various cultural, economic, military, political, and religious interactions between the Greeks and the Achaemenid Persians, rulers of the first world empire, and investigates how Herodotus, the “Father of History,” constructed his grand narrative. The focus will be on the period from Cyrus the Great to Xerxes (559-478 BCE) but will include some attention to the later Greek and the modern reception of this early confrontation between east and west, including the movie 300.

Satisfies a major requirement in Classics.
Satisfies a major requirement in History.
Satisfies the Historical Thought Distribution Requirement

Prerequisites & Notes
Students at all levels welcome. (Offered in alternate years.)

CLA 399 - Independent Study in Classical Studies

Research and writing under the direction and supervision of a faculty member who reviews and approves the topic(s) and evaluates the student’s work.

Prerequisites & Notes
Permission of the instructor required.

CLA 436 - The Roman Revolution

The Roman Revolution is the title of an influential book by Sir Ronald Syme, who follows Asinius Pollio in taking 60 BCE as the start of the collapse of the republican form of government. This course will take the broader view adopted by T. Mommsen and other scholars who, like Appian, begin with the tribunate of Tiberius Gracchus in 133. We will study the political story of the fall of the republic together, and then split up to research aspects of the other side of our theme, the Roman cultural revolution. If you prefer, you may research a topic relating to Octavian’s transformation of Roman institutions and culture into the Roman Empire.

Counts as a pre-modern and 400-level seminar course in the History major and minor.

CLA 441 - The Parthenon

Exploration of the architectural, aesthetic, religious and political contexts of the Parthenon, including its impact through the ages. The class will visit the recreation of the Parthenon in Nashville.

Prerequisites & Notes
Permission of the instructor. (Offered in alternate years.)

CLA 480 - Senior Research Seminar

Capstone course for classics majors. Students define, research, and write a major research paper on a topic of their choice.

Satisfies a major requirement in Classics.

Prerequisites & Notes
Required of senior Classics majors. (Fall)

CLA 499 - Senior Thesis

COM 101 - Principles of Oral Communication

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

Prerequisites & Notes
(Fall and Spring)

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.
Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community 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.

Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community 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.

Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community 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 (=SOC 350)

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.

Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement

COM 365 - Rhetorics of Justice and Equality

Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.
Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement

COM 390 - Special Topics - Rhetoric of Protest and Social Movements

History is defined by social movements.  Social activists help shape our attitudes concerning civil rights, living wages, healthcare, and the environment.  Rhetoric is an essential feature of social activism.  Without an effective message, a movement is bound to fail.  In this course, we will investigate the rhetorical dynamics informing a range of historical movements.  Additionally, we will theorize the fluid relationship between social movement and public consciousness, while also pointing to the opportunities and challenges activists face in the twenty-first century.
 

Special topics course titles and descriptions may change.  May be repeated for credit.
Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.
Satisfies a requirement in the Communication Studies interdisciplinary minor.

COM 390 - Special Topics: Debate and Deliberation in Civic Life (Fall 2017)

Fall 2017: Debate and Deliberation in Civic Life
Instructor
Hogan

Debate and deliberation are essential mechanisms of democratic governance.   Since ancient times, theorists have prescribed ethical and practical “rules” for democratic debate and deliberation, but in recent years the decline of civil, reasoned, and productive civic deliberations in the U.S. has raised new concerns about the health of America’s democratic republic.   In this class, we will reflect on the role of debate and deliberation in civic life, taking a historical approach to understanding how changing rhetorical norms and conventions, increasing cultural diversity, and new media technologies have impacted the character and quality of public discourse.  There are no prerequisites and the course is open to students from all classes and majors.

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 must have completed COM 201 and should have completed all other requirements for the interdisciplinary minor, although 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. 

Satisfies Mathematical and Quantitative Thought 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 110 - Data Science & Society

An introduction to methods of data science, including computer programming, data visualization, and statistical analysis. Students will collect, process, analyze, and present data in order to expose and help each other understand issues of social and economic justice. All work will be done in R, a freely available data analysis software package. Not open to students with credit for, or current enrollment in, any course in computer programming or statistics.

Satisfies a Mathematical & Quantitative Thought distribution requirement.
Satisfies an elective requirement in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor (optional introductory course to the minor).
Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.

CSC 120 - Programming in Humanities (= DIG 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 a requirement in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor.
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.
Satisfies a requirement in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor.

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.
Satisfies a requirement in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor.

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).  

CSC 220 - Discrete Structures (= MAT 220)

(Cross-listed as MAT 220) An introduction to proof techniques, with a focus on topics relevant to computer science. Topics include: fundamental proof techniques, boolean logic, sequences and summations, set theory, algorithm analysis, recursion, mathematical induction, recurrence relations, an introduction to number theory, combinatorics, discrete probability, and graph theory. The class will be adequate preparation for students choosing to continue on the pure math track (Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra, etc.) or the theoretical computer science track (Analysis of Algorithms, Theory of Computation, etc.).

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

 

Prerequisites & Notes
MAT 140, MAT 150, or MAT 160, 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 and minor.
Counts towards the Computer Science major and minor.
Counts as an elective in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor.
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.

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)

Counts towards the Mathematics major and minor.
Counts towards the Computer Science major and minor.

Prerequisites & Notes
MAT 150 and MAT 235, and proficiency in some programming language. (Spring)

CSC 321 - Analysis of Algorithms

Counts towards the Mathematics major and minor.
Counts towards the Computer Science major and minor.

Prerequisites & Notes

CSC 221 and CSC/MAT 220, or permission of instructor. 

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 and minor.
Counts towards the Computer Science major and minor.

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

CSC 351 - Operating Systems

Operating Systems are collections of software services that manage physical hardware resources, from small sensors to complex servers, and provide applications with a higher-level interface for common tasks. Typical responsibilities of operating systems include task and memory management; input and output abstractions and services (which includes file systems and networking); and authentication / authorization. For workstations and servers, operating systems also commonly include the means to define and enforce security policies, to perform virtualization, and to manage energy consumption, among others. In our course, students develop in practice the crucial parts of a modern operating system, and develop scientific writing and public presentation skills in an informal and rewarding class environment.

Satisfies a 300-level elective requirement in the Systems area of the Computer Science major.
Satisfies a 300-level elective requirement in the Computer Science minor.

 

Prerequisites & Notes
CSC 221 (Data Structures), CSC 250 (Computer Organization), and the ability to program in C.
Offered Fall of even-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.
Counts as an elective in the Data Science interdisciplinary 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 359 - Networks and Distributed Systems

Computer networks have revolutionized the way societies create and communicate information.  In particular, the Internet is a massive deployment of network algorithms and systems, with lasting social, scientific, and economical impact.  Network algorithms and systems are specified by protocols, which allow different organizations to interoperate.  Protocols are designed to handle network failures and non-cooperative agents, and to operate at large scale without critical performance issues.  Algorithms and systems associated with network protocols are elegant and significant applications of fundamental Computer Science ideas.  This course studies fundamental Internet protocols such as ARP, IP, ICM, and TCP; higher-level application protocols, such as DNS, HTTP, SMTP, and security-related protocols; as well as medium access control specifications for Ethernet and wireless networks.  All of these protocols are studied from a perspective that emphasizes their algorithmic and design-related aspects, with focus on the fundamental computer science principles underlying the associated algorithms and systems.

Fulfills the Systems area requirement of the Computer Science major.
Satisfies a requirement in the Computer Science minor.

Prerequisites & Notes
CSC 221 (Data Structures) and CSC 250 (Computer Organization)

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++.

Counts towards the Computer Science major and minor.

Prerequisites & Notes
MAT 140 or MAT 150 and CSC 221

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.

Counts as an elective in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor.

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 and minor.
Counts towards the Computer Science major and minor.

Prerequisites & Notes
CSC 221 and one of MAT 220, 230, or 255; or permission of the instructor.

CSC 371 - Machine Learning

Counts towards the Mathematics major and minor.
Counts towards the Computer Science major and minor.
Counts as an elective in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor.

Prerequisites & Notes
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 379 - Cryptology

The study of making and breaking secret codes, including classical ciphers and their cryptanalysis, modern symmetric ciphers, and public-key systems, and their application in cryptographic protocols for secrecy, key exchange, information assurance, and authentication. Analysis of the security of cryptosystems using tools from mathematics and computer science.

Fulfills an elective requirement in the Applications area of the Computer Science major.
Counts as an elective in the Computer Science minor.
Counts as an elective in the Mathematics major and minor.
Counts as an elective in the Social Science track of the Applied Mathemetics interdisciplinary minor.

Prerequisites & Notes
Math 150 (Linear Algebra), and an introductory proof course (one of CSC 220 Discrete Structures, MAT 230 Sets and Proofs, or MAT 255 Number Theory).

CSC 381 - Applications Seminar (Fall 17 Topic: Virtual Reality)

Fall 2017 topic: Virtual Reality

Counts as an elective in the Applications category of the Computer Science major.

Prerequisites & Notes
Permission of the instructor. 

CSC 382 - Systems Seminar

Special topics seminar in Systems.

Counts as an elective in the Systems category of the Computer Science major.

Prerequisites & Notes
Permission of instructor required.

CSC 383 - Theory Seminar

Special topics seminar in Theory.

Counts as an elective in the Theory category of the Computer Science major.
Counts as an elective in the mathematics major or minor with departmental approval.

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 major or minor credit in Computer Science with department approval.
Eligible for major or minor credit in Mathematics with department approval.

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

CSC 396 - Independent Study

Eligible for major or minor credit in Computer Sciene with departmental approval.
Eligible for major or minor credit in Mathemetics with 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. 

Satisfies the Visual and Performing 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.

Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement. 

DAN 250 - Dance Repertory: Composing, Crafting, & Collaboration

In this course, students will experience and develop choreography as an unfolding practice, an act of creative research, and a collaborative endeavor. Working closely with the instructor and with others in the class, students will work though the choreographic process to develop an original composition from a predetermined site of instigation, selected by the instructor. Throughout the semester, students will work together to research choreographic themes, craft and revise performance material, refine performance strategies and approaches, and publicly present their work. The making and performance process will address issues related to composition and collaboration, including: questioning aesthetic values and assumptions about the dancemaking process; prioritizing experiences; cultivating presence in rehearsal and performance; and challenging traditional ideas about authorship and meaning-making. Throughout the semester, physical practice will be supported by dramaturgical research and reflective writings.

Fulfills an elective requirement or serves an alternative to the composition requirement (DAN 260) in the Dance Studies minor.
Satisfies a Visual & Performing Arts distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
DAN 240, or permission of the instructor

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.

Satisfies a requirement in the Gender & Sexuality Studies major and minor.
Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Satisfies the Liberal Studies distribution requirement.
 

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 minor requirement in Dance.
Counts as an elective in the Cultural Production & Expression category of the Africana Studies major (Geographic Region = North America).
Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution 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

Building upon the choreographic ideas introduced of Dance Composition I, this course explores compositional practices and processes in more depth. Through the coursework, students will research performance making methods, engage various approaches to performance making, and develop methods for crafting their own performance work. In order to begin to define their own dancemaking aesthetics, each student will be asked to create their own set of research questions, which will drive their movement and compositional explorations throughout the semester.

Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.
Satisfies a minor requirement in Dance Studies.

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. 

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 a requirement in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor.
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.
Counts as an elective in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor.
Satisfies Liberal Studies distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Fall)

DIG 211 - Surveillance Culture

This course examines the history of technologies used in surveillance and the implications for human culture and individual expectations of privacy. We will explore themes in quantitative and qualitative tracking methods beginning with Bentham’s Panopticon and the invention of photography, and tracing developments and uses of counting machines, cryptology, and computing, paying particular attention to how these methods preempt contemporary networked and so-called “Big Data” methods such as deep packet searching, social media data science, or the NSA’s Prism program. We will analyze these methods and their intended outcomes and assess their impact in their search to gain knowledge on or control individuals or populations, thwart enemies, or understand demographics in the pursuit of capital. This course will be of interest to students studying media and communications culture, information science, among others.

Satisfies a requirement in the Digital Studies minor.
Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.

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 in the English major.
Satisfies a requirement for the Global Literary Theory interdisciplinary minor.
Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing and Rhetoric distribution requirement.

DIG 240 - Art and Electronic Media

This course explores the relationships between art and electronic media in the 20th and 21st centuries. Focusing on the shift from industrial to information-driven economies, the curriculum outlines digital art’s historical trajectory, from important precursors like photography and early analog examples like video art. Special attention is given to film, gaming, 3D printing, architecture and interdisciplinary art practices.

Satisfies a requirement in the  Digital Studies minor.
Satisfies an elective requirement in the Film and Media Studies interdisciplinary minor.
Satisfies a Visual & Performing Arts distribution requirement.

DIG 245 - Critical Web Design

In this course, students will learn to conceptualize, design, and program responsive websites as both an applied and creative practice. Through a combination of technical topics in interface design and development such as usability, coding in HTML, CSS, Javascript and jQuery, as well as readings and discussions around net-based artworks and historical and cultural concerns surrounding the internet as a communication platform, students will execute interactive projects that are both culturally-relevant and technically sophisticated.

Satisfies a requirement of the Digital Studies minor.

DIG 270 - Digital Maps, Space, and Place

A course in the theories and practices of digital mapping as applied to the humanities and social sciences. The course brings together readings in the digital spatial humanities as well as hands-on mapping and spatial analysis through programming in the Wolfram Language (Mathematica). Students will learn how to choose geographical projections; work with points, lines and polygons; find, extract and analyze spatial data from humanistic materials; and tell stories (and lies) with maps. They will also read, think and write about real and imagined geographies, the meaning of place and memory, as well as the creation of space. The course will conclude with independent student projects on topics of their choosing. No background experience required.

Satisfies a requirement in the Digital Studies interdisciplinary minor.
Satisfies a requirement in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor.
Satisfies a Social-Scientific Thought distribution requirement.

DIG 333 - Physical Computing

This course will explore the use of sensors, motors, and other electronics to create web interfaces that interact with the physical world. We will hack, modify, and create systems which detect analog data and transmit it across the internet to our custom web applications or mobile devices and then back again. This course is designed for artists, designers, and programmers who wish to create culturally-relevant and technically-sophisticated electronics projects that are both utilitarian and artistic at once.

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.
Satisfies Liberal Studies distribution requirement.
Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.

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.

Satisfies Historical Thought distribution requirement.
 

Prerequisites & Notes
(Not offered 2017-2018.)

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)

DIG 404 - Humanities Startup

Humanities Startup blends humanities research with startup culture in a collaborative theory and practice-based course. The class operates at the intersection of creative computing, digital culture, and humanities methodologies. Over the duration of the semester students will conceive, research, ideate, develop, and publicize a project that responds to a multidisciplinary research subject. While the class as a whole produces a single project, students will work on teams on specific aspects of that project. The collaborative project will be both technologically proficient and socially and historically conscious. The project might be serious or playful, and may take the shape of prototypes, software, hardware, public engagement, or any combination of these. No prerequisites are required; the course will play to students’ existing strengths while simultaneously pushing them to cultivate new areas of knowledge.

Satisfies a requirement of the Digital Studies interdisciplinary minor.

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.

One laboratory session per week.

Satisfies the Mathematical and Quantitative Thought distribution requirement. 
Satisfies a requirement in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Beginning Spring 2018)  Economics 101 or permission of the instructor.

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.

Counts as an elective in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor.
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 219S - 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 and Calculus I or equivalent.

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.