Liberal Arts Core Courses

★ LIBAR-UE 501 (was E52.0501, E50.0010) Learning and the Meaning of Life
What is the most important thing to which I should be devoting my life? This course explores the existential concerns animating questions like this, ones that inspire our lifelong, liberal learning. It focuses on classic works in Western philosophy, literature, and film and examines them as texts of education. Class meetings will be devoted to a mix of lecture and discussion.

Societies and the Social Sciences

LIBAR-UE 202 (was E52.0202, E20.0020) Power, Resistance, Identity: American Social Movements
Through the lenses of power, resistance, and identity, this course provides an introduction to American social movements from the 1950s to the present. Drawing from history, sociology, and politics, it examines a range of social movements, including: civil rights and Black Power, second and third wave feminisms, gay and lesbian liberation and LGBT movements, and Right-wing mobilization. The course also examines the question of how social activism on both the political Left and Right has changed over the past fifty years.

LIBAR-UE 201 (was E52.1030, E20.1030) Art and the City: A Sociological Perspective
A broad introduction to the political and spatial dynamics of artistic-production in twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. Artists are viewed as makers of culture but also of urban character and geography - essential components in the elaborate divisions of labor which create the global metropolis. Readings and lectures draw from a range of historical periods, geographic locations, and artistic genres.

LIBAR-UE 531 (was E52.0531, E53.1545) Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the New Immigration
The objectives of this course are to introduce students to a sampling of recent theoretical and empirical work, in various academic disciplines, dealing with immigration. We will achieve this objective by systematically examining very recent research in comparative and interdisciplinary perspectives with a particular focus on the emerging Inter American migration system. Students will learn about the most recent trends in Latin American, Caribbean and to a lesser extent Asian migration to the U.S., and will compare the nature of current immigration scholarship in the United States to developments in other postindustrial settings. An examination of the comparative materials will highlight isomorphic conditions--as well as differences--in immigration debates, policies, processes, and outcomes. This course will be interdisciplinary. We shall examine recent data and theoretical work in a variety of fields such as economics, education, law, policy, psychology, sociocultural anthropology, sociolinguistics, and sociology.

★ LIBAR-UE 551 (was E52.0551, E55.1033) Culture Wars in America
This course will examine the origins, development, and meanings of cultural conflict in the United States. Why do cultural issues divide Americans? And how have these issues changed over time? Topics will include abortion, gay rights, bilingualism, alcohol and drug policies, and the teaching of evolution in public schools.

★ LIBAR-UE 552 (was E52.0552, E55.0610) Education and the American Dream: Historical Perspectives
This course will consider different conceptions of democracy, community, and the relationship between public schooling and the promotion of democratic ideals. Students will explore some of the central goals and purposes of American public education over the past two centuries and the debates about those goals and purposes. The relationship between schooling and specific communities will be discussed in order to ask whether the goals of schooling might promote or contradict the goals of particular groups who seek to benefit from public education.

LIBAR-UE 553 (was E52.0553, E55.1010) History of Professions in the United States
In this course students will examine the evolution of American professions including elementary and higher education, medicine, psychology, speech pathology, nutrition, public health, and occupational therapy from their initial development and membership to how their work came to be organized in the fields of education and health care. Beginning with the pre-Civil War era through the 1960s social and political movements, students will study the impact of national crises like the 1930s Great Depression and World War I and II on professional practice, as well as the historically sound and flawed decisions that reverberate in the professions today. Students will discuss the impact of early 20 century immigration on NYC professions, the Progressive political/social Movement on NYC professions, and the NYC teachers unions in the 1960s.

★ LIBAR-UE 591 (was E52.0591, E59.0001) Introduction to Media Studies
Introduces students to the study of contemporary forms of mediated forms of communication. The course surveys the main topics in the field and introduces students to a variety of analytical perspectives. Issues include: the economics of media production; the impact of media on individual attitudes, values and behaviors; the role of media professionals; the impact of new media technologies.

LIBAR-UE 592 (was E52.0592, E59.0003) History of Media and Communication
This course surveys the history of media forms and communication technologies, charting the historical trajectory from the alphabet to the Internet. It explores mediation in and across time and the emergence and development of different media forms in relation to particular social, economic, perceptual, and technological conditions and historical moments.

★ LIBAR-UE 593 (was E52.0593, E59.0005) Introduction to Human Communication and Culture
Surveys major research perspectives and theories concerning core areas within the field of culture and human communication. Introduces and reviews major approaches to the study of human interaction, rhetoric, language, persuasion, and cultural processes across diverse contexts.

★ LIBAR-UE 631 (was E52.0631, E63.0010) Survey of Developmental Psychology
Consideration of the nature of psychological development from conception throughout life span. Theories of development are related to research findings, and implications are drawn for application to practical issues.

★ LIBAR-UE 632 (was E52.0632, E63.0019) Introduction to Personality Theories
Consideration of the major theories of personality. The work of various theorists is discussed as it relates to personality development through the life span.

LIBAR-UE 901 (was E52.0901, E90.1220) Introduction to Visual Culture
A broad conceptual introduction to visual culture, covering a range of media including painting, photography, culture, film & television & the Internet. Discussion will focus on why different modern ways of seeing have come to play a prominent role in contemporary society drawing from aspects of many established fields such as art history, film & media studies, sociology, & newer subjects such as computer & digital imagery.

LIBAR-UE 1271 (was E52.1271, E63.1271) Developmental Psychology Across the Lifespan
Consideration of the nature of psychological development from conception throughout the life span. Theories of development are related to research findings, and implications are drawn for application to practical issues.

★ LIBAR-UE 1532 Terrorism, Extremism, & Education
What is the relationship between extremism & education? This course examines instances & theories of national, ideological, ethnic, religious, & political extremism & their relationship to education. Course participants will analyze how state authorities, rebel movements, extremist associations, & ethnic & religious organizations mobilize youth populations, shape public narratives, & use, manipulate, or abuse ideologies that lay claim to collective identities during the development & transformation of extremist movements. The course pays particular attention to the ways that educational systems have worked to foment & prevent extremism in comparative & cross-national contexts.

Cultures & Contexts

★ LIBAR-1594 Culture and Media in Urban China
What does it mean to be “urban” in China & how is Chinese urbanism mediated by new cultural formations? In this course we will examine the culture & media that define city life in China, including Chinese state & popular media, television & film, music, fashion, verbal art & literature (in print & online) & visual art. We will focus on the period from the building booms of the mid-to-late nineties to the present. Students will work in teams to make presentations on urban culture, & use primary sources in translation & secondary sources to write individual essays. Chinese language ability appreciated but by no means required.

Expository Writing

ACE-UE 110 (was E52.0110) Advanced College Essay
The course follows Writing the Essay and provides advanced instruction in analyzing and interpreting written texts from a variety of academic disciplines, using written texts as evidence, developing ideas, and writing argumentative essays. It stresses analysis, argument, reflection, revision, and collaborative learning. The course is tailored for students in Education so that readings and essay writing focus on issues that are pertinent to that discipline.

Foreign Language

★ ASL-UE 91 (was E64.0091) American Sign Language I
Fundamental principles of grammar and syntax, a basic vocabulary, and conventions of conversational discourse in the deaf community. Emphasis is placed on developing the visual perception skills critical to understanding ASL. Taught in a visual-manual method using no spoken English.

★ ASL-UE 92 (was E64.0092) American Sign Language II
Continues vocabulary development; introduces the student to intermediate grammatical and conversational techniques and aspects of deaf culture and history. Expressive skill development emphasizes smoothness and clarity in producing ASL. Receptive skill development emphasizes understanding ASL and finger spelling at a moderate rate. Taught in a visual-manual method using no spoken English.

ASL-UE 93 (was E64.0093) American Sign Language III
Emphasis is on developing fluency in both expressive and receptive skills. Videotaping sessions also form an integral part of this course.

ASL-UE 94 (was E64.0094) American Sign Language IV
Emphasis is on developing fluency in both expressive and receptive skills. Videotaping sessions also form an integral part of this course.

Expressive Culture

★ LIBAR-UE 941 (was E52.0941, E90.0010) Art: Practice and Ideas
Examines key developments in the visual arts from modernity to the present. Focusing on the ways in which representations both create and reflect the values of a society, the course introduces students to the full range of expressive possibilities within the visual arts, covering painting and sculpture, as well as photography, film, video, conceptual art, and computer media. Topics to be covered include classical, modern, and postmodern relationships to politics, vision, the mind, the body, psychology, gender, difference, and technological innovation. Students will see and understand how artists have integrated perceptions of their historical moment, as well as physical and social space, into creative practices that have, in turn, had a significant impact on the culture of the time.

★ LIBAR-UE 171 (was E52.0171, E17.0060) Theatre as Art Form
This course introduces non-majors to theatre as a live and performing art through a variety of experiences including attendance at live performances, readings of play scripts and theoretical texts, and the creation of original plays. Through lectures, discussions, and written assignments, students will explore the roles of the playwright, actor, director, and designer in the production process, as well as examine the role of the audience in the live performance.

Natural Sciences

★ LIBAR-UE 141 (was E52.0141, E14.0210) Science in the Community
Course provides students with opportunities to use scientific information to solve real-world problems related to environmental and public health. By assisting science organizations with generating and/or analyzing data, students learn how non-formal, community, and professional science organizations use and produce scientific knowledge for the public. Includes six 3-hour field sessions. Please refer to individual programs of study for E33.0119 Nutrition and Health as this course is not approved as an E52 liberal arts course for all programs.

★ LIBAR-UE 331 (was E52.0331, E33.1068) Introduction to Human Physiology
Introduction to Human Physiology is a one-semester course for students with an interest in health care. Little exposure to biology is assumed for this course. This course is heavily concerned with the basic concepts of structural and functional organization of the human body, the terminology involved in the areas of physiology and anatomy, and the understanding of the different anatomo-physiological systems. (PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A 3-CREDIT COURSE).

★ LIBAR-UE 341 (was E52, 0341, E34.1045) Science of Language
Current models of the structure and process in normal human language with reference to brain structures. Levels, elements, and structure in language are studied from the perspective of evolution, history, social and regional dialects, multilingualism, and mental processing. Scientific methodologies for determining the nature of language are reviewed. This course is an overview of language in its neurological text.

Quantitative Reasoning

★ LIBAR-UE 101 Basic Statistics I

Review of the essential mathematics for statistics. Collection & tabulation of data; the properties of frequency distributions; histograms & frequency polygons; measures of central tendency, dispersion & correlation; tests of hypothesis using the normal curve, the T distribution, the F distribution, & the chi-square distribution.

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