Mar 28, 2024  
2018-2019 University Catalog 
    
2018-2019 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Courses


 

Community Development

  
  • CD 351 - Sustainable Economic and Community Development


    Prerequisites: None
    Explores key subject areas related to sustainable economic development, including business creation and retention, microenterprises, co-ops, job creation, asset development, sector analysis, the connection between economic development and social health. Examines the role that community development professionals can and should play in ensuring that economic development occurs in a sustainable manner.

    3 credits
    All
  
  • CD 352 - Non-Profit Management


    Cross-Listed with: MGMT 352 
    Prerequisites: None
    The course provides students with an overview of the role of the non-profit sector in the United States, as well as comprehensive exposure to the various elements of managing a non-profit organization. Governance, personnel, finance, planning and service delivery will be examined and best practices located. Students emerge from this course better able to face the challenges of working in and managing a non-profit organization.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • CD 401 - Research Methods in Community Based Practice


    Prerequisites: CD 351 , CD 352 
    This course will provide an introduction to research methods used in the social sciences and their application to community based practice. This will include case studies, experiments, and surveys; Students will have the opportunity to learn specific research skills and how to develop empirically sound conclusions about social phenomena that they observe. Specific emphasis will be placed on how community practitioners investigate program and project outcomes. Students will apply this knowledge to a field-based project.

    3 credits
  
  • CD 430 - Special Topics in Community Development


    Prerequisites: None
    Study of special topics in community development. Topics will be determined by current trends in the field.

    3 credits
    All
  
  • CD 440 - Public Administration Prcaticum


    Prerequisites: POLSC 100  or PA 201  or PA 202  or consent of instructor
    An internship experience within a public agency or non-profit organization designed to acquire, apply, or utilize administrative knowledge and skills.

    3 credits
    All
  
  • CD 521 - Social Theories of Community Based Practice


    Prerequisites: None
    This class investigates community and economic development theories within the context of classical and contemporary economic and social theories. Since community development is an inter-disciplinary field, students in this course will consider theories as diverse as location and place theories, micro- and macro-economics, structural-functional and conflict social theories, among others and how they are used, on a daily basis by community based practitioners. Students will formulate a basic theory of change to be applied in community-based practice.

    3 credits
    All
  
  • CD 522 - Fundamentals of Urban Ecology and Healthy Communities


    Prerequisites: None
    This course examines components and relationships within urban ecosystems. From both a historic and contemporary vantage point, students will explore the different stakeholders that make up the urban neighborhood environment, the relationships among and between them and how community and economic development initiatives can positively impact the health of a community.

    3 credits
    Fall
  
  • CD 530 - Special Topics in Sustainable Community and Economic Development


    Prerequisites: None
    This course provides students the opportunity to explore, in greater depth, timely and significant topics influencing, affecting and/or impacting the field of community development. The course may be taken more than once depending on topical content.

    3 credits
    All
  
  • CD 540 - Practicum in Sustainable Community and Economic Development


    Prerequisites: CD 521   and CD 522  
    This course provides students with the opportunity to gain credit for practical, field, experience in community based organizational settings.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CD 552 - Organizational Leadership, Management and Change in Community Based Organizations


    Prerequisites: CD 521   and CD 522  
    Community Development, by definition, is a method of improving communities. Community development organizations are the agents of change. This course provides an introduction to the basic principles of organizational management and leadership as applied in community based, nonprofit agencies. Students will have the opportunity to develop a better understanding of their own competencies as leaders and managers and how these can be expanded and developed to be a successful organizational leader.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CD 554 - Introduction to Project Design, Implementation and Evaluation in Community Based Practice


    Prerequisites: CD 521  and CD 522  
    In this course, students will develop proficiency in using logic models as a tool for designing, monitoring and evaluating community based interventions. Students will identify a community or neighborhood problem and develop a preliminary project design using a logic model template. Students will also examine best practice models of formative and summative program evaluations.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CD 555 - Fundamentals of Mixed Methods Research in Community Based Practices


    Prerequisites: CD 521   and CD 554  
    When designing and planning or evaluating a program, community based practitioners are likely to use different research methods. Some mixture of quantitative and qualitative research is used to identify and define community problems and/or measure the outcomes of interventions. Students will develop a foundational understanding of investigative and evaluative research methodology. The focus of the course will be on the application of mixed methods research in community-based practice. Students will conduct a literature review; develop research questions and a research design based on the work they completed in CD 552  and CD 554 .

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CD 556 - Advanced Research Methods in Community-Based Practice


    Prerequisites: CD 521  , CD 522  , CD 552  , CD 554   and CD 555  

     
    Drawing on case studies, “how to” materials, and writings from a variety of disciplines, this course is designed to help guide graduate students in how to think about, negotiate, and “do” methods in their research. We will focus on the theory, logic, and practice of fieldwork, specific methodological and ethical issues associated with studying people at first-hand, and current debates about what constitutes the bounds and limits of the ethnographic enterprise more generally.

    3 credits
    Annually

  
  • CD 557 - Thesis Research Proposal Developmen


    Prerequisites: CD 521, CD 522, CD 552, and CD 555
    Work Experience Internship Independent Study
    This course strengthens community development graduate students’ research skills through its focus on writing and critiquing research proposals. Students will review components of research proposals and practice developing effective aims, hypotheses, background materials and analytic strategies. In addition to preparing a complete proposal for his or her research project, each student will be required to read assigned materials, hand in reflections about readings, give status updates, conduct peer reviews and make presentations.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring, Summer
  
  • CD 558 - Graduate Thesis Capstone


    Prerequisites: CD 521  , CD 522  , CD 540  , CD 552  , CD 554  , CD 555  And CD 556
    The graduate thesis capstone is offered in the Spring semester of Year II in the Masters in Community Development program. This course provides graduate students with an intensive thesis research and development framework and provides the tools to operationalize the content they have learned in the classroom and in the field leading up to the course. Students are provided direct guidance from the Program Director and the Community Development Advisory Board as they develop their thesis in preparation to defend their thesis via a comprehensive presentation in front of the Community Development Advisory Board.

    6 credits
    Spring

Computer Science

  
  • COMSC 110 - Introduction to Computer Science & Lab


    Prerequisites: None
    This course is both an introduction to the field of computer science and a first programming course. Students will write, analyze, document, and debug programs in a high-level language. Topics include computer systems, variables, data types, control structures, methods, arrays, graphics and GUIs, and object oriented design principles. Emphasis is placed on problem solving and developing good programming style.

    4 credits
    Fall
  
  • COMSC 111 - Data Structures & Lab


    Prerequisites: COMSC 110 
    This course is the second in a two course sequence and is designed to build on the student’s existing programming knowledge. Major emphasis is placed on object-oriented design, programming methodology, data structures, and abstract data types as tools for analysis, design, and implementation of software modules to meet specified requirements. Topics include algorithmic complexity, searching, sorting, recursion, hashing, and data structures such as sets, heaps, linked lists, stacks, queues, and trees.

    4 credits
    Spring
  
  • COMSC 210 - Principles of Computer Organization & Lab


    Prerequisites: COMSC 111  or permission of instructor
    Presents a detailed picture of contemporary computer systems with an emphasis on their hierarchical structure and the interplay between their hardware and software subsystems. Topics include digital logic; the architecture of processor, memory, and I/O subsystems; and the implementation of HLL abstractions. Parallel and RISC architectures may also be examined. Programming is in C/C++ and assembly language.

    4 credits
    Fall
  
  • COMSC 230 - Principles of Programming Languages


    Prerequisites: COMSC 111  or permission of instructor
    Examines fundamental issues in the design, implementation and use of modern programming languages, while emphasizing alternative problem-solving paradigms and languages developed for exploiting them. Topics include procedural, functional, declarative, and object-oriented languages; the specification of syntax and semantics; and language implementation issues. Several modern languages are used to illustrate course topics.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • COMSC 260 - Applied Operating Systems


    Prerequisites: None
    This course is an introduction to operating system design and implementation. It provides students with an understanding of the roles of an operating system and its basic functions and services. Topics include evolution of operating systems, processes and threads, memory management, concurrency and synchronization, file systems, access control, virtualization, and security and protection. Computer Science majors are not eligible to take the course.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • COMSC 330 - Principles of Software Design


    Prerequisites: COMSC 230 , COMSC 340  
    The course introduces principles of modern software design paradigms and concepts. Software design techniques and life-cycles are emphasized. Process models, requirement analysis, module design, coding, testing, and associated metrics are covered. Software project management, including cost and schedule estimation is incorporated into the course.

    3 credits
    Fall
  
  • COMSC 331 - Bioinformatics & Lab


    Cross-Listed with: BIO 331  
    Prerequisites: BIO 200  and COMSC 110  or consent of instructor
    Fulfills a course requirement in the Biology Core Concentration and Biotechnology Certificate
    The course reviews the fundamental concepts of molecular and evolutionary biology, with a focus on the types of questions that lend themselves to computer analysis. In web-based exercises students will become familiar with they content and format of the most commonly used databases and learn to query them with the associated search engines. Some of the basic algorithms used to compare and order sequence data will be presented, along with the programs that are used to evaluate the inferred patterns statistically and to present them graphically. A weekly computer-programming lab will train students to write simple scripts to extract sequence information from databases and to search for specific patterns within these data.

    4 credits
    Alternate Spring
  
  • COMSC 335 - Theory of Computation


    Prerequisites: COMSC 111 , MATH 221  or permission of instructor Students with COMSC 240 are not eligible to take this course except for grade replacement
    Formal models of computation provide the framework for analyzing computing devices, with the goal of understanding the types of computations, which may be carried out on them. Finite and pushdown automata and the classes of languages, which they recognize, occupy the first part of the course. The remainder of the course addresses Turing machines, recursive functions, Church’s Thesis, undecidability, and NP-completeness.

    3 credits
    Fall
  
  • COMSC 340 - Analysis of Algorithms


    Prerequisites: COMSC 111 , MATH 221  or permission of instructor Students with COMSC 220 are not eligible to take this course except for grade replacement
    This course studies analysis of algorithms and the relevance of analysis to the design of efficient computer algorithms. Algorithmic approaches covered include greedy, divide and conquer, and dynamic programming. Topics include sorting, searching, graph algorithms, and disjoint set structure. NP-completeness and approximation algorithms are also introduced.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • COMSC 360 - Mobile Application Programming


    Prerequisites: COMSC 110  and COMSC 210 
    This course introduces design and implementation of applications for different mobile devices with focus on Android platform. Students will learn how to set up mobile applications development environment and how to code, run and debug a variety of mobile applications, including user interfaces, activities, persistent data, audio, and animations etc. using software emulators. Previous Java programming skills required.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • COMSC 370 - Human Computer Interaction


    Prerequisites: COMSC 111  or CIS 306  or CIS 299 
    This course explores the interaction between humans and technology with a focus on developing user-friendly interfaces and interactions. Topics include human cognition and abilities, established methodologies for interface design, the role of user experience design in the software development process, interface technologies, and current topics in HCI. Students will learn to establish requirements, develop prototypes, and evaluate interfaces.

    3 credits
    Alternate Fall
  
  • COMSC 401 - Computer Science Senior Seminar


    Prerequisites: Senior standing or permission of the instructor
    This seminar will meet once each week and will include all seniors majoring in computer science. Practicing professionals will present seminars on topics of current interest. Topics typically addressed will include professional ethics, state-of-the-art developments, business practices and procedures. Speakers will be drawn from the business, government and academic communities. Students will be required to maintain a journal and to participate in a professional reading program.

    1 credits
    Spring
  
  • COMSC 410 - Artificial Intelligence


    Prerequisites: COMSC 230  and COMSC 340  
    Artificial Intelligence is the study of computer systems that act intelligently, meaning they “do the right thing”, in complex environments.  This course introduces the basic concepts, techniques, and applications of artificial intelligence.  Topics include state space problems and search strategies, game playing and game theory, logic and knowledge representation, planning, reasoning and decision making in the presence of uncertainty, learning, and a survey of current topics and the state of the art. 

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • COMSC 415 - Machine Learning


    Prerequisites: MATH 315 ;
    Corequisite: COMSC 111  or ENGR 424 
    This course is an introduction to the study of how to build computer systems that learn from data in order to make predictions, recognize patterns, and organize information. The course will explore both the theoretical basis and practical application of methods for machine learning, data mining, and statistical data analysis. Topics include supervised and unsupervised learning, generative and discriminative models, neural networks, support vector machines, decisions trees, and clustering. Students will apply these methods to real world data sets from science, engineering, and business.

    3 credits
    Alternate Spring
  
  • COMSC 420 - Principles of Operating Systems


    Prerequisites: COMSC 210  and COMSC 340 . Students with COMSC 320 are not eligible to take this course except for grade replacement
    Examines problems which arise when limited machine resources must be shared among many contending processes; the software and hardware solutions which have been devised to address these problems; the algorithms and data structures used to implement disk files systems, memory management, multiple concurrent processes, and inter-process communications. Also considers efficiency and security issues, as well as the relationship between machine architecture and system software design.

    3 credits
    Fall
  
  • COMSC 440 - Language Translation and Compiler Design


    Prerequisites: COMSC 230 , COMSC 335  and COMSC 340 . Students with COMSC 310 are not eligible to take this course except for grade replacement
    Examines the design and implementation of compilers as an application of algorithms, data structures, and formal language theory in a software engineering context. The lexical analysis, parsing, code generation, and optimization of programs written in a block-structured language are used to illustrate many concepts from earlier courses. Students implement a translator for a subset of a well-known programming language.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • COMSC 450 - Special Topics


    Prerequisites: Senior standing or permission of the instructor
    Independent Study.
    This course is designed to allow advanced seniors in computer engineering and computer science to pursue more advanced study or research on selected topics under the supervision of a faculty member. Regular meetings, written reports, and final exam or term paper are required.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • COMSC 490 - Integrated Senior Design I


    Prerequisites: COMSC 210 , COMSC 330 , and senior standing
    This course provides experience in the integration of math, science, engineering and computer science principles into a comprehensive computer science client-based design project. Open-ended problems emphasizing a multidisciplinary approach to total system design providing multiple paths to a number of feasible and acceptable solutions that meet the stated performance requirements. Design teams are required to generate alternatives, make practical approximations, perform appropriate analysis to support the technical feasibility of the design and make decisions leading to an optimized system design.

    3 credits
    Fall
  
  • COMSC 492 - Integrated Senior Design II


    Prerequisites: COMSC 490 
    A continuation of Integrated Senior Design I, students will be expected to develop a working prototype. Working closely with a faculty advisor, student teams will conduct periodic review presentations for their client ensuring the design meets the clients’ needs and expectations. The course objectives include the delivery of a successful project to the client by the end of the semester.

    3 credits
    Spring

Construction Management

  
  • CNST 100 - Introduction to Construction Management


    Prerequisites: None
    An introduction to college and the construction industry. The course will discuss the responsibilities of successful college students and industry professionals. The course will analyze the cultural context of construction, emphasizing its centrality in the evolution and expansion of the built environment. Current “mega” projects, industry trends and technologies, and behavioral expectations will all be discussed.

    3 credits
    Fall
  
  • CNST 116 - Computer Applications for Construction


    Prerequisites: None
    Uses the computer for formulation, analysis and solution of typical construction management problems. Special attention is given to spreadsheet packages and AutoCAD that are used in subsequent construction management and science courses.

    3 credits
    Fall
  
  • CNST 130 - Plans, Specifications and Building Codes


    Prerequisites: None
    The fundamental study of all construction documents to include: drawings, specifications and building codes. The student will examine the relationship among drawings, specifications and codes and how to use the included design information to perform a quantity takeoff, an estimate, or build a project.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • CNST 200 - Construction Methods and Materials and Lab


    Prerequisites: None
    A discussion of the behavior and properties of materials commonly used for construction, including wood, aggregates, Portland cement, and metals. Examines basic construction techniques of building materials and components including form work, steel erection and wood framing.

    4 credits
    Spring
  
  • CNST 201 - Advanced Construction Methods and Materials and Lab


    Prerequisites: CNST 200 
    Advanced studies in construction building materials and components. Emphasizes comprehensive analysis of material with respect to design, specifications, construction methods, testing, and inspection. Testing of soils, asphalt, concrete. Structural and behavioral characteristics, engineering properties, measurements, and applications of construction material.

    4 credits
    Fall
  
  • CNST 250 - Construction Equipment


    Prerequisites: CNST 116  or ENGR 115  or permission of instructor
    Emphasis on engineering construction equipment to include categorization by design and function. Students will learn to calculate engineering equipment operation and maintenance costs using the time value of money, apply engineering fundamentals of earth moving to the implementation of engineering equipment, and perform engineering equipment production estimating.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • CNST 260 - Construction Estimating and Scheduling


    Prerequisites: CNST 116  and CNST 201 
    An introduction to the fundamentals of construction estimating and scheduling. Conceptual, square foot, systems and unit price estimates will be studied and basic CPM scheduling theory to include bar charts and network schedules.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • CNST 302 - Surveying and Lab


    Prerequisites: MATH 136  or MATH 207 
    Theory and practice of plane and route surveying involving the use of tape, transit, and level for measuring traverses, determining topography, sectioning. Includes site layout and design, and vertical and horizontal curves.

    4 credits
    Fall
  
  • CNST 304 - Applied Structures


    Prerequisites: ENGR 210 
    Emphasizes torsional and bending behavior of members and resulting internal stresses; combined stresses; beam sections, beam deflections, and beam design considerations; elastic buckling, column analysis, and column design considerations; approximate analysis of indeterminate structures.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • CNST 321 - Advanced Building Estimating


    Prerequisites: CNST 260  
    Detailed unit price cost estimating including quantity takeoff, labor, material and equipment unit pricing, and computer applications. The course will also examine bidding strategies, worker and equipment productivity, and value engineering.

    3 credits
    Fall
  
  • CNST 430 - Special Topics in Construction Management


    Prerequisites: Permission of instructor
    Selected topics determined by student needs and/or the availability of appropriate instruction.

    3 credits
    Special Offering
  
  • CNST 445 - Construction Project Management and Safety & Lab


    Prerequisites: CNST 260 
    Organization and management theory applied to the construction process, including leadership functions, ethical standards, project planning, organizing and staffing. Safety procedures and equipment. OSHA requirement for construction.

    4 credits
    Fall
  
  • CNST 450 - Construction Planning and Scheduling


    Prerequisites: CNST 260 , MATH 124 
    Lecture, lab.
    Various network methods of project scheduling including AOA, AON Pert, bar-charting, line-of-balance, and VPM techniques. Microcomputers used for scheduling, resource allocation, and time/ cost analysis.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • CNST 455 - Mechanical and Electrical Design for Buildings


    Prerequisites: Junior standing
    A basic study of the primary mechanical and electrical equipment and systems used in buildings. Design principles for selecting and sizing various systems are stressed throughout the course. Mechanical topics include plumbing, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, water supply, fire protection, and sanitary sewer systems. Electrical topics include basic principles of electricity, single and three phase systems, transformers, branch circuits and feeders and residential and commercial illumination.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • CNST 460 - Construction Management Internship


    Prerequisites: Permission of advisor
    This course is designed to prepare students for the transition from student to professional by formalizing experience gained in employment. To register for this course, students must comply with the guidelines established by the RWU Center for Career & Professional Development for internships. Students who successfully complete the internship in compliance with Center for Career & Professional Development standards will have the course entered on their transcripts along with the name of the firm in which the internship was taken.

    0 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CNST 465 - Sustainable Construction


    Cross-Listed with: CNST 540 
    Prerequisites: SUST 301  or SUST 401  or CNST 450 
    This course develops an awareness of environmental problems created by construction projects. The course also examines the means and methods of addressing these problems in a “green” way. Sustainability must be addressed on a life-cycle basis from the origins of the building materials, through the construction process, ending with the eventual disposal of the project. Topics include: LEED history and application; life-cycle costing; energy measurement; sustainable site planning and; “green” technologies; sustainability as a value-engineering exercise; the methods and means of sustainable construction; “green” site logistics; educating the sustainable work force; sustainable construction and public relations.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • CNST 475 - Construction Project Control


    Prerequisites: CNST 321 , CNST 450 
    An examination of the activities involved in the effective management of single and multiple construction projects. The course includes the study of basic control theory, the preparation of control models, the collection of actual production data, the computation of project performance, and the determination of appropriate corrective action.

    3 credits
    Fall
  
  • CNST 480 - Capstone Project, Ethics and New Technology


    Prerequisites: Senior standing and permission of instructors
    Students will work with an industry advisor to develop a preconstruction plan for an actual construction project. At a minimum, this plan would include a project estimate and schedule, field and home office organization, a site logistics plan and a schedule of values. A formal presentation will be made to an industry panel. The course also addresses professional ethics through a case study and includes a research paper requirement.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • CNST 500 - Fundamentals of Construction Management


    Prerequisites: None
    This course is designed to provide the foundation knowledge necessary for students entering the MSCM program from the related backgrounds of Architecture, Business and Engineering to successfully complete the program. The primary focus of the course will be the subject areas of construction project management, estimating, scheduling and cost, schedule and quality control. Not available to construction management undergraduate majors for credit.

    3 credits
    Summer
  
  • CNST 510 - Modeling and Simulation Techniques for Construction Management


    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Delivery: Online
    As construction projects become larger, more sophisticated, more complicated, and fast-tracked, the requirement for mathematical analysis and prediction of the outcome moves from being important to being critical for the success of the project. This course will introduce the student to useful techniques of analysis that require inexpensive, readily available software tools. This course explores the following topics: risk assessment, analysis and management; decision-making for probabilistic events; Total Quality Management (TQM) and Statistical Process Control (SPC); linear programming for project planning; game theory applications in the construction industry; and, simulation modeling of construction projects.

    3 credits
    Fall
  
  • CNST 515 - Project Enterprise Management and Control I


    Prerequisites: Permission of instructor
    Delivery: Residential practicum
    Today’s construction executive must understand the business of the construction enterprise. Working in a case study format, students will explore the various elements of the construction business to include: strategic planning, work acquisition, project control, financial management, and human relations. Course is offered in a practicum format.

    3 credits
    Special Offer
  
  • CNST 520 - Construction Negotiations


    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Delivery: Online
    No construction project is ever built to the plans and specifications generated at the start. No set of plans and specifications ever accurately reflects what the owner had in mind. Conflicts are inevitable in the construction process. Every project participant must realize these facts and develop ways to resolve the conflicts to produce a good product with the maximum amount of satisfaction on the part of all participants. This course will evaluate techniques that can produce the product and the satisfaction quotient desired. Topics include: alternate methods of dispute resolution; methods of managing client expectations; professional practice and ethics; teambuilding methods; common characteristics of successful leaders; a consideration of personal network systems; communication in its many forms; goal alignment - how to do it and why it is important; managing meetings; and, current project successes and failures.

    3 credits
    Fall
  
  • CNST 525 - Pre Construction Planning and Project Delivery


    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Delivery: Online
    Successful construction projects require significant project collaboration; owners, designers, and constructors all come to the project with different visions that must be aligned. Early in the project the owner’s needs are balanced by the reality of cost and schedule. Concurrently, the inherent risks are identified and a decision is made as to how the project is best delivered. The course will examine the alternate methods of project delivery as well as the technologies that can be used to maximize project value. A particular focus will be placed on estimating and scheduling during the pre-construction stage of a project to include Building Information Management (BIM) and other tools that can be used to maximize value and improve constructability.

    3 credits
    Special Offer
  
  • CNST 530 - Personnel Management and Law


    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Delivery: Online
    One of the largest cost elements in any construction project is the cost of personnel. The penalties incurred if the letter and the spirit of the current laws affecting personnel management are not observed are potentially devastating to the cost and schedule for any construction project. This course will examine the current requirements and trends for the personnel laws governing the construction industry. Topics include: typical employment contract requirements for management personnel and building trades personnel; the impact of “work rules” on estimating and scheduling; “trade-offs” for modifying various “work rules” and determining the legality of the managers’ ability to modify “work rules”; the economic impacts of “work rules” and “trade-offs”; case studies in labor relations and labor relations effects on bidding and executing construction contracts; salient decisions in labor law from the US Courts system in the last twelve months and how they are likely to affect the construction industry; recent trends in international labor law or labor law in a single foreign country to compare and contrast how the construction industry operating in a foreign environment will be affected.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • CNST 540 - Sustainable Construction


    Cross-Listed with: CNST 465 
    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Delivery: Distance Delivery
    This course develops an awareness of environmental problems created by construction projects. The course also examine the means and methods of addressing these problems in a “green” way. Sustainability must be addressed on a life-cycle basis from the origins of the building materials, through the construction process, ending with the eventual disposal of the project. Topics include: LEED history and application; life-cycle costing; energy measurement; sustainable site planning and; “green” technologies; sustainability as a value-engineering exercise; the methods and means of sustainable construction; “green” site logistics; educating the sustainable work force; sustainable construction and public relations.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CNST 545 - Construction Organization, Control and Logistics


    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Delivery: Distance Delivery
    This course addresses the analysis and control of construction projects using advanced techniques for budgeting and scheduling. Topics include: hierarchical company organizations with line and staff components in the control and logistical support of construction projects; response cycle time for company organizations; cost control schemes for allocating resources to construction activities; the administrative overhead costs for control and logistical processes; the susceptibility of a logistical support system to fraud; and, the applicability of a control and logistical support system to joint ventures.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CNST 550 - Special Topics in Construction Management


    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Delivery: Arranged with instructor
    Selected topics determined by student needs and/or the availability of appropriate instruction.

    3 credits
    Special Offering
  
  • CNST 555 - Advanced Construction Law


    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Delivery: Distance Delivery
    An examination of the legal system and the maxims of law, as applicable to the construction industry. The course will primarily focus on United States law, but will also address construction in an international environment. The course will look at the bidding and award of construction projects, dispute resolution, delays and acceleration, differing site conditions, bonding, insurance and contract interpretation. Topics include: bidding requirements for public works projects; changed conditions for public works projects; arbitration requirements for contract disputes; liens and lien release requirements; criminal investigations; regulatory infringement investigation; and, reporting requirements for progress payments.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CNST 560 - Project Delivery II


    Prerequisites: Permission of instructor
    Delivery: Residential practicum
    Continuation of the topics presented in CNST 515  with special emphasis on the emerging paradigm of Integrated Project Delivery

    3 credits
    Winter
  
  • CNST 565 - Customer Development and Winning the Construction Project


    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Delivery: Distance Delivery
    This course examines techniques of customer development, marketing, assessment of growth and its impact on the organization, assessment of integrating new technology in company operations and integrating these functions into the construction management team. Topics include: the referral system; publicizing successful projects and using that success for future projects; the role of the satisfied customer in winning future work; the cost and the value of keeping all stakeholders satisfied with the results of a construction project; the skill set of a construction project salesman and how it differs from the engineer, the accountant, and the constructor; and, case studies of winning profitable and unprofitable construction contracts.

    3 credits
    Summer
  
  • CNST 570 - Financial Planning for Construction Projects


    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Delivery: Distance Delivery
    Financial planning prior to the design of a major construction project is required to determine the feasibility of the project. The assembly of the resources of all the participants prior to commitment to a project assures the owners and the constructors that the project success is attainable. This course will review the similarities and differences in financial requirements for large national and international construction projects. Topics include: the financial framework for a construction project prior to the bid phase; the risk involved in funding a major construction project and developing funding alternatives to accommodate the risks identified; a collaborative approach to dealing with the owner of a construction project during the planning phase to alleviate funding issues; incentives for the constructor to provide the maximum feasible or the minimum feasible amount of funding for a construction project; sources of funding for a construction project (owner, vendor, sub-contractor, etc.); “what if” analyses that allow the Constructor to plan for contingencies during the construction process; and, assigning a quality value to any profit gained.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CNST 580 - Advanced Construction Safety and Risk Management


    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Delivery: Online
    This course examines the uniqueness of the construction project and its challenges to safety. Topics include: the nature of the safety legislative and regulatory framework; divergent safety attitudes of construction parties; compressed work schedules and their impact on safety; how to calculate and apply the experience modification rate; how to manage safety in a continually changing work environment; practical ways to better educate the work force; OSHA policies and procedures applicable to construction; design with safety in mind; and, safety applied to site logistics plans.

    3 credits
    Summer
  
  • CNST 585 - Topics in International Construction


    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Delivery: Online
    Special considerations in international construction include, but not limited to, local laws; regulations, multiple government, private, and NGO funding sources; multiple stake holders (local populations, governments, quasi-government institutions, supra-government organizations, and private institutions); and political currents govern the planning and conduct of large construction projects. This course will provide an introductory summary of the challenges and rewards in International Construction.

    3 credits
    Summer
  
  • CNST 590 - Master’s Thesis Research


    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Corequisite: CNST 595  
    Delivery: Distance Delivery
    With the approval of his or her advisory committee, the student conducts independent research and analysis. The thesis is presented orally and in writing and in compliance with the guidelines of Roger Williams Graduate School. Research and analysis must be of a specific, approved topic relating to construction management such as “The Selection of the Most Effective Manner of Managing Sustainable Construction Projects”. This course will present research methods required to complete the Master’s Thesis and must be taken in conjunction with CNST 595  , Research Project.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CNST 595 - Research Project


    Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Delivery: Arranged with advisor
    A course offered for research in a Construction Management topic approved by the instructor. The product of the course will be an original research paper completed by the student with the advice of the instructor.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring, Summer

Continuing Studies

  
  • SCS 430 - Special Topics in Continuing Studies


    Prerequisites: None
    A Special Topic allows students to engage in courses that cut across concentration offerings in the School of Continuing Studies. These courses can be inter/intra disciplinary or multi-disciplinary. They offer students the opportunity to: intentionally and thoughtfully examine modern day issues through multiple, cross-cutting lenses; work within or across disciplines to solve problems; engage in critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments and practice.

    3 credits
    Spring, Fall, On-Line delivery
  
  • SCS 440 - Continuing Studies Practicum


    Prerequisites: at least Junior standing
    A Junior or Senior project -based experience that allow students to thoughtfully and intentionally engage in intra/inter disciplinary and/ or multi-disciplinary work that integrates theory and practice - praxis. The course may be repeated for credit up to two times, consecutively or concurrently.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring, On-line delivery

Core Curriculum

  
  • CORE 101 - Scientific Investigations


    Prerequisites: None
    Corequisite: Students must register concurrently for lecture (CORE 101) and lab (CORE 101L).
    This interdisciplinary course explores important issues of societal and personal relevance by evaluating testable ideas through experimentation and literature-based research in lecture and laboratory settings. Students will use the process of science to generate data and synthesize new ideas to come to evidence-based conclusions that will illuminate responses to the three core questions: Who am I, what can I know, and given what I know, how should I act? Lecture content will vary across sections to reflect the expertise of instructors from the breadth of scientific disciplines including astronomy, biology, chemistry, environmental science, geology, oceanography, physics, public health, and sustainability studies, among others. The laboratory experience complements the lecture by providing students with hands-on opportunities to use the scientific method as they lead their own research investigations.

    4 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CORE 102 - Challenges of Democracy


    Prerequisites: None
    This course, which is taught primarily by faculty from the Departments of History & American Studies and Politics & International Relations, investigates the roots of current democratic thought through the study of primary source material dating from antiquity to the present. Other sources of inquiry may include scholarly analyses, films and documentaries, and works of the imagination including literature and art. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to explain, evaluate and critique the key concepts from these primary source readings and demonstrate how these concepts are expressed in the modern world. Special attention will be paid to the student’s ability to apply this knowledge to such topics as political institutions, activism and national identity.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring, Summer
  
  • CORE 103 - Human Behavior in Perspective


    Prerequisites: None
    A study of the individual in society, this course draws from disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology in order to demonstrate the idea that multiple perspectives and frames of reference broaden our understanding of specific behaviors. A focus on cultural diversity will be a central feature throughout the course. The course also proposes a model for critical thinking about human behavior in general. Students explore the limitations of a single point of view and the benefits of information derived from multiple vantages as they consider key existential questions: Who am I? What can I know? And, based on what I know, how should I act?

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CORE 104 - Literature, Philosophy, and the Examined Life


    Prerequisites: None
    This course explores central questions related to the examined life-Who am I? What can I know? How should I act?-through literary and philosophical texts. Participants practice close reading and logical reasoning as methods for understanding how literary and philosophical texts convey meaning. Common readings include selected dialogues by Plato.

    All
  
  • CORE 105 - Aesthetics in Context: The Artistic Impulse


    Prerequisites: None
    This course examines a variety of masterworks and artists from the western traditions of art, dance, music, and theater. The course situates art and artists in historical perspective, emphasizes Classicism, Romanticism, Modernism and relates them to contemporary modes of expression. Works of art will be presented in context, so the impact of historical circumstance and cultural expectation on the creative artist will be apparent. Students will respond through oral and written analysis to masterworks studied in class and to works experienced at outside performances. While all sections of the course will include historic masterworks from the fields of art, theater, dance, and music, specific content of individual sections will reflect the interests and expertise of the professor. Throughout the semester, we also examine the work and ideas we study in order to explore the role, meaning and implications of questions that have shaped the human experience: Who am I? What can I know? How should I act?

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CORE 430 - Special Topics in Liberal Studies


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    A variable -content Core Interdisciplinary Senior Seminar that builds upon the foundation of the five-course interdisciplinary Core. Each offering addresses a topic of recognized academic and educational significance, situates the topic in interdisciplinary contexts, makes connections between the domains of the freshman-sophomore Core, pursues inquiry into the course topic and its context through primary, substantive and Representative texts, and organizes the Seminar Topic according t o one or more of the following schemes: great ideas, cultures, figures, or works (Western and/or non-Western).

    3 credits
    All
  
  • CORE 441 - Disease and Society


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    Throughout history, disease epidemics have had a profound impact on societies. In this course, students explore how five diseases (bubonic plague, smallpox, tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV) have influenced the art, literature, science, and behavior of cultures through time. We examine how individuals and societies try to regain control and bring order back from the chaos and confusion that disease can leave in its wake.

    Readings include, but are not limited to, works by Boccaccio, Defoe, Boorstin, Jenner, Koch, Sontag, Mann, and Shilts; reports issued by the Center for Disease Control; and current scientific articles.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring

  
  • CORE 442 - Prejudice and Institutional Violence


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    In this course we explore the conditions that promote some of the most devastating aspects of human experience. We also look at the options available to citizens, minority and majority members, caught in the complex web of interpersonal relations in these societies. The Holocaust and other genocides will be used to assess cultural commonalities. We approach these events from an interdisciplinary perspective drawing on the historical antecedents, scientific contributions, uses of art and literature, philosophical rationales, propaganda campaigns, and social scientific orientations. Discussion concludes with an exploration of ways by which individual prejudice can be reduced and with an investigation of measures which may prevent further episodes of genocide. Texts include: Night/Dawn, Conscience and Courage, short stories by Singer, Books of Evil.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CORE 443 - The Proper Order of Things?


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    From the Monopoly board game to the Periodic Chart, we take the world we live in and put it in order. Understanding how things are categorized gives us a power over our world and finding a new way to order our world results in ground breaking discoveries. Just think of the scientific advances made possible once we understood that the planets revolve around the Sun instead of the Earth! This course investigates the history of set structures and categories established in our own primarily European-based culture, and compares them with how people organize their world in other cultures of contemporary and ancient Asia, Africa, Oceania and Native America.

    Readings include selections from: Mark Francis and Randolph Hester, Jr. (eds.), The Meaning of Gardens: Ideas, Place and Action (on landscape design); Ivan Karp and Steven Lavine, Exhibiting Cultures: The Poetics and Politics of Museum Display (on classification of artifacts); Martin W. Lewis and Karen Wigen, The Myth of the Continents: A Critique of Metageography (on classifications of geography and mapping); Harriet Ritvo, The Platypus and the Mermaid, and Other Figments of the Classifying Imagination; Nathan Spielberg and Bryon D. Anderson, Seven Ideas that Shook the Universe; Mark Turner, The Literary Mind; and excerpts from contemporary films: Party Girl, Angels and Insects, A Day on the Grand Canal With the Emperor of China.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring

  
  • CORE 444 - Perspectives in World Culture


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    All societies share in the struggle between the forces of order and chaos. In this course students explore this struggle, examining cross-cultural connections between Western culture and the cultures of India and China and investigating the similarities and differences among these cultures.

    Readings include selections from: Time Frames in History, Our Oriental Heritage, Rig Veda, Kathopanisad, Arthashastra, Asoka’s Rock Edicts, The Gandhi Reader, Saints of India, The Koran, I Ching, Anthologies of Chinese Literature, Mao’s Red Book, Sources of Chinese Traditions, Chinese Civilization: A Source Book, and China, A New History.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring

  
  • CORE 445 - Creating the American Image: 1919-1941


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    The common materials selected for this seminar are works created by Americans during the period of study that reflects the developing American image contemporary with their time. Additionally, students undertake and present the results of independent research on significant individuals, events, and trends of the period to broaden the area of class inquiry. Weekly discussion focuses on assessing and combining information from all sources to find common threads that connect this pivotal time period with our own.

    Readings include: The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis; Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston; The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring

  
  • CORE 446 - Visions of Utopia: Dreams and Delusions


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    Literally, the word “utopia” means “no place.” Yet, throughout history, people have imagined they could establish an ideal community in this temporal world of time and space. Often, the societies they envisioned were more just, prosperous, spiritual, beautiful, or compassionate than those that existed; at other times, what they proposed could only be characterized by the greed, cruelty, and ignorance it would engender.

    Participants in this course will study “utopia” as a concept and a theme, a theory and a practice. This survey will take us from the pages of Thomas More’s Utopia to the ungoverned virtual space of the Internet. In the process, we will consider the way knowledge of utopias and dystopias shapes our world view and forms our ethos.

    Readings include: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy, Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Utopia by Thomas More, The Republic by Plato, Walden Two by B.F. Skinner, and Night by Elie Wiesel.

    3 credits
    All

  
  • CORE 447 - Cultural Creations: Women Across Time


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    This course attempts to open our minds and imaginations to the complex subtleties of underlying gender assumptions implicit in gender/role “assignments.” From the first moments of our history, we human beings have categorized our surroundings, including our very selves, in an attempt to order our chaotic world. Stereotyping-reducing a complexity to a simple, easily identifiable formula, becomes an integral part of that ordering, a sort of communication “shorthand.” Sexual stereotyping becomes, for most civilizations, the basis not only for social structuring and division of labor, but also for value judgments and moral justification. Through the interdisciplinary lens - archeological, anthropological, artistic, economic, legal, literary, historical, philosophical, religious and scientific, this course seeks to unearth the complex beginnings and plot the evolution of sexual definition from prehistory to present day.

    3 credits
    All
  
  • CORE 449 - Environmental Ethics


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    Whereas ethics examines the interaction of humans with humans, Environmental Ethics examines the interaction of humans with nature. This is a relatively young field of study originating from a series of highly visible, interdisciplinary conflicts over resource management and conservation biology. It took years for society to recognize that we have the ability to irreversibly alter the environment, and even longer for us to develop a conscience over the result. Although we might like to think that the application of logical, objective scientific reasoning to environmental problems will lead to correct decisions, this is rarely the case. This course will introduce students to the philosophical, social, political, legal, economic and aesthetic considerations of environmental policy decisions. Students will come to understand the science behind a series of diverse environmental topics and then examine and balance the alternative perceptions that present themselves. This will engender discussion and reflection on the central questions of the RWU Core program (Who am I? What can I know? Based on what I know, how should I act?) as applied to environmental policy decisions.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CORE 450 - Are We of It or Against It? People and Their Planet in the 21st Century


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    Artists, poets, novelists, filmmakers, photographers, scientists, historians and policymakers all attend to the relationships between people and their natural surroundings. Those in the creative arts tend to focus on the glory of nature often with little reference to, or even a conscious avoidance of, the role people play in nature; those in the social and physical sciences examine humanity’s increasingly intrusive interactions with nature. In this course we will investigate the place of humans in nature through the lens of multiple disciplines. We will read selections from nature writers and poets, including Wait Whitman, Annie Dillard, Barry Lopez, Edward Abbey and W.S. Merwin. Photographers Ansel Adams and Galen Rowell and the painters of the Hudson River school will join these writers to draw our attention to the complexity, beauty and interrelatedness of the natural world. The work of scientists, historians and policy analysts will serve as a counterpoint to these works as they draw out attention to the negative impact of human activity on the natural world.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CORE 451 - It’s All Greek to Us


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    A Core Senior Seminar tracing the origins of the modern world back to its Greek roots. It is from the Greeks, more than from any other source, that the western world traces its origins. Our religions, our science, our literature, our philosophy, our artistic and dramatic forms, and our governmental concepts are all reflections (or, in some cases, rejections) of ideas and practices that can be traced to the world of the ancient Greeks (Hellenic and Hellenistic). This course will study those enduring traditions. Readings include The Iliad, The Wine-dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter, and selections from Greek history, drama, and philosophy.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CORE 452 - Collecting Ourselves: Why We Build, Preserve and Display Collections


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    Through readings, discussion, presentation, field trips and a research paper, this seminar will explore who we are and what we value through the collections we build. Gathering, preserving and displaying will be explored through psychological, social, scientific, historical, economic, aesthetic and political lenses. Students will read significant texts from a wide variety of disciplines addressing the particular problems of collecting in diverse fields of inquiry. Using the theories, ideas, and approaches gleaned from various disciplinary sources, students will understand how their own field of study is effected by the moral, esthetic, and social issues of collecting, saving, and displaying culturally or personally significant objects. This history of collecting, its personal and political motivations, as well as the ethical and scientific questions raised by collecting everything from paintings to biological specimens to postage stamps will be studied.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CORE 453 - Obsession: Understanding


    Prerequisites: CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    Obsession appears to be a human trait that showcases the best and worst of human possibility. It is from obsession that great works of art can be produced, and from obsession that great thoughts and world changing technologies are born. Obsession is also at the root of some of the worst of humankind. This course engages in an interdisciplinary investigation of what obsession is, how it can affect history and culture, and how it is portrayed in literature and fine art. By the conclusion of the course we will have a better understanding of how one person’s obsession can mean so much to the greater collective, and sometimes even change the course of how we will know the world.

    3 credits
    All
  
  • CORE 456 - The Internet & the Digital Revolution


    Prerequisites: Core Senior Seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    Social commentators in the humanities and sciences have characterized our age of disruptive change as the “Knowledge Revolution”, “Third Industrial Revolution”, or the “Information Revolution”. The clearest example of these changes lies in the Internet with its gargantuan storehouse of data, terrestrial ubiquity, and vast communication reach. Creating and disseminating digital data is the keystone to this revolution. This course examines the origins of the internet, from Jacquard’s loom of the 1840 to the World Wide Web of today, from Morse’s communication with coded pulses to the interlinked fiber optic networks, and from the barter of goods in the marketplace to eBay and iTunes. The course examines the ramifications of these technologies through texts on areas such as the arts, science, education, culture, privacy, crime, national security, the economy, gaming and politics. Participants are expected to lead and participate in seminar discussions on these topics. Participants are expected to have access to the internet, through either a computer or smartphone.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CORE 457 - Families and Society


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    This course serves as a capstone to the Core Curriculum at Roger Williams University. The Core Curriculum centers on three questions: Who am I? What can I know? Based on what I know, how should I act? Families often define who we are, what we know, and how we think we should act. This course explores the reciprocal influences of families on society and of society on the family. We explore the meaning of family across time and culture. This will include depictions and discussions of families in the arts, sciences, social sciences, and literature, as well as a consideration of the future of the family for individuals and society.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CORE 458 - Technology, Self and Society


    Prerequisites: Core Senior Seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    This is not a technical course. Rather, it looks at how a technology emerges and may extend beyond its intended purposes. Today’s college student has been surrounded by technology since birth. Portable music devices have more storage capabilities than was conceivable for desktop computers in the mid-90’s. Technology is becoming more and more ingrained into the fabric of our daily lives. This course looks at the impact of technology beyond everyday devices. How did this happen and what does it mean for you as an active participant within a global society? Beyond computers themselves, the course explores other emerging technologies and the issues they raise, including technological impact on culture, ethics, privacy, and security in a global environment.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CORE 459 - Popular Culture and Globalization


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    This Core Interdisciplinary Senior Seminar will explore how popular culture and globalization have had, and continue to have, an impact on our lives (on both a local and a global scale). The nature of popular culture itself, as a particular kind of culture, will be examined and various examples of popular culture will be considered. The nature of globalization, as both a historical and contemporary phenomenon, will also be addressed as a topic in and of itself. Through examining these two significant forces separately and in relationship to each other we will gain a greater understanding of how these two phenomena influence our lives and the world in which we live. This understanding will allow us to more fully answer the central core questions: Who am I? What do I know? Based on What I know, what should I do?

    3 credits
    All
  
  • CORE 461 - Researching Race


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    Does the election of Barack Obama in 2008 signal a turning point in better understanding race, and the practice of racism, in the United States? Has the US overcome its history of differential treatment according to race and culture? In this course, students will take the long view of the history of race in the United States, how racism is operationalized, and the impacts of such bias, both on people of color and Whites. Additionally, students will engage in research on race and racism. Through this research, students will fuse the theoretical with the lived racialized experiences of those in our country/community.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CORE 462 - Sexual Identities


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    This course explores the private and public dimensions of sexual identity from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Students examine how sexual identities are shaped by historical, social, and cultural factors and how sexual identities affect an individual’s relationship to community, the state, the law, medicine, etc. Course texts are drawn from the fields of history, psychology, sociology, legal studies, biology, philosophy, literature, cinema, fine art, feminist theory, critical race theory, gay and lesbian studies, queer theory, and transgender studies.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CORE 463 - Innovation and Invention


    Prerequisites: Core seminar, required for graduation CORE 101  through CORE 105  and at least sixth semester standing
    This course explores the patterns and processes of innovation that humans have developed to transform existing ideas into new ones. Over the course of the semester, students will investigate theories, techniques, and stories of innovation from across the disciplines; consider ethical questions surrounding innovation; and learn how to employ strategies of invention to develop new ideas, create new things, and respond in new ways to complex contemporary problems.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring

Creative Writing

  
  • CW 210 - Form in Poetry


    Prerequisites: None
    Fulfills a course requirement in the Creative Writing Core Concentration
    This foundation course is a critical study of the essential poetic forms (villanelle, sonnet, sestina, etc.) and how the forms relate to the contemporary voice through critical reading of established writers and appropriate texts. Through both seminars and writing workshops, the class combines the critical study of published writing and the development of student work to learn how form and the history of form creates the basis for all poetry. Students will be exposed to essential works by writers such as John Berryman, Elizabeth Bishop, T.S. Elliot, Phillip Larkin, Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, Frank O’Hara, Theodore Roethke, and William Carlos Williams. Creative expectations are no more than three revised poems that fully reflect the focused study of the course.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CW 220 - Narrative in Writing the Short Story


    Prerequisites: None
    Fulfills a course requirement in the Creative Writing Core Concentration
    This foundation course is a critical study of the elements of narrative structure and design in the short story, such as character development, point of view, tone, setting, plotting, and time management. Through both seminars and writing workshops, the class combines the critical study of published writing and the development of study work to learn how narrative not only affects the short story, but becomes the short story. Students will be exposed to essential works by writers such as, James Baldwin, Raymond Carver, Anton Chekhov, Tim O’Brien, Flannery O’Conner, John Updike, and Alice Walker. Creative expectations are no more than two revised short stories that fully reflect the focused study of the course.

    3 credits
    Fall, Spring
  
  • CW 241 - Introduction to Playwriting


    Prerequisites: None
    Fulfills a course requirement in the Creative Writing Core Concentration
    All creative writers can benefit from studying playwriting by learning how to advance a plot through dialogue. This course will engage in a critical study of major contemporary playwrights, such as, David Mamet, Sam Shepherd, Eugene O’Neill, Tony Kushner, and August Wilson. Through that study, students will learn how to take the essential dramatic elements (dialogue, characterization, structure) and craft original monologues and scenes, culminating in an original one-act play.

    3 credits
    Spring
  
  • CW 242 - Screenwriting


    Prerequisites: None
    Fulfills a course requirement in the Creative Writing Core Concentration
    Covers the basics of writing for the screen, including elements of conceptualization, shooting, editing and finishing of a short film on a subject of the student’s choosing. Students work on dialog, plotting and scene-building, toward a final project of a 30-minute short film script. Includes some viewing of short films.

    3 credits
    Fall, Alternate Years
 

Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11Forward 10 -> 17