Interdisciplinary Courses: Fall 2015
Interdisciplinary
IND 101: Sustainable and Critical Relationships
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Introduces freshmen students to the rich complexities of college education. It provides an extended orientation during which students are introduced to the meaning and value of a liberal arts education; learn to successfully adapt to the academic, personal and social complexities of college life; develop important social relationships with other students and with the broader campus community and learn to access important campus resources that support students' academic achievement as well as their physical and mental health. Along with this orientation, students will begin a journey of intellectual, aesthetic, moral and ethical self-reflection and growth. The primary intent of the course is to facilitate students' abilities to analyze knowledge from disparate sources and to enhance critical thinking skills. Offered Each Year (Fall). (UG)
IND 104: The Human Place in Nature: An Introduction to Global Environmental History
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competencies: Contextual Integration; Civic Responsibility; Moral & Ethical Discernment. Cross-listed as HST 104. In this course, we will focus on different patterns of human responses to environmental challenges and identify ways in which they have changed over time. Whether discussing events from the 15th century in South America or events in the 20th century in China, you will be challenged to understand individual and collective behaviors in their social, cultural, political, and economic contexts. Unlike many history courses, we additionally provide special attention to the natural setting and the religious, ethical, and aesthetic responses to various environmental challenges. This course highlights several key aspects of environmental history: 1) humankind's impact on the environment as we have attempted to alter our natural surroundings; 2) various moral and ethical perspectives about the environment and humankind's place in the natural world; 3) the role that nature has played in various aesthetic visions; 4) modern environmental crisis and their political impact; and 5) the modern "green" movement as a grassroots call for social justice in response to environmental degradation. (Sponsored by the History & Political Science Department). Offered as Needed. (UG)
IND 114: Creative Community Development
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Civic Responsibility; Contextual Integration. This course is designed to engage students in meaningful learning about how the arts are an essential part of our everyday lives and communities. The instructor will engage students in activities that illustrate ways art can be used as a vehicle for community development that seeks to improve community members' well being. The instructor will introduce students to local, national, and international artists, programs, and organizations that are using the arts to positively promote community development and support community members. Students will learn how arts communities (1) are conceived, (2) identify community concerns, (2) plan and use the arts as a way to address those concerns, (3) are funded, and (4) assess their work. The course will connect the arts, healthcare, education, community/cultural development, and civic responsibility/engagement. (UG)
IND 120: Introduction to Global Studies
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Contextual Integration. This course will introduce students to the various aspects of global interaction that characterize our world today. While our focus is on the 20th and 21st centuries, we will also discuss deeper historical contexts for the economic, political, and cultural challenges posed by globalizing forces in earlier eras. (Sponsored by the History & Political Science Department.) (UG)
IND 123: Introduction to Sustainable Communities
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Cross-listed as SUST 123. Fulfills core competencies: Contextual Integration; Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. Students will be introduced to economic, environmental and social sustainability, and evaluate local communities using sustainable criteria. Research will be reviewed on model sustainable communities: locally, nationally and internationally. Students will visit representative sites in Buffalo and participate in community meetings and lectures. (Sponsored by the BA Global and Local Sustainability program.) Offered As Needed. (UG)
IND 203: Peer Mentoring: Theory
(1) Credit Hour(s)
Prerequsite: Successful completion of Learning Community I. Fulfills one credit for training (IND 203) applicable to core competency: Civic Responsibility; and an additional 2 credits toward Civic Responsibility if/when student spends a semester as a Peer Mentor. May be used toward fulfillment of 3-credit hour Service Learning requirement in the Core. Course prepares students to act as mentors in the Peer Mentor Program in support of Learning Community 1. It can also prepare students to act as mentors in other departments and programs as they develop within the college community. Offered Each Year (Fall). (UG)
IND 205: Peer Mentoring: Practicum
(2) Credit Hour(s)
Requires (prerequisite) successful completion of IND 203. Applicable to core competency: Civic Responsibility: 2 credits toward Civic Responsibility if/when student successfully completes a semester as a Peer Mentor. May be used toward fulfillment of 3-credit hour Service Learning requirement in the Core. Course prepares students to act as mentors in the Peer Mentor Program in support of Learning Community 1. It can also prepare students to act as mentors in other departments and programs as they develop within the college community. Offered Each Year (Fall). (UG)
IND 209: Campus Environmental Service Learning
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Civic Responsibility. Service Learning. Students engage in a semester-long campus project that addresses sustainability of the campus environment. Students conduct a needs assessment, decide on a project (or continue on a previously developed project), create an action plan and actively participate in implementing the plan. Projects will vary depending on student interest and faculty expertise. Possible projects could include a campus energy audit, recycling plan, and campus beautification. (Sponsored by the Natural Sciences Department.) Offered As Needed. (UG)
IND 210: Romantic Impulse
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Contextual Integration. Focus upon man's search for an all-encompassing theory of the universe and how circumstances and events influenced that search and modified the theory within a discrete time period. Beginning in the Romanesque period of the Middle Ages and culminating in the 19th century Romantic movement, the course will examine music, painting, sculpture, poetry, politics, philosophy, technology, and science and how each of these adapted to the others as the world and the world-view underwent changes. The term "romantic impulse" refers to the fact that so many of the necessary changes that occurred did so in accordance with someone's dissatisfaction with the status quo and the feeling that improvements were possible. (Sponsored by the English Department.) Offered As Needed. (UG)
IND 212: Latino and Latin American Culture
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Moral and Ethical Discernment. This course examines the historical, literary, religious and artistic elements that form the cultures of Spanish-speaking people in the US, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America. It is designed to inform students about L/LA cultures and to enable them to appreciate the richness of those cultures and to discern the different ways people of those cultures view themselves and the ways people in the U.S. view them. From understanding and appreciation will come an awareness of the many factors that create a moral and ethical framework that may be different from one's own, yet still be moral and ethical. The course will use historical and contemporary readings as well as literature and film, and to a lesser extent, fine art, to provide a framework for the value systems of Latinos & Latin Americans. (Sponsored by the Modern Language Department.) Offered As Needed. (UG)
IND 213: Service Learning Through VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Program
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Civic Responsibility. Fulfills Service Learning requirement. This course certifies students to participate in the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Program. Students learn how to prepare basic tax returns. Students will be able to e-file these tax returns using TaxWise Software. The students will work at several VITA sites preparing tax returns for low-income taxpayers in the local community. The students will also identify social and political issues impacted by state and federal taxes. (Sponsored by the Accounting and Information Systems Department.) Prerequisite: ACC 318. Offered Each Spring. (UG)
IND 214: Environmental Education in the Community
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Civic Responsibility. Service Learning. Given input from targeted community members, students will develop, facilitate, and participate in a local environmental action project within a community educational setting (e.g., school, nature center, museum, community center). Through this experience, students will develop an awareness of the value of intergenerational community health and working towards common goals as well as an understanding of life-long civic responsibility. Examples of possible projects include school yard habitat projects (rain gardens, tree planting), butterfly gardens, vegetable gardens, energy audits and energy saving programs. Can be substituted for PHI 232 for Education majors with permission of Department Chair. (Sponsored by the Education Department). (UG)
IND 215: Service Learning for Refugees Studies
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Civic Responsibility. Fulfills Service Learning requirement. This course will give students the opportunity to examine the issues of refugees from the global perspective. Students from various disciplines will be able to study refugees from the historical, political, legal, social, cultural, language, health, psychological, religious, and educational perspectives, among others. Potential topics to be explored include but are not limited to: the concepts of US citizenship, political asylum, role of IOs & NGOs, US Immigration policies, oral history, cross cultural education, refugees & US government/courts/agencies, voting, roles of: social workers, counselors, refugee agencies, groups and communities, as well as civic engagement, among others. Students will engage in a semester long off campus service project which addresses the study of refugees locally and globally. Offered as Needed. (Sponsored by the History & Political Science Department). (UG)
IND 216: Women's Worlds: Global Issues in Women's Studies
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Cross-listed as WST 216. Fulfills core competencies: Contextual Integration; Critical Thinking; Moral & Ethical Discernment. This course examines the impact of global and transnational issues in shaping women's lives, historically and currently. While centering our analysis on the lives of women, we will study traditional roles in families and communities, reproductive rights, sexuality, capitalist economic development and poverty, the world of work, women's place in the environment, education, political participation, transnational movements of people and ideas, feminism, and human rights policies related to women. Sponsored by the History & Political Science Department. Offered as Needed. (UG)
IND 217: Women and Girls in Literatre and Film
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Cross-listed as WST 217. Fulfills core competencies: Affective Awareness; Moral & Ethical Discernment. This course will introduce short stories, poetry, biographical work and film by and/or about women in various cultures. We will look at how geography, religion, class, education, political events and family roles affect the lives and destinies of women in the world today. While we will see great challenges throughout the world we will also focus on the great progress being made toward gender equality. Sponsored by the Department of Modern Languages. Offered as Needed. (UG)
IND 219: 20th Century Film, Society and Ideology
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Contextual Integration. This course will examine a number of varied films from the 1930's to the end of the century in terms of text and technique. It will also examine film and the film industry as an institution of cultural validation within and challenges to modern society. It will also highlight how various films and their creators either support or confront society's dominant political and social ideologies, in terms of genre, genre criticism, and auteur theory. (Sponsored by the English Department.) Offered As Needed. (UG)
IND 232: Service Learning to Promote Sustainable Communities
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Civic Responsibility. Fulfills Service Learning requirement. This course challenges students to explore the concepts of citizenship, civic engagement, and sustainability as well as their own roles in society. Students engage in semester long off-campus projects that address community needs. Students conduct a needs assessment, decide on a project or continue on a previously developed project, and actively participate in implementing the plan. Possible projects may include literacy projects such as tutoring children in after-school programs, cross-cultural education projects with global refugees, and community development efforts in underserved neighborhoods. (Sponsored by the BA Global and Local Sustainability program.) Offered As Needed. (UG)
IND 233: SL-History and Politics of Poverty and Homelessness
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Civic Responsibility. Fulfills Service Learning requirement. This course will examine the public issues of poverty and homelessness in America, as well as globally. It will combine academic study with Service Learning experience in the local community, as a point of departure for students' awareness and intervention strategies to combat the impacts of poverty and homeless as a public issue. Students will devote four hours per week to community service. In addition, students will conduct a community needs assessment, decide on a project, and actively participate in implementing the plan.(Sponsored by the History & Political Science Department). Offered As Needed. (UG)
IND 248: International Service Learning
(1 - 3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Civic Responsibility. May also be taken as IND 348 or 448, as determined by student's standing. Students will perform service in another country in a variety of settings, such as schools, community organizations, and social service agencies. Projects will vary depending on student interest. Consultation with the International Studies Program advisor is required. This course may be taken up to three times for credit.(Sponsored by the Modern Language Department.) Offered As Needed. (UG)
IND 249: Performance Enhancement
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Civic Responsibility. Students will learn the latest in sport performance techniques, including the dynamic warm-up that develops pillar strength, posture, and flexibility. They will also engage in resistance training and read about current and controversial topics in the field of nutrition. This course requires moderate to strenuous physical exercise. (Sponsored by the Accounting and Information Systems Department). Offered as Needed. (UG)
IND 250: Introduction to Historic Preservation
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Cross-listed as HP 250. Fulfills core competency: Contextual Integration. Introduction to Historic Preservation will provide a comprehensive introduction to historic preservation history, principles and practices. The course will begin with a review of the evolution of historic preservation doctrine and philosophy. We next will discuss the legal background for historic preservation, with an emphasis on the judicial and statutory underpinnings that support, and limit, current preservation efforts. Next, we will consider why certain buildings and locations are considered "historic" and we will discuss the designation and documentation process that protects those assets and the federal "treatments" (i.e., standards) that guide their preservation, restoration, reconstruction and rehabilitation. We then will discuss historic preservation as an economic development tool. The course will close with consideration of economic incentives that are available for historic rehabilitation activities. Offered as Needed. (UG)
IND 256: The American Identity
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Affective Awareness. What do you have in common with Christopher Columbus, Wilma Mankiller, Spike Lee, Amy Tan, Madam C. J. Walker, Lee Iacocca, Goyathlay, Cesar Chavez, Albert Einstein, I.M. Pei? The American Identity will examine the on-going process of Americanization of six racial/ethnic/religious groups: Native-, African-, European-, Jewish-, Asian-, and Hispanic-Americans. Through full-length films, film clips, readings, political cartoons and discussion we will explore Native American property rights, the Anglo-Saxon power structure, Africans as non-immigrants, anti-semitism, the impact of WWII, Korea and Vietnam on perceptions of Asians, the English Only movement and more. We will tackle the stereotypes and realities of how we see ourselves and how others see us. (UG)
IND 269: Hollywood's America
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Affective Awareness. This course explores the way that the divisive social issues of the recent past have been represented in film. The course will revolve around five sets of topics (Vietnam, the Cold War, civil rights, feminism, and the culture wars). The course will explore both technical and aesthetic aspects of the various films and the way that the film reflects and comments upon social reality. (Sponsored by the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department.) Offered As Needed. (UG)
IND 315: Perspectives on Blacks & Education
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Moral and Ethical Discernment. This course will be organized around historical time periods and it will illustrate how education was shaped for blacks in the diaspora. The course will also focus on contemporary issues in education, including the social, political and economic implications of schooling for blacks in America. (Sponsored by the Education Department.) Offered As Needed. (UG)
IND 322: Alternative and Renewable Energy Issues
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Cross-listed as SUST 322. Fulfills core competencies: Contextual Integration; Critical Thinking & Creative Problem Solving. This course will introduce students to the history of energy use, current sources of energy used worldwide, energy technologies including those under development, as well as discuss the role of governmental policies and funding in energy use and technological development. (Sponsored by the BA Global and Local Sustainability program.) Offered as Needed. (UG)
IND 325: Introduction to Polish Culture
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Contextual Integration; Writing Intensive. Cross-listed as HST 325. Students are introduced to the history of Polish culture. This survey course will focus primarily on cultural developments, but students will also learn about key political, economic, and social developments in Polish history. (Sponsored by the History & Political Science Department). Offered Alternate Years (Spring). (UG)
IND 326: Green Buildings
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Cross-listed as SUST 326. Fulfills core competencies: Contextual Integration; Critical Thinking and Problem Solving; Affective Awareness. This course is designed to introduce students to the concepts of green building design through the use of Daemen's buildings as experimental laboratories. The US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system will be used as a guide to investigate and discuss construction site selection and protection, building energy-efficient features, water conservation strategies, indoor environmental quality and materials and resources used in buildings. (Sponsored by the BA Global and Local Sustainability program.) Offered as Needed. (UG)
IND 328: The Image of Women in Art and Media
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Affective Awareness. Cross-listed as WST 328. This course addresses the ways in which women have been represented visually (painting, sculpture, film, advertising). The examination will examine both historical prototypes and contemporary examples. Among the issues we will discuss in an open forum are: the depiction of women from both a masculine and feminine vantage point, how the feminist agenda has been perceived in contemporary culture to condone sexualization and objectification, and how the image conveys assumptions and knowledge. (Sponsored by the Visual and Performing Arts Department.) Offered Each Year (Fall). (UG)
IND 330: Italian Arts and Culture: Study Abroad
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Italian Arts and Culture: Study Abroad (in Florence and Rome) is an abbreviated study abroad experience. Students will attend classes on Daemen's Main Campus prior to departing for a one-week travel experience. While in Italy, students will tour museums and architectural sites, while being exposed to new cultural contexts. Individual research on-site will provide the basis for the second half of the semester back in Buffalo. Students will complete and present projects based on a site, historical event or artist. Subsequent semester may focus on different Italian cities as the basis for the semester study. (UG)
IND 334: Non-Western Art & Culture
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Contextual Integration. This course is a survey of art, literature, and religion from Africa, India, Japan and China. It will examine the products of these individual cultures, and discuss how they relate to contemporary historical events and philosophical or religious trends. Although the focus will be primarily on art objects, significant discussions will take place on related historical or religious themes, and other examples of this expression (i.e. literature, music, etc.) Among the issues discussed in the course are: the colonization of non-western cultures, the implications of the word "primitive," and the diverging belief systems of Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. (Sponsored by the Visual and Performing Arts Department.) Offered Each Year (Spring). (UG)
IND 338: Food and Agriculture Issues
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Cross-listed as SUST 338. Fulfills core competency: Contextual Integration. The course integrates the science associated with food production with the social and economic issues influencing agriculture, food processing, distribution, safety and policy. Current and future use of sustainable practices in agriculture and food distribution will be discussed. (Sponsored by the BA Global and Local Sustainability program.) Offered as Needed. (UG)
IND 340: Community Mural Painting
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Civic Responsibility. Service Learning. This course will challenge students to explore the art of painting and its ability to actively engage and contribute to diverse communities. Students will engage in a semester long service learning project whose final goal will be a completed public mural. The course will be simultaneously an introduction to basic painting techniques and brainstorming dialogue and instruction with community members with whom the class will collaboratively create a mural. The course will involve class painting exercises, in-class discussions, 60 hours of service, and written and photographic journaling. (Sponsored by the Visual and Performing Arts Department.) Offered As Needed. (UG)
IND 344: Sustainable Business Practices
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Contextual Integration; Moral and Ethical Discernment. Cross-listed as SUST 344. This course will introduce the concepts of sustainable business practices and corporate social responsibility. Sustainable business is a paradigm shift from a management style of maximizing profit at any cost. Sustainable business aims to restore and maintain environmental quality and develop social equity, while pursuing long term profitability. (Sponsored by the BA Global and Local Sustainability program.) Prerequisites: Sophomore status or permission of instructor. Offered as Needed. (UG)
IND 345: Introduction to Russian Culture
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Contextual Integration. Writing Intensive. Cross-listed as HST 345. This course introduces students to select themes in the Russian cultural tradition. The peoples of Russia have engaged actively with other cultures in Europe and Asia for over a millennium. We will explore how a distinct Russian culture has emerged, with special emphases on the following developments: the introduction of Christianity; the "Mongol Yoke;" the "Europeanization" of Muscovite Russia; the cultural splendor of the Russian empire during the reign of Catherine II; the flourishing of Russian literary culture under an absolutist regime during the "Golden Age" of the mid-19th century; and Russia's role in the birth of Modernism at the end of the tsarist era. (Sponsored by the History & Political Science Department). Offered Alternate Years (Spring). (UG)
IND 348: International Service Learning
(1 - 3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Civic Responsibility. May also be taken as IND 248 or 448, as determined by student's standing. Students will perform service in another country in a variety of settings, such as schools, community organizations, and social service agencies. Projects will vary depending on student interest. Consultation with the International Studies Program advisor is required. This course may be taken up to three times for credit.(Sponsored by the Modern Language Department.) Offered As Needed. (UG)
IND 351: Urban Planning and Community Development
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competencies: Contextual Integration; Civic Responsibility. Cross-listed as SUST 351. This course will introduce the theories of urban design, history of urban development, decline and rebirth, and the roles that all stakeholders play in developing sustainable communities. (Sponsored by the BA Global and Local Sustainability program.) Prerequisites: Sophomore status. Offered as Needed. (UG)
IND 398: International Experiential Learning
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Contextual Integration. This course provides students and faculty an opportunity for short-term experiential learning in a foreign country. This course is designed to provide students with background information such as history, art, culture, language, social mores,economy, environment, design, etc of another country so that a faculty-lead student group can apply classroom learning during a short-term stay in that country (defined as less than a semester). The focus of the course may be fully interdisciplinary or specifically focused on one aspect of the other nation.Offered as Needed, including Intersemester and Summer. (UG)
IND 412: Social Entrepreneurship
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competencies: Critical Thinking & Creative Problem Solving; Information Literacy; fulfills Research and Presentation requirement; Writing Intensive. This course introduces the student to the field of social entrepreneurship which focuses on creating long-term, sustainable change and impact through mission driven profit and non-profit ventures. The course will familiarize students with major social entrepreneurs and the challenges that they faced in growing their ventures from an idea to a fully mature organization or company. In addition, the course will encourage students to consider ventures within the context of social problems in areas such as education, community development, economic stability, health and other current issues. Prerequisites: Senior status and permission of academic advisor. Offered As Needed. (Sponsored by the Accounting and Information Systems Department.) (UG)
IND 443: Senior Project
(3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Information Literacy; Research and Presentation requirement; Writing Intensive. This course is intended for students whose major is Individualized Studies, and whose program has been approved. (UG)
IND 448: International Service Learning
(1 - 3) Credit Hour(s)
Fulfills core competency: Civic Responsibility. May also be taken as IND 248 or 348, as determined by student's standing. Students will perform service in another country in a variety of settings, such as schools, community organizations, and social service agencies. Projects will vary depending on student interest. Consultation with the International Studies Program advisor is required. This course may be taken up to three times for credit.(Sponsored by the Modern Language Department.) Offered As Needed. (UG)