Course Descriptions

PHIL 242 - (P,D) Latin American Thought

3 cr.

This course is a survey of the texts and ideas that help to define Latin America from pre-Conquest to the present day.  There will be a special focus on the hermeneutical issue of encountering and understanding the other and the theme of philosophy being shaped by its cultural context.

PHIL 250 - (P) Philosophy of Love

3 cr.

The purpose of this course is to develop a better understanding of the nature of love by engaging in a close reading of a range of philosophical texts in which different notions of love - modern romantic love, eros, philia, and agape - are developed and explored in detail.

Offered alternate years.

PHIL 295 - (P,D) Chinese Philosophy and Culture in Contemporary Taiwan

3 cr.

This is a travel course to Taiwan that explores Chinese philosophy and culture with Taiwanese characteristics.  It aims to expand students’ philosophical imagination through a real cultural encounter with the East.  The course will include: (1) lectures and discussion on Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist philosophy and culture and its development in Taiwan, (2) guest speakers, (3) field study, (4) hands-on cultural lessons, and (5) cultural excursions.  The selection of sites will be based on what’s available and what enhances the lectures and discussions delivered in class.  Depending on availability, overnight stay at a Buddhist monastery and service work at NGO/NPOs may be arranged.  Travel expenses and material fees apply.

PHIL 305 - (P) Symbolic Logic

3 cr.

A study of symbolic logic in the larger context of philosophical analysis, this course covers the propositional calculus, quantification theory, the logic of relations and identity, modal logic, and, if time permits, some aspects of deontic, doxastic, and fuzzy logic. Though not a prerequisite, successful completion of PHIL 215 - (P) Logic  is recommended.

PHIL 306 - (P) Philosophy of Education

3 cr.

An examination of representative modern systemic philosophies of education with a critical analysis of the answers that each system of philosophy provides to the important questions concerning the nature of knowledge, value, man and society.

PHIL 310 - (P) Epistemology

3 cr.

An introduction to the theory of knowledge ranging from ancient to contemporary philosophy. Topics include sensation, perception, memory, recollection, reason, truth, science and language.

PHIL 311 - (P) Metaphysics

3 cr.

A textual inquiry into the adequacy of philosophers’ answer to the fundamental question, “What is?” Special attention will be given to Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant’s critical philosophy and the issues of nature and history.

PHIL 311J - Metaphysics

3 cr.

A textual inquiry into the adequacy of philosophical responses to the fundamental question, “What Is?” Special attention will be given to Aristotle, Hume, Kant, and Nietzsche.

PHIL 312 - (P) Modern Philosophy III

3 cr.

A study of 19th-century European philosophers such as Hegel, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard and Marx. We will consider the place of philosophy in history and society, the theme of conflict in life and thought, and the simultaneous spread and decay of humanism in Europe.

PHIL 313 - (P) Philosophy and Friendship

3 cr.

An historical survey of primary texts which discuss friendship. Readings in the course include authors of the ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary periods in the history of philosophy. Some of these authors are, Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, de Montaigne, Bacon, Kant, Emerson, Nietzsche, Gray, Arendt and Sartre.

PHIL 314 - (P,D,W) Philosophy and the City

3 cr.

This course explores philosophical issues connected to urban and public policy. Students will analyze the relationship between philosophy and public life and will develop a deeper understanding of their own relation to the city and their roles as citizens.

PHIL 315 - (P) Twentieth-Century Political Philosophy

3 cr.

This course is a survey of recent social and political theory dealing with issues such as human rights, ethnicity in the nation-state, bio-environmental and security challenges to political sovereignty, and the implications of globalization for technology, the function of media and the role of the market.

PHIL 316 - (P,W) American Perspectives on Health-Care Ethics

3 cr.

This course will consider basic ethical issues in the practice and distribution of health care in the United States. Topics covered will include the physician-patient relationship, clinical issues such as transplants or end-of-life concerns, the nature of professionalism, just distribution, ethics in health-care institutions, and biomedical research. Recommended for those interested in the health-care professions.

PHIL 317 - (P) American Philosophy

3 cr.

This course surveys currents of philosophy rooted in North America, with emphasis on Transcendentalism, Pragmatism, and Native American Thought. Authors may include Emerson, Pierce, James, Dewey, and Black Elk.

PHIL 318 - (P) Sex, Love, and God: Augustine and His Philosophy

3 cr.

St. Augustine of Hippo is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the Western history of philosophy.  His influence reaches far beyond the Christian tradition and has impacted the thinking of such noted thinkers as Rene Descartes, Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, Jacques Derrida, Jean-Luc Marion, and others.  This course will examine some central themes of Augustine’s thought while paying special attention to his struggle as a young man riddled with existential anxiety and how he matured as a thinker and a person in his understanding of faith and reason, the meaning of human community and its relation to God, and the tension and the complexity surrounding the issues of embodiment, sexuality, and the sexes.  Arendt’s existential interpretation of Augustine and the contemporary feminist appropriations of his view on women and sexuality will also be explored.

PHIL 319 - (P) Philosophy of Law

3 cr.

A study of the various justifications of law and their implications. Special consideration will be given to the problems of civil disobedience and the force of law in private institutions.

PHIL 320 - (P) Aesthetics

3 cr.

The main theories of the essential character of beauty or art, how they are judged, how they are related to the mind and the whole person, how they are created and how this creativity expresses a commitment to oneself and to the world. (May be used for Art History minor.)

PHIL 321 - (P) Great Books in Philosophy

3 cr.

This course consists of a careful examination of an important text in the history of philosophy. Attention will also be paid to the selected text’s historical significance as well as to its relevance to contemporary philosophical debates. The text examined may vary from semester to semester, and may be drawn from such authors as Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, Aquinas, Hume, Kant, Mill, Kierkegarde, Nietzsche, Moore, Ross, Ayer, Stevenson, Rawls, Smart, Williams, Finnis, Grisez, and MacIntyre. This course may be repeated by students as the text changes from semester to semester.

PHIL 322J - Philosophy of Conscience

3 cr.

Studies the role of conscience in moral judgment and considers its metaphorical and narrative elements. Explores the difference between clarity and community, truth and wisdom, principle and prudence as we study possible links between conscience, reason, eros, imagination and education in some of the works of Plato, Kant and Marx.

PHIL 323 - (P) Natural Law: True Guide or Grave Error?

3 cr.

This course will consist of a careful examination of Natural Law, perhaps the most enduring theory in the history of moral thought.  The arguments of both its proponents and its critics will be examined as we consider whether objective moral truths are discernable in the nature of things and, if so, how these truths might be action-guiding for us today.

PHIL 325 - (P) Literature and Ethics

3 cr.

This course examines the “old quarrel between philosophy and literature,” the dispute between Plato and Ancient Athenian poets regarding the best and truest source of moral knowledge, and examines the impact of this quarrel on contemporary moral theory and practice.

PHIL 326 - (P,D) Advanced Topics in Feminist Philosophy

PHIL 327 - Readings in the Later Plato

3 cr.

A survey and contextualization of the dialogues usually said to be “Later” in Plato’s intellectual development will precede a textually based examination of those dialogues in which Plato’s dialectic turns on the “concept” of difference. Thaetetus, Sophist, and Parmenides will be emphasized.

PHIL 328 - (P) Philosophy of Literature

3 cr.

This course examines the nature of literature, and its relation to philosophy and political life. Students will study both classical texts on literature and contemporary Anglo-American examinations and appropriations of them, as well as recent European literary theory.

PHIL 329 - (P) Advanced Topics in Biomedical Ethics

PHIL 330 - (P) Philosophy of Crowds and Violence

3 cr.

At trial Socrates asserts ‘friendship with wisdom’ in the face of an angry crowd, making the question of crowds and violence a founding one for philosophy.  PHIL 330 revisits this question after a century of novel self-assertions by crowds as agents of history armed, finally, with weaponized social media.

PHIL 331 - (P) Feminist Philosophy of Science

3 cr.

A feminist critique of both the alleged value-free character of modern science and the positivist philosophy of science supporting this view. The course thus focuses on feminist arguments for the contextual, i.e., social, political and economic, nature of science and the resulting need to rethink such key concepts as objectivity, evidence, and truth in light of androcentrism and gender bias. Consideration is also given to critical responses from feminist and nonfeminist defenders of more traditional accounts of science.

PHIL 333 - (P) The Seven Deadly Sins

3 cr.

A conceptual and moral-psychological analysis of pride, envy, greed, anger, lust, gluttony and sloth. The works of such philosophers from the history of philosophy as Aristotle, Aquinas, and Spinoza will be considered as well as contemporary thinkers in philosophy, theology, psychology, and sociology.

PHIL 334 - (P) Hannah Arendt: Human Existence

3 cr.

Examines Hannah Arendt’s twentieth-century political thought in the broader context of her philosophy of human existence.  Topics include history, revolution, totalitarianism, technology, thinking, conscience, and the banality of evil.

PHIL 335 - (P, W) Philosophy of Interpretation

3 cr.

This course explores twentieth century theory of interpretation or hermeneutics. It deals with the interpretation of texts and with methods of understanding that allow for the emergence of meaning. It examines the philosophies of such thinkers as Heidegger, Gadamer, Derrida, Ricoeur, and Kearney.

PHIL 336 - (P) Religion After God

3 cr.

This course considers the question of the possibility of religious experience and the idea of God as it is explored in contemporary phenomenology and hermeneutics, in the wake of the “death of God” and the “demise of metaphysics.” It studies the thought of such thinkers as Ricoeur, Heidegger, Levinas, Marion, Chretien, and Henry.

PHIL 337 - (P) The Art of Living

3 cr.

A philosophy survey course in which issues of perennial and contemporary human concern are addressed by way of a study of contemporary thinkers and texts that bring the History of Philosophy into conversation with and to bear on analyses of such matters as, forgiveness, commitment, illness, deception, love, work, hope, distraction, money, fame, well-being, personal identity, death, science and sport.

PHIL 339 - (P) Philosophy of the Person

3 cr.

This course will investigate the nature of the person and conditions for personhood. Such concepts as human being, soul, self, ego, consciousness, substance, mind, rationality, intentionality, sentience and reciprocity will be examined. Questions about self-same personal identity, divine personhood and the personhood of animals will be addressed.

PHIL 340 - (P,D) Philosophy and Judaism

3 cr.

A study of several Jewish thinkers who lived and wrote in the context of two “endings”: the end of European Jewry in the Holocaust and the end of the Jewish Diaspora through the creation of Israel.

PHIL 341J - The Subject & Medieval Thought

3 cr.

Using Umberto Eco’s novel The Name of the Rose as a guide, along with primary medieval texts, this course investigates the rise of the subject as the focal point of medieval metaphysics, epistemology, and political theory.  We will trace the historical development of our modern notion of the subject and subjectivity as rooted in medieval debates.

PHIL 350 - (P) Science, God, Philosophy

3 cr.

The purpose of this course is to engage in a critical examination of a recent movement in philosophy known as “naturalism.” Naturalism appeals to the natural sciences to reject non-natural or transcendent entities such as God.  Readings include works by contemporary naturalists, but then also those, such as Alvin Plantinga, who reject naturalism on philosophical grounds.

Offered alternate years.

PHIL 401J - Philosophy, Politics, Economics

3 cr.

This course explores the philosophical underpinnings of and relationship between politics (democracy) and economics (free-market capitalism) and uses this understanding to reflect on what it means to be a citizen of the United States and the world as well as a man or woman for and with others.

PHIL 410 - (P) Philosophy of Culture

3 cr.

Examines the meaning of the term “culture.” Explores the notions of civilization and barbarism, common principles in cultural development, and the interaction of such cultural forces as myth, magic, language, art, religion, science, and technology. Special attention will be given to the question of “progress” and “regress” in culture.

PHIL 411 - (P) Thomas Aquinas: Philosophy and Controversy

3 cr.

PHIL 411 is a contextual study of Thomas Aquinas’ philosophy, a great thinker in the 13th century. Selections from his metaphysics, ethics, and anthropology will be examined. His dispute with the Averroists on the status of the intellect, the condemnation of some propositions of his in 1277, and his later canonization in 1323 will also be discussed.

PHIL 412J - (P) Art and Metaphysics

3 cr.

The course utilizes the work of Martin Heidegger as well as several contemporary American novels to explore the philosophical problem of nihilism as it manifests itself today in the relationship between modern technology and art. Special attention is given to modern architecture.

PHIL 413J - The End of Philosophy

PHIL 414 - (D,P) Philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas

3 cr.

This course is a study of the twentieth-century Jewish philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas.  We will focus on Levinas’ theory of ethical experience, an account that takes its categories from both Greek and Hebrew sources, thereby enriching the dialogue between Jewish and Christian traditions in philosophy.

PHIL 415 - (P,W) Nietzsche

3 cr.

This course is an in-depth study of the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche.  It treats a number of his works in chronological order and delves into his views on ontology, epistemology, God, time, value, and morality.

PHIL 418 - (P) Phenomenology

3 cr.

An introduction to this 20th-century European movement through selected works of Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, and Merleau-Ponty. Topics include the nature of the self, lived experience, history, social reality, sense perception, technology and science, space and time, the lived body, and the theory of intentionality.

PHIL 419 - (P,D) Philosophy East and West

3 cr.

This course brings non-Western philosophy and philosophers into a dialogue with Western philosophy and philosophers on major philosophical topics.

PHIL 420 - (P) Philosophy of Rhetoric

3 cr.

A systematic investigation of the form, meaning and influence of rhetoric. Explores the relationships between topic and metaphor, logic and narration, ethos and logos, conscience and persuasion. Special attention is given to the various relationships between rhetoric and philosophy.

PHIL 425 - (P) Postmodern Philosophy

3 cr.

An examination of the transition from modernist culture and thought to postmodernist culture and thought. Derrida’s method of deconstruction will serve as the paradigm example of postmodernism. Recommended for those interested especially in literature and fine arts.

PHIL 430 - (P) Philosophy of the Social and Behavioral Sciences

3 cr.

The goal of the course is to encourage students to think philosophically about issues raised in social scientific studies, especially regarding the following: (1) the problem of cross-cultural understanding and interpretation, (2) the difficulties of research design and methodology, and (3) the relationship between social science, ethics, and policy making.

PHIL 431 - (P) Philosophy of Science

3 cr.

Examines the metaphysical foundations of modern science, theories of scientific method and change, and the epistemological importance of scientific instrumentation.  Special attention is given to astronomy and theories of evolution.

PHIL 434 - (P) Issues in Philosophy and Theology

3 cr.

This course will investigate certain modern and contemporary problems in the relationship between philosophy and theology. In particular, it will examine the ways in which philosophical discussions (both specific arguments and general positions) influence theological discussions, as evidence of the suggestion that philosophy “gives voice” to theology.

PHIL 435J - Philosophy of Self and Other

3 cr.

This course examines the way in which contemporary philosophy challenges modern conceptions of subjectivity by developing more fluid versions of the self. It also explores the emphasis in postmodern philosophy on the “other” (“alterity”), both human and divine, dealing with such themes as “the call,” the stranger, hospitality, and justice.

PHYS 100 - (E) History of Science and Technology

PHYS 101 - (E) The Solar System

PHYS 102 - (E) Earth Science

PHYS 103 - (E) Seeing the Light

PHYS 104 - (E) Introduction to Consumer Technology

PHYS 105 - (E) Mind and the Evolutionary Universe

PHYS 106 - (E) Energy and the Environment

PHYS 107 - (E) “Hands-On” Physics

PHYS 108 - (W,E) New York Times Physics

PHYS 109 - (E) The Conscious Universe

PHYS 110 - Meteorology

PHYS 111 - (E) The Joy of Physics on a Bicycle

3 cr.

This course, of basic physical science, is designed to satisfy the natural science requirement.  The objective is to use the fun and joy of the bicycle to understand the fun and joy of physics.  We will examine physics principles such as concepts of motion, forces, gravity, work, energy, power, heat, conservation, and explore their applications to the bicycle and cyclist.

PHYS 112 - (E) Natural and Manmade Disasters

PHYS 113 - (E) The Science of Light and Photography

PHYS 114 - Solar Electricity

PHYS 115 - (E) It’s Only Rocket Science

3 cr.

Covering topics from rocket launches and propulsion to spacecraft navigation and orbit, this course will demystify rocket science by explaining an otherwise complicated science in common language.  Through these topics students will examine the physical concepts of gravitation, momentum, energy, basic force laws, and motion.

PHYS 120/PHYS 120L - (E) General Physics I

4 cr.

Emphasizes quantitative and conceptual understanding of the topics of introductory physics developed without use of calculus.  Topics include vectors, kinematics, force and the laws of motion, momentum, work, energy, rotational equilibrium, rotational dynamics, solids and fluids, periodic motion, wave characteristics, sound, and thermodynamics.  Three hours lecture and two hours laboratory.

PHYS 121/PHYS 121L - (E) General Physics II

4 cr.

Emphasizes quantitative and conceptual understanding of the topics of introductory physics developed without use of calculus.  Topics include electric forces and electric fields, electric potential, capacitance, current, resistance, dc circuits, magnetic field and magnetic force, inductance, induced emf, electromagnetic waves, geometrical and physical optics, optical instruments, and an introduction to modern physics.  Three hours lecture and two hours laboratory.

PHYS 140/PHYS 140L - (E) Elements of Physics I

4 cr.

Calculus-based introduction to physics covering linear and rational kinematics, Newton’s laws, conservation of momentum and energy, the work-energy theorem, gravitation, oscillations, and waves. Three hours lecture and two hours laboratory.

PHYS 141/PHYS 141L - (E) Elements of Physics II

4 cr.

Calculus-based introduction to physics covering waves of sound and light, superposition, interference, geometrical and ray optics, electrostatics, electric field, electric potential, current, capacitance, resistance, circuits, magnetic field, magnetic force, and induced emf. Three hours lecture and two hours laboratory.

PHYS 150 - (FYOC, FYDT) Foundations of Physics and Engineering

3 cr.

(Students may not receive credit for both PHYS 150 and ENGR 150 .)

PHYS 201 - (E) Stellar Evolution

PHYS 204 - (E) Information Technology

PHYS 255 - (E) Nanotechnology: Physics of Small Systems

3 cr.

Understanding small systems: Nano-scale physics and applications: nanomaterials, nanomechanics, nanophotonics, nano thermodynamics, nano-biotech.  Transport process in nano systems.

PHYS 260L - Electronics for Physicists

1 cr.

In this laboratory course, students will learn to analyze and construct basic circuits needed for data acquisition and signal processing.  Topics covered are design and prototype simple analog and digital circuits that can be used for data acquisition, basic noise reduction techniques, including band pass filters and lock-in detection, amplifiers, oscillators, sensors, and optoelectronics.

PHYS 270/PHYS 270L - (W,EPW: Lab only) Elements of Modern Physics

4 cr.

Introductory modern Physics course for Physics and Engineering majors; also recommended for other science majors.  Review of classical physics; special theory of relativity; atomic theory of hydrogen from Bohr to Schrodinger; multielectron atoms and the periodic table; introduction to nuclear physics. Lab fulfills a writing intensive requirement (W). Three hours lecture and two hours laboratory.

PHYS 333 - Experimental Methods in Physics

3 cr.

Hands-on experience with experiments and experimental techniques in contemporary physics.  Student will select up to 4 experiments that cover topics such as gamma ray spectroscopy, the Zeeman effect, interferometry, scattering of light, nuclear magnetic resonance, neutron activation, ultrasonics and Fourier spectroscopy.

PHYS 350 - Applied and Engineering Mathematics

3 cr.

This course derives and solves first and second-order ordinary and partial differential equations as applied to physical systems.  Fourier series, Fourier transforms, and Laplace transforms are included; as well as, special functions, such as Bessel and Legendre.  MAPLE and MATHEMATICA software are utilized. Three hours lecture. (Credit cannot be earned for PHYS 350 and ENGR 350 )

PHYS 351 - Mathematical Physics II

PHYS 352 - Statistical and Engineering Thermodynamics

3 cr.

Derivation of Thermodynamics from probability theory and atomic physics; Laws of Thermodynamics; Maxwell relations; chemical potential and phase changes; refrigerators and heat pumps; theory of gasses and theory of solids.  Special topics dependent upon interests of majors represented.  (Credit cannot be earned for PHYS 352 and EENGR 352 .) Three hours lecture.

PHYS 360 - Introductory Astrophysics

3 cr.

This course is an advanced survey of modern astrophysics theory and practice, covering the dynamics and formation of the solar system, the formation and evolution of stars, the structure of galaxies, and the makeup of the observable universe.

PHYS 365 - Introduction to Solid State Physics

3 cr.

A physics course designed for senior Physics and Electrical Engineering majors and focusing on the Quantum Theory of solids including: fundamentals of crystals, wave diffraction in crystals, reciprocal lattices, crystal binding, phonons and phonon scattering, free-electron Fermi gases, energy bands, periodic potentials, semiconductor theory, superconductors, quantum theory of diamagnetism, optical processes in semiconductors and optoelectronic devices, quantum mechanics and electronic structure of graphene, graphene-based nanostructures, quantum electronic devices.  (Credits may not be earned for both PHYS 365 and ENGR 365 .)

PHYS 371 - Advanced Mechanics

3 cr.

Comprehensive course in Newtonian dynamics, variational principles, Lagrange’s and Hamilton’s equations; theory of small oscillations and specialized nonlinear differential equations in mechanical systems.

PHYS 372 - Quantum Mechanics

3 cr.

Intensive and quantitative treatment of quantum mechanics. Wave function; solutions of the Schödinger equation in one-dimension; formalism of quantum mechanics; statistical interpretation; problems in three-dimensions; angular momentum; spin; identical particle systems; quantum statistics; time-independent perturbation theory; two-level systems; emission and absorption. Three hours lecture.

PHYS 404 - Introduction to Nuclear and Particle Physics

3 cr.

An introduction to nuclear and particle physics.  Topics to be covered in nuclear physics include the size and shape of nuclei, the liquid drop model, radioactivity, scattering, and the weak interaction.  Topics to be covered in particle physics include the quark model of nucleons, and Feynman diagrams.

PHYS 447 - Electromagnetics I

3 cr.

Vector calculus, electrostatics (Coulomb’s law, E-fields), Gauss’s law, Maxwell equations, Gauss’s law, potentials, electric dipoles, Energy density in electrostatic fields, Electric fields in material space, dielectrics; Boundary conditions, Poisson’s, Laplace’s equations; Uniqueness theorem, resistance and capacitance, method of images, Magnetostatics, Biot-Savart’s Law, magnetic forces, vector potentials, magnetic flux density.  (Credit cannot be earned for PHYS 447 and EE 447 .)

PHYS 448 - Electromagnetics II

3 cr.

Magnetic materials, Ampere’s law, Faraday’s law, vector potentials, Magnetic forces, Magnetic dipoles, Magnetization, Inductors, Magnetic energy, Magnetic circuits; Maxwell’s equations, electromagnetic wave propagation, plane waves, power propagation; Reflection/Transmission/Polarization; Transmission lines; Waveguides, resonators; Radiation, Hertzian dipoles, antennas; Relativistic electromagnetics, Maxwell’s equations unified.  (Credit cannot be earned for PHYS 448 and EE 448 .)

PHYS 448L - Electromagnetics Design Laboratory

1 cr.

Laboratory designed to emphasis and reinforce the experimental basis of electromagnetism.  Multi-week projects require the student to perform experiments that measure fundamental electrical constants, the electrical and magnetic properties of matter, and the properties of electromagnetic waves.  Two hours laboratory.  (Credit cannot be earned for PHYS 448L and EE 448L )

PHYS 460 - Non-linear Systems and Chaos

PHYS 473 - Optics

3 cr.

An introduction to the principles of geometrical, physical and quantum optics.  Topics to be covered include ray and wave optics, superposition, diffraction, interference, polarization, Fourier methods, and coherence theory.  Practical devices such as photo detectors and light sources will also be discussed. Three hours lecture.

PHYS 473L - Optics

PHYS 474 - Acoustics

PHYS 475 - Digital Image Processing

3 cr.

Digital image processing is a modern scientific and engineering technique employed to enhance and extract details of images in diverse fields such as medicine, military, industry, and artistic photography.  This course will make use of the Matlab programming package for algorithmic development.  The student will develop algorithms and implement code for automated image analysis.

(Credits may not be earned for both PHYS 475 and EE 475 .) (Offered alternate years.)

PHYS 493 - Undergraduate Physics Research I

PHYS 494 - (EPW) Undergraduate Physics Research II

1 cr.

Undergraduate Physics Research II, the second in a 2 semester sequence, is a one hour seminar intended for students doing research with a faculty member in the Physics/EE department.  Students will continue their research project, and weekly meetings will concentrate on time management, data analysis and thesis writing. The thesis must be defended at the end of the semester.

PORT 110 - (CF) Intensive Beginning Portuguese

PORT 210 - (CF,D) Intensive Intermediate Portuguese

4 cr.

A continuation of elementary Portuguese.  Students will refine, through oral and written activities, literary and other readings, and video, and film, the skills learned in PORT 110.  Cultural knowledge of the Lusophone world will also be further developed.  Meets four days a week.  Taught in Portuguese.  Includes activities inside and/or outside the classroom that involve Language Learning Center (language lab) resources. Offered spring only, alternate years.

PS 110 - (FYOC, FYDT) Scranton and the World

3 cr.

Introduces students to the scope (what we study) and methods (how we study) of political science through an analysis of major sociopolitical issues, philosophies, and public policy perspectives of the discipline’s subfields; makes students more sophisticated consumers of diverse empirical research; and develops abilities to gather, evaluate, and disseminate information.

PS 120 - (S) U.S. Politics: Principles & Citizenship

3 cr.

Addresses key principles of American government: democracy, constitutionalism, separation of powers, and federalism. It also covers political parties, voting, public opinion, interest groups and the media.