Description

Interdisciplinary courses are designed to provide students with the opportunity to link disciplines within the liberal arts as they engage in the in-depth investigation and analysis of special topics. These courses are organized by the following structure:

Interdisciplinary (INT) courses represent interdisciplinarity across divisional areas. Such courses challenge the student to engage in an in-depth analysis of content within the context of the connection of seemingly diverse and separate disciplines such as art and science. Courses offered under the INT designation are often Seminar II courses for the Foundation for Leadership Curriculum and are offered in a seminar format. Listings follow and are also noted in various program sections.

Humanities (HUM) courses are offered by the Division of Arts and Humanities. These courses include disciplines such as art, English, language and cultural studies, history, international studies, music, philosophy, theology, and women's studies.

Natural Science and Math (NSM) courses are supported by the Division of Natural Science and Math. These courses are a combination of any of the following: biology, chemistry, environmental science, mathematics, and physics.

Social Science (SSC) courses are offered by the Division of Social Science. These courses are a combination of the following disciplines: communication, economics, international studies, political science, public affairs, psychology, sociology, and women's studies, as well as business and education.

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Course Descriptions

Interdisciplinary Courses (INT)
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INT 105 Critical Reading, Writing, and Thinking
Explores strategies for increasing critical reading, writing, thinking, and language skills. Students will be encouraged to be actively involved in the learning process. Topics will include identifying, analyzing and constructing arguments, reflective inquiry, problem solving, and evaluating sources for credibility.
3 credits

INT 115 First-Year Seminar
Offers students the opportunity to confront both old and new ideas and issues in the context of multidisciplinary methodologies. Required of all first-year students.
3 credits
FLC Seminar I

INT 201 Instruction in Effective Peer Tutoring
Introduces students to tutoring techniques, learning methodologies, and study strategies. It provides students with an opportunity to tutor their peers for five to ten hours per week while earning reasonable pay.
3 credits

INT 202 Social Inequality and Social Action
Approaches economic inequality from sociological and theoretical perspectives. A unique feature of this course is an experiential component that will integrate theoretical perspectives into grass roots social action.
3 credits

INT 300 TELL Seminar
Encourages students to reflect on life experiences that have expanded their knowledge, skills, and awareness. Students will identify, analyze, and develop writing skills to document experiences that equate to college-level learning and produce a portfolio that demonstrates learning outcomes from personal and professional experiences as applications of their knowledge.
3 credits
Prerequisites: ENG 107 and completion of 12 credits at Trinity College; students must have extensive work, volunteer, or community service experience

INT 303 Understanding Immigrant Culture
Examines the realities and representation of the immigrant experience in recent American history. The course features analysis of literary voices and cultural actions.
3 credits

INT 340 Understanding AIDS: Interdisciplinary Seminar
Provides students with a multi-dimensional approach to understanding AIDS. The course examines AIDS as a social construct utilizing Writing Across the Curriculum and cooperative learning techniques to build an interdisciplinary knowledge of AIDS. 
3 credits
FLC Seminar II

INT 342 Women and Work: An Economic and Theological Perspective
Examines the literature on economics and theology on topics crucial to women at work, including employment status, pay equity, childcare, job trends, work ethic, welfare, and international working conditions.
3 credits

INT 373A Contemporary Latin America
Fosters a more precise understanding of those with whom we share this hemisphere, reconsiders accepted assumptions, and challenges the images that have shaped them. This course will orient students to gain insight into the future of the nations of the Americas, and the impact they will have on the rest of the world in the coming years. May be repeated as topic changes.
3 credits

INT 373B Culture and Society in the Caribbean
Emphasizes cultural commonalities without neglecting political chronology but with the history traced from a defined Caribbean and Latin American perspective. Text from contemporary authors may include literary works by Jamaica Kincaid, Julia Alvarez, and Edwige Danticat among others. Class presentations, films, and discussions will also deal with the review of the political factors that infiltrate on the social and economic structures.
3 credits

INT 407 Human Rights in the Americas - Special Topics: Women and Children Rights
Focuses on domestic violence and its relationship to social violence, seeking to raise awareness and calling for leadership within families and communities as they constitute the cradle of respect for the rights of children and women and where the protection of those rights are born. Offers a basic multidisciplinary perspective from educators, economists, international organizations, legislators and policy-makers, as well as from popular writers of fiction. A program of guest speakers will be an integral part of the course.
3 credits

INT 412 Executive Women in Government
Examines social change strategies and the impact of women's organizations in bringing about societal change in an in-depth, independent study seminar. By analyzing archival documents of the Executive Women in Government, students will construct a case study of how one organization uses their knowledge of the public policy process and intervention strategies to break the "glass ceiling."
3 credits
Prerequisite: Junior standing 

INT 415 Seminar on Death and Dying
Explores the interdisciplinary and cross-cultural meaning and experience of death, including its religious and moral interpretation, as well as the technological and social dimensions of the experience. Students take a central role in conducting the seminar. 
3 credits
FLC Seminar II 
Core IV 

INT 420 Philosophy and Public Policy
Surveys topics at the intersection of ethics and economics, focusing on the impact of economic and social factors on the formation of policy. Students take a central role in conducting the seminar. 
3 credits
FLC Seminar II

Humanities Courses (HUM)

HUM 200 Caribbean Texts
Studies the film, literature, and cultural traditions of the Caribbean, with particular emphasis on works from the 19th and 20th centuries as well as treatments of the immigrant experience.
3 credits

HUM 300 Women in Love: Novel in Europe and the Americas
Analyzes the social construction of gender and gender roles in the contexts of marriage and heterosexual and lesbian relationships as explored in the 19th and 20th century novels drawn from canonical and non-canonical literature and film produced in Europe and the Americas. Representative readings may include such works as Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Bombal's Shrouded Woman, Minot's Evening, and Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II 

HUM 304 The American Musical on Film: Song and Narrative
Examines the filmed versions of selected American musicals, paying particular attention to the interaction between story and song. Explores the transition from stage to screen during the golden age of Broadway and Hollywood musicals. Films to be studied include Grease, West Side Story, and The Wiz. 
3 credits
Core V  
FLC Seminar II

HUM 321Seminar on Dissent
Examines the kinds of processes that persons engage in when deciding when and how to dissent, the ways in which mainstream cultural institutions deal with dissenters and the kinds of strategies that individuals and groups have available in carrying out their dissent.  The course will make use of the paired example analytic methodology developed by Noam Chomsky and bell hooks as well as the powerful critique of practices developed by recent American pragmatist philosophers.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II

HUM 325 The Eternal City: Art and Music in Rome Through the Centuries
Explores the cultural evolution that Rome has experienced in its long history as reflected in the development of musical and artistic styles. Students focus on the works of visual and musical art created in this magnificent city from the days of the early Roman emperors to modern times.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II 
Core V 

HUM 330 Cultural History and Literature: Ancient Near East and Greece
Introduces the student to the cultural life and history of the ancient Mediterranean, with a specific focus on ancient Greece. The period of study ranges from the seventh to the fourth century B.C. and will explore Greek drama, Homer's Iliad, Herodotus' account of the Greek and Persian wars, and works of modern scholarship regarding women during this ancient period.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II
Core IV 

HUM 331 Cultural History and Literature: Rome and Early Christianity
Explores the cultural life and history of the ancient Mediterranean, with a specific focus on ancient Rome. The period of study ranges from the seventh century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. and will span the Roman Republic, the period during which Rome was founded and grew, through the Roman Empire, when Rome perfected the methods of vast governmental administration and cultural domination and eventually collapsed under its own affluence.
3 credits

HUM 350 Medieval Moment: Age of Cathedrals
Explores the period in which medieval culture reached its highest development the 12th and 13th centuries through an examination of texts drawn from a wide variety of disciplinary fields, including philosophy, literature, history, art, and theology. Topics include life in a medieval university, the scholastic mentality, the mystical vision, the iconography of Gothic sculpture and stained glass, relics and pilgrimage, the economics of cathedral-building, light metaphysics, developments in architectural technique, and the high medieval view of the natural world.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II

HUM 360 Philosophy and Literature
Examines the connection between emotion and belief and between belief and action as it is expressed in the literary form of the narrative. This exploration is intended to provide insight into a conception of human rationality not separable from human emotion but enhanced by giving intellectual priority to the perception of particular people and situations. 
3 credits
FLC Seminar II
Core IV 

HUM 381 Victorian Studies
Discusses the art, literature, history, politics, and society of Victorian England within the context of their own time, as well as their effect on future generations. 
3 credits
FLC Seminar II

HUM 402 The Fantastic in Literature
Analyzes and compares the characteristics of fantastic literature in French, American, and Latin American authors. Themes include transformation of time and space, the emerging of the double and the invasion of the self. Readings include Todorov's theories, Freud's and Rank's psychoanalytical essays, and the works of writers such as Poe, Maupassant, Nerval, Borges, and García Márquez. Lectures, class discussions, and films. This course is taught in English.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II 
Core I-L 

HUM 403 Women in Border Cultures
Deals with major aspects of the border cultures and how women are particularly affected when living in one. Through literature, cultural anthropology, ethnography, religion, the arts, community studies, and (im)migration studies, this course attempts to question different aspects of cultural politics, including the legacies of European imperialism. One of the practical goals of the course is to be able to communicate more effectively, and conceptually, the course allows us to make comparisons and gain cultural insight.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II
Core I-E 

HUM 410 Seminar: Cultural Identity
Examines the relationship between texts including literature, film, painting, song and dance and the ways in which human values are rooted in our emotions, allegiances and conjectures about the world. A varied range of narratives from different cultures and different times will be considered. This course is taught in English.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II

HUM 431 Don Quixote Seminar
Fosters appreciation of a masterpiece widely regarded as pivotal in the development of Western narrative. While reading the text  which investigates both the specific and the historical reality of its own time, and the constraints inherent in the human condition, students will consider the nature and role of art and of critical analysis. Considered as Senior Seminar for language and cultural studies majors choosing Hispanic Literature as their area study. This course is taught in English. 
3 credits
FLC Seminar II
Core I-E 

HUM 450 Seminar in Ethics
Examines current readings in ethical theory and applications. Students take a central role in conducting the seminar and each will undertake and present an independent research project. Considered as a Senior Seminar for philosophy majors or minors.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II 

HUM 455 Seminar in Existentialism
Investigates the historical and contemporary significance of the tensions characterizing human existence in the 20th century. The readings include French, Spanish, and other continental philosophers. Students take a central role in conducting the seminar and each will undertake and present an independent research project. Considered a Senior Seminar for philosophy majors or minors.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II

Natural Science and Math (NSM)

NSM 102 Introduction to Scientific Methods and Procedures
Introduces prospective science students to the skills that they will need to complete laboratory science courses successfully. The emphasis is on interpretation of laboratory data, using graphs and other quantitative tools. The course serves as a prerequisite for CHE 105 for students who do not achieve satisfactory scores on the mathematics placement test, and should be taken in the student's first year at Trinity. There is an additional laboratory fee for the course.
2 credits
Prerequisite:  MAT 103 (may be taken concurrently)

NSM 200 Biology in the Marketplace
Presents plant and animal products that humans use as medicines, food, or clothing. The information is presented by following an evolutionary tree of the plant and animal kingdom. Some history on medicinal natural products will be discussed.
3 credits

NSM 205 Chemistry in the Environment
Presents basic chemical concepts, such as structure and bonding, chemical reactions, acid/base chemistry, and nuclear chemistry. Understanding the fundamentals of chemistry allows the student to analyze environmental problems, including water pollution, ozone depletion, energy sources, and disposal of hazardous waste.
3 credits

NSM 300 The Search for the Breast Cancer Genes
Traces the scientific detective work behind the discovery of genes that increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. The course examines suspected causes of breast cancer, along with the role of genes in the development of human diseases. The course also explores risks and benefits associated with the identification of disease-causing genes, as well as ethical issues relating to the use of this information.
3 credits

NSM 302 Elementary My Dear Watson:  The Art of Forensic Science
Examines the critical role which science plays in criminal investigations. Analysis of famous cases will introduce a variety of techniques which are used to solve crimes, as well as establish authenticity. DNA fingerprinting will be explored through the Anastasia case and the O.J. Simpson trial. The Unabomber and Oklahoma City bombing cases will highlight trace evidence from explosives. Selected mystery novels will be critiqued regarding their use of scientific evidence.
3 credits

NSM 391 Instructional Assistantship
Permits advanced students to gain practical experience in classroom or laboratory instruction in the natural sciences or mathematics.  May involve preparation of course materials or lab equipment, supplemental teaching of recitation or laboratory sections, or grading of student assignments under instructor supervision.
credits arranged
Prerequisites:  Junior or senior status, strong academic achievement, and approval of supervising faculty member

NSM 491 Divisional Seminar
Examines selected topics in the natural sciences. Requires written and oral presentations based on reading and analysis of the current scientific literature.
3 credits

NSM 499 Independent Study
Provides an opportunity for directed study as approved by the supervising faculty member.
credits arranged

Social Sciences Courses (SSC)

SSC 107 Social Science Writing
Introduces students to the basics of writing papers for social science courses. It will cover proposal writing, library research, internet research, organization of the paper, outlines, drafts, and documentation.
3 credits

SSC 200 Gender Sport and Culture
Examines how the social construction of gender affects contemporary experiences in the sport world. The course explores a variety of sport experiences from the perspectives of gender. Specific topics include: sport culture, the role of the media, and gender socialization.
3 credits

SSC 201 Documentary Film
Explores the history and craft of documentary film making. Special attention is paid to the political and social issues dealt with in documentary film and whether they have the power to be a vehicle of change.
3 credits

SSC 300 Politics and Film
Investigate the intersection of film with political institutions, processes and behaviors. It examines the portrayal of politics on film and the contributions film makes to our understanding and opinion of politics and society. Through weekly readings and screening the course invites students to see film politically.
3 credits

SSC 317 The Cold War and Its Legacies
Examines the Cold War, the world order that it created, and its enduring effects on contemporary international issues, with particular emphases on its social, political, and economic contexts. Among questions to be addressed are: What events and ideas provoked the Cold War? How did the Cold War shape international political and economic institutions? How did advances in science and technology help fuel a global arms race? How did the Cold War condition society and culture? What traces of the Cold War continue to influence world politics in the early 21st century? This course is taught in a seminar format. Cross-listed with PSC 417.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II

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