UG Course Descriptions

A study of major American writers from the late 20th century and contemporary literature.

An exploration of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and other writings both as literature and as political thought. Contemporary interpretations of Tolkien’s work will also be critiqued, and special consideration will be given to the political teachings within The Lord of the Rings.

A study of the literature of nations that have experienced and/or are reacting to some type of colonization. The course examines recurrent themes, such as identity, power, migration, race, gender, nation, representation, containment, and resistance.

This course engages literature in a state of entropic disillusionment over World War II, which reacts against anything resembling traditional ideals. The representative literature and social commentary is a complex, ironic, fragmented, inter-referential, parodic, non-traditional, and distrustful amalgam.

An examination of the themes and structures of drama from Brian Friel to contemporary authors, including Sebastian Barry, Marina Carr and Martin McDonagh.

Independent research and seminar discussion on a literary theme chosen by the instructor. Work in progress and results of research are presented orally to the seminar; final papers are submitted to instructor. (Prerequisites: ENG 260 and ENG 321, or departmental permission)

Research in a theme, genre, period, literary group or single author, or advanced writing in a specific mode. (Agreed upon by the student and instructor with permission of the department)

This cross-disciplinary field experience is designed to provide students with a hands-on practice in disaster response. Assigned to small teams, students are exposed to various aspects of disaster response through a realistic exercise. Throughout the three days, participants receive blocks of training (e.g., search & rescue, incident command, and first aid), and then apply the skills they learn on different training lanes. To facilitate learning, teams conduct after-action reviews, and students receive coaching at several times during the exercise.

This course is designated as an elective for the Undergraduate Honors Program and may be offered as an Honors-only courses or as an Honors course that is open to majors and minors in emergency management. These special topic courses have limited enrollment, and the content reflects Honors Program course outcomes around rigorous critical engagement, interdisciplinarity, effective communication, and meaningful collaboration.

This introductory course provides the scope, objectives, and principles of emergency management; preparedness, including prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery strategies as well as roles of federal, state and local emergency management agencies, and private agencies. Learners will also be able to explain how various emergency management services work together in a system of resources and capabilities.