Course Descriptions

No other MALS program can offer exactly what UNCW has to offer. The Cape Fear region suggests many rich themes for advanced interdisciplinary study, many of which are currently under investigation by university researchers. The area's pre-colonial, Civil War, World War II, and civil rights eras have been extensively studied by both university and non-university historians. UNCW's nationally prominent marine biology program offers interested students various approaches to the problems of coastal development and management. Programs in health, physical education and anthropology have addressed aspects of tourism. Faculty in the schools of business, education, and nursing, as well as in the department of sociology and anthropology, maintain up-to-date studies of the region. Clearly, university faculty can direct liberal studies students into many interesting areas of study in this region.

GLS 502 Contemporary Issues in Liberal Studies (3) Required for all students. A review of critical issues in liberal studies that may be influencing disciplinary methodology, discourse or research techniques. Emphasis on forms of oral and written communication, computer presentations and library research techniques.

GLS 510 Religion and Sex (3) Through an examination of the major world religions' views on sex, procreation, marriage, abstinence, masturbation, incest, and sexual orientation as expressed in their scriptures, exegesis, and practice, this course explores the close connections between various conceptions of the sacred and their impact on this biological activity.

GLS 511 The Social Organization of Cruelty (3) This course examines the origins and organization of cruelty (slavery, torture, genocide, child abuse, the treatment of "inmates" in nursing homes and mental hospitals) with the aim of: 1) developing a general theory of cruelty, and 2) better understanding cruelty as an ongoing social achievement.

GLS 512 The Renaissance of Scottish Culture (3) The current phenomenon of Scottish cultural rejuvenation and preeminence (with Glasgow its City on a Hill) is seen through the lens of recent developments in Scottish literature as necessarily connected with analogous developments in economics, politics, and the arts, all interacting with each other to produce the renaissance.

GLS 513 Transitions from Communism (3) An interdisciplinary approach to the problems of transition in four regions: Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and China. After an examination of the historical, geographical, and cultural foundations of current issues, the course focuses on the prospects for democracy and civil society.

GLS 514 Post-Modern Childhood (3) Interdisciplinary exploration of contemporary childhood. Popular media, scholarly sources, and a variety of qualitative methods will be used to analyze the social worlds of children and the social construction of childhood in post-modern and increasingly global consumer culture.

GLS 515 Religion, Women, Gender in Early Modern Europe: Texts and Contexts (3) A study of the religious and cultural context of early modern Europe through the lens of texts by women and about women and gender, including the newly revived querelle des femmes; creative religious writing (poetry, plays, devotional works, stories, letters and diaries), and theological treatises on the nature of "woman."

GLS 516 Utopias and Dystopias: Literary Visions, Past, Present and Future (3) Discussion of fiction by British and American writers such as Atwood, Wiesel, Lessing, and Burgess, set in a timeless space, that imagines ideal societies and societies gone awry. Consideration of generic traits of this fiction.

GLS 517 Affirmative Action and Social Justice (3) Introduction, through discussion, debate and dialogue, to the philosophy of racial justice. Topics include: equality and the Constitution, slavery and segregation, the philosophy of civil rights, affirmative action and theories of social justice and racial healing.

GLS 518 Puzzles of Society (3) Different interdisciplinary perspectives that undergird the variety of ways both laymen and social professionals attempt to make practical sense of social life. Also, emphasis is placed on matching these perspectives with some of the tools or skills that are available to address everyday social problems.

GLS 519 Poverty, Social Policy, and the American Welfare State (3) A seminar considering America's struggle against poverty and related social problems. Examination of social policy and programs, the changing character of poverty over the past century, the influence of reform movements, and the future of the U.S. social welfare system.

GLS 530 The Shaping of America: Cultural Landscapes and the American Sense of Place (3) Examination of the material cultural landscapes of America from geographical, historical, aesthetic perspectives, and how attachment to place has shaped the landscape. A study of the rich spatial tapestry of our nation's fields, towns, cities, architectural styles, railways, and roadscapes, and how those patterns reflect five centuries of diverse ethnic and cultural evolution.

GLS 531 Science and Pseudoscience (3) Study of criteria for description and explanation in science, use of those criteria to demarcate between scientific and pseudoscientific claims to knowledge. Evaluation of specific areas such as parapsychology, astrology and alternative medicine. Consideration of psychological factors influencing people's tendency to accept unsupported beliefs.

GLS 532 Conservation and Culture (3) A discussion of both contemporary and historical links between conservation and human cultures, with a focus on wildlife and other natural resources. Includes topics such as the Dust Bowl, attitudes toward predators, the founding of the Hudson Bay company, Smokey the Bear, Rachel Carson and Silent Spring, and the conservation ethics of Muir, Pinchot, and Leopold.

GLS 533 The Environmental Crisis (3) An intensifying environmental crisis has arisen from local, national and transborder encounters with water and air pollution, habitat destruction and species extinction, and possible global warming, all in the context of unprecedented population growth. This course is an America-centered, historically oriented examination of our environmental dilemmas and their possible solutions.

GLS 534 Culture Wars and the Origin of Difference (3) Intensive study of significant themes in the literature on the encounter of European peoples with the Third World. Interdisciplinary and anthropological readings focus on explanations for the origin of cultural differences, the dynamics of the colonial encounter, the contemporary clash of cultures, and multiculturalism.

GLS 535 The Historical Geography of Food (3) Foodways of different cultural regions from prehistoric hunter/gatherers through Neolithic sedentary agriculture up to modern agri-business, including the diffusion of agricultural practices and products, famine's causes and effects, the decline of world fisheries, climatic and economic parameters of food production, and the role of foods in cultural practices and prohibitions.

GLS 560 Art in Social Science Perspective (3) Art both organizes and is organized by social interaction. This course examines this dialectical relationship between art and society, focusing upon the complex networks of social relationships-among artists, critics, aestheticians, patrons, and institutions- which powerfully influence the ways in which art is performed, exhibited, evaluated, and supported.

GLS 561 Film, Theater and Manipulation (3) Aesthetic study of theatre and film and the relations between them. Examination of key texts in each medium, emphasizing rhetorical analyses of language, mise-en-scene, performance, cinematography, editing and other properties particular to dramatic art forms. Three seminar hours and two screening hours each week.

GLS 562 Our Cultural Heritage through Dance (3) This course provides an opportunity to experience and examine dance forms and cultures from around the world. These experiences will provide the focus and impetus for students to make connections to their lives, to show connections to the global studies curriculum, and for future independent study by individual class members.

GLS 563 Comic Strips and Political Cartoons as Literature (3) A consideration of comic strips and cartoons as popular literature. Provides a brief history of each genre in America and Britain and then focuses on recent examples. Studies such contemporary masters of political cartooning as Jeff MacNelly and Pat Oliphant and such comic strips as Calvin and Hobbes, Pogo, Cathy, and Dilbert.

GLS 564 Autobiography from the Margins: Race, Gender, Ethnicity and Age in America (3) Study of American autobiography as genre and of race, gender, ethnicity, and age as they influence the texts and our reading of them. Includes such authors as Richard Wright, Jill Ker Conway, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Philip Roth.

GLS 565 The Human Image in Literature Following the World Wars (3) The two World Wars contributed to modern and postmodern concepts of the individual and society; they emerge in discussions in psychology, sociology, and philosophy and in novels and poetry. Focusing on literary expression and viewing discussions in these areas reveals concepts of the human image and the particular perspective in each field.

GLS 566 Documentary Film: Moving Images (3) Lewis Jacobs, The Documentary Tradition. One documentary film will be shown and discussed each week so that students will develop an awareness of how these films, both classics and current-day documentaries, were put together. Narration, interview, historical photos and footage as well as actual filming of action, people and scenes will be analyzed to see how a documentary story is told. The student will be able to see how various video and audio segments make up a documentary and will become a more critical viewer of documentaries, able to assess what is slanted/propaganda/truth/point of view. Weekly reaction papers, mid-term, final and quizzes on documentary history.

GLS 592 Special Topics in Liberal Studies (1-3) Exploration of a special topic in liberal studies not regularly covered in other courses. May be repeated on time for credit.

GLS 598 Final Project in Liberal Studies (3) Required for all students. Focused study of topic or question selected by student and approved by faculty advisor and director of MALS. Synthesizes or represents the student's interdisciplinary theme or concentration. Written analysis and oral presentation of project is required.