INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES Contact: Eric G. Dinmore INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 101. (3) INTRODUCTION TO LEADERSHIP. This course provides an introduction to leadership through a study of history, theory, and current events. Through case and biographical studies students will explore historical leaders and examine how their lessons in leadership may or may not be applicable to current leadership issues. This study will help students gain an understanding of the leadership process required to meet personal, professional, and civic challenges today. Prerequisite: none. Offered: fall semester. INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 210. (1) INTRODUCTION TO RACE AND ETHNICITY STUDIES. This interdisciplinary one-hour course introduces students to foundational theories and concepts for understanding the role of race and ethnicity as a category of analysis in a variety of disciplinary contexts, including but not limited to history, literature, religion, psychology, culture, political science, science and technology, and economics. The course will be taught by professors from across departments, each bringing a different set of analytical tools to the study of race and ethnicity. The course is required for students who plan to complete the Race and Ethnicity Studies minor but is open to all students. Offered: spring semester. INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 250. (1) CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT IN STUDY ABROAD (EL-OFF). This course is designed to enhance the study abroad experience by encouraging students to deepen their understanding of the culture in which they will be living during their time abroad. There will be activities to be completed prior to travel, while in the host country, and after students return. This course counts for a Compass (EL-OFF) experiential learning credit, which means that the College wants students to learn as much as they can by reflecting on what it means to be immersed in another culture, rather than being an observant tourist. Students will set goals for themselves which they will evaluate periodically to make decisions about what has helped or hindered their progress in achieving those goals.
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 255. (1) SUMMER RESEARCH SKILLS (EL-ON). This course is designed to help summer research students think about how to engage in independent scholarly work by exploring, reflecting on, and formulating responses to questions about general and disciplinespecific research skills. Students will learn to identify resources and contexts in their research field, situate their projects within a larger scholarly conversation, and present their work to others outside their field. They will also consider ways in which their work has connections to other disciplines, as well as whether it has potential to contribute to helping others. INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 275. (3) UNITED STATES MILITARY AND AMERICAN SOCIETY: IDEALS, INSTITUTIONS, AND ISSUES. A seminar primarily for sophomores enrolled in the Military Leadership track of the James Madison Public Service Certificate Program, but open to any interested student, the course combines lecture/ conference instruction with student oral and written reports based on research assignments on such topics as the constitutional ideals undergirding our national military establishment; the relationship between the military and key national institutions, law enforcement agencies, and the media; and historical and contemporary legal, social, political, and cultural issues that both support and complicate the military’s place in American society. Prerequisite: none. Offered: spring semester. INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 320. (3) PHILANTHROPY IN THEORY AND PRACTICE. Through the lenses of philosophy, classics, religion, history, and economics, students learn how western ideas about philanthropy have changed over time and how philanthropy is practiced today in an effort to improve the living conditions of people locally, nationally, and globally. The class includes a service learning component with a local non-profit organization. Prerequisite: Rhetoric 102 and junior or senior standing.
