Electives - ECS – Syracuse University

AAS – African American Studies
ANT- Anthropology
BIO – Biology
CHE – Chemistry
ECN – Economics
ENG – English & Textual Studies
GEO – Geography
HOA – Fine Arts
HOM – Fine Arts (music)
HST – History
JSP – Judaism
LLA – Law
LIN – Linguistics

LIT – Literature
MAX – Maxwell
NAT – Native American Studies
PHI – Philosophy
PHY – Physics
PSC – Political Science
PST – Public Affairs
PSY – Psychology
OSX – Queer Sexuality
REL – Religion
SOC – Sociology
WRT – Writing
WGS – Women and Gender Studies

AAS 231 – African American Literature to 1900: An Introduction (3) African American literature and folklore from colonial days to 1900. Autobiographies, fiction, and poetry, including works by Wheatley, Douglass, Jacobs, Brown, Webb, Hopkins, Dunbar, Chesnutt, Dubois, Johnson, and Washington.

ANT 185 – Global Encounters: Comparing World Views & Values Cross-Culturally (3) Predominant views of reality and values in the cultures of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Humanistic study of cultures and nature of cross-cultural understanding.

ENG 105 – Introduction to Creative Writing (3) This Course is designed to introduce the student to three types of creative writing; poetry, fiction, and mixed literary forms, and the craft and skills needed to write effectively in each.

ENG 107 – Living Writers (3) Introduction to visiting writers and their work. Lectures and small group sections emphasize the dynamic and plastic nature of writing. Opportunity to question the authors directly on content, influences, and technique.

ENG 119 – Topics in U.S. Literary History: U.S. Fiction 1940-2015 (3) This lecture course offers a survey of U.S. fiction written from the late 1940s to the early 2000s. We will interpret the fiction through a sociohistorical lens, and place particular emphasis on investigating the interconnections between literary form and social change. After an initial survey of fiction written in direct response to World War II and its aftermath, we will read texts associated with or influenced by the counterculture, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights, Black Power, and Black Arts Movements, Second Wave Feminism, the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, and late twentieth-century U.S. consumerism.

ENG 121 – Introduction to Shakespeare (3) Selected plays of Shakespeare read in conjunction with performances on video.

ENG 122 – Introduction to the Novel (3) Critical study of the history and development of the novel as a literary form. Selected British, American, and postcolonial novels from the 18th century to the present.

ENG 145 – Reading Popular Culture (3) Semiotic analysis of American culture and its artifacts. Topics of analysis may include consumerism, advertising, film, music, TV, video, language, gender/race/class, mythic characters, cultural outlaws, and virtual culture.

ENG 151 – Interpretation of Poetry (3) Critical study of poetry from various historical periods. Forma, theoretical, and interpretive issues.

ENG 153 – Interpretation of Fiction (3) Critical study of fiction from more than one historical period. Formal, theoretical, and interpretive issues.

ENG 154 – Interpretation of Film (3) Critical study of film from various historical periods. Formal, theoretical, and interpretive issues.

ENG 155 – Interpretation of Nonfiction (3) Critical study of nonfiction from more than one historical period and geographic locale. Formal, theoretical, and interpretive issues.

ENG 156 – Interpretation of Games (3) This course will explore the evolving form of digital games, tracing their historical roots in traditional board games and other associated cultural modes of play to current and possible future iterations of video games. We will employ a range of critical approaches to gaming; games will be “read” and critically interrogated as texts, and the relationships between game, player, design, software, interface, and structures of play will be discussed.

ENG 174 – World Literature, Beginnings to 1000 (3) Readings from classics of antiquity and the first millennium, including Gilgamesh, The Liad, Ramayana, the Bible, Chinese and Japanese Literature, the Quran, and 1001 Nights, Texts are explored in historical context, both past and present.

ENG 181 – Class and Literary Texts (3) Construction and representation of “class,” especially as it affects the production and reception of literary and other cultural texts.

ENG 182 – Race and Literary Texts (3) Construction and representation of “race,” especially as it affects the production and reception of literary and other cultural texts.

ENG 192 – Gender and Literary Texts (3) Construction and representation of “gender,” especially as it affects the production and reception of literary and other cultural texts.

ENG 200.2 – Selected Topics: Science Fiction (3) The origins and definition of Science Fiction or speculative fiction are debated by fans and scholars all over the world. Likewise, scholars continue to debate the value of the genre as Literature with a capital L. In this course, we will take the genre and its capacities for profound social commentary seriously as we explore possible beginnings, movements, subgenres, and shifts within Science Fiction short stories and novels, as well as some television and film. We will look primarily at U.S. American and British texts, but we will expand beyond the West somewhat. This course features time in our library’s Special Collections and opportunities for creative work, as well as critical reading and writing.

ENG 215 – Introductory Poetry Workshop (3) Practice in writing poetry.

ENG 216 – Intro Lit Nonfiction Workshop (3) Practice writing literacy nonfiction in a variety of genres, with particular attention paid to issues of craft and artistry.

ENG 217 – Introductory to Fiction Workshop (3) Practice in writing fiction.

ENG 242 – Reading and Interpretation (3) Introduction to questions of textuality and representations, making use of some theoretical material. Multiple ways of reading, with some emphasis on techniques of close textual analysis.

HOA 105 – Arts and Ideas I (3) Visual arts in relation to broader cultural, historical, and intellectual contexts. HOA 105 surveys the ancient world to the High Renaissance. HOA 106 proceeds from the late Renaissance to the present. Either course may be taken first or independently.

HOA 176 – The visual arts in the Americas (3) (South, Central, and North America) form contact with the present, emphasizing diversity of makers and media, as well as exchanges among cultural traditions.

HOM 125 – Intro to Music Theory 3) Elementary harmony, form, and counterpoint through writing and listening. For non-majors and music theatre majors only.

HOM 172 – American Popular Music (3) The history of American popular music from the 19^th century to more recent developments.

HST 111 – Early Modern Europe, 1350-1815 (3) Major characteristics of European political, social, and cultural life from the Middle Ages to the advent of democratic revolutions.

HST 210 – The Ancient World (3) The Ancient Mediterranean emphasizes major political, cultural, religious, and social developments. The Near East, Classical Greece, Hellenistic Civilization, Roman Republic, and Roman Empire up to the fourth century A.D. May not be repeated for credit.

JSP 114 – The Bible in History, Culture and Religion (3) Jewish and Christian scriptures in their ancient Near Eastern and Hellenistic contexts, with particular attention to their literary forms, the history of their composition, and their role in the development of Western religions and cultures. Credit is not given for REL/JSP 114 and either REL/JSP 215 or REL 217.

JSP 135 – Judaism (3) The course provides a broad (but selective) survey of Jewish religious thought and practice from the biblical period through the modern. Readings focus on the way diverse Jewish thinkers have reshaped Jewish identity by reconfiguring the way in which they understand ritual life. We pay particular attention to how Jewish interpreters have constructed a changing textual tradition as an integral part of that process. This class introduces students to the Hebrew Bible, Talmud and Midrash, medieval philosophy and mysticism, and to German Jewish existentialism and American Jewish feminism in the 20th century. Special note is paid to the modern period and the role of women.

LIN 201 – The Nature and Study of Language (3) Introduction to the study of human language. Language change and diversity, usage, meaning, phonetics, grammatical description, and language learning.

LIN 251 – English Words (3) An analysis of English words, their structure, history, meaning, and formation from a theoretically informed linguistic perspective. The course is primarily concerned with the words borrowed from the classical languages.

LIT 101 – Introduction to Classic Literature (3) Major popular and influential genres of classical literature. Heroic tradition in epic and tragic spirit of epic and drama. Birth of comedy.

LIT 131 – Great Jewish Writers (3) Cross-listed with JSP 131, REL 131 Introduction to fiction by Jewish authors. Topics include modernization, rebellion against authority, alienation, childhood, superstition, and the Holocaust. Some films included.

LIT 205 – Tokyo Today in Literature and Film (3) Examines pieces of literature and film that have rendered aspects of life in contemporary Tokyo. Focuses on how the aesthetic imagination has represented the possibilities and perils of the modern metropolis.

LIT 226 – Dostoevsky and Tolstoy (3) Lectures, readings, discussions, and reports on Dostoevsky’s and Tolstoy’s major novels.

LIT 256 – Blood: A Cultural History (3) This writing intensive course explores blood’s often contradictory meanings in various genres and mediums from Ancient Greece to the present day – from Latin epics to vampire films, medieval Christian iconography to medical treatises.

PHI 107 – Theories of Knowledge and Reality (3) An introduction to some major questions about knowledge and reality, such as the existence of God, the mind-body problem, free will, and the nature and limits of knowledge. Historical and contemporary readings.

PHI 125 – Political Theory (3) Introduction to theories of major modern political philosophers (Locke, Rousseau, Hume, J.S. Mill, Marx). Contemporary theories of liberty, justice, and equality.

PHI 171 – Critical Thinking (3) Presentation and evaluation of reasoning, including arguments, explanations, and the justification of decisions. Topics of current social and ethical interest will serve as examples, with one topic selected for extended study.

PHI 175 – Introduction to Social and Political Philosophy (3) Classical and contemporary readings on basic topics in social and political philosophy; political obligation and authority, justice and basic rights, liberty and equality, and the justification of democracy.

PHI 192 – Introduction to Moral Theory (3) Major philosophical theories about moral rightness, virtue, and the good life, such as utilitarian, Kantian, and Aristotelian theories. Historical and contemporary sources. Credit cannot be received for both PHI 192 and PHI 209.

PHI 197 -Human Nature (3) Philosophical theories of human nature, their underlying metaphysical claims, and their ethical consequences.

PHI 251 – Logic (3) Logic as a formal language, as a component of natural language, and as a basis of a programming language. Varieties of logical systems and techniques. Syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.

REL 101 – Christianity (3) This course covers Christianity’s institutional forms, sacred writings, ideas and beliefs, worship practices, cultural and creative expressions, and ethical and political roles in society, from antiquity to the present. In covering these things, this course basically asks what Christianity has to do with being human. That is, how does Christianity address human needs, concerns, and desires? What are some of the problems that Christianity has caused believers and non-believers? And, why, in spite of its problems, does it remain appealing and viable to a broad array of people over centuries and across cultures?

REL 131 – Great Jewish Writers (3) Cross-listed with JSP 131, LIT 131 Introduction to fiction by Jewish authors. Topics include modernization, rebellion against authority, alienation, childhood, superstition, and the Holocaust. Some films included.

REL 135 – Judaism (3) Cross-listed with JSP 135 Survey of Judaic ideas, values, and cultural expressions as found in biblical, Talmudic, medieval, mystical, and modern texts.

REL 142 – Native American Religion (3) Cross-listed with NAT 142 Religious beliefs and practices of native Americans; the diversity as well as similarity of religious expression.

REL 145 – Introduction to African American Religion (3) Introduction to the study of African American religious life. Theories and methods in race and religion will be discussed and particular African American religious traditions (Black Churches, Nation of Islam, Conjure, Humanism, and African Indigenous Orientations) will be explored.

REL 156 -Christianity (3) Christianity’s institutional forms, sacred writings, ideas and beliefs, worship practices, cultural and creative expressions, and ethical and political roles in society, from antiquity to the present. How Christianity addresses human needs, concerns, and desires.

REL 165 – Discovering Islam (3) Cross-listed with MES 165, SAS 165 Islam as a faith and a civilization. Understanding its origins, beliefs, rituals, and the historical development of its intellectual traditions in the pre-modern and modern eras, and its geographic, cultural, and theological diversity today.

REL 191 – Religion, Meaning, and Knowledge (3) Exploration of the age-old quest for meaning, knowledge, and faith in the face of suffering and loss through art, philosophy, music, and literature.

REL 206 – Greco-Roman Religion (3) Various aspects of religious thought and experience in the Greco-Roman world. Variety of ways in which Greco-Roman people expressed the human situation, constructed their world, and viewed salvation through myth, symbol, and ritual.

REL 241 – Religious Diversity in America (3) Emergence of the United States as a unique, multi-faith society, with a focus on Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other faiths.

REL 265 – Muslim Women’s Voices (3) Examines the politics of dress, gender, and sacred texts in Islam. Covers critical and literary works by Muslim feminist scholars and activists that challenge Islamic patriarchal structures and Western stereotypes of Muslim women.

WGS 101 – Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (3) Introduces the interdisciplinary field of women’s and gender studies; gender as a social construct shaped by race, class, sexuality, disability, and nation; and feminist theories of oppression, power, and resistance.

WGS 201 – Global Feminisms (3) Introduces transnational feminist analysis and politics. Interdisciplinary exploration of how gender intersects with other forms of identity and is shaped by constructions of knowledge, power, and experience across local and global contexts.

WGS 240 – Topics in Contemporary Feminisms (3) Interdisciplinary and intersectional study of current topics and debates in feminist scholarship, activism, politics, and cultural production. Repeatable 1 time(s), 6 credits maximum

WRT 114 – Writing Culture (3) Nonacademic writing; creative nonfiction, memoir, the essay. Students write texts experimenting with style, genre, and subject; read contemporary nonfiction texts by varied authors; attend lectures/readings of visiting writers.

WRT 115 – Writing, Rhetoric, and the Environment (3) Rhetorical study and practice of critical, research-based writing in response to environmental issues and their material and discursive contexts. Emphasizes audience and genre awareness to produce persuasive, culturally situated interventions in environmental debates.

WRT 116 – Writing, Rhetoric, and Social Action (3) Examination of persuasive strategies of written arguments and genres intended to support and promote social action.

AAS 112 – Introduction to African American Studies (3) Historical and sociopolitical materials. Approaches to studying the African American experience, antecedents from the African past, and special problems.

AAS 138 – Writing About Black Culture (3) Expository writing based on cogent analysis of African American literature, art, music, and history ideas.

ANT 111 – Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3) Economics, politics, religion, symbolism, rites of passage, developmental cycle, and expressive culture. Required for Anthropology majors.

ANT 121 – Peoples and Cultures of the World (3) Case studies of global cultural diversity. Exploration of daily life, rites of passage, marriage, family, work, politics, social life, religion, ritual, and art among foraging, agricultural, and industrial societies.

ANT 141 – Introduction to Archaeology and Prehistory (3) Survey of the prehistoric past spanning the origins of humankind through the rise of complex societies. Class activities and field trips provide a hands-on introduction to archaeological interpretation.

ECN 101 – Principles of Microeconomics (3) Consumer demand, theory of production, markets and prices, social welfare, and related topics.

ECN 102 – Principles of Macroeconomics (3) Introduction to concepts and methods of economic analysis. Emphasis on such macroeconomic topics as gross domestic product, unemployment, money, and the theory of national income.

GEO 103 – Environment and Society (3) Relationship between society and the environment. Natural resource use, climate change politics, food and agriculture, energy, water, and sustainability.

GEO 105 – World Urban Geography (3) Survey of world, urban geography. Major concepts of human geography for non-specialists.

GEO 171 – Human Geographies (3) An integrative overview of human geography. Topics include human-environmental relations, demographic change, cultural landscape; urban and agricultural land use, and economic restructuring.

GEO 215 – Global Env Change (3) Focusing on physical processes and patterns of environmental change, changes occurring as a result of human activities, and the social consequences of environmental change.

GEO 272 – World Cultures (3) The globalization of culture and the persistence of local cultures around the world. Case studies from different regions of the world examine geographical processes that shape ways of life.

HST 101 – American History to 1865 (3) Founding and development of institutions. The Revolution and the new nation. Problems of growth and sectionalism. Challenge to the union.

HST 121 – Global History to 1750 (3) The development of global society up to 1750. Exchanges, connections, and interactions between Africa, Asia and the Pacific, India, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East. The relations between these regions, the Americas and Europe.

HST 213 – Africa: Ancient Times to 1800 (3) This course is a survey of African history from ancient times to 1800. It focuses on the political, social, economic, and environmental history of the continent. Themes include, but are not limited to state formation, technology, production, trade, religion, migration, labor, slave trade, and biological exchanges between Africa and other continents

LLA 201 – Elements of Law (3) Provides an introduction to law and legal institutions. The course is designed to prepare lower-division undergraduates for the further study of legal topics in departments across the College of Arts and Sciences.

MAX 123 – Critical Issues for the United States (3) Interdisciplinary focus on critical issues facing America. Perspectives of social science disciplines on the meaning of the American Dream, its past and its future.

PSC 121 – American National Government and Politics (3) American political institutions. Basic principles are embedded in the structure and practices of the American government. Practical consequences of this political system for the citizen. Credit is given for PSC 121 or PSC 129, but not both.

PSC 123 – Comparative Government and Politics (3) Comparison of selected governmental institutions, individual and collective political actors, and issues across the industrialized and developing world. Particular attention to dynamics of socioeconomic and political change.

PSC 124/139 – International Relations (3) Foreign policy, decision making, comparative foreign policy, international transactions, and the international system. Credit is given for PSC 124 or PSC 139, but not both.

PSC 125 – Political Theory (3) Introduction to theories of major modern political philosophers (Locke, Rousseau, Hume, J.S. Mill, Marx). Contemporary theories of liberty, justice, and equality.

PST 101 – An Introduction to the Analysis of Public Policy (3) Develop research and problem-solving skills to create government policies that address current social and economic problems facing the United States. Students study policy problems of their choice.

PST 110 – Public Service Practicum (1) Students investigate the societal issues affecting members of the Syracuse community by completing a 35-hour community service requirement, attending 4 class meetings to reflect on their experiences, and completing weekly journals and two paper assignments.

PSY 205 – Foundations of Human Behavior (3) Fundamental principles of mental life and human behavior. Significance of psychology in human relationships and self-understanding.

QSX 111 – Queer Histories, Communities, and Politics (3) Explores and analyzes lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender histories, communities, and politics from the ancient past to the contemporary, global present through an interdisciplinary reading of research, theory, memoir, biography, fiction, and documentary film.

SOC 101 – Introduction to Sociology (3) Principal concepts, methods, and findings in sociology. Societal structures, processes, institutions, and social roles from both macro- and microanalytic human behavior perspectives.

SOC 102 – Social Problems (3) Application of sociological theory and methods to identification, description, and analysis of contemporary social problems. Critique and analysis of alternative strategies for social change.

SOC 248 – Ethnic Inequalities and Intergroup Relations (3) Identification of individuals and groups by self and others as members of ethnic categories. Consequences of ethnic identifications for individual, group, and societal interaction. Emphasizing ethnic inequalities, group interactions, social movements and change, racism, prejudice, and discrimination.

SOC 281 – Sociology of Families (3) Families and their connections to other social and economic institutions. Diversity of family forms and experiences. Formation and dissolution of relationships. Trends and changes.

BIO 121 – General Biology I (4) First course in a survey of biological concepts ranging from the molecular level to global ecology. Units include the nature of science, life chemistry, cell structure and function, photosynthesis and respiration, genetics, and evolution.

CHE 106 – General Chemistry Lecture I (3) Fundamental principles and laws underlying chemical action, states of matter, atomic and molecular structure, chemical bonding, stoichiometry, properties of solutions, chemical equilibria, and introductory thermochemistry. Credit is given for CHE 106 or 109 but not more than one of these.

CHE 107 – General Chemistry Laboratory I (1) Experimental study of basic principles and techniques of chemistry. States of matter, determination of formulas and molecular weights, simple volumetric and gravimetric analysis, heats of reaction. Equilibrium, rates of reactions, and qualitative analysis. Credit is given for CHE 107 or 129 or CHE 151 but not more than one of these.

PHY 211 – General Physics I (3) First half of a two-semester introduction to classical physics including mechanics and thermal physics. Uses calculus. Knowledge of plane trigonometry is required.

PHY 212 – General Physics II (3) Second half of a two-semester introduction to classical physics including electricity, magnetism, and light.

PHY 221 – General Physics Laboratory I (1) Techniques of laboratory work: treatment of random errors, graphical representation of data. Experimental demonstration of principles of mechanics, thermodynamics, and waves (of vector forces, conservation of momentum and energy, thermal properties of gases).

PHY 222 – General Physics Laboratory II (1) Experimental study of principles of electromagnetism and their application in electrical circuits. Use of electronic instruments, such as the oscilloscope.