Common Courses TOP
LACC 6301 Liberal Arts Perspectives
This course critically explores the ways in
which the liberal arts have been conceived and
perceived, using a thematic approach to explore
different disciplinary ways of exploring and
knowing. Students develop their ability to articulate
a vision of liberal arts education: of what
it should consist and why, as well as how it
relates to other modes of intellectual inquiry.
Emphasis is also on development of informed
leadership regarding the role of liberal arts
in education and society.
LACC 6390 Project Planning Seminar
This research course, a prerequisite to the
capstone course (LACC 6399 Special Project),
focuses on successful project proposal development
and the research skills necessary to complete
the proposal and project. Working with the seminar
instructor and their major advisors, students
explore and develop methods of inquiry and research
appropriate to graduate liberal studies and
to their specific research interests, completing
a Special Project proposal.
LACC 6399 Special Project
This contracted independent study course is
the capstone course for the MLA program. With
the student’s major professor as instructor
of record, the student pro-duces a special project,
a public contribution that grows out of the
MLA experience. The project will give clear
graduate-level evidence of insight and perspective
on an issue, theme or concept of significance.
It may take the form of a formal thesis, a full-length
article for publication, a proposal for implementation
in a specific setting, an artwork for public
display, a community service research project,
creation of a web site or some other format
designed to enhance public understanding and
dialogue on a significant issue.
Directed
Studies TOP
LADS 6370 Studies in Anthropology
LADS 6371 Studies in History
LADS 6372 Studies in English
LADS 6373 Studies in Economics
LADS 6374 Studies in Psychology
LADS 6375 Studies in Art
LADS 6376 Studies in Religion
LADS 6377 Studies in Philosophy
LADS 6378 Studies in German
LADS 6379 Studies in Spanish
LADS 6380 Studies in Organizational Leadership
LADS 6381 Studies in Theater History
LADS 6382 Studies in Criminal Justice
LADS 6383 Studies in Education
LADS 6384 Studies in Communication
Elective Courses TOP
LAEC 6310 International Human Rights and
Social Justice
Bosnian war crimes tribunals in the Hague, genocide
in Rwanda, repression of the peoples of East
Timor, dispossession of the lands of South American
Indians — these and similar cases illustrate
human rights violations occurring around the
world today. This seminar examines the political
and philosophical literature on human rights,
documents from the United Nations and other
world and regional bodies and monitoring and
enforcement mechanisms. After studying the rights
of indigenous peoples, students investigate
specific types of human rights (civil and political,
cultural and economic, as well as the rights
of refugees, women and chil-dren) and the monitoring
of rights in various places including Latin
America, Asia and Africa. Research on the world
wide web is required.
LAEC 6311 Topics in Literature & Film
This seminar will begin with a brief review
of major critical approaches to literature and
film before moving on to an intensive study
of particular works. Students develop an extensive
critical vocabulary for analyzing literature,
images and film and they become familiar with
several critical approaches such as reader-response
criticism or genre studies. The selection of
texts and films varies and the emphasis may
be historical, theoretical, thematic or critical.
LAEC 6312 Modern American Poetry
This course will survey the varied body of poetry
originating with Whitman and Dickinson and flowering
in such movements as the Imagist, Beat, Harlem
Renaissance, Black Mountain and Confessional.
A focus will be maintained on the self-expressed
designation of poets as both “American”
and “modern.”
LAEC 6313 Twentieth Century Europe
An analysis of Russia in the twentieth century
covering the last years of the monarchy; the
revolutions of 1917; the failure of Russian
democracy; the development of Marxism-Leninism
and the evolution of the Soviet state under
Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev; and
the collapse of the Union under Gorbachev.
LAEC 6314 Modern Political Theory
This course concerns the study of political
thinkers, beginning with Machiavelli and continuing
with Hobbes, Locke, the Enlightenment figures
of France, Mill and Marx, in seeking out the
intellectual roots of twentieth century political
thinking.
LAEC 6315 Issues in Contemporary Theology
This course will examine contemporary developments
in theology. Topics may include major contemporary
theologians or themes such as scientific and
historical critiques of religion, liberation
theology and feminist or minority perspectives.
LAEC 6316 German Nationalism
This course discusses the expressions and implications
of German nationalism within its historical
context. It will focus on the historical shift
of nationalism in Germany from an oppositional
movement in the early nineteenth century to
a controlled ideology of the National Socialist
state. Other German-speaking countries and European
countries with German-speaking minorities will
also be included. A discussion of the various
permutations and critical definitions of “German”
and “German Culture” should challenge
a simplistic understanding of the history of
German nationalism as an inevitable progression
towards totalitarianism and the Holocaust. Some
fundamental questions for consideration are
these: How are cultural and political traditions
appropriated within a ideology of nationalism?
What part did the issues of nationalism and
German identity have in literary and artistic
production? What role might the continuing crisis
of German identity play in the European Union?
LAEC 6317 History and Philosophy of Science
An introduction to the philosophy of mathematics
and science by way of a historical analysis
of philosophic-scientific debates. Includes
study of the major developments in the Western
world, especially the effects of the scientific
thought on the world view of different cultures
and their legal and social institutions. Examples
are drawn from mathematics, physics, computer
science, chemistry and biology. Questions such
as wave-particle duality, the relationship of
mathematics to all of the sciences and the role
of computational instrumentation in the development
of science are also considered.
LAEC 6318 Magazine Writing
Students write and submit for publication several
feature articles. Topics covered include analyzing
markets, writing a query letter, conducting
interviews and writing effective articles for
targeted audiences. This seminar course focuses
heavily on group discussion, peer feedback and
multiple revisions. End-of-course portfolio
required.
LAEC 6319 Topics in Latin American History
This course looks at pre-Colombian civilizations
in Meso and Andean America, the conquest story,
the colonial period and national histories of
Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. There are four
exams and four papers for the undergraduate
course. Additional research project and oral
presentation ( suited to the specific interest
of the student) will be required for graduate
level participants.
LAEC 6320 Topics in Anthropology: Jazz Appreciation
This course provides an introduction to and
discussion of jazz, including musical elements,
styles and central figures. Class time will
consist of lectures, listening, films and videos
and live music demonstrations.
LAEC 6321 Psychology of Religion
This course examines the historical and functional
relationships between religion and psychology,
including psychological theories of religion
and psychological aspects of contemporary trends
in religion.
LAEC 6322 Topics in Education: Catholic Education
in the U.S.
Topics in social history are interwoven into
traditional cultural, political and historical
chronology. This course explores the phenomenon
of an immigrant church and Catholic education
in the U.S., with particular focus on the history
of the Catholic Church in Texas. Students will
engage in historical research of a local Catholic
school or parish and produce an historical study
that integrates archival research and oral history.
LAEC 6323 Myth & Social Order
From an Enlightenment disparagement of myth
as superstition and a nineteenth-century understanding
of myth as characteristic of the “primitive
mind,” there has been a shift to an appreciation
of myth and symbol as vehicles of truth. Some
have argued that valid insights into human experience
need not assume a single linguistic form, e.g.,
a language of the natural sciences or the defined
terms of a theoretical discipline. Indeed, many
have argued (at least as far back as Plato)
that myth and story are the proper vehicles
for conveying some important truths about being
human. This course focuses on three twentieth-century
writers who appreciated the continuing power
of myth to convey truths about the human psyche
(Freud), politi-cal order/violence (Girard)
and human history (Voegelin).
LAEC 6324 Topics in Psychology: Human Cognition
Current topics in cognitive psychology are explored:
memory, perception and attention, language,
judgment, reasoning, problem solving, the brain
and consciousness. Applications of cognitive
theory and findings to fields as diverse as
counseling, literature and the arts, philosophy,
education, business and computer science will
be made, as students relate their new knowledge
to practice in their own disciplines.
LAEC 6325 Evolution
This course offers an in-depth analysis of evolution
via natural selection using examples from all
major classes of organisms. Emphasis is placed
on the mechanism and resulting products of evolutionary
change. This change is examined at the molecular
organismal and population levels of organization.
Topics such as speciation, extinction, sociality,
sexual selection, homind evolution, biodiversity
and con-servation biology are investigated in
detail.
Community and Identity
TOP
This category investigates the complex relationships
between the self and society, between our individual
lives and our communal lives. It engages these
general questions: How does the community shape
the individual and how can individual initiative
shape community? In so doing, it explores a
wide range of issues, such as peace and justice,
urban planning and development and the impact
of work, race, gender and class on the conceptions
of community, as viewed from various inter-disciplinary
perspectives, including psychological, sociological
and political.
LATC 6330 Humanities and the Professions
In an act of moral imagination, literature often
records and evaluates the world of work and
the professional, business, family and personal
dilemmas that arise there. This course addresses
the issues of community and identity by exploring
the ethical and moral complexities that shape
the vocational lives of people. From the plays
of Ibsen, Susan Glaspell, Arthur Miller and
David Mamet to the fiction of Tolstoy, Tillie
Olsen and others, the course studies the psychological,
social and moral challenges salient in literary
treatments of medical, legal, business, technological
and domestic professions.
LATC 6331 Cultural Autobiography
This is a graduate-level research seminar exploring
and analyzing the relationship between the individual’s
biography and the degree to which it reflects
cultural values, beliefs and behaviors. Students
critique readings of literary and ethnographic
value and then partially construct their own
or someone else’s auto-ethnography, using
journals, letters, photographs and other original
documents. They develop an understanding of
the diversity of sources and difficulties in
using sources. They determine to what extent
an individual’s account reflects her/his
culture and analyze what constitutes a “true”
portrayal of a culture.
LATC 6332 Women in World War II
This seminar examines the roles and contributions
of women during World War II-- women in the
military, defense industry workers, agricultural
workers, USO entertainers, nurses, scientists,
writers, homemakers, movie stars and others.
Students address both how women aided the war
effort and how the war impacted women. While
the focus is on American women, including minorities,
comparisons are made with British, French, German
and Japanese women. Students create an original
research project which requires the use of primary
documents such as letters, diaries, writings,
print media, films, museum exhibits or oral
interviews.
LATC 6333 Nature of Comedy
In the Poetics, Aristotle observes that whereas
tragedy is about figures far greater than ourselves,
evoking pity and fear from its presentation
of what is tragically possible to the human
condition, comedy plants us firmly in society
and views us as we are—as very human, very
limited, very social, very vulnerable, often
very dangerous and very often laughable. At
least until well into the 20th century, the
focus of comedy was likely to have been human
nature and the judgment of comedic writers was
likely to have been severe. In this sense, comedy
has been and is, a tribute to the ability of
human beings to look at themselves critically
and to judge motives and actions accordingly.
It is also about the survival of the human spirit.
Like tragedy, comedy has persisted for millennia
and is expressive of something profoundly human.
What that is, this course explores using readings
from ancient, modern and contemporary texts.
Interpreting
the World TOP
This category examines the knowledge, methodologies
and theories employed in the liberal arts to
make sense of the world and guide our personal,
political, economic, aesthetic, technological,
moral and philosophical choices. Specific courses
will represent religion and philosophy, the
social sciences, reflections on technology and
natural science and the arts and humanities.
LATI 6310 Knowing Other Cultures
This course explores the techniques, methodologies
and theories of knowing other cultures through
observation, ethnography and cultural analysis
informed by theory. The emphasis is on theories
from anthropology but insights are also introduced
from cross-cultural communications and cross-cultural
psychology.
LATI 6311 Science, Technology and Society
This course begins with a brief chronology of
the development of science in western civilization
culminating with an understanding of the role
science and technology play in our society.
Analysis and discussion of those features that
are unique to scientific inquiry follows, including
those characteristics typifying marginal and
fringe phenomena. Key ethical, cultural and
policy issues raised by the interplay of science,
technology and contemporary society are explored.
Specific issues, such as science and the law,
the effect of media coverage of science on public
policy and risk assessment and management are
addressed using selected case studies.
LATI 6312 Conflicting Historical Perspectives,
North and South America
This course examines how history and historical
realities are understood both from the North
American tradition and from the culture and
sensibilities of Latin America. History is used
in a different way and the liberal arts are
defined distinctly as we move from the North
American reality to life as it appears to the
Latin American observer. Values and priorities
are subject to change as well when one looks
at life from north and south of the Rio Grande.
This course gives students the experience of
seeing history and life from both points of
view.
LATI 6313 American Frontier in Art &
Literature
This course examines the ways in which people
of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries interpreted
the American frontier West through art and literature.
Some of these artists and writers traveled or
lived on the nineteenth-century western frontier,
others of their era envisioned it from afar,
others sought to capture its qualities from
the vantage point of a new century and still
others sought new modes of understanding and
expression as the frontier era receded. How
did these artists and writers conceive of the
American western frontier and why? What part
does myth play in their portrayals? The course
looks at a wide range of writers and artists,
from those involved in the explorations of the
early nineteenth century to the those depicting
the Anglo settlement and development phase of
the latter half of the century and from attempts
to capture the “passing” of the frontier
to late-twen-tieth-century depictions of the
“wild” or “mild” West.
Spirituality
and the Self TOP
This category studies the ethical and spiritual
dimensions of human experience and their role
in liberal inquiry and the search for meaning.
Included in this category are topics such as
contemporary bio-ethical dilemmas, diversity,
humankind’s environmental responsibilities,
the integration of spiritual values into professional
lives and the Catholic intellectual and spiritual
traditions.
LATS 6350 The Spirit of Life’s Work
This course has been created so students can
discover how to effectively integrate personal
spirituality with work obligations and responsibilities
in a manner that enhances optimum wellness and
vitality across three dimensions of relationships:
transpersonal, interpersonal and intrapersonal.
Students also explore the ways in which spirituality
informs an individual’s presence and action
in all work endeavors. Based on theory, research
and practical applications this course helps
gener-ate awareness and bolsters the argument
for adopting a holistic approach that includes
the human spirit of all life’s work.
LATS 6351 Faith & Spirituality in the
Writings of Flannery O’Connor
The course will focus on the major writings
of Flannery O’Connor, one of the most important
Southern Christian voices to emerge in twentieth-century
American literature. Beginning with two collections
of short stories (A Good Man is Hard to Find
and Everything that Rises must Converge), the
course will end with O’Connor’s two
novels (Wise Blood and The Violent Bear it Away).
Students will look at the unique way in which
O’Connor uses the Southern Protestant ethic
to establish basic truths about a larger Christian
vision. Some of O’Connor essays and correspondence
will be used to help understand her writing
world.
LATS 6352 The Catholic Vision
This class presents a broad and interdisciplinary
introduction to a number of the distinctive
features of the Catholic tradition. More specifically,
the class explores a broad range of primary
and some secondary tests on church literature,
art, history, contemplation, spirituality, theology,
social teachings and philosophy. Students develop
a sense of the depth and breadth of the Catholic
tradition, an understanding of the interdisciplinary
nature of the Catholic heritage, knowledge of
the dis-tinctive contributions of Catholicism
to western and world intellectual development
and familiarity with the central themes of Catholic
social thought.
LATS 6353 Religion in America
The purpose of this class is to examine the
historical development of American religious
life, starting with the colonial period and
continuing up to the present time. Emphasis
throughout will be on the concepts of “civic
religion” and “spiritual religion,”
the latter concerning individuals and their
personal redemption and reconciliation to God
(Yahweh, Allah, Brahman). How have civic and
spiritual religion interacted? Depending upon
one’s religious and political orientation,
some individuals believe the relationship is
positive while others interpret the cooperative
approach to be detrimental to both forms. Students
will read, research and discuss the impact of
religion on the American people and their institutions
(educational, political, social and economic).
