New Century College Courses (NCLC)

Related Catalog Entry: New Century College

Related Mason Website: New Century College (http://www.ncc.gmu.edu/)

Division I Courses

110 Community of Learners (8:8:0). Designed for students pursuing a B.A. or B.S. in Integrative Studies within New Century College. Develops essential college skills, particularly communication (reading, writing, speaking) for critical thinking and problem solving, information literacy, statistics, and probability. Issues such as transition to college life, cultural diversity, and personal freedom and responsibility will be explored. Credit distribution: composition (3), communication (2), math/analytical reasoning (1), and computer science (2).

120 The Natural World (8:6:2). Designed for students pursuing a B.A. or B.S. in Integrative Studies within New Century College. Introduces the worlds of science and mathematics. Students explore contemporary issues of public health and the environment, with a historical perspective and understanding of how scientists communicate ideas. Students will engage in debate, poster presentation, and group problem solving. Credit distribution: math/analytical reasoning (2), natural science (4), and communication (2).

130 The Social World (8:8:0). Designed for students pursuing a B.A. or B.S. in Integrative Studies within New Century College. Focuses on the social world and its cultural origins. Students will investigate how that world is both model and mirror of social behavior. Students are encouraged to model objective and subjective thinking, analysis and synthesis, explanation, and understanding. Credit distribution: arts (2), humanities (2), and social sciences (4).

140 Self As Citizen (8:8:0). Designed for students pursuing a B.A. or B.S. in Integrative Studies within New Century College. Explores the definitions of self and society in historical non-Western and Western contexts. Issues relating to the concepts of moral identity and cultural differences will be covered using text, film, plays, social science research methods, and writing. Credit distribution: art (1), literature (3), and social sciences (4).

Division II Courses

Learning Communities: Special Topics (6-15:6-15:0). Division II is composed of a variety of learning communities; each combines subjects usually taught in separate courses into a single course of study. Offering the equivalent of between 6 and 15 credits of undergraduate work, learning communities replace the often fragmented classroom experience and integrate material from several perspectives. In learning communities, faculty and students study topics in an integrated context and explore various ways of understanding. Credit is assigned for each learning community at the time it is offered.

200 Visual Thinking and the Creative Impulse (3-15:3-15:0). Studies the creative process in the arts and sciences through demonstration and the analysis of the psychology and the arts. Visual perception, memory, classical and modern art, and performance are explored as examples. Students are presented with the opportunity to assess themselves as creative thinkers.

201 The World Since 1945 (3-15:3-15:0). Examines the history of the past 50 years in order to illuminate the contemporary world as well as connections between the global and local. Using historical works, fiction, autobiographies, films, and daily newspapers, we will explore such major events as the Cold War, the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, the Vietnam War, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and the continuing conflict in the Middle East. As a learning community, the course requires active student participation in group projects and discussions.

202 Developing Public Speaking and Critical Thinking Skills (3-15:3-15:0). Combines the process of learning to speak in front of audiences with the analysis of arguments and persuasive appeals. By looking at public speech, advertising, and television, the students learn to critique persuasive messages.

204 Creative Leadership Development (3-15:3-15:0). Examines the leadership phenomenon that is within each person and the strategies for learning, interpreting, creating, and developing leadership that is reflective and active.

220 Energy and Environment (3-15:3-15:0). Investigates current sources of energy, various modes of their utilization, and environmental effects. It offers an overview of the mechanical, physical, and chemical methodologies of energy use and delves into the biological, environmental, and ecological aspects of pollution-generating mechanisms.

225 Dean's Honor Book Review (1:1:0). Open to New Century College students who were admitted with a GPA of 3.300 or better. Considers the ways in which specific works--for example, books, dramas, works of art or ideas--have influenced the intellectual climate of their times and beyond.

226 Dean's Honors Seminar (1:1:0).Prerequisite: Students must have entered New Century College with a GPA of 3.300 or greater or with six or more AP credits. Considers the dynamic relationship an author or artist has with the cultural and intellectual climate of the times and beyond. The broader question is how one helps create culture and is influenced by it.

230 Math and Culture (3-15:3-15:0). Focuses on mathematical problems and their emergence in different cultures and historical moments. Emphasis is on the interdisciplinary nature of the motivations for the development of mathematics and on the process of mathematical discovery. The course entails a high degree of faculty/student interaction, which enables students to demonstrate, through the use of presentations and projects, their understanding and mastery of fundamental mathematical ideas and techniques and the role of mathematics in the development of human culture.

260 Myths in Religion and Paradigms in Science (3-15:3-15:0). How do people determine what is real and what is an illusion? We will concentrate on how this is done by appeal to the religious myths or to the scientific models of reality that underlie the belief system of a community. In spite of obvious differences, such myths and models exhibit surprising similarities in the ways in which reality is conceived.

275, 375, 475 Special Topics (3-15:3-15:0). Studies topics of special interest to undergraduates. May be repeated once for credit if subtitle is different.

300 Utopia (3-15:3-15:0). Examines utopian and dystopian literature, theory, and practice including Plato, Piercy, LeGuin, Robinson, and others. Examines how utopian dreams (and dystopian nightmares) have changed over time and how texts are designed to jostle readers' ideas about society and themselves. We will study several utopian experiments and visit a few local utopian communities.

301 Traditions and Modernity (3-15:3-15:0). Examines five decades from 1880 to 1930 by studying a whole series of movements (Populists, Ku Klux Klan, New Woman, New Negro, Southern Agrarians, Fundamentalism, etc.) as Americans struggle to balance the often contradictory tugs of tradition and modernity in their lives. Social and economic forces such as industrialization, urbanization, and migration wrenched thousands of American's familiar settings, transformed how they looked at their present circumstances, and created powerful longings for the past and the future. This course will examine the social movements that emerged to satisfy those longings by teaching students to read the representative textbooks, films, music, correspondence, and trial records of these movements. Students will also be encouraged to think about the ways in which individuals during this period learned to think of themselves as participants in overlapping and sometimes competing groups, as turn of the century Americans tried to create new identities, even when the participants believed they were reviving old ones.

302 Epic Creations (3-15:3-15:0). Integrates western European, Native American, and colonial American experiences by examining the past through the lenses of literature, art, and history. Traces the paths of ancient and contemporary guides by reading, writing, discussing, surfing the web, watching videos, and taking field trips as we create our own modern epics. Three of the nine credits are experiential learning on campus.

303 Modernization and Its Discontents: Conflict/Community in Modern Russia and America (3-15:3-15:0). Compares regional studies, which consider the problem of modernization and its effects on the individual from the political, social, and cultural perspectives, using the prism of literature to achieve this aim. Examines the works of fiction, both from the realm of officially recognized literature and the popular culture.

304 Social Movements and Community Activism (3-15:3-15:0). Explores community activism by looking at social movement case studies and engaging in direct social action. Students will learn about grass roots movements, the rhetorical strategies used to attract group members, and how movements evolve into viable organizations and institutions.

305 Conflict Resolution and Transformation (3-15:3-15:0). Examines the nature and dynamics of conflict and ways to resolve and transform conflict. Experiential learning will be the vehicle through which students explore their assumptions about communication and develop their skills for resolving interpersonal conflicts.

306 Our Common Futures (3-15:3-15:0). Formerly NCLC 203 Sustainable Alternatives. Sustainable development is defined as activity that meets the needs of the current generation, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Students and faculty work together to model patterns of life that fit within the planet's ecological means. This will involve the study of "environomics," introductions to urban systems and planning, and studio work to actually create models of alternative growth.

310 Violence and Gender (3-15:3-15:0). Using nonfiction, research documentaries, oral histories, case studies, literature, feature films, music, dance, and the visual arts, this course examines the dynamics of violence through different cultural lenses. Students will have the opportunity to work in university and community settings to integrate their academic experiences with practice.

311 The Mysteries of Migration: Consequences for Conservation (3-15:3-15:0). Investigates the biology of migration and its implications for science policy. Students consider the phenomenon of migration in the context of natural history, conservation, and cultural issues. The course includes several weekend trips for field study.

313 Strangers in a Strange Land: Immigration in 20th Century America (3-15:3-15:0). Examines the immigration experience as a historical reality and as a cultural image within the context of 20th-century America. Using Russian immigration as a microcosm, the course studies the impact of various waves of Russian refugees on American political, economic, and cultural life. Three separate emigrations are considered: the Jewish emigration of the early 20th century, the white Russian emigration of the 1920s-1950s, and the Post-Jackson exodus of the 1970s-1980s.

315 Spirituality and Conflict Transformation (3-15: 3-15:0). Spiritual traditions have been very influential in the resolution and transformation of international, intergroup, and interpersonal conflict. This course examines dimensions of spirituality as they relate to a range of activities including peace-making efforts in large-scale conflicts, conflicts within faith communities, and interpersonal disputes. Experiential learning will explore spiritually informed resolution.

319 An Endangered Earth: Ecosystem Destruction in America (3-15:3-15:0). Introduces students to the special set of issues and problems raised by science in the public policy process, especially the inherent tension between the tenets of a democratic society and the tenets of a scientific community. Using environmental policy problems as the specific vehicle, the course is structured to prepare students to ask intelligent and useful questions about the science and politics of a particular public policy issues, to understand where they might go to find information for developing options, and to develop criteria by which they can evaluate these.

320 Construction of Differences; Race, Class, and Gender (3-15:3-15:0). Investigates the concept of race, sex, sexual orientation, and social class in contemporary American society. Examines the commonalities in the construction of these categories and experiences of those who occupy them.

321 Vision Quest: Modeling the Natural World Using Art, Computer Programs, and Science (3-15:3-15:0). Imparts the concepts of science in a visual, auditory, and kinetic fashion. It is clear that the understanding of some very sophisticated concepts of physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and engineering are best accomplished with models and simulations. This course uses simulation programs, modeling the natural world to help students understand the principles and mysteries of science.

325 Dean's Honor Book Review (1:1:0). Open to New Century College students who have had a previous semester GPA of 3.300 or better and have at least 30 college credits. Focuses on classical philosophers and artist and the impact of their works for contemporary times. May be repeated for credit if the topic is different.

326 Dean's Honors Seminar (1:1:0).Prerequisite: Students must have maintained an overall GPA of 3.300 or greater while in New Century College. Focuses on a variety of topics of interest ranging from book and film reviews to development of special events and symposiums. May be repeated for credit if the topic is different.

330 Enterprise Development (3-15:3-15:0). Prepares students for enterprise development in diverse environments by examining the spectrum of sociocultural, organizational, behavioral, strategic, and management factors that impact enterprise creation. Instructional method is interactive, using case studies, scenarios, role-playing, guest speakers, and student-driven semester projects to link theory to practice.

335 Ethics, Communication, and Freedom (3-15:3-15:0).Prerequisites: Sophomore standing and three credits each of communication and philosophy, or permission of instructor. Students examine ethical principles, discuss some underlying bases for these principles, and work to understand how such principles are experienced and can be applied in a free society. A focus is on examining potential conflicts between ethics and the freedoms believed essential to a healthy democratic society. Cases are drawn from the areas of sports, medicine, media, politics, and business.

336 Wealth, Power, and Values (3-15:3-15:0). Formerly NCLC 250. Investigates the political, economic, social, industrial, and diplomatic sources of wealth, values, and power at the end of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Will include lecture, discussion, debate, and experiential learning, with emphasis on individual research projects.

337 Politics, the Arts, and History (3-15:3-15:0). Students taking this learning community are offered opportunities to see how major musicians, composers, studio artists, dramatists, writers, architects, and dancers confront political issues and historical events. Students are required to attend several museum exhibitions and/or performances.

349 The Internet: Literacy, HTML Tools, and Virtual Community (3-15:3-15:0). The learning community explores the history and evolution of the Internet: the World Wide Web and virtual communities. Basic and intermediate HTML scripting and web page design skills, including web-based multimedia, are developed through group projects and problem-solving scenarios.

350 Counterculture, Cyberculture (3-15:3-15:0). Explores cyberspace guided by these questions: What is cyberspace? How do we interact with it? How does it affect us, especially in relationships between individuals, between readers and texts, between artists, performances, and audiences? What occurs in our concepts of self, machine, and community as we become further involved in cyberconnections? What will come next?

360 The Built Environment (3-15:3-15:0). Examines, records, and interprets objects, structures, and landscapes that comprise our built environment. Draws on the fields of historical archaeology, architectural history, and urban geography, and employ photography, cartography, and evocative writing to represent the material world we inhabit. Builds on the study of one neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia, and expands to the whole metropolitan area.

361 Neighborhood, Community, and Identity (3-15: 3-15:0). Examines the processes of neighborhood formation and transformation in the context of urbanism, suburbanism, immigration, and transmigration. Students explore the history and meaning of neighborhoods in the Northern Virginia and Washington metropolitan area.

370 The Romantic Road: Literature and the Arts in the 19th-Century Germany (3-15:3-15:0). Examines romantic themes and genres, including fairy tales and myths; and nature, love, and exoticism in their historical context through the study of original musical compositions, art works, and literature. Required museum visits, concerts, and other cultural events will supplement class sessions.

380 Alternative Therapies in Health and Illness: New Age Meets Hippocrates (3-15:3-15:0). Students explore philosophical underpinnings and bio/psycho/social/spiritual rationale for use of alternative therapies in health and illness. The reflection of health care practices in literature is integrated into the course. A variety of alternative health therapies are explored, with opportunities for experiential learning with an alternative health care practitioner.

381 When Cultural Worlds Collide (3-15:3-15:0). Participants in the learning community explore what happens when "civilization" encounters "the jungle" by reading, writing, discussing, and viewing written and filmed works dealing with contacts between cultures with colliding world views. Literature (from Conrad's The Heart of Darkness to Shakespeare's The Tempest to Burrough's Tarzan), news articles, radio broadcasts, WWW home pages, art exhibits, and many film and video presentations provide the basis for in- and out- of-class activities.

410 Contemporary Health Issues (3-15:3-15:0). Looks at a variety of health and health care issues. It examines several of the major health concerns of women and, to a lesser degree, men. Also explores the biology and medical implications of these diseases and how our society deals with potential life-altering information. Examines who is making the decisions on the allocation of research funds and prevention of diseases.

420 Skills for the Workplace (3-15:3-15:0). Students further develop a variety of work-readiness skills needed to become successful in both local and global marketplaces. Topics and skills covered include communication, problem solving in the business setting, workplace ethics, listening skills, how to influence others, building team project rapport, and meeting effectiveness skills.

430 Historical Cemeteries (3-15:3-15:0). Explores monuments and historical sites. Students learn to survey, record, and analyze historical data.

441 AIDS: Impact on Society (variable 3-15:3-15:0). Designed to give the student an in-depth understanding of the medical, legal, and psycho-social factors surrounding HIV disease. This course provides the students with a conceptual framework of current issues so they will be better prepared to deal with the emerging challenges posed by AIDS. Students have the option to take this course for five credits and work with the Center for Service-Learning to develop an internship or experiential learning project, which involves the impact of AIDS in our society.

Division III Courses

Specialization. Designed by student and faculty mentor. Students will have the flexibility to major in interdisciplinary studies or design their own major (B.A. or B.S.) with a specialization in a traditional discipline. Extensive use of courses in other departments, independent study, internships, co-ops, service learning, study abroad, and mentored research are all components of this degree. faculty advisers help each student choose the best path to fulfill career objectives.

165, 265, 365, 465 Independent Study (1-12:1-12:1-12).Prerequisite: Permission of instructor and dean. Individualized section form required. Study of a topic not otherwise available to the student. May involve any combination of reading assignments, tutorials, lectures, papers, presentations, or field/laboratory study (determined in consultation with the instructor). Students are also encourged to work as a team on a particular topic. A maximum of 12 credits can be used to fulfill graduation requirements.

190, 290, 390, 490 Internship (1-18:1-18:0).Prerequisite: Sophomore standing and permission of instructor. Internship credit may be applied toward 12 credits required in experiential learning. An internship is a structured and supervised professional experience, within an approved agency, for which the student earns academic credit. The primary purpose of an internship is to connect the student's academic course work to experiences and challenges outside the university classroom. The faculty also expects that students will enhance their competencies and skills and explore career options.

195, 295, 395, 495 Experiential Learning (1-18:1-18:0).Prerequisite: A minimum of 12 credits of experiential learning (including internships) are required for the B.A./B.S. in Integrative Studies with a maximum of 24 credits used toward fulfilling graduation requirements. All students enrolled in the B.A. or B.S. program are required to participate in the equivalent of at least 12 hours of course work devoted to experiential learning. This aspect of the curriculum reflects the commitment to provide opportunities for reflective practice that prepares graduates for the workplace and active responsible citizenship. Experiential learning sites may change each semester to include study abroad programs, internships, and community service learning opportunities.

225 Dean's Honors Book Review (1:1:0).Prerequisite: Open to New Century College students who were admitted with a GPA of 3.300 or better. Considers the ways in which specific works--for example, books, dramas, works of art--have influenced the intellectual climate of their times and beyond.

325 Dean's Honors Book Review (1:1:0). Open to New Century College students who have had a previous semester GPA of 3.300 or better and have at least 30 college credits. Focuses on classical philosophers and artists and the impact of their works for contemporary times.