Interdisciplinary Minors
Listed below are the interdisciplinary minors offered by the university, along with
the specific requirements for each.
African American Studies
Faculty
Carton, Clark, Dennis, Diner, Fuchs, Horton, Levine, McFerson, Miller, Mobley, Morris,
Paden, Smith, Smith-Burmiss, Stewart (Coordinator), Travis, Warner, Wilkins, Williams
Course Work
The African American studies program offers all course work designated AFAM in the
Course Descriptions section of this catalog.
Requirements
African American studies is an interdisciplinary field of study that examines the
cultural, historical, economic, and political dimensions and experiences of people
of African descent in America, the Caribbean, Africa, and around the world. It introduces
students to methodologies for examining the complex dynamics of race, class, gender,
and ethnicity in America, and it enables them to develop critical and analytical
approaches to address contemporary issues in African American life and culture.
The interdisciplinary minor in African American studies requires a minimum of 21
credits of related course work, which includes 12 required credits and 9 elective
credits from various disciplines in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Required Courses
- AFAM 200 Introduction to African American Studies
- ENGL 370 or 371 Foundations of African American Literature or African American
Literature of the 20th Century
- HIST 335 or 336 The African American Experience in the United States: African
Background to 1885 or Reconstruction to the Present
- AFAM 499 Senior Seminar in African Studies
Elective Courses
- AFAM 490 Internship in AFAM
- ANTH 308 People and Cultures of Africa
- ARTH 380 History of African Art
- ENGL 360 Foundations of African American Literature
- ENGL 414 The Harlem Renaissance
- ENGL 439 African Women Writers
- ENGL 478 Toni Morrison in Context
- FREN 451 Writers of French-Speaking Africa and the Caribbean
- GEOG 325 Geography of North Africa and the Middle East
- HIST 130 Modern Global Systems
- HIST 261 Survey of African Civilization
- HIST 262 Africa Since 1800: Legacies of Colonialism and Liberation
- HIST 335 The Afro-American Experience in the United States: African Background
to 1885
- HIST 340 History of American Racial Thought
- HIST 390 History of the Civil Rights Movement
- HIST 418 Ethnic Groups in American Cities
- HIST 466 Origins of Conflict in Southern Africa
- SOCI 413 Seminar in Social Issues: Afro-American Social Thought
- SOCI 517 Racial and Ethnic Relations: American and Selected Global Perspectives
- UNIV 190 Echoes of Slavery
- UNIV 290 The Quest for Racial Justice
Other courses as approved by the coordinator of the interdisciplinary minor in
African American studies.
Ancient Mediterranean Art and Archeaology
Faculty
Butler (Coordinator), Lytton, Mattusch, Winkler
Course Work
The interdisciplinary minor in ancient Mediterranean art and archaeology is designed
for students whose interests in the ancient world include aspects of archaeology,
Greek and Roman literature, the ancient Near East, the history of art, philosophy,
myth and religion, and the late antique civilizations of Byzantium and early Islam.
The program represents the sort of foundation work crucial to graduate study in traditional
departments of classical, Near Eastern, or Mediterranean art and archaeology. Through
this minor, students are given credit for acquiring practical linguistic skills and
archaeological field experience as well as scholarly background. Students should
consult with the coordinator in designing a program.
Requirements
A minimum of 18 interdisciplinary credits is required.
- 1. Preparatory work. At least three credits of
Greek, Latin, or a modern research language in addition to the basic George Mason
University required two-year sequence; Or
lower-level course work in myth (ARTH 102 or CLAS 250).
- Upper-level work
Six to nine credits of electives from ARTH 319, 320, 321, 322, 333, 399 (with
approval); HIST 301, 302, 480; CLAS 301, 302, 310, 390; PHIL 301; ANTH 320, 325,
375, 420, 430; other courses pertaining to the region and period, with approval.
At least three credits should be in ARTH.
Three credits of seminar: ARTH 420 Advanced Studies in Ancient Art or ARTH 430
Advanced Studies in Medieval Art, if appropriate.
Three to six credits of practicum: museum course (ARTH 394 or similar) and/or
museum internship or excavation for credit.
Arts Administration
Faculty
Mandes (Coordinator)
Requirements
The interdisciplinary minor in arts administration consists of 18 credits, including
ARIN 350 (3 credits) and ARIN 489 (3 to 6 credits). All other credits are to be selected
from courses in business administration, public affairs, communication, or other
areas in conjunction with the approval of a program advisor, who must approve the
total program. The minor is open to all Institute of the Arts majors as well as art
history or music majors. All other students must complete nine credits of arts-related
courses to be eligible for this minor. See the director of academic affairs of the
Institute of the Arts for more information.
Contemporary Europe
Faculty
Brunette, Crampton, Deshmukh, Dinan (Coordinator), Jensen, Katz, Levine, Orens, Verheyen,
Wade
Requirements
The interdisciplinary minor in contemporary Europe requires a minimum of 18 credits:
6 credits of required courses and 12 credits of electives (at least 3 credits from
Elective List I or Elective List II). Prerequisites for each course are listed in
parentheses. Relevant special topics courses, seminars, independent study, internships,
and study abroad courses may be also be taken for elective credits, with permission
of the contemporary Europe coordinator.
Required Courses
- GOVT 334 Government and Politics of Europe
- (GOVT 103 and 104 or permission of instructor)
- HIST 309 Contemporary Europe
- (Six credits of HIST or permission of instructor)
Elective List I: History and Politics
- GERM 302 Germany Today
- (Six credits of GERM or permission of instructor)
- GOVT 338 Government and Politics of the Former USSR
- (GOVT 132 and 133 or permission of instructor)
- GOVT 445 Soviet/Russian Foreign Policy
- (GOVT 132 and 133 or permission of instructor)
- GOVT 490 The European Union
- (GOVT 103 and 104, or six credits of HIST, or permission of instructor)
- HIST 314 History of Germany
- (Six credits of HIST or permission of instructor)
- HIST 322 Modern Britain
- (Six credits of HIST or permission of instructor)
- HIST 329 Modern Russia and the Soviet Union
- (Six credits of HIST or permission of instructor)
- RUSS 354 Contemporary Post-Soviet Life
- (Six credits of RUSS or permission of instructor)
Elective List II: Philosophy, Literature, the Arts
- ARTH 362 20th-Century European Art
- (24 credits of ARTH)
- FREN 442 20th-Century Drama and Poetry
- (18 credits of FNAN or permission of instructor)
- GERM 451 Modern German Literature
- (15 credits of GERM or permission of instructor)
- HIST 436 European Society and Culture
- (6 credits of HIST or permission of instructor)
- PHIL 336 Contemporary Continental Thought
- (3 credits of PHIL or permission of instructor)
- SPAN 484 Literature of Spain
- (SPAN 311 or permission of instructor)
Film and Media Study
Faculty
Brunette (Co-Coordinator), Burton, Christensen, Foreman, Fuchs (Co-Coordinator),
Lont, O'Brien, Ricouart, P. Smith, Winkler
We are inundated on a daily basis with mass culture, especially
as it is purveyed through the media. The effects of this inundation are enormous
and often unconscious, and the Film and Media Studies program aims to develop in
students a more informed awareness of this culture's representations, as well as
its ideological tendencies, its relation to traditional "high" culture,
and its inevitable effects on social interactions.
The program's basic components are offered through the Communication, English,
and Music Departments, with other courses available through the Department of Modern
and Classical Languages. This 18-credit interdisciplinary minor is designed to introduce
and explore mass culture in its visual manifestations. The program offers students
the tools with which to read a variety of texts, including film, television, video,
news media, and architecture.
The program offers diverse perspectives on mass media in the belief that such
juxtapositions are more productive than any single approach. Committed to interdisciplinary
studies, the program addresses the increasing complexity and multiplicity of visual
cultures.
Requirements
A minimum of 18 credits of related course work is required, taken from two groups
as follows:
Group One--Required Courses
Two introductory courses (six credits) are required. They provide an introduction
to the languages of film and popular media and to modes of analysis appropriate to
each. These courses are prerequisites for all advanced work in the minor.
- ENGL 332 Introduction to Film
- COMM 380 Media Criticism
Group Two--Elective Courses
After completing the two required courses, students select four additional courses
(12 credits) from those listed below. These courses are designed to introduce students
to a more specialized level of study. Students may decide to focus on film, or may
decide to emphasize the study of mass culture. Or, they may choose some mixture of
the courses that suits their own interests.
Communication majors must choose at least six credits outside of communication courses
for their electives for the minor.
- COMM 302 Foundations of Mass Communication
- COMM 350 Mass Communication and Public Policy
- COMM 355 Video I: Principles and Practices
- COMM 358 Video II: Editing and Directing
- COMM 363 Video II: Intermediate Production
- COMM 365 Women and Media
- COMM 456 Comparative Mass Media
- COMM 502 Theories of Mass Communication
- COMM 555 Theories of Visual Communication
- ENGL 327 Intro to Cultural Studies (This course may only be taken with approval
of the director, who will review the course to determine relevance to the program.)
- ENGL 334 Literary Approaches to Popular Culture (This course may only be taken
with approval of the director, who will review the course to determine relevance
to the program.)
- ENGL 421 Film History (may be repeated if the topic is different) Sample topics
are Italian Film, Films of the Fifties, and French Film.
- ENGL 422 Film Theory (may be repeated if the topic is different) Sample topics
are Reading Television, and Hitchcock and Film Theory.
- ENGL 490 Special Topics in Film (umbrella course) (may be repeated if the topic
is different) Sample topics are The Horror Film, Queer Film and Theory, and African
- American Film.
- ENGL 493 Special Topics in Popular Culture
- ENGL 499 Independent Study
- ENGL 499 Internship (requires approval of coordinator)
- MUSI 301 Music in the Motion Pictures
- RUSS 470 Topics in (Post) Soviet Cinema
For further information, contact Peter Brunette, Department of English, Robinson
Hall, Room A465, (703) 993-1190, or Cindy Fuchs, Department of English, Robinson
Hall, Room A458, (703) 993-2768.
Folklore and Mythology
Faculty
Burns, ffolliott, Fuchs, Gras, Kendall, Mattusch (Co-Coordinator), Owens, Rutledge,
Shiner, Todd, Winkler, Yocom (Co-Coordinator)
Stories told in both sacred and secular contexts, along with festivals, foods, music,
material objects, and other traditional art forms, continue to influence our lives.
This program offers students the tools with which to explore the compelling meanings
within these seemingly simple, everyday cultural texts and to become more aware of
the ways these texts are used by individuals and institutions for a variety of goals.
Committed to interdisciplinary study, this program asks students to study folklore
and mythology by juxtaposing the multiple viewpoints available from anthropology,
art history, classical studies, literary studies, and religious studies.
Requirements
A minimum of 18 credits of related course work is required, taken from three groups
of courses.
For more information, contact Margaret Yocom, Department of English, Robinson Hall,
Room A439, (703) 993-1172, or Carol Mattusch, Department of History and Art History,
Robinson Hall, Room B355, (703) 993-1017.
Global Systems
Faculty
Clark (Coordinator)
Requirements
The interdisciplinary minor in global systems consists of 18 credits of nonregion-specific
courses that deal with global connections or transactions. It is ideal for majors
in business disciplines, economics, modern and classical languages, geography, government
and international politics, history, and other disciplines taking a global view of
the world. The minor requires GOVT 149, Global Awareness, and 15 credits drawn from
at least two of the following fields. At least nine credits must be at the 300 level
or above.
Field A: Government and Geography
- GEOG 101 Major World Regions
- GEOG 301 Political Geography
- GEOG 303 Conservation of Resources and Environment
- GEOG 304 Geography of Population
- GEOG 305 Economic Geography
- GOVT 132 Introduction to International Politics
- GOVT 244 America in the Global System
- GOVT 348 Competencies for the Global Arena
- GOVT 349 Issues in the Analysis of Global Systems
- GOVT 444 Issues in International Studies
Field B: Economics, Anthropology, Marketing, History,
and Program on Social and Organizational Learning
- ANTH 375 Anthropological Perspectives on History
- ECON 360 Economics of Developing Areas
- ECON 390 International Economics
- HIST 130 History of the Modern Global System
- HIST 387 Topics in Global History
- LRNG 572 Taming the Electronic Frontier
- MKTG 407 International Business
Field C: Environmental Science, Nursing, Physics, Systems
Engineering, Urban and Suburban Studies
- BIOL 377 Applied Ecology
- EVSC 206 Environmental Science II
- NURS/HSCI 543 Global Health: Trends and Policy
- PHYS 201 Energy and Environment
- SYST 201 Systems Modeling I
- USE 300 Urban Systems Planning and Management I
- USST 301 Urban Growth in a Shrinking World
Field D: Communication and Foreign Languages
(*courses taught in a language other than English)
- COMM 305 Foundations of Intercultural Communication
- COMM 456 Comparative Mass Media
- COMM 556 Global Communication
- FREN 376 French Civilization*
- FREN 580 Contemporary French Society and Culture*
- GERM 580 Contemporary Germany*
- SPAN 461 Spanish Civilization and Culture*
- SPAN 466 Latin American Civilization and Culture*
- SPAN 580 Contemporary Hispanic Institutions*
Other courses such as UNIV or special topics courses may also fulfill the requirements
of this program, with the written permission of the program coordinator. Permission
must be obtained before registration in the course.
For more information, contact the coordinator at the Department of Public and
International Affairs, Robinson Hall, Room A201, (703) 993-1400.
Interdisciplinary Arts
Faculty
Bailey, B
Requirements
The interdisciplinary minor in interdisciplinary arts consists of any 15 credits
of courses with the ARIN designation.
Linguistics
Faculty
Broome, Chamberlain
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Language is
studied in a variety of ways: descriptively, theoretically, computationally, psychologically,
as a social phenomenon, and so on. The field of linguistics thus informs and is informed
by many other areas of study including philosophy, psychology, sociology, computer
science, the study of individual languages and literatures, literary studies, and
education.
The interdisciplinary minor in linguistics may be combined with a major in one
of the areas listed above or in any other field. This minor introduces the student,
through the required courses, to the fundamental concepts of modern linguistic theory
and allows the student to explore, in the electives, how these concepts relate to
various other disciplines.
Requirements
- Three credits in general linguistics
- Three credits from syntactic theory, phonological theory, or linguistic semantics
- Nine credits of electives, chosen in consultation with an advisor in the linguistics
minor. A list of approved electives is available from the coordinator.
Urban and Suburban Studies
Faculty
Clap
Course Work
The Urban and Suburban Studies program offers all course work designated USST in
the Course Descriptions section of this catalog.
Requirements
The interdisciplinary minor in urban and suburban studies requires a minimum of 18
credits of related course work from the list below.
Approved Courses
(Students should consult the Course Descriptions section in this catalog for course
prerequisites.)
- College of Arts and Sciences: USST 301, 390, 401, 490
- Department of Economics: ECON 350
- Department of Geography and Earth Science: GEOG 306, 357, 406
- Department of History and Art History: HIST 416, 417, 418; ARTH 311, 315
- Department of Public and International Affairs: GOVT 309, 357, 365
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology: SOCI 332, 373
- School of Management: BULE 304, FNAN 351
- School of Information Technology and Engineering: USE 300, 400
In addition, departmental directed-reading courses may be approved for USST credit
at the discretion of the USST Coordinating Committee.
For more information, contact Toni Travis, coordinator of Urban and Suburban Studies,
Department of Public and International Affairs.
Women's Studies
Faculty
Bateson, Bergoffen, Borden, Brown, Burr, J. T. Censer, Cherubin, Choi, Christenson, Cohen, Copelman, Cordero, Eby,Erdwins, ffolliott, Francescato, Fuchs,Gilbert, Hanrahan, Hodges, Horton, Irvine, Irving, Kaplan, Kolker, Lont, Mcfarlane, Melosh, Mobley, Moylan, Oates, O'Brien, Rabin, Rader, Ricouart, Rosenblum, Samuels, Seligman, Sypher, Taylor (Coordinator), Todd, Travis, Weitzman, Williams, D. Wood, J. Wood, Yocom, Zambrana
Course Work
The Women's Studies faculty offers all course work designated WMST in the Course
Descriptions section of this catalog.
Requirements
1. Nine credits in Women's Studies seminars: WMST 200, WMST 300, and WMST 330
2. Twelve credits selected from Women's Studies approved course offerings in other
departments. No more than six of these credits may be taken in any one department.
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