| Course | Number | Instructor | Course Description | |
| Introduction to Human Development | HD1130 / PSYCH 1131 | Adam Hoffman | Introduction to Human Development provides a broad and foundational overview of field of human development, starting from conception and ending through process of death and dying. The course will start with an outline and explanation of the lifespan perspective in human development. The biological beginnings of life and prenatal development will serve as the start of the discussion of human development, followed by an exploration of physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development at each subsequent stage within the lifespan (e.g., infancy, early childhood, middle & late childhood, etc.). Discussion of each developmental stage will highlight major research findings and their real-world application. | |
| Introduction to Community Psychology | HD 240/ PSCYH 2400 | Misha Inniss-Thompson | What counts as a community? How do communities shape who we are? How can we engage in action to transform the communities we are a part of? These questions guide our inquiry in this introductory community psychology course. Communitypsychology is a field examining the interrelationship between individual wellbeing and the multiple social structures and contexts with which individuals interact. Communitypsychologists are united by a shared commitment to understanding individuals using a multidisciplinary perspective, including developmental psychology, education, and sociology. Beyond seeking to understand, community psychologists also emphasize values, applied and participatory research, and action to promote the wellbeing of entire communities from a strengths-based perspective. This lecture-based course will provide an overview of theory, research, and action in community psychology. We will focus on: (a) essential theories pertaining to community psychology, (b) methodological strategies for studying alongside communities, and (c) practical applications related to understanding social and environmental contexts as essential components of the human experience. Throughout the course, we will discuss the role of communities in shaping our understandings of diversity, equity, and social justice. | |
| Developmental Cognitive Science | HD 3210 | Marlen Gonzalez | As it is with much of scientific discovery, a poet, William Wordsworth, best explained development with a simple phrase: The Child is father of the Man (person). In this course, we explore how our adult selves come to be through the lens of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. You will learn about current perspectives and controversies, the latest understanding of the development of multiple physiological systems (e.g., vision, perception, language, etc.) as interactions between molecular mechanisms, experience, and neural plasticity. Weekly short reaction papers, class exercises, and midterm and final projects, will all be geared towards developing a personal appreciation for the subject as well as an understanding of the issues in developmental cognitive neuroscience as a field. | |
| Native American Psychology | HD/PSYCH 4210 | Adam Hoffman | What have we learned about the psychology of Native Americans and what questions are needing answers? In Native American Psychology, we will investigate these questions. This course will provide an overview of the psychology of Native Americans; accounting for current theories and research on the experiences, behavior, and identities of Native Americans. The course will offer students an immersive, in-depth experience of the topics and themes that scholars are investigating in Native American Psychology. The course will start with an outline and discussion of the major theories of Native American psychology, as well as, prominent scholars who have contributed to Native American psychology. Discussions will then examine the psychological experiences of Native Americans across an array of content areas of psychology and contexts in the world. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of Native American experiences, the course will examine these experiences with an intersectional lens, examining these experiences with issues of gender, sexual orientation, ability, age, and social class in mind. | |
| Site-Specific Preparation for Engaged Learning in Global and Public Health Sciences | NS 2061 | Angela Odoms Young | This course provides pre-engagement preparation tailored to the research project or site where students will complete the experiential learning required for the GPHS major. Students will meet with the faculty member in charge, at a time and place to be arranged. | |
| Nutrition, Health, and Society ; Site-Specific Preparation for Engaged Learning in Global and Public Health Sciences | NS 1150 | Roger Figueroa | Introduction to Human Nutrition, Health, and Society provides fundamental knowledge for majors and non-majors in nutrition. The role of nutrition in health promotion and disease prevention is introduced from biological, social, and structural perspectives. | |
| Politics of Public Policy in the U.S. | AMST 3033 | Jamila Michener | Public policies are political outcomes determined by processes that are complex, convoluted and often controversial. The aim of this course is to equip students with the conceptual tools necessary to understand these processes. We will begin with a review of popular approaches to studying policy and then move on to explore the various stages of policy development: agenda-setting, policy design, policy implementation, policy feedback and policy change. We will consider the roles played by both institutions (congress, the bureaucracy and interests groups) and everyday people. Finally, we will closely study several specific policy arenas (a few likely candidates include: education policy, health policy, social welfare policy and housing policy). As we engage all of these ideas, students will be consistently challenged to grapple with the paradoxes of policy making in a democratic polity and to envision pathways for substantive political change. | |
| Race, Racism, and Public Policy | PUBPOL 2370 | Sade Lindsay | Public policy is a fundamental mechanism for addressing the most vexing and important social problems of our time. Racial inequality and structural racism are chief among such problems. Policy is thus widely understood and frequently touted as a means for redressing the harms of racism. Yet, public policy has also been identified as a channel through which racism flows. These seemingly paradoxical understandings of the relationships between racism and public policy raise critical questions about equality, democracy, the economy, and politics. This course examines such questions. questions. We begin by theoretically grounding key concepts such as “race” “racism” and “public policy.” We then consider the historical record, highlighting the fundamental role of racism in shaping politics and policy. Next, we build on these conceptual and historical foundations through thematic investigation of core policy elements (e.g., policy design, policy implementation, policy feedback), key policy institutions (e.g., legislatures, parties) and significant policy actors (e.g., social movement organizations, interest groups). Finally, the class wraps up with a series of policy “deep dives” involving close examination of specific policy domains (e.g., housing, health, the enviornment). This course provides students with the knowledge and analytical tools necessary to better understand the realities and complexities of race, racism, and public policy in the United States. | |
| Quantitative Research Methods | COMM 6820 | Neil Lewis, Jr. | Analyzes methods of communication research based on a social science foundation. Goals are to understand processes and rationales for qualitative, textual, survey, and experimental methods. Students gain experience with some of these methods through modest individual or group research projects and critiques of selected contemporary communication studies. | |
| Communication and Technology | COMM 2450/ INFO 2450 | J. Nathan Mattias | Introduces students to the Communication and Information Technologies focus area of the communication department and the Human Systems track for information science. It examines several approaches to understanding technology and its role in human behavior and society. Topics include psychological aspects of computer-mediated communication; how design plays a role in the way we interface with technology and collaborate with each other; and the ways in which communication technology is situated inside social and institutional structures and cultural formations. | |
| Vamos Pa’l Norte: U.S. Migration and Communication | COMM 3250 | Monica Cornejo | Migrants are a heterogeneous group of people (the term “migrants” is used to encompass different immigrant communities). The reasons for relocating to the United States, or another country, the conditions under which they relocate, whether they are authorized to remain in a country, their cultural backgrounds, their ethnic/racial identities, their education level, their gender identity and sexual orientation, and their socio-economic status are merely a few factors that contribute to immigrants’ diverse experiences. Thus, this course will introduce us to different frameworks, research, and practices that can help us understand the important role of communication in different, U.S., migration experiences. On the one hand, communication can help mitigate some of the social and structural barriers that migrants face in the United States and elsewhere. On the other hand, communication can also exacerbate or lead to educational, economic, and health inequities among migrants. We will consider both ways in which communication can function for migrant communities. Overall, migration: (1) is a diverse area of research that can incorporate intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, organizational, institutional, cultural, and policy levels of analysis; (2) is studied using a wide range of methodologies; and (3) is affected by a variety of communication channels. The readings and content of this course primarily focus on the experiences of Latina/o/x immigrant communities in the U.S. | |
| Design for Change: Imagining Decolonial Futures | DEA 4025 | Renata Leitao | This course explores the role of design in reshaping the world towards social justice and sustainability. Designing for change requires creating different cultural patterns and worldviews — examining taken-for-granted assumptions, narratives, and myths of the hegemonic cultural model (known as Modernity) that limit our capacity to imagine the world differently. As the world is enmeshed in colossal interconnected crises, it seems that imagination has been funneled to two avenues: techno-solutions to the symptoms of the crises and dystopic futures. This course explores two main ideas: a) alternatives are possible, b) the area of design for change would benefit from exchanges with different cultures and knowledge systems. Designing decolonial futures is about weaving together knowledge from multiple cultures, thus recognizing and creating alternatives based on different ways of understanding the world. | |
| Fashion Product Management | FSAD 2310 | Jaleesa Reed | This course is an overview of the fashion supply chain with emphasis on the U.S. apparel industry. Students will learn key concepts for managing the development, marketing, and distribution of fashion products including consumer behavior, trend forecasting, brand management, merchandise planning, and multi-channel distribution. |
