Dominican Curriculum

Media portrayals and propaganda both reflect and help shape social, political, and cultural attitudes. In this course, students will explore—through the lenses of a number of value systems and analysis of news, marketing, and entertainment media—how media influences public views, constructs collective memory, and shapes national identities. The course encourages students to critically evaluate how media portrayals—shaped by political, social, and economic factors—affect their understanding of truth, cultural frameworks, and beliefs. 

This course focuses on the fundamentals of effective written expression, with emphasis on the development of thesis-directed essays that make use of evidence and argumentation. Students will engage in text-based research and incorporate the work of other writers for the development of their own writing. The content of the class will vary but the readings will be chosen such that students gain some exposure to and opportunity to explore ethical dilemmas and pressing social issues. The lab will allow structured time for practicing the reading and writing techniques examined in the lecture section of the course. 

All students must earn a C- or higher in order to move on to Through Cultural Lenses. 

A student is subject to dismissal from the University if they fail three times to achieve the required minimum grade for DC 119 or DC 120.

This course focuses on the fundamentals of effective written expression, with emphasis on the development of thesis-directed essays that make use of evidence and argumentation. Students will engage in text-based research and incorporate the work of other writers for the development of their own writing. The content of the class will vary but the readings will be chosen such that students gain some exposure to and opportunity to explore ethical dilemmas and pressing social issues. 

All students must earn a C- or higher in order to move on to Through Cultural Lenses. 

A student is subject to dismissal from the University if they fail three times to achieve the required minimum grade for DC 120 or DC 119.

This course focuses on the development of life-long critical thinking and quantitative reasoning skills and is designed to provide students with the quantitative literacy skills required to use mathematics critically and logically. The course will develop problem solving and applications of mathematical thinking skills in the real world by exploring ways in which we engage in the world through numbers. 

Through Cultural Lenses is an interdisciplinary course that explores an object, idea, or concept from multiple perspectives and cultures to investigate its various meanings and to develop an awareness of those cultures. The course focuses on critical reading and writing and thus incorporates critical thinking and reading skills to analyze the meanings of the chosen theme. A special emphasis is on locating, reading, and using secondary sources as the course culminates in a research paper focusing on incorporation of appropriate sources and clear, concise writing. The course involves readings from a variety of disciplines from different historical periods and places around the world, including at least one literary text, through which the theme of the course is explored.

For transfer students only.

The Game of Baseball is approximately 180 years old. It has traveled all over the world and taken on many forms. The cultures that have adopted it have given different meaning to various aspects of the Game, through race and gender relations, financial structures and labor relations, art, literature, movies, music, and, of course, athletics. Students will create their final projects through their research of how the American, Japanese, and Cuban cultures shine through their unique approaches to the Game.

In addition to focusing on multiple cultures, this course is the second in the writing sequence and will emphasize reading, research, and writing skills.

Chess remains one of the most popular games of strategy ever invented where outcomes are determined solely by human decision and not by chance. Originating in early medieval India, the game eventually spread to the Middle East and then to Europe. While the appearance of the game changed, its basic nature remains unchanged. In this course, students will explore the human and cultural dimensions of the transformations of chess to include issues of gender, social class, politics, religion, military organization, and game theory.

In addition to focusing on multiple cultures, this course is the second in the writing sequence and will emphasize reading, research, and writing skills.

Dragons are universal in humanity’s imagination and have both psychological and biological relations to ourselves. Present in virtually every belief system, they are reflective of human conceptions such as greed, mortality, and the conscious/subconscious mind. This course investigates the concept and meanings of the dragon from multiple perspectives, exploring the physical, spiritual, and symbolic associations of the dragon throughout world history, culminating in a research paper that examines how dragons reflect the values and worldviews of different cultures.

In addition to focusing on multiple cultures, this course is the second in the writing sequence and will emphasize reading, research, and writing skills.

Broadway Theater has played a key role in shaping popular culture and personal identities. Through the chronological study of musicals/plays this course invites students to grapple with questions of race, gender, sexual orientation and identity as they think critically about these contemporary cultural perspectives. Students will learn about these historically changing perceptions while writing a series of reaction papers, ending with the culminating project involving a presentation of these culturally diverse issues across a selection of musicals/plays.

In addition to focusing on multiple cultures, this course is the second in the writing sequence and will emphasize reading, research, and writing skills.

From fashion to beauty to religious rites, hair plays a significant role in many lives. This course offers an interdisciplinary examination of hair and its many stories to tell. Students will focus on a critical reading of Entanglement: The Secret Lives of Hair by Emma Tarlo and write about that role in different cultures. Additional poems, essays, and articles will be examined. A research paper will be the major assignment in the course.

In addition to focusing on multiple cultures, this course is the second in the writing sequence and will emphasize reading, research, and writing skills.

The city embodies a culture’s hopes and dreams, and its stark realities, expressing in its layout the culture that built it. This course examines where cultures place houses of worship, financial institutions, schools, roads, downtowns, markets, cemeteries, etc. to understand what each culture sees in these long-term projects. In addition, students will identify a significant problem that their own “city” or community faces – one that will become the focus of a capstone project that will complete the Honors minor.

In addition to focusing on multiple cultures, this course is the second in the writing sequence and will emphasize reading, research, and writing skills.

Cosmos is a course based in the ancient time-period, but connecting to other times, that looks at the development of a coherent intellectual framework that allowed people to make sense of human existence and the context in which humans lived. The cosmological framework that is studied must be explored in terms of its development and principal components. While the temporal focus of the course the ‘ancient’ period, the course also draws explicit and extended connections between the ancient period and the modern world. 

For transfer students only.

While our gods have often been understood as artists sculpting human form, it is humans, in turn, who give shape to the divine. This course will explore humanistic and reason-centered aspects of ancient cultures as they inform and are expressed by art. By the end of the course, students consider idealized proportions and spatial relationships, expressing societal values of harmony and order, characterize ancient Greek religious and civic architecture and figural representation.

The primary discipline of this course is Art.

A study of the pre-Socratic intellectual revolution that contributed to the development of foundational ideas of modern scientific disciplines, such as biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. Topics covered include early ideas of cosmology, geometry, atoms, and medicine.

The primary discipline of this course is physical science.

This course focuses on the relation between mythic and rational explanations of the cosmos in the Classical period. Beginning with a study of creation myths, this course explores the emergence of rational enquiry into the cosmos, especially as seen in the works of Pre-Socratic philosophers, Plato, and Aristotle. Through a comparative examination of mythic and rational accounts, students will reflect on the diverse and yet intimately related modes in which humans make sense of the world around them. This course is writing focused.

The primary discipline of this course is Philosophy.

The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament emerged as an organic meaning-making framework within the context of Ancient Near Eastern cultures, both borrowing from them and diverging from their worldviews. This course explores that emergence and its relationship to the "big questions" and investigates the texts’ profound shaping of Western civilization through language, literature, art, legal principles, philosophical and theological discourse. Included in the study are examples of the impact of some of these texts and ideas on recent and contemporary cultures. This course is writing focused.

The primary discipline of this course is Religious Studies.

The course focuses on the emerging and development of the Christian Scriptures/New Testament within the Jewish, Roman, and Greek cultures and on the impact it had and still has on contemporary cultures. The primary texts are analyzed and discussed with particular attention to the development of the concept of justice and its implications for our world today. This course is writing focused.

The primary discipline of this course is Religious Studies.

Significant aspects of life get institutionalized, most notably in the religious, political, economic, and social realms. Institutions is a course that focuses on the creation and development of an institution at the core of the Western tradition. While the temporal focus must be in the ‘medieval’ period (i.e.; between the passing of the ancient world with the fall of Rome and the advent of the Enlightenment), the course also draws explicit and extended connections between the medieval period and the modern world. 

For transfer students only.

This course focuses on the creation and development of religious institutions at the core of the Western tradition through the lens of Art history, while also exploring cultural practices and belief systems that are important to understanding art and art making. The temporal focus is on the Medieval Period, focusing on the passing of the ancient world, the fall of the Western Roman Empire, a merging into the Renaissance, and the advent of the Age of Discovery.

The primary discipline of this course is Art.

The Medieval Era was a time in which various cultural and religious traditions entered into transformative dialogue. The Philosophical discussions that spanned the Medieval era laid the foundations for religious and philosophical institutions that continue to shape contemporary life. This course examines these millennium long discussions, with a focus on questions about God, human life, and the experience of suffering, though other topics (such as free will, the nature of knowledge, political life, faith and reason, and the soul) may also be included.

The primary discipline of this course is Philosophy.

Women have played an important role in medieval intellectual life that until the last two decades was largely overlooked. Although the canon has been slow to recognize the contributions of women writers, lately their voices have captivated the scholarly and non-scholarly world. This course examines the sacred and secular voices of medieval women, how they helped shape their world, and how their reemergence can be used to help shape ours. This course is writing focused.

The primary discipline of this course is English.

The Church as an institution profoundly shaped the Middle Ages, especially in Europe. This course investigates the emerging of the Church as an institution, its role in Medieval culture and society, and its conflicting relationship with Medieval Christian mystics. The theme of the course is two-pronged: the challenge of mystics to the institution of the Church and the enduring message of the mystics for today. The course aims at bridging the concepts developed by the mystics and their implications for contemporary life. This course is writing focused.

The primary discipline of this course is Religious Studies.

Revolutions is a course that focuses on a major aspect of the changes that occurred from the American and French revolutions to the end of the nineteenth century that fundamentally altered important dimensions of European life. These revolutions led to significant changes for essentially all human societies. The transformations can be political, philosophical, religious, cultural, social, scientific, or industrial, or in the interplay of these various realms. Students will learn about why the important transformations occurred and what their significance was, focusing both on whose situation worsened—and on the nature of the losses—and on whose improved and how. While the temporal focus is on the ‘revolutionary’ time-period itself, the course also draws explicit and extended connections to modern world. 

For transfer students only.

This course focuses on the fundamental transformations in the United States in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. This time in history revolutionized every aspect of life as the United States, and much of the world, made the transition into the modern period. The industrialization of America is a major force for dynamic changes. In this course, students explore a period in history when new technologies, ideologies, social developments, and cultural changes revolutionized society.

The primary discipline of this course is History.

Beginning in the sixteenth century the Western world experienced a rapid succession of revolutions over a 300-year period that radically transformed human knowledge and social organization and, in the process, ushered in our modern world. This course examines the interconnection of four great revolutionary movements from 1543 to 1848—the Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, Industrial Revolution, and Socio-Political Revolution—and explores how these movements collectively have fashioned the modern Western mind and way of life.

The primary discipline of this course is History.

This course focuses on world literature from the 18th and 19th centuries, with particular emphasis on the role of Enlightenment thought in the development of European literary forms. Beginning with the scientific revolution and the emergence of reason, equality, and independence as key cultural values, the course will trace the emergence of modern ideas of humanitarianism, tolerance, empiricism, and the social contract, as well as the failure of these same Enlightenment ideals visible in emergence of colonialism, slavery, and warfare. This course is writing focused.

The primary discipline of this course is English.

This course focuses on a fundamental transformation of political life in the modern era, namely, the shift to locating political authority in “the people.” Through careful reflection on the emergence of the concept of “the people,” students will gain an appreciation for the recognition of human autonomy involved in this transformation, as well as an understanding of the hierarchies it perpetuated or created and the fragility of democratic norms. Students will be asked to situate these ideas with respect to historical revolutions and contemporary political landscapes. This course is writing focused.

The primary discipline of this course is Philosophy.

Innovations is a course that focuses on an aspect of the rise of new technologies in the first half of the twentieth century, and the effects they have had on wars, the creation of the modern world of human affairs, how humans interrelate, or on the environment. While the temporal focus must be on the first half of the twentieth century, this course also draws explicit and extended connections between the time-period under study and the modern world. 

For transfer students only.

This course looks at the expansion of human capabilities as they play out in virtually all aspects of human existence. Since the growth of these connections is a mixed-bag of benefits and costs experienced differentially both within and between countries, these changes engender responses. Thus, for all of the dimensions of interconnection there is no simple linear path or a clear endpoint and, instead, there is a hard to predict series of phases that play out over time and that will continue indefinitely.

The primary discipline of this course is Sociology.

The development of global governance is an ever-changing and contentious matter. This course focuses on efforts to create a global governing system that began in the nineteenth century and that received a boost with the two world wars and the development of nuclear weapons, concerns about global warming, pandemics, population movements, and a host of other non-localized issues. Significant and numerous impediments to global governance will also be investigated.

The primary discipline of this course is Political Science.

This course explores various discoveries and movements within biotechnology throughout the early twentieth century, focusing on three major events: the discovery of genetic material (DNA), advances in microbiology (antibiotics, vaccinations, aseptic surgery, chemotherapies), and agricultural biotechnology (hybrid crop genetics, farm chemicals). In addition to these major events, the context in which they occurred, and how they were perceived at the time, the course will explore their modern-day implications and the reality that biotechnology, at times, can misalign with human welfare. 

The primary discipline of this course is Biology.

Motion pictures have become a pervasive medium of artistic and social expression—reflecting as well as determining our attitudes about military conflict, social values, gender identity, crime politics, economics, and religion (among many other concepts). Focusing on developments in the first half of the 20th century—from early motion pictures, through the advent of sound (and ultimately color and 3D)—this course explores cinema’s development and significant impacts, both positive and negative, on culture and society. This course is writing focused.

The primary discipline of this course is Film Studies.

Poet Ezra Pound defined modernism as a ‘world in fragments’ and ‘making it new’ in response to the technological innovations that created mass culture. Entertainment- radio, jazz, theater, phonographs, film and television-- played decisive roles in blending cultures and revealing the deep, wide differences based on race, gender, social class and political issues. Course readings across genres and ethnic/racial lines ca. 1910-1950 will be organized chronologically and thematically, blending literary texts and newspaper/radio/television commentary: from social fads to world-shaking events. This course is writing focused.

The primary discipline of this course is English.

This course serves as the culmination of the Information and Misinformation minor and the Dominican Curriculum. Based on what they have learned in the core courses of the minor, as well as their other coursework, students will develop tools and strategies for unraveling and addressing misinformation. The precise topic and focus of the capstone project will be left to individual students but must make use of multiple disciplinary lenses, including at least one value-focused lens. Among the things students will produce in this course are a carefully constructed and substantive research paper, an oral presentation of their project, and an e-portfolio. In producing these things, students “close the loop” by developing and evaluating concrete proposals for addressing issues at the heart of the dissemination of information and misinformation. 

DC 479 is the second course in the capstone sequence. In DC 479, students complete the honors project which was proposed in HO 399 while working under the direct supervision of a faculty mentor. The student produces a professional project that represents a significant contribution to a field of study and will demonstrate mastery of the material by presenting the project clearly and completely in both written and oral forms.

A one semester introduction to the basic principles of environmental science. We will examine environmental issues affecting our world today and what impact our past has had on the present situation. We will understand and define terminology used in the field; be able to summarize environmental processes at the global, regional and landscape levels; and be able to explain the basic chemistry and biology behind environmental issues. 

A minimum grade of C is required for Environmental Studies majors.

This interdisciplinary course explores the complex intersections of gender and justice. By drawing on various disciplines such as literature, history, philosophy, art, and cultural studies, students will gain a deepened understanding of how gender has been constructed, represented, and experienced. Students will examine ways in which societal norms, power structures, and historical contexts shape gender identities, roles, and experiences. The course will foster an understanding of various forms of injustice related to gender and explore potential avenues for positive change. 

This course investigates social identities such as race, ethnicity, gender, class, and ability from a philosophical perspective. Through the study of ethical and political theories, the course examines a range of questions about these identities—e.g., questions about how identities are constructed, how they are bound up with a range of social, political, and economic inequalities, and what we can and should do to address these inequalities. 

Open to Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors only.

The study of the ethical theories and principles related to bio-medical practices and problems arising from practices such as human experimentation, abortion, fetal research, involuntary commitment, suicide, euthanasia, genetics and human reproduction, and other similar topics. 

Open to Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors only.

Study of selected social problems including issues of living in an urban society; poverty, violence, racism, and sexism within the context of their historical development and with consideration of the value issues involved. 

Students may have the opportunity to perform community service learning.

This course examines gender as a dynamic and socially constructed concept across diverse cultural, political, and economic contexts. Students will explore gender roles, expectations, and rights through varied values frameworks, including utilitarianism, egalitarianism, and feminism. By analyzing traditional and evolving perspectives, students will evaluate how cultural norms, social institutions, and global forces shape gender identities, roles, expectations, and rights. The course equips students with the tools to engage thoughtfully with gender issues in an interconnected world.