The General Education Curriculum
In keeping with the University’s educational mission, the General Education
Curriculum emphasizes the values of what historically has been known as a liberal
education – namely, learning to read, write and think critically and acquiring a
basic understanding of human society in all its dimensions. These courses provide
a solid and broad education that will equip students to compete and adapt to the
rapidly changing contemporary world and complement more focused study in the
major. Undergraduate students who enter the University in the 2009-2010 academic
year will complete 41 term hours of academic coursework that will include a twocredit
Wellness Program. The five components of the GEC are listed below. Rather
than a checklist of requirements, they should be viewed as individual parts of the
larger project of becoming a broadly educated person. Please take time to consider
how each of these components contributes to that objective.
Summary of General Education Requirements
For exemptions and exceptions to General Education requirements, see
page 79 of the catalog.
Fundamentals (12 term hours)
Fundamentals courses assure that students read and write critically, possess basic
mathematical skills, and are familiar with information technology and its place in
contemporary society. In today’s rapidly changing world, a university education must
provide students with the tools to embark on a lifetime of learning. In addition, such
skills are essential for a successful college experience. Therefore, with the exception
of students who begin their Written English Program with ENGL 1302 (see below),
the 12 required term hours in Fundamentals should ideally be completed within the
first year. (See
page 41 of the catalog, regarding Academic Probation and Suspension)
Written English (Six term hours)
Students must successfully complete a two- or three-course sequence in Written
English. Most students will satisfy this requirement by taking ENGL 1301 (Introduction
to College Writing) in the fall, and ENGL 1302 (First-Year Seminar in
Rhetoric: Contemporary Issues) in the spring; students scoring a 4 on the Advanced
Placement Test will place out of 1301; those students scoring a 5 on the Advanced
Placement Test will place out of 1301 and 1302. In either case, the first-year writing
seminars allow students to work closely with faculty in small classes focusing on
topics of mutual interest. All seminars share the goal of assisting first-year students
in the development of skills in critical reading and expository writing. Students
must be enrolled in each term and may not drop an appropriate writing course until
completing the Written English requirement. A minimum grade of C- is required
to pass each course.
The following guidelines govern the placement of students in Written English
courses:
- If the VSAT score is 470 or below, students will be required to take ENGL
1300 before enrolling in ENGL 1301 and 1302.
- If the VSAT score is above 470, students are required to take ENGL 1301 and
1302 in the fall and spring of their first year.
Students participating in the University Honors Program satisfy their Written
English requirements with ENGL 2305 and 2306 in the fall and spring of their
first year. The list of English courses available per term can be accessed at
www.smu.edu/registrar/.
Mathematical Sciences (Three term hours)
One of the following courses is required to ensure that students possess the
necessary skills in mathematics and quantitative reasoning. The list of mathematics
courses offered per term can be accessed at www.smu.edu/registrar/. For class
descriptions, see the Mathematics or Statistical Science sections of this catalog.
| MATH 1307 |
Introduction to Mathematical Sciences |
| MATH 1309 |
Introduction to Calculus for Business and Social Science |
| MATH 1337 |
Calculus with Analytic Geometry I |
| STAT 1301 |
Introduction to Statistics |
Information Technology (Three term hours)
Any course from this category will introduce students to emerging informational
technologies and familiarize them with the design and operation of personal computers
and networked systems, the fundamentals of computer programming, and the
use of important software applications. Each of these courses must also include
components on the impact of computers on society, and on ethics and information.
The list of IT courses offered per term can be accessed at
www.smu.edu/registrar/
socl/GEC.asp. For class descriptions, see the
Engineering section of this catalog.
| CSE 1340 |
Introduction to Computing Concepts |
| CSE 1341 |
Principles of Computer Science I (typically attracts majors) |
| EMIS 1305 |
Computers and Information Technology |
| EMIS 1307 |
Information Technology in Business |
| ITOM 2308
|
Information Systems for Management (available to pre-Business and Business majors only) |
| ME 1305
|
Information Technology and Society |
| MSA 1315
|
Mass Media and Technology |
Wellness – CHOICES for Living (Two term hours)
Associate Professor Peter Gifford, Chair
Associate Professors: Peter Gifford, Bryan Robbins, Lynn Romejko Jacobs;
Wellness Lecturers: Birdie Barr, David Bertrand, Piotr Chelstowski, Christin Carter, Mike Dunst,
Brian Fennig, Ted Gellert, Donna Gober, Mandy Golman, Gloria Hook, Rhonda Trietsch,
Anne Weil, Arthur Zwolski.
This requirement recognizes that education should also serve to enhance the
physical and mental well-being of students at SMU. The Department of Wellness
aims to provide leadership and facilities for helping students become more aware
of the comprehensive nature of wellness; to identify personal relationships with
wellness; to provide techniques to help students respond positively to any imbalances
in their lifestyle; to familiarize students with campus wellness facilities,
equipment and services; to promote a lifetime of physical fitness; to promote the
learning of a lifetime physical activity; and to provide opportunities and promote
action in a variety of wellness areas. Each student must complete a CHOICES I and CHOICES II class as part of the General Education Curriculum. The list of
Wellness courses offered per term can be accessed at
www.smu.edu/registrar/.
CHOICES I Classes
Designed to be taken during a student’s first year, CHOICES I classes (WELL
1101) are part of the General Education Curriculum and, therefore, are required
for graduation. The class is called Concepts of Wellness, and students are introduced
to a broad range of personal experiences with the seven elements of wellness (social,
physical, environmental, occupational, intellectual, emotional and spiritual), which
the CHOICES for Living program addresses. Interaction occurs in a relaxed, small
group environment that features a series of lectures, discussions, personal assessments
and other action-oriented activities. Registrants are also expected to complete
approximately seven hours of out-of-class experiences under the guidance of their
instructor.
WELL 1101 CHOICES I: Concepts of Wellness
CHOICES II Classes
Designed to be taken during a student’s second year, successful completion of
a CHOICES II class is a requirement for graduation. A variety of physical activity
offerings are made available each semester. Students are guided in a fun, nurturing
environment through the skills, rules and competition of a given activity with the
primary objective to increase the likelihood of participating in the activity for a
lifetime. A special fee is charged to help defray the extra cost involved in some
CHOICES II classes: Fencing ($90); Golf ($125); Scuba ($150); Mountain Sports
(Taos Campus $475); Beginning Marathon Training ($75); Rock Climbing ($50);
and Spinning ($10).
Science and Technology (Six term hours)
In today’s world, students should be aware of the meaning and methods of science
and technology, and the ways that both have shaped the world around us. To assure
that this is the case, students must take two courses in Science and Technology; at
least one must be from Category A, the fields of biology, chemistry, earth sciences,
physics or ENCE 1331, and no more than one may be from the other Science and
Technology fields designated in Category B below. Each course must include a
minimum of four contact hours per week, at least one of which must be a lab. The
list of Science and Technology courses offered per term can be accessed at www.
smu.edu/registrar/socl/GEC.asp. For class descriptions, see the Anthropology, Biology,
Chemistry, Engineering, Earth Sciences or Physics sections of this catalog.
Perspectives (15 term hours)
Interpretation of contemporary society requires an understanding of how different
disciplines in the Western intellectual tradition have organized and constructed
knowledge. Perspectives courses have two objectives: to illustrate the
evolution and contingent nature of knowledge and what is considered to be knowledge,
and to provide students with a broad intellectual framework in which they
may locate their major field(s) of study.
Perspectives courses must be introductory in nature and either fundamental to,
or otherwise characteristic of, their disciplines. Moreover, they must meet the same
pedagogical standards typically required of courses in their respective departments,
divisions and schools. They must be critical in approach and introduce students to
primary sources. Where appropriate, they must be writing-intensive. Finally, they
must be interactive, a requirement that may be fulfilled in a variety of ways (see
General Rules Items 12 to 15), ideally by the end of the second year.
Asterisks indicate courses that will also satisfy the Human Diversity cocurricular
requirement. Classes marked with an asterisk (*) fulfill the Human Diversity
requirement. The list of Perspectives courses offered per term can be accessed at
www.smu.edu/registrar/socl/GEC.asp.
Group I: Arts (Three hours)
A category that introduces students to the practice or study of various arts of expression,
performance and communication and their traditions.
Group II: Literature (3 hours)
A category that presents the roles, functions and traditions of the imagination
within a variety of national traditions.
Group III: Religious and Philosophical Thought (Three hours)
A category that introduces students to the practices of thought, reflection, criticism
and speculation in matters of belief, value and knowledge.
Group IV: History and Art History (Three hours)
A category that introduces students to the study of events and processes within
time by stressing a contextual analysis of the voices and artifacts of the past through
primary and secondary sources. This category also offers credible accounts and
explanations of the actions and intentions of the people of the past.
Group V: Politics and Economics (Three hours)
A category that introduces students to the applications of scientific methods to the study
of institutional practices of transaction, organization and rule.
Group VI: Behavioral Sciences (Three hours)
A group of courses (anthropology, sociology, psychology) that introduces students to the
scientific study of human thought, behavior and records of human cultural organization.
Cultural Formations (Six term hours)
Although the academic disciplines outlined in the preceding Perspectives categories
educate students in the ways individual fields of knowledge in the Western
tradition attempt to understand human society, the investigation of many topics
requires a combination of disciplinary approaches. Such inter- or multidisciplinary
ways of knowing and comprehension reach beyond the boundaries of a single field.
Cultural Formations (CF, CFA, CFB) courses allow students the opportunity to
study interdisciplinary approaches to knowledge within the humanities and the
social sciences, and the natural sciences when related to either of these other two
areas of knowledge. CF courses value new and unusual combinations of study and
are intended to encourage faculty innovation and creativity.
CF courses go beyond disciplinary training to develop awareness of the complex
formations of values, traditions and institutions that constitute cultures, and to
examine the paradoxes such formations pose. These courses have three major
purposes: 1) to introduce students to broad maps of human culture and to the fact
that they, as the heirs of all that has gone before, need to assess a long past and a
global present; 2) to reveal the interrelatedness of problems of knowledge amid
shifting intellectual boundaries; and 3) to make points of reference along those
boundaries and so begin to form intellectual communities that embrace the varied
schools and disciplines at SMU.
CF courses must be interdisciplinary. These courses explore how the approaches
and materials of more than one discipline can be brought to bear on the study of
complex social, cultural and institutional formations. Teaching in teams is strongly
encouraged to realize these interdisciplinary goals. Courses must be broad in scope
– whether historically over time or more immediately in the contemporary world.
They may include emphasis on global awareness, interculturalism and ethnic
diversities as well as engage problems of ethics and value. CF courses must be
critical in approach, writing-intensive and focus on primary sources.
CF courses must be taken at SMU, either on the Dallas campus, at SMU-in-Taos
or through the Study Abroad International Programs. Courses transferred from other
institutions may not receive CF credit under any circumstances. CF credit will only
be given for courses taken at SMU that bear the CF, CFA or CFB prefix.
Cultural Formations may also carry departmental co-listings; if the course is
taken with the departmental number, it will not be given Cultural Formations
credit. Similarly, a course taken with a CF number will not also count as a departmental
course. Please note that the departmental co-listing of a CF course may
NOT receive Perspectives credit. Cultural Formations and Perspectives are mutually
exclusive categories; one cannot count for the other.
Students must complete two CF courses between their sophomore and senior
years. The list of CF courses can also be accessed at
www.smu.edu/registrar/socl/
GEC.asp.
Cultural Formations (CF) Courses
Most CF courses are cross-listed within various academic departments. Descriptions
of these courses may be found under the individual department sections in
this catalog. Asterisks indicate courses that will also satisfy the Human Diversity
cocurricular requirement.
*CF 3300. Race, Gender and Culture in the African Diaspora. A comparative analysis of the historical, economic, social and cultural experiences of peoples of African descent in societies in the Western hemisphere.
CF 3302 (ENGL 3329, MDVL 3329). The World of King Arthur. This course will investigate Britain’s greatest native hero and one of the world’s most compelling story stocks: the legend of King Arthur and the Round Table. This course will explore the early Arthurian materials in chronicle, history, archaeology and folklore, as well as the later romance, epic and artistic traditions.
CF 3303 (PLSC 3387). Political Geography. This course examines topics in international political rivalries within the nation-state system. Major emphasis will be given to the adaptations within that system since 1850 for spatial distributions of physical terrain, populations, economic resources and activities, and political and social divisions.
CF 3304. France-Amérique Between the World Wars: Making a New Culture. This course will explore the political, economic, ideological, cultural relationships and exchanges between France and America during the Interwar period and their impact on the modeling of our contemporary world.
CF 3305 (ENGL 3383). Literary Executions: Imagination and Capital Punishment. This course studies the literary treatment, in different forms and periods, of capital punishment.
Its aim is to locate a social issue of continuing importance within literary traditions that
permit a different kind of analysis from that given in moral, social and legal discourse. The
literary forms include drama, lyric, novel and biography; the periods of history range from
the English Reformation and the Renaissance to the English Civil War, the French Revolution,
and contemporary America. The course emphasis falls upon literary techniques of
imaginative participation and distancing.
*CF 3306 (HIST 3363). The Holocaust. This course examines the destruction of the European
Jews emerging from pre-World War I anti-Semitism and Nazi racism. It considers Jewish
responses to genocide, behavior of bystanders and possibilities of rescue.
CF 3307 (PHIL 3374). Philosophy of Law. An examination of central questions in philosophy
of law. Topics vary, but the following are representative. What is law? What is the relationship
between law and morality? To what extent may or must judges make value judgments
in deciding what the law is? To what extent can or should “legislative intent” or “original
meaning” constrain judicial interpretation of constitutional provisions? Whom should we
punish, why should we punish them, and how much should we punish them?
CF 3308 (PHIL 3363). Aesthetic Experience and Judgment. This course examines basic
questions in the understanding and appreciation of art: What is beauty? What is art? What
characteristics make something a good work of art? What is the correct way to interpret the
meaning of a work of art? Are there ways to establish or prove that something is beautiful
or that a work of art is good? Some issues pertaining to particular art forms, such as music
and literature, will also be examined. Classical writers such as Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant
and Nietzsche will be discussed, as well as contemporary authors.
CF 3309 (HIST 3306). Colony to Empire: U.S. Diplomacy, 1789 to 1941. This course begins
with the diplomacy of the American Revolution and ends with the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor. It will examine the expansionist tendencies of early American foreign policy, Indian
removal, the Mexican War and the relationship between continental expansion (Manifest
Destiny) and the crisis over slavery. It will also address the movement toward an overseas
empire in the Caribbean and the Asian Pacific, climaxing with the war against Spain and the
Open Door. Policy constitutes the next unit of study. The issues surrounding American involvement
in the two world wars are the chief concerns of the final portion of the course.
*CF 3310 (HIST 3326). The Venture of Islam. A survey of Islamic civilization from Muhammad
to the modern era through readings in Islamic history and society, arts and letters,
science and philosophy, and the legal order to present a broad picture of the dynamics and
achievements of Muslim civilization.
*CF 3311 (HIST 3316). History of Sex in America: An Introduction. This course will test
the hypothesis that gender and sexuality are constructed categories. Readings in anthropology,
history, literary criticism and psychiatry will be utilized.
CF 3312 (HIST 3368). Warfare in the Modern World. This course explores the nature, origins
and evolution of the phenomenon of total war from the late democratic and industrial revolutions
of the late 18th and early 19th centuries through World War II, giving particular
emphasis to questions of doctrine and theory; problems of organization and command; and
the scientific, technological and psychological dimensions as well as the impact on modern
culture.
CF 3313 (HIST 3358). The Renaissance. A history of culture in the Renaissance from the
perspective of advances in scholarship and science and, above all, in appreciation of social
and political contexts.
CF 3314 (HIST 3376). Social and Intellectual History of Europe. This course will examine
the intellectual in modern European society. It will explore major intellectual and social
issues raised by and affecting a number of figures instrumental in shaping the European
world of the 19th and 20th centuries. In a fundamental sense, however, the themes developed
will be outside time and place. Consequently, they should interest those concerned with the
relationship of their values and ideas to the society in which they live today.
*CF 3315 (HIST 3387). Asia and the West. Goods, ideas, religions, artistic styles, technologies,
soldiers and diseases have long traveled between East and West. Scholarship, primary sources,
literature and film illuminate the material and ideological effects of the exchanges.
CF 3316 (RELI 3318). The Hero in the Bible and the Ancient Near East. An examination
of the concepts of the hero in the literatures of ancient Mesopotamia, Canaan and Israel,
with special attention to the nature of traditional narrative and to the relationship between
the hero, society and the self.
*CF 3317 (HIST 3301). Human Rights: America’s Dilemma. The study of human rights
requires intellectual history and moral courage, for no nation or society in human history
has been totally innocent of human rights abuses. This course will examine certain violations
of human rights within their historical contexts and will also focus on America’s human
rights record, with regard to its own policies and its relationship to human rights violations
in other countries. Attention will also be given to the evolution of both civil and human
rights as entities within global political thought and practice.
*CF 3318 (HIST 3305). The Hispanos of New Mexico, 1848-Present. History of the Mexican-
American subculture of New Mexico, with a brief overview of the Indian, Spanish and
Mexican periods, so that events, after formal U.S. possession in 1848, are seen in context.
The course, however, focuses on the era after the Mexican Cession and stresses the indigenous
background of the “Indo-Hispanos.”
*CF 3319 (ANTH 3327). Culture Change and Globalization: Social Science Perspectives.
Introduction to anthropological perspectives on global transformations: world economic
integration, Third World development and sociocultural change, ethnic resurgence and
nationalism, population migration and changes in women’s roles and statuses.
*CF 3320 (HIST 3308). History of Hispanics in the U.S. Through Film. In this course, selected
events and developments in the histories of Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans
and other Latinos are examined, as depicted in film, video and television. The objective
is to understand how these powerful media have shaped society’s view of Hispanic participation
in the history of the United States. While learning to recognize distortions and stereotypes,
students will also learn to recognize positive depictions of Latino history.
CF 3321 (MDVL 3321). The Birth of the Individual. This course examines several basic
notions pertaining to selfhood, including consciousness, cognition, motivation, personal
identity and decision, as found in medieval texts.
*CF 3322 (HIST 3329). Women in Early Modern Europe. A study of the influence of women
in European society and intellectual movements from the Renaissance through the French
Revolution.
*CF 3323 (THEA 4381, 4382, 4383, or 4384). Gender in Performance (Studies in Theatre,
Drama and Performance). This course will explore and discuss performed gender through
historical periods and contemporary theatre. Students will be expected to have a high level
of participation and will be assigned projects that add to class dynamics and challenge “traditional” thinking about gender stereotypes in dramatic literature, history, and
performance.
CF 3324. An Archaeology of Values: The Self and Ethics From Kant to Baudrillard. Following
a line of writers from Kant to Freud to Baudrillard, the course explores the rocky
development of the self in relation to history, economic and moral values, and rapidly transforming
social relations in the modern period.
*CF 3325 (HIST 3355). Class and Gender in Ancient Society. An examination of class and
gender in the ancient world with special emphases on changing definitions of masculinity
and femininity in Greek and Roman culture and the position, rights and interaction of different
groups (e.g., free and slave, citizen and foreigner, soldier and civilian).
CF 3326. Utopia: Voyage Into a Possible Future. Through the study of major literary works
on the topic of social ideals and communal experiments, this course focuses on the value
systems and the social realities these works reflect.
CF 3327 (HIST 3373). Science, Religion and Magic in Early Modern England. This course
studies the interaction between three ways of thinking about nature and the place of human
beings within nature – science, magic and religion. Early modern England is the focus of
this course because all three ways of thinking are prevalent, contested and can be set in a
rich cultural context. Some of the great figures of English science, like Robert Boyle and
Isaac Newton, were practicing alchemists. Others, like Francis Bacon, looked to the new
science as a way to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ. The religious divisions of the
English Reformation and the Civil Wars brought about political dissension and produced
many competing views of nature and society.
CF 3328 (HIST 3374). Diplomacy in Europe: Napoleon to the European Union. This course
examines the evolution of the European state system and the idea of “Europe” from the
post-Napoleonic settlement of 1815 through the end of the Cold War and the creation of the
European Union. Some themes considered are the changing art of diplomacy, the relationship
of domestic structure to foreign policy, the impact of war, the role of ideology, technological
change, economics and the expansion of European great power politics to a worldwide
framework.
CF 3329. The Mathematical Experience. The variety of mathematical experience presented
through discussion of its substance, its history, its philosophy and how mathematical knowledge
is elicited. The course will focus on questions regarding the roles of proof, rigor and
institution in mathematics and the limits and applicability of mathematical knowledge.
CF 3330 (HIST 3391). From Pew to Bleacher: American Culture and Institutions. This
course introduces students to American culture and civilization. The course considers the
formation of five sets of cultural institutions that have shaped American life: the Church;
print culture; museums, galleries, and libraries; theatre, Hollywood, and television; and
amateur and professional sports. Students will read autobiographies, novels and synthetic
histories; they will view Hollywood movies, MTV excerpts and sporting events; and they
will visit museums, fairs and parks in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Students will emerge
from the course with an understanding of the central features in the formation of culture in
19th- and 20th-century America.
CF 3331 (RELI 3305). Religion as Story. An interpretation of stories as modes of religious
discernment as well as means of religious communication. Special attention is given to
selected narrative forms such as myth, fairy tale, novel and autobiography.
*CF 3332 (RELI 3321). Religion and the Holocaust. A study of responses to the Holocaust
by Jews and Christians. The course will begin with an overview of the history of the Holocaust
as it affected the Jewish communities of Central and Eastern Europe. Readings will
include personal memoirs of survivors of ghettos, concentration camps and Nazi Germany.
Postwar responses will include questions of faith after the Holocaust. Christian responsibility
for modern anti-Semitism, the impact of the Holocaust on the creation of the State of Israel
and Middle East politics today, and postwar relations between Jews and Germans will be
considered.
CF 3333. Clash of Cultures, 1450-1850. This course is an examination of how the global
equilibrium of 1450 gave way to a clash of cultures and eventual European domination. The
Western Church was reformed; business grew; new states were created; families were uprooted.
Colonialism, modern warfare, nationalism and Marxism appeared on the world stage.
CF 3334 (ANTH 3334). Fantastic Archaeology and Pseudoscience: Lost Tribes, Sunken
Continents, Ancient Astronauts and Other Strange Ideas About the Past. Did ancient
astronauts visit the Earth? Are there secrets of the Maya calendar that archaeologists aren’t
revealing? Is creation a scientific alternative to evolution of humanity? This course investigates
these and other claims about our past, and how archaeologists respond to them.
CF 3335 (FL 3335, HIST 3335). One King, One Law: France 1500-1789. This course studies
the culture of France through its history and literature. It emphasizes the historical developments,
ideas and literary texts that define the period and illuminate both French classicism
and absolutism. The course focuses on the early modern period because then France both
set cultural tone and made significant contributions to the transformation of Western
civilization.
CF 3336 (HIST 3397). Modernity and Crises of Identity: The Reorientation of the West.
Drawing on the works of major intellectuals and artists, this course explores crises of identity
in Western culture during the decades prior to World War I.
CF 3337. Nuclear Physics and Society. How do applications of nuclear physics affect
society? Topics include nuclear weapons and proliferation, nuclear power generation, and
nuclear waste management – issues relevant to current public-policy challenges.
*CF 3338. Defining the Southwest: From the Alamo to Hollywood. An interdisciplinary
seminar designed to introduce students to the idea of regionalism in American life, to identify
the distinctive features that make the Southwest a region, and to suggest the variety of ways
in which different disciplines understand the regional distinctiveness of the Southwest.
*CF 3339 (RELI 3365). Understanding the Self: East and West. This course provides an
examination of several basic notions pertaining to selfhood, including consciousness, cognition,
motivation, personal identity and decision, as found in Eastern and Western sources.
CF 3340 (MDVL 3327). The Unicorn: Understanding Varieties of the Truth in the Middle
Ages. As moderns, we make distinctions between what we see as verifiable reality (history)
and what we see as created, imaginative reality (fiction). This course investigates the question
of how history and fiction were perceived in the Middle Ages.
CF 3341 (PHIL 3362). Creativity, Discovery and Science. This course considers central
issues in the history and philosophy of science with a special emphasis on the nature of
creativity and discovery in scientific thought. General questions are: what is science, and
what is the nature of scientific method? What is the nature of evidence and explanation in
science? The course will address in some detail the question of how new ideas - such as
theories and problem solutions - are produced and assessed in scientific thinking. Is creativity
essentially a random or blind process, or is it rule governed in some way? What is the nature
of a scientific discovery? This course will combine literature in the history and philosophy
of science together with psychological literature on the nature of creativity to answer these
and other questions. No previous coursework in science is required, but students with some
science background will be well equipped to appreciate the relevant issues.
CF 3342 (PHIL 3371). Social and Political Philosophy. This course will examine some of the
basic questions in these fields, and the most important answers that have been given to them.
Topics may vary, but typical questions include the following: What forms of government are
most reasonable and morally defensible? Are citizens in a modern state normally obligated to
obey the law? What is justice, and how might it be embodied in a system of government? Are
there such things as ‘natural rights’ and how do we know about them? What is the basis for
saying that we have rights to freedom of speech and religion? When, if ever, is it legitimate
for a state to go to war? These questions have been asked since antiquity, and we will be looking
at the important answers that have been given to them since then.
*CF 3343 (RELI 3375). Wives, Lovers, Mothers, Queens: Expressions of the Feminine
Divine in World Religions and Culture. This course is a historical and cross-cultural over view of the relationship between feminine and religious cultural expressions through comparative
examinations and analyses of various goddess figures in world religions.
*CF 3344 (RELI 3376). Constructions of Gender: Sexuality and the Family in South Asian
Religions. This course will provide a comprehensive historical overview of gender issues
as represented in the great textual traditions of South Asia. These categories include Vedic
materials, medical literature, treatises on law and sexual behavior, and texts that outline the
great debates over questions of gender identity and salvation preserved in certain Jaina and
Buddhist materials. To make these classical texts more relevant, readings in recent anthropological
studies of religion will also be included to enable the student to trace recurring
themes, images and symbols. This will allow the student to gain a sense of the continuity
of traditions and attitudes as well as innovation and contemporary variants.
CF 3345 (ENGL 3374). Literature of Religious Reflection. This course will examine issues
of faith and doubt in British and American literature, drawn from texts reflecting Christian
humanism, secular rationalism, individualistic romantic faith, scientific modernism and
other modern alternatives.
*CF 3346 (RELI 3352). Love and Death in Ancient Mythology. This course presents an
exploration of love and death in the mythologies of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Canaan, Greece
and India. The interaction of these twin themes will be pursued as a key to the religious and
philosophical perspectives of these ancient peoples. The significance of ancient mythology
for modern reflection will be a central concern throughout the course.
*CF 3347 (FL 3363, WGST 3347). Figuring the Feminine. The feminist inquiry of France
from the Middle Ages to the present. The course introduces students to a large body of
French texts (in translation) by and about women that bear witness to women’s struggle for
civil, social and political adulthood. Contemporary feminist theory and feminist action in
France constitute an attempt to rethink the very terms and the goals of human enterprise.
CF 3348. 21st Century Property Issues. Not a course in “how to do law” but a study of
how (and how well) law and economics, history and philosophy do in resolving current
property issues ranging from fighting over Barry Bonds’ baseball, to selling human organs.
Readings include substantial law decisions to law journal articles.
*CF 3349 (FL 3349, HIST 3392). The African Diaspora: Literature and History of Black
Liberation. Black literature played an important role in bringing on the collapse of the
European colonial order, and it remains a major force in the struggle against neocolonialism
today. This course explores links between literature and politics, literature and history,
thought and action in 20th-century Africa, the Caribbean and North America.
CF 3350. Introduction to Media Literacy: Semiotics and the Myths of Our Time. Society
is a complex social text. We are bombarded daily with countless intertwining messages, in
many different languages, some of them verbal, most not. Only some enter our awareness,
yet all affect the way we think of ourselves and the world. The students will learn how to
read a variety of verbal and nonverbal languages and texts, from advertising to network
news, and from fashion and cuisine to sitcoms and gender roles.
CF 3351 (MDVL 3351). The Pilgrimage: Images of Medieval Culture. This course p resents
an exploration of the medieval world through one of its own literal and metaphorical images.
Moving from Jerusalem, the earthly and heavenly city, students set out through time and
space on a pilgrimage to Constantinople, the exotic empire of New Rome. From there, they
travel to Rome itself and flow across the map of Europe on the pilgrimage roads of the
Middle Ages, investigating the pleasures of the way: the music, art, monuments and literature
of that thousand years of human experience called the Middle Ages.
*CF 3352 (MDVL 3352). Ideas and Ideals of Gender in the Middle Ages. This team-taught
course will focus on the status of women in the Middle Ages, the emergence of sacred and
secular law and ideology regarding women, and the impact of ideas regarding the feminine
on the development of (mostly) Western thought.
CF 3353 (MDVL 3353). Medieval Ideas. The goal of this course is to present some of the
classic achievements of the medieval mind, focusing on developments of continuing interest;
where advisable, comparisons and contrasts will be drawn with methods of thinking and
solving problems in use in later times. While the main focus will be on Medieval Europe
and the adjacent Muslim world, wherever possible, students’ attention will be drawn to
developments in other culture areas.
CF 3354 (THEA 4351). Historical Cultures Within Theatrical Design. Using the elements
of design, the course will focus on the exploration of political, social, economic and artistic
influences of various cultures in history, and how the designer uses this information to create
a theatrical production, film or opera.
CF 3356 (RELI 3337). Christianity and American Public Life. The objectives of this course
include the following: 1) to acquaint students with some recent criticisms of the dangers of
individualism permeating American understanding and life; 2) to propose the communitarian
dimensions of human existence from the Christian perspective; and 3) to help students
enter more critically into the dialogue about the role of religion in pluralistic contemporary
American society.
CF 3357 (RELI 3317). Human Meaning and Value in Personal Life. This course explores
the two positive marks of a productive life – love and work – and the two threats to an
abundant life – suffering and death.
CF 3358. Culture of Oaxaca: A Sense of Place. Learning adventure in Oaxaca: exploration
of multilayered cultural history through field trips to artists’ workshops, museums, archaeological
sites and religious fiestas. Focus on art, art history, folklore and religion. (SMU-in-
Oaxaca)
*CF 3359 (ENGL 3359). American Narratives of Discovery. This course focuses on the
generic process of culture and integrates tools and methods from anthropology, philosophy,
geography, history and literature. It engages value issues that are both aesthetic (analyzing
the narrative strategies employed by authors formulating an intercultural dialogue) and
ethical (Was the Conquest a criminal act? Should modern day Indian tribes be left to their
own devices?).
CF 3360. The North American Great Plains: Land, Water, Life. In the late 19th century,
the North American Great Plains, which extend from central Canada to West Texas, was
mapped as the Great American Desert, a place to be crossed, not settled. This course looks
across disciplinary boundaries to see what geology, ecology, climate studies, archaeology,
ethnology and history reveal of past, present and (perhaps) the future of life of European
Americans and Native Americans on the Great Plains.
CF 3361 (RELI 3309). Bioethics From a Christian Perspective. This course studies bioethics
from a Christian ethical perspective with special attention to different methodological
approaches, to the significant themes and realities involved (e.g., life, health, suffering,
death), and to the most important issues faced today.
CF 3362. The Europeans: A Case Study of Two Nations. This course examines the national
identity and cultural configuration of France and Germany within the European context, with
frequent references to other European nations. It looks at “European consciousness” – how
Europeans think about themselves as citizens of their respective countries and of Europe.
*CF 3363 (ENGL 3371, HIST 3357). Joan of Arc: History, Literature, and Film. This course
considers the life and later reception of the extraordinary peasant girl, Joan of Arc (ca. 1412
to 1430 May 1431), who in two years changed the course of European history before she was
burned at the stake.
CF 3364 (ENGL 3367). Ethical Implications of Children’s Literature. This course will
examine children’s literature from an ethical perspective, particularly the construction of
notions of morality and evil in the works with emphasis upon issues of colonialism, race,
ethnicity, gender and class.
*CF 3365 (FL 3325). Perspectives on Modern China. A survey course on the social and
cultural history of modern China, from the perspectives of literature and cinema.
CF 3366 (HIST 3336). Cultural History of the United States. An interdisciplinary study of
American literature, painting, architecture, music, theatre, popular amusements and social customs
viewed against the major currents of American intellectual history from 1877 to the present.
*CF 3368 (RELI 3368). Wholeness and Holiness: Religion and Healing Across Cultures.
This course explores various ways in which human beings in different times and cultures
have understood the relationship between religion and healing. Drawing on a wide range of
ethnographic examples and theoretical perspectives, we will investigate the interface between
medical and religious models of health. Through reading, films, lectures, classroom discussion
and in-class activities, we will examine the religious and medical implications of such
phenomena as out-of-body experiences, prayer, diet, massage, visualizations, meditation,
acupuncture, herbs and martial arts; we will delve into the healing functions (physical,
psychological, and social) of trance, possession, exorcism and shamanic journeys; we will
explore the religious dimensions of contemporary holistic healing; and we will investigate
the models of selfhood implied by different religious healing modalities.
CF 3369 (FL 3369). Perspectives on Modern Germany. This interdisciplinary inquiry
focuses on Germany’s quest for identity as a European nation-state, on the circumstances
leading to two world wars and the Holocaust, and on the country’s recent experience of
reunification within the framework of the European Union.
*CF 3370 (ENGL 3364, WGST 3370). Women in the Southwest. A study and exploration
of women writers, artists and thinkers in the American Southwest, and their vision of this
region as singularly hospitable to women’s culture.
CF 3371. Ideas of Enlightenment in Western Culture. Explores Plato, Augustine and Kant
on “What is enlightenment?” Their three different, competing ideas shape our contemporary
understandings of the educated, virtuous and free person.
*CF 3372 (RELI 3364). Native-American Religions. An investigation of the mythologies of
North America, centering on Southwestern cultures (especially Pueblo and Navajo) and
Northern Plains cultures (especially Lakota). Native texts will be approached by way of
modern theories of the interpretation of myth, ritual and religion. Topics will include the
cultural history of the regions, theories of myth, creation myths, culture heroes, trickster
tales, sacred music and dance, and rites of healing and passage. An important dimension of
the course will be interaction with the local Pueblo culture through field trips and guest
speakers.
CF 3374 (ANTH 3374). Cultures and Environments of the Southwest. This course examines
patterns of land-use and resource-use in prehistoric and early historic times in the Southwest.
Focus is on the mutual influence of cultures and resources in the northern Rio Grande. The
course draws on archaeological, archival, ethnographic and ecological evidence. Comparisons
involve Pueblo and Plains Indians, Colonial Spanish, Territorial U.S. and U.S. Forest
Service.
*CF 3375 (ARHS 3377). Art and Architecture of Hispanic New Mexico. This course examines
the artistic and cultural legacies of colonial New Mexico: Spanish city planning and
church design; retablos, santos and their place in religious experience; art in the secular life
of towns; and haciendas of colonial and postcolonial New Mexico. Field trips. (SMU-in-
Taos)
*CF 3376. Southwest Ethnic Diversity. This interdisciplinary course examines the way in
which the three cultures of the American Southwest have coexisted. Students are introduced
to the history of the Spanish colonial period and American frontier, and the range of Native
American cultures and lifestyles as a context for contemporary ethnic relations. Native and
Hispanic arts and crafts are studied as an expression of ethnicity. The course explores the
factors that support or discourage the formation and persistence of ethnic identity and the
fluidity of cultural boundaries.
CF 3377 (THEA 4381, 4382, 4383, or 4384). Ritual, Festival and Theatre (Studies in
Theatre, Drama and Performance). This course will examine how theatre has been connected
to the performance of both ritual and festival, examining the common connections
as well as the differences between these three public forms of expression: sites of performance,
community values, power and control, subversion, and cultural comparison.
CF 3378 (THEA 4381, 4382, 4383 or 4384). Solo Performance (Studies in Theatre, Drama
and Performance). This course surveys major figures and issues in contemporary solo
performance and performance studies, acquainting students with artists, forms and venues ranging from the mainstream to the alternative. We will view videos and video documentation
of the work and read performance texts, performance theory and interviews/writings
by and about the artists and their work. The two major assignments are a research and analysis
paper examining an issue related to the course and a brief original piece applying in performance
what we have studied.
CF 3379. German Culture in Weimar. The course traces German culture using Weimar as
the location to study literature, music and film in their historical context from Goethe’s
Weimar, the Weimar Republic, through National Socialism and the recent Unification.
CF 3380 (ENGL 3380). The Literature of Vision. An examination of how shamans, prophets
and imaginative writers seek to communicate “things invisible to mortal sight,” whether as
a confirmation of or a challenge to the leading ideas of their time.
*CF 3381 (ARHS 4371, WGST 3381). Modern Myth-Making: Studies in the Manipulation
of Imagery. This course examines the quest for enduring cultural heroes and projection of
changing social messages as reflected in images from past epochs to modern times. Examples
traced range from politician to musician, from the fine arts to television.
CF 3382 (THEA 4381, 4382, 4383, or 4384). American Dramatic Literature (Studies in
Theatre, Drama and Performance). This course will provide an opportunity for in-depth
study of texts in a variety of genres and styles by looking at popular literature. Students will
work with scripts as organic markers of political and aesthetic taste, events, and world view,
learning to use practices of performance studies and anthropology to look closely at the
authenticity of live performance in its relationship to audience values.
CF 3383. Contemporary Urban Problems. This seminar is designed to introduce students
to conceptualizing social problems and to the distinctive conditions defined and treated as
social problems in the American Southwest. The course aims to improve students’ skills in
critical reasoning and evaluative writing on the alleviation of social problems.
*CF 3385 (SOCI 3383). Race, Culture and Social Policy in the Southwest. This interdisciplinary
seminar introduces students to applying the concepts of race and culture to social
problems and policy in the American Southwest. The course combines lectures, readings, field
trips, survey research and documentary films to focus on special topics on the Southwest.
CF 3387. Order Out of Chaos. Deterministic chaos, fractal structures, self-organization
and nonlinear dynamics comprise an approach to the study of complicated realistic systems
common to a great diversity of natural and social sciences. Students will study the significance
of the relatively new science as well as relationships and applications to medicine, the
natural sciences, economics, history, philosophy and the social sciences.
CF 3388 (PLSC 3342). Making Democracy Work. This course aims to answer the fundamental
question that mankind has asked since ancient Greece of why does democracy thrive
in some nations, while it struggles in others and in many more has yet to take root?
CF 3389 (PLSC 3389). International Political Economy. The course introduces students to
international political economy, focusing on the development of regimes for international
trade and finance. The objective is to understand how nation-states manage international
economic relations.
*CF 3390 (FL 3310). Transnational Chinese Cinema. This course will introduce students
to the subject of Asian cinema through films produced in the People’s Republic, Taiwan and
Hong Kong. In considering cinema as a system for the construction of meaning, this course
examines national identities in film aesthetics.
CF 3392 (ARHS 3318, HIST 2353). Currents in Classical Civilization. The interdisciplinary
study of the art, literature and history of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, including
ideals of democracy, individualism, immortality, heroism, justice, sexuality nature, etc.
CF 3393. Evolution and Creationism as Public School Issues. An in-depth examination
of controversies concerning organic evolution from social, educational and legal perspectives.
Discussion includes alternative philosophies of science and evidence from fossil and
living organisms.
CF 3394 (HIST 3344). The Oxford Landscape, From the Stone Age to the Tudors. This
course studies the historical landscape of the upper Thames Basin and Oxford, the region’s
urban focus for over a millennium. Students can read this history on site, using resources
from anthropology, history, architecture, city planning, political and social organization,
and imaginative literature. Readings and trips concern local Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron
Age (Celtic) cultures as well as the historical phases of regional experience from the first
Roman probe of 55 B.C. to the start of the Tudor Dynasty in A.D. 1485.
*CF 3395. A Cultural Journey to China. Suzhou, in China’s cultural heartland, hosts this
course on the development of Chinese culture: religion, literature, cinema, art, architecture
and history. Trips complement readings centered on self, family and state.
CF 3396. Rome and the Italians: History, Culture and Politics. This course, taught in
Italy, explores the cultural and political identity of Italy as it evolved from antiquity to
present day.
CF 3397. Science and Politics in a Nuclear Age: Change and Resolution of Conflict.
Investigation of societal changes associated with the development of scientific discoveries
such as nuclear energy. Consideration is given to resulting conflicts and their resolution at
local, national and international levels.
*CF 3398 (ENGL 3365). Jewish American Literature and Culture. An interdisciplinary
introduction to Jewish culture through literature, especially in the American environment,
as well as to the issues in studying any distinctive ethnic and cultural literature.
*CF 3399 (RELI 3377). Cultural History of Tibet. A critical study of Tibetan history, culture
and religion and how they relate to the representation of Tibet in travel, scholarly and popular
literature.
*CF 3401 (HIST 3401). The Good Society. This course will focus on the historical construction
of the concept of the “good society” in Western culture. Although the term did not enter
our literature until Graham Wallas published The Good Society in 1915, we can clearly
distinguish its origins in the religious, political and intellectual traditions of Europe and the
United States. Affiliated with the Center for Inter-Community Experience.
CF 3402. Divided Loyalties: The Problem of Identity in a Global World. Focusing on questions
of individualism, citizenship and public identity, this course investigates tensions
among localism, nationalism and globalism within contemporary literature and culture. In
order to enhance understanding of course readings, students will participate in Center for
Inter-Community Experience (ICE) programs in the multiethnic, multinational East Dallas
community of Garrett Park East.
*CF 3403. Imagined Communities: Place, Nation and Construction of Cultural Identity.
The flagship course of the Center for Inter-Community Experience, “Imagined Communities”
investigates from historical and contemporary perspectives the forms of local, national
and transnational identities that characterize American life. In order to enhance understanding
of course readings, students will participate in Center for Inter-Community Experience
(ICE) programs in the multiethnic, multinational East Dallas community of Garrett Park
East.
CF 3404. Social Class and the Democratic Public Sphere. This course explores the concept
of class in American life and investigates the effects of class differences and tensions on
American democratic institutions. In order to enhance understanding of course readings,
students will participate in Center for Inter-Community Experience (ICE) programs in the
multiethnic, multinational East Dallas community of Garrett Park East.
*CF 3405. Troubled Youth. This course explores American adolescence from contemporary
and historical perspectives, covering the period from the eighteenth century onward, and
focusing on the period between the Civil War and the present.
*CFA 3300 (ARHS 4300). Calligraphy and Culture: Vision, Line and Design in World
Artistic Traditions. A multidisciplinary inquiry into the cultural history of calligraphy and
line in several major cultural traditions of the world: readings and discussions will encompass
philosophical, anthropological, archaeological, materialist, cultural-historical and art-historical
perspectives on line and cultural signification in the visual arts.
*CFA 3301 (ANTH 2321, CLAS 2321, ENGL 2371). The Dawn of Wisdom: Ancient Creation
Stories From Four Civilizations. Explores the visions of the cosmos expressed in the art,
archaeology and literature of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greco-Roman civilization and the New
World, emphasizing the role of human beings as central and responsible actors therein.
*CFA 3302 (WGST 2322). Gender: Images and Perspectives. An examination of the
constant and changing understanding of women reflected in myths, research, and theories
of biology, history, religion, the social sciences, literature and language.
*CFA 3303 (WGST 2380). Human Sexuality. This course explores the biosocial aspects of
human sexuality and sex behaviors. A multidisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective will
address a wide range of theoretical and pragmatic sexual issues.
*CFA 3304 (PLSC 4341). Comparative Rights and Representation. This course will explore
the tension that exists between rights and democratic representation. Issues explored include
judicial social policy making, individual vs. collective rights, aboriginal rights and affirmative
action.
CFA 3305. Literature and Film: Adaptations by Italian Directors of Literary Texts. Through
the study of major literary works and their cinematic adaptations, the course focuses on the
value systems and the social realities the works reflect. The analogies and the differences
that exist between literary and cinematic approaches will be explored by reading the texts
and confronting them with their filmic renderings.
CFA 3306 (RELI 3316). Religion and Science. An exploration of how religion and science
understand such topics as the origins and destiny of the universe and the evolution of life.
CFA 3307 (RELI 3371). Religion and Culture in the Greco-Roman World. This course
investigates the intersections of political history, social history, philosophical thought and
religious belief and practice in the ancient Greco-Roman world, with particular attention to
Judaism and Christianity in their Greco-Roman context.
*CFA 3308 (WGST 2308). Revisions: Woman as Thinker, Artist and Citizen. This course
is designed to discover how an emphasis on the particular experiences of women can enhance
and complicate traditionally conceived areas of scholarship and critical endeavor. It will
also explore areas of women’s experience traditionally undervalued, such as friendship,
sexuality, motherhood and old age.
*CFA 3309 (WGST 2309). Lesbian and Gay Literature and Film: Minority Discourse and
Social Power. The exploration through literature and film of the struggles by gay men and
lesbians to create social identities and achieve human rights. Study of key cultures and pivotal
historical periods in the West from ancient Greece to contemporary America. Authors include
Sappho, Plato, Michelangelo, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf,
James Baldwin, Audre Lord, Adrienne Rich and Tony Kushner. Cinematography includes
Pedro Almodovar, Derek Jarman, Maria Luisa Bemberg, Sally Potter and James Ivory.
*CFA 3310 (ETST 2301, SOCI 3305). Race and Ethnicity in the United States. An interdisciplinary
seminar designed to introduce students to the analysis of race and ethnicity in
the United States within a global context.
CFA 3311 (CLAS 2311). Myth and Thought in the Ancient World. The goal of this course
is to explore the conceptual and philosophical underpinnings of ancient understandings of
reality in Western and non-Western cultures. The materials for investigation will be primarily
textual, including myths, epics, tragedies and philosophical discourse in ancient Greece.
Key points of concern will include concepts of the human condition; the nature of the good
life; the problems of death, evil and misfortune; the relationships between humans and gods
and between the individual and society; and the difference between illusion and reality. The
relationship between modern thought and ancient thought, both Western and non-Western,
will also be a recurring theme.
CFA 3312. Making History: Representations of Ethical Choices. Interdisciplinary course
examining ethical issues associated with the writing of “historical fictions” and the production
of historical exhibits. Students will complicate conventional distinctions between disciplines
and genres by looking at how playwrights, novelists, filmmakers and museum
curators/directors shape their productions from the raw materials of historical data. They will explore the ways in which historical memory is created and represented, further developing
and refining their own engagements with texts, films and museums.
*CFA 3313 (ARHS 3392). Islamic Art and Architecture: The Creation of a New Art. This
course will treat issues significant to the creation and expansion of Islamic art from the 7th
to the 15th century. Topics to be discussed include cultural and political exchange and conflict
between Muslims and Christians; religious concerns and the artistic forms created to meet
them; the importance of the book in Muslim culture; the distinctions between religious and
secular art; and the appropriation of sacred space in Muslim architecture.
CFA 3314 (DANC 2370). Movement as Social Text. The course will look at ways in which
movement and dance have meaning in different cultural, social and historical contexts.
Examinations of examples of dance in a cross-cultural context, encompassing both Western
and non-Western dance forms, will be included. Emphasis will be placed on the nature of
movement, its unique properties, the ways in which it conveys meaning, and its relationship
to culture.
*CFA 3315 (WGST 2315). Gender, Culture and Society. An interdisciplinary study of gender
ideology stressing anthropological and literary perspectives, this course will analyze gender
difference as a structuring principle in all societies and explore some of its representations
in literature, film and contemporary discourse.
*CFA 3316 (ANTH 3333). The Immigrant Experience. An interdisciplinary focus on the
issue of immigration in the United States. The course explores historical, ethical, social,
cultural and political dimensions of the immigrant experience, as well as America’s attitudes
toward the immigrant. Controversial issues, such as bilingual education and illegal immigration,
will be examined.
CFA 3317. Global Perspectives on Environmental Issues. Many of the major environmental
issues our planet faces – greenhouse climate changes, air and water pollution, acid rain and
related atmospheric problems, ozone shield destruction, toxic and radioactive waste disposal,
land-use management, energy resource development, geologic hazards, population growth
and food supplies – will be examined from scientific as well as cultural, political and ethical
viewpoints.
*CFA 3318 (HIST 2384). Latin America: The Colonial Period. An introductory survey covering
the development of Latin American society from prediscovery to the early 19th century.
*CFA 3319 (HIST 2385). Latin America in the Modern Era. An introductory survey beginning
with the 19th-century wars of independence from Spain and Portugal and emphasizing
the 20th century as the new nations struggle for political stability and economic
independence.
*CFA 3320 (FL 3323, HIST 2323). Russian Culture. Significant aspects of Russian thought
and culture at its various stages of development are presented and illustrated by examples
from literature, folklore, prose, drama, journalism, architecture, the fine arts and music.
CFA 3321. Ways of Thinking in the Ancient World. Distinctions between heaven and earth,
divine and human, “spirit” and “matter,” living and living well, mind (language) and “reality,”
are categories of thought explored in this course. This is a course in how thinking gets
done, as well as in some of what human beings have thought.
CFA 3322 (RELI 3358). Psychology of Religion. Covers the psychological, biological and
social foundations of religion and its consequences. Topics include mystical experience,
conversion, prayer, cults and the effects of religion on health, prosocial behavior and
prejudice.
CFA 3323. The Emergence of the Modern Mentality of the West. This course examines
some of the major changes in philosophical thought and religious life that took place between
the end of the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution. It focuses on contrasts between
magic and science, the rise of the capitalist spirit, and conflicts between traditional beliefs
and modern skepticism.
CFA 3324 (THEA 4385). English Theatre, Restoration to the Present (Studies in Theatre,
Drama and Performance). Surveys English theatre, Restoration to today. Focuses on selected scripts and social contexts: audiences, society, theatrical forms, modes of production, theatre
architecture, and broader historical, economic and political forces and influences.
*CFA 3325 (HIST 3379). A Cultural History of New Mexico. This course, taught only at
SMU-in-Taos, explores the struggles between the state’s dominant ethnic groups – Native
Americans, Hispanos and Anglos – over rituals, spaces and objects.
*CFA 3326 (PLSC 4322). Latino Politics. An analysis of contexts, causes and consequences
of Latino political participation. The focus is on Latinos in the Southwest with some attention
to other racial and ethnic groups elsewhere in the U.S.
CFA 3327. Environmental Problems and Policy: A European Perspective. As the threats
of local, regional and global environmental problems grow, so does the public political and
scholarly debate about the remedies to control them. A study of current issues, options and
politics from the European perspective.
CFA 3328 (FL 3309). Contemporary France. This course will provide an interdisciplinary
immersion in the main concerns of France today. It will explore its institutions, social issues,
and intellectual and cultural interests as they relate to the past and strive to meet the challenge
of the 21st century, particularly the making of Europe.
CFA 3329 (FL 3307). The Belle Epoque and the Birth of Modernity. Through its focus on
the Belle Epoque, this course will give students the opportunity for in-depth study of one
of the richest periods in the history of French culture. Through a variety of cultural objects,
they will study the shift of civilization that occurred at the turn of the 20th century based
on major changes in concepts of the individual, space, and time, and learn how they gave
birth to our modern civilization and culture.
CFA 3330 (FL 3303, SPAN 3373). Spanish Civilization. Through lectures, readings, study
trips and audiovisual presentations, this course presents an interrelated overview of Spanish
culture and thought, especially as related to contemporary Spain. This course addresses
from multiple disciplinary (anthropology, history, sociology, Spanish literature, etc.) perspectives
a vast array of interrelated social and cultural practices and beliefs.
*CFA 3331 (ANTH 2331). The Formation of Institutions: Roots of Society. With illustrations
from the prehistoric past, the earliest recorded civilization and “contemporary ancestors”
(bands and tribes of the present), this course will trace the development of familiar
notions like the family, property and the state, resulting in an appreciation of the fundamental
questions posed by our common life on Earth and the variety of answers that human societies
have given to those questions.
*CFA 3332 (CLAS 2332). Society Expanding – Polis and Empire. This course presents a
case-study approach to the development of cities, civilizations and empires from the appearance
of urbanism in Mesopotamia to the end of the European Middle Ages, with special
reference to political, economic and religious institutions.
CFA 3334 (PLSC 4323). The Politics of Change in America, 1930-2000. Focusing on
American politics and society from 1930 to the present, this course will examine how
America has changed, explain why change occurs, and assess the consequences of these
changes.
*CFA 3336 (ANTH 3336). Gender and Globalization: Cultural and Ethical Issues. An
analysis of the impact of globalizing forces on women’s lives and identities, as well as on
patterns of gender relations and ideology in various cultures around the world.
CFA 3337 (DANC 3374). 20th-Century Musical Theater. This course will examine the
significance of dance in the American musical as a medium for reflecting the cultural evolution
in America from a social and historical perspective.
CFA 3338 (RELI 3338). Christ as Cultural Hero. An exploration of the impact of Jesus on
the history of Western culture, not only in religion and philosophy, but also in the fine arts,
literature and politics.
CFA 3339 (RELI 3339). The Puritan Tradition in England and America. An examination
of the religious, political, scientific, economic and literary dimensions of the Puritan movement
in Tudor-Stuart England and in colonial New England.
CFA 3340 (ARHS 4350, CTV 4351, THEA 4381-4384). Mapping Modernism: Artistic Collaborations
in Paris and Moscow, 1890-1940. This class examines early 20th-century
modernism through the lens of fertile collaborations and exchanges in art, dance, film, music
and theatre in Paris and Moscow between 1890 and 1940.
*CFA 3341. Native Americans in Western Legal Thought. A survey of Spanish and Anglo-
American legal treatment of native North Americans from first contact to the present,
comparing and contrasting versions of Western jurisprudence and examining whenever
possible Native American responses.
CFA 3342. British Studies I. This course is an interdisciplinary, writing-intensive course
within the humanities and social sciences taken at a British or Irish university. It can be
taken only by students in the yearlong SMU-in-Britain program.
CFA 3343. British Studies II. This course is an interdisciplinary, writing-intensive course
within the humanities and social sciences taken at a British or Irish university. It can be
taken only by students in the yearlong SMU-in-Britain program.
*CFA 3344. Tradition, Community and Identity in Black African Cinema. An introduction
to film by black African filmmakers. The course explores African film’s relationship to
history, African identity, the African political context and African oral tradition.
CFA 3345 (HIST 4319). The Medieval Formation of English Culture. When, where and how
was ‘English Culture’ (that globally widespread and distinctive variation of ‘Western Culture’)
formed? In the 8th to 16th centuries, in a realm with Oxford at its center.
CFA 3346. The Taos Experience: an Independent Research Seminar. This course is
designed to introduce students to the history of New Mexico and its disparate peoples and
cultures, as well as independent research. After reading general histories and specific case
studies, students will then embark on a thesis-length independent research project.
*CFA 3348 (HIST 3348). American Families: Changing Experiences and Expectations.
Explores changes in American family life from the colonial period to the present. Seeks to
understand how family ideals, structures and roles have shaped and been shaped by social
and historical change.
*CFA 3350 (ANTH 3350). Good Eats and Forbidden Flesh: Culture, Food and the Global
Grocery Market. A cultural perspective on food that blends biological and medical information
about human nutrition and development with an exploration of the global market of
eating.
CFA 3352. French Cinema, 1895-1945. An introduction to French cinema’s major works,
filmmakers and trends from 1895 to 1945, with an emphasis on film’s unique manner of
constructing and transmitting culture.
CFA 3353. French Cinema, 1945-Present. An introduction to French cinema’s major works,
filmmakers and trends from 1945 to the present, with an emphasis on film’s unique manner
of constructing and transmitting culture.
CFA 3355 (PLSC 4355). Comparative Political Economy of Industrialized Democracies.
This course examines the nature and workings of the political economies of industrialized
democracies of North America, Europe and the Pacific in comparative perspective.
*CFA 3358 (ANTH 3358). Indians of the Southwest, 16th Century-Present. An introduction
to the non-Pueblo and Pueblo peoples of the Greater Southwest, with a focus on Indian-
Indian and Indian-Euro American relations and the resultant transformations. Topics will
include class of cultures, tourism, gambling, legal rights and urbanism.
CFA 3359 (PLSC 3359). From Communism to Democracy. An interdisciplinary survey of
the rise and fall of communist regimes, followed by an analysis of the successes, obstacles
and consequences of the democratic transition in the former Eastern Europe and Soviet
Union. Particular attention will be paid to cultural, social, economic and political influences
that affect divergent paths to democracy.
CFA 3360 (FL 3360). The Ethics of Colonization in Latin America. Through a study of literary,
philosophical, historical and religious texts, this course considers how the humanist ethics
of the Renaissance were debated and carried out in the colonization of Latin America.
*CFA 3362 (CTV 2362). Diversity and American Film: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality.
Historical survey of representations of race-ethnicity, class structure, gender and sexual orientation
in American cinema, as well as the opportunities for minorities within the industry.
CFA 3363 (PLSC 4363). Religion and Politics in the Western Tradition. Analysis of the
relationship between religious faith and civil government in the Western tradition. Focuses on
thinkers and controversies from the late Roman empire to the contemporary United States.
*CFA 3365 (ANTH 3365). The Rise and Fall of Superpowers: The Dynamics and Ethics
of Empire. A comparative introduction to institutions and organizational dynamics of three
ancient empires (Roman, Chinese, Inca), with discussions of the lessons that these civilizations
can teach American citizens about our own society.
*CFA 3368. Orient and Occident: Encounters Between the Middle East and the West in
the Modern Era. This course exposes students to the broad dimensions of Islamic belief
and practice, major themes in relations between the countries and cultures of the Middle
East and Western Europe from the early modern era to the present, beginning with Napoleon’s
invasion of Egypt in 1798.
*CFA 3370. Australian Aboriginal Studies. This course provides an understanding of the
history and culture of the indigenous peoples of Australia in a way that makes students more
interested in, and sensitive to, the history and culture of indigenous peoples.
*CFA 3371. Inventing Americas I: Explorations and Encounters. A comparative, interdisciplinary
examination of literary, ethnographic, artistic and cinematic texts reflecting cultural
encounters in the Americas during the colonial period.
*CFA 3372. Inventing Americas II: Identity Formations. A comparative, interdisciplinary
examination of literary, ethnographic, artistic and cinematic texts reflecting the formation
of individual, group, and national identities in the Americas since the 19th century.
CFA 3373. Narrative, Religion and the Construction of Belief. This course explores narrative
as a foundation of religion and as primary agent in the construction of belief, comparative
reading and analysis of texts from a wide variety of religious, philosophical and literary
traditions.
CFA 3374 (ENGL 3348). History of the Book in America, 1620-1900. A multidisciplinary
survey of print culture in the United States, exploring literary, historical, technological, legal
and sociological factors that shaped the formations, uses and dynamics of print in our
society.
CFA 3375 (CTV 3375). Postwar European Cinema, 1945-Present. Presents an overview
of postwar European cinema focusing on major films, directors and national movements,
with particular emphasis on Italian film. Considers cultural and stylistic features that differ
from Hollywood genre models.
CFA 3377 (PHIL 3377). Animal Rights: The Ethics of Human Treatment of Animals. An
examination of the moral status of nonhuman animals and its implications for the common
use of animals as food and experimental subjects for humans.
CFA 3378 (ENGL 3368). Literary and Artistic Taos: The Town Seen Through Multiple
Lenses. Survey of the literary and artistic heritage of early 20th-century Taos, centered on
the Native Americans, the artistic and literary salon of Mabel Dodge, and D.H. Lawrence.
*CFA 3379 (ENGL 3379). Literary and Cultural Contexts of Disability: Gender, Care and
Justice. This course examines issues of disability from literary, cultural and philosophical
perspectives. It grapples with current debates in disability studies, providing the student
with a variety of contexts in which to examine them.
*CFA 3380 (HIST 2380). Ethnic Regions in the “Western World.” This interdisciplinary
course examines the ways regional ethnic minorities – such as the Basques, Quebecois and
Chicanos – have functioned within larger societies in Western Europe and North America.
CFA 3381 (PLSC 3381). Current Issues in International Relations. An interdisciplinary
survey of contemporary issues and challenges in the international arena. The student will
research and propose solutions, taking into account the multidimensional aspects of these
international challenges.
*CFA 3382 (WGST 3382). Women’s Body Politics. A cross-cultural, interdisciplinary exploration
of the cultural and ideological work that women’s bodies perform, as reflected in literature,
art, medicine, philosophy and political discourses from the Classical era to today.
*CFA 3384 (ANTH 3384). Paradise Lost? The Archaeology and Ethics of Human Environmental
Impacts. Interdisciplinary archaeological, anthropological and historical examination
of human impacts on the environment around the world over the last 50,000 years.
CFA 3386 (THEA 4386). European Theatre, 1879-1953. A survey of major figures and
movements in European theatre beginning with the premiere of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and
culminating with the premiere of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.
CFA 3388 (ANTH 3388). Warfare and Violence: The Anthropology and Ethics of Human
Conflict. This course provides an examination of the origins and development of human
aggression, violence and warfare using interdisciplinary data and theories from prehistory,
ethnology, history and political science.
CFA 3390 (ME 3390). German Technoculture. Fundamentals of German contemporary
culture within the context of technology and study abroad experience. Emphasis is placed
on reading and communication (writing and oral) skills. Field trips are an integral part of
the course.
*CFA 3399 (ANTH 3399). Ice Age Americans. The first Americans came here from northeast
Asia and Siberia over 12,000 years ago, when North America was in the grip of an Ice Age.
Their story, being pieced together by disciplines as different as archaeology, linguistics and
molecular biology, is revealing how these pioneers faced the challenge of adapting to a world
without other people, which became increasingly exotic as they moved south, and was itself
changing as the Ice Age came to an end. This is the story of the first discovery of America,
when it truly was a New World.
*CFB 3301 (ANTH 3301, SOCI 3301). Health, Healing and Ethics: Cross-Cultural Perspectives
on Sickness and Society. A cross-cultural exploration of cultures and organization
of medical systems, economic development and the global exportation of biomedicine, and
ethical dilemmas associated with medical technologies and global disparities in health.
CFB 3302 Contemporary East Asian Cinema, 1997-Present. The course will be divided
into four sections, one on each of the national cinemas we will be studying; Hong Kong
cinema after the Colony’s return to the People’s Republic of China as a Special Administrative
Region; the cinema of Thailand after the Asian Economic Crisis and the massive
devaluation of the bhat; South Korean cinema after the bailout of the Korean Stock Exchange
by the International Monetary Fund and the extensive corporate restructuring which followed;
and the Japanese cinema in the stagnant late nineties as Japan struggled to overcome
the economic and cultural hangover from the burst bubble of the 1980s economic boom.
CFB 3303 (PHIL 3333). Native American Philosophy. An examination of major topics in
philosophy from a variety of Native American standpoints, with an emphasis on the tribes
residing in the Southwest. Throughout the course, students will explore Native American
themes of metaphysics, epistemology and value theory. Students will read essays that address
philosophical questions pertaining to knowledge, time, place, history, science, religion,
nationhood and ethics. They will also identify connections between the philosophical
assumptions and the mythology and folklore of the Pueblo Indians.
CFB 3309 (HIST 3309). North American Environmental History. This course surveys North
American environmental history since pre-Columbian times. It expands the customary
framework of historical inquiry by focusing on the interaction of human beings and the
natural world.
*CFB 3310 (ANTH 3310). Gender and Sex Roles: A Global Perspective. This course compares
the life experiences of men and women in societies throughout the world. Discussion
will include the evidence regarding the universal subordination of women and examine
explanations that propose to situate women’s and men’s personal attributes, roles and responsibilities
in the biological or cultural domain. In general, through readings, films and lectures,
the class will provide a cross-cultural perspective on ideas regarding gender and the ways
societies are organized in relation to gender.
CFB 3311 (ANTH 3385). Sustainable Living. Seminar focused on environmental challenges
facing society and strategies for achieving a more sustainable existence. From global warming
and climate change to extinction and the loss of biodiversity, it is clear that our world is
changing and that we humans are responsible for much of this deterioration. Environmental
issues are highly politicized and polarized, often broken into black and white divisions (e.g.,
liberal versus conservative), but it remains clear that the future of our planet is something
that we must all be concerned about. This course examines the state of our environment and
the place of humans in nature, focusing on aspects of sustainable living. With a critical eye,
we will evaluate the state of knowledge on numerous environmental issues, and the ways
that, as everyday Americans, we can lessen our environmental impact and work towards a
more sustainable future.
CFB 3312 (CLAS 1312). Classical Rhetoric. Readings in the Ancient Sophists, Plato, Aristotle,
Isocrates, Cicero, Quintilian, Longinus and St. Augustine; study of the intellectual
foundations of the Western world.
*CFB 3313. Genetic Determinism and Free Will: The Impact of Human Genetics and
Biotechnology on Human Choice. Students will be introduced to human genetics and
biotechnology, with philosophical analysis of its impact on genetic determinism and free
will. Related societal issues will be examined.
*CFB 3322 (HIST 3322). Native American History. This course examines the roles Native
Americans played in the history of North America (excluding Mexico) from 1500 to the
present.
CFB 3333 (PHYS 3333). The Scientific Method: (Debunking Pseudoscience). This course
provides students with an understanding of the scientific method sufficient to differentiate
experimentally verifiable scientific fact and theories from pseudoscience in its many guises:
paranormal phenomena, free-energy devices, alternative medicine and many others.
CFB 3336 (ANTH 3336) Concepts of Evolution. A history of the conception and development
of the idea of evolution and the conflicts it has generated. Students will read and discuss
original sources from ancient Greece to present.
CFB 3337 (HIST 3337). Ethical Dilemmas in a Global Age. This course is a cross-cultural
exploration of major ethical problems emanating out of the radically changing context of
human existence in recent decades.
CFB 3342 (CCPA 3342). Critical Theory: Post Colonial. This class explores the impact that
communication practices in organizational, interpersonal and mass media contexts have on
the construction of ethnicity, gender and sexuality in both U.S. and post-colonial contexts.
CFB 3348 (ANTH 3348). Health as a Human Right. This course examines the concept of
human rights critically, with an eye for cross-cultural variation and a particular focus on
rights that are health-related.
CFB 3351 (ANTH 3351). Forensic Anthropology: Stories Told by Bones. Introduction to the
identification of human remains, including conditions of preservation and decay. Estimating
sex, stature, age and ethnicity. Identifying pathology, trauma and other causes of death.
*CFB 3353 (RELI 3353). Borderlands: Latino/a Religions in the United States. An introduction
to Latino/a religions and religious practices in the United States, with a special
emphasis on social constructions.
CFB 3364 (PHIL 3364). Philosophy of Biology. A survey of topics in the philosophy of biology.
Typical topics include evolution versus creationism, fitness, units of selection, adaptationism,
biological taxonomy, evolution in humans, cultural evolution and niche construction.
CFB 3375 (MNO 3375). Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethical Leadership. This
course is designed to develop the student’s capacity to recognize and evaluate ethical issues
related to business management, including: a) quandaries faced by individual managers; b)
issues concerning corporate structure, policies and business culture; c) more systemic issues
related to the role of business in a democratic society and the conduct of business on the
international scene. The cross listing of CFB 3375 and MNO 3375 is subject to the same
rules that restrict credit for all other CF, CFA, and CFB courses that are cross-listed with departmental courses (see General Education Rules 9 and 10). In addition, students who
take either CFB 3375 or MNO 3375 (formerly OBBP 3375) may not take ACCT 3391, nor
may students taking ACCT 3391 take either of the other two courses for credit. Students
seeking accounting certification should note that ACCT 3391 is a gateway course for eligibility
to take the CPA examination.
CFB 3382. The History of Mexico and New Mexico from their Origins until 1848. The
central aims of the course are: to summarize the pre-colonial and colonial histories of
Mexico, and to survey, as a component of the Mexican past, New Mexico’s history. The
history of art and architecture is integral to the general history.
*CFB 3384 (RELI 3384). Hinduism and Colonial Encounters. A critical study of the history
of colonialism in India and its impact on social, religious and political discourse.
CFB 3386 (ARHS 4386). Patrons and Collectors. A social history of art from the point of
view of its consumers. Art patronage and collecting are examined from antiquity to the
present, with emphasis on the modern period.
*CFB 3390 (ANTH 3390). The Plundered Past: Archaeology’s Challenges in the Modern
World. This course will provide and interdisciplinary understanding of the importance
societies place on knowing, preserving and altering evidence of the past. Special emphasis
is placed on archaeology’s role in understanding and preserving the past.
CFB 3399 (ARHS 3399/ARHS 6399). The Medieval Jewish-Christian Dialogue in Art and
Text. Examines the mutual perceptions, conflicts and commonalities among medieval
European Christians and Jews, as reflected in works of visual art and in philosophical,
theological, legal and literary texts.
Human Diversity Cocurricular Requirement (Three term hours)
One Human Diversity cocurricular course (three term hours) dealing with non-Western and/or race-, ethnicity-, or gender-related issues must be completed by
every graduating student. This requirement may be satisfied by any course within
the University’s undergraduate curriculum, including courses in Perspectives and
Cultural formations, as long as that offering is designated as a Human Diversity
course. Throughout this section of the General Education Curriculum, any course
marked with an asterisk is one that will satisfy the Human Diversity requirement.
In addition, a wide offering of elective courses that meet this cocurricular requirement
is available. The list of Human Diversity courses offered per term can be
accessed at
www.smu.edu/registrar/socl/GEC.asp.
Exemptions and Exceptions
The Council on General Education recognizes two broad categories of exemptions
to General Education requirements: individual exceptions and formal exemptions.
Students may petition for an individual exception to a General Education
requirement, normally with the substitution of a specific alternative course to
satisfy that requirement. All General Education student petitions must be approved
by the student’s academic adviser and the Associate Vice Provost for General
Education. Appeals may be made to the Vice Provost of the University.
The Council on General Education has approved formal exemptions that apply
to specific groups of students, as follows:
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