SWS 105 Sections
SWS 105 01, Tabletop Gaming Revolution
MW 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Betush
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Through studying and exploring the burgeoning field of tabletop gaming, students will examine the importance of these artifacts as a conduit to interaction as a form of social entertainment. Students will immerse themselves by interacting with myriad genres of tabletop games – including both competitive and cooperative modes. Students will have an opportunity to experience and reflect on team-building skills, game theory, and applied logic. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 02, Different World
MW 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Moore Roberson
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students will be introduced to college life through the perspectives of people of color in television, film, YouTube clips, narrative essays, book chapters, short stories, podcasts, and TedEx talks. The course will ask students to participate in various forms of self-reflection while we consider how our own identities inform our views of the complete college experience. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis driven written and spoken texts.
This course is reserved for students participating in the RISE cohort program.
SWS 105 03, Movies, Music, and Revolution
TTH 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Keeley
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By closely watching films, reading written genres including op-eds, narrative essays, personal histories, and listening to music, podcasts, and presentations, students will write and speak about how the social, political, and intellectual upheaval of the late 1960s was reflected in popular movies and music. Topics include The Beatles, the New Hollywood, race, and pop culture. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 04, Unveiling Digital Information
MW 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Bonham-Carter
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students investigate the dynamics of digital information, its origins, sources, and its social, political and cultural impact. The discourse serves to familiarize students with the diverse technological frameworks, origins of data, algorithms, and the processes in play that create information. Emphasis is placed on the quality of information in terms of bias, factual content, diffusion, and the ethics of its usage. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 05, Friends & Friendship
MW 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Hart
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students will read op-eds, blogs, narrative essays, reports, academic journal articles, and short stories, and listen to podcasts and presentations as they write and speak about how the concept of friendship has been defined and portrayed from ancient to modern times, how friendships form and evolve throughout our lives, how friends influence our experiences and choices, and what happens when our friendships change or end. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 06, PogChamp
MW 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor C. Finaret
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. We celebrate all things gaming. Students critically investigate the emergent culture of gaming, both the good (relaxation, competitive spirit, and community) and the bad (toxicity, gambling, and addiction). We dive into scholarship, videos, streaming, and forums, to examine how gamers communicate and behave. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 08, Stress in Science and Society
MW 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Houtz
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Anxiety, burnout, and stress are common feelings experienced among students in college. In this course, students investigate the scientific and societal implications of stress through written genres including popular science books, academic research articles, health blogs, and op-eds. Students discuss the biological basis of stress, how stress is perceived by society, and strategies for coping with stress in college. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 09, Bringing Nature Home
TTH 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Coenen
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By reading social media posts, op-eds, essays, reports, academic journal articles, poems, and short stories, and by listening to podcasts and presentations, students will consider how green spaces like gardens, yards, and parks have been portrayed over time, how they reflect values of communities, how they affect plant and animal diversity, and what role they might play in the climate crisis.The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 10, Music in Education
MW 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Delfing
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students discuss, speak, and write about how we learn about music by reading journal articles and personal narratives and listening to podcasts, presentations, and first-hand accounts. Students also investigate, evaluate, and analyze how current music educators navigate, influence, and collaborate with a diverse and ever-changing student population. The use of reading and listening to interpret the ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 11, Harmony of the World
TTH 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Willey
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. This course is an historical investigation of the concept that the universe is governed by principles of musical harmony, in particular in the motions of the heavens. By reading and analyzing works from the ancient world through the early modern period we will trace the development of the idea that musical principles are in some way embedded in nature. We will also consider what modern research tells us about our connection with music at social, cultural, and biological levels. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 12, Social Forces in the Ivory Tower
TTH 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Warren
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Science is often seen as an objective pursuit of truth, unblinded by cultural biases and conducted independently from other social forces. But science is conducted by people, and people cannot fully separate themselves from the society in which they participate. Through reading scientific, historical, and pop culture texts; listening to podcasts and presentations; and discussing ideas with classmates, students explore the interactions between science and society: how scientific progress can shape our culture, and how our culture in turn shapes the science we conduct. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 13, Kindful Activism
MW 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Wesoky
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By reading written genres including personal narratives and academic journal articles, and listening to podcasts and presentations, students will learn about the effects of meditation and mindfulness practice on individual mindsets and relationships with others. We will then write and speak about how such skills may promote more effective and inclusive social and political activism. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 14, Representing Democracy
TTH 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Bailey
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By reading blogs, op-eds, reports, and academic journal articles, listening to podcasts, and watching popular films, students investigate Hollywood’s influence on our understanding of U.S. democracy. They write and speak about how U.S. media representations have portrayed the rule “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” how such rule plays out in our everyday lives, what it means to be denied a say in how one’s life can or should proceed, and how we might imagine a more inclusive and equitable society that fosters robust civic participation. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 15, Arab and Muslims in Television, Media, and Film
TTH 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Hilal
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking and listening. By reading written genres including short stories, narrative essays, academic journal articles, and watching comedy and film, students will write and speak about the representation of historically marginalized communities in television, media, and film, with a specific focus on Arabs and Muslims. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 16, Who Do You Follow?
MW 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Riess
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students engage with historical texts, contemporary articles, audiovisual and social media to understand why people follow some humans, ideas, or beliefs, and not others. Students write about popular figures, institutions or trends while developing the skills to reason their own choices of the paths and people to follow in the future. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 105 17, Abstract Art and Meaning
TTH 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Jennings
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. This course emphasizes an exploration of abstraction seated in the visual arts. In this course we’ll be analyzing definitions and formations of abstract art by examining a range of artworks, artist interviews, op eds, essays and theory. In addition, we’ll examine the history of abstraction/non-objective art and how this form of making has been utilized to communicate ideas. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 200 Section
SWS 200, That Happened Here?
TTH 11:00 AM 12:15 PM
Professor Ribeiro
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By reading historical primary sources and academic journal articles and listening to podcasts and presentations, students will consider surprising episodes in the history of Meadville and Northwest Pennsylvania. Students investigate the area’s connections to the Underground Railroad, the first oil boom, and the invention of the zipper, among other topics. The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.