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January Term Home January Term Study Away/Abroad Application Information January Term Policies January Term Course Descriptions January Term Syllabi January Term General Education Courses January Term Schedule of Courses
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Loras College Course Descriptions for January Term 2009 Study Away and Study Abroad courses require an application and a non-refundable $300 deposit by April 23 as indicated in the course description. In addition to listed course fees, students will also be responsible for room and board fees for their time on campus and additional out-of-pocket expenses while traveling. Consult with course instructors for more details.
BIO 325 Environmental Issues in Costa Rica This course is a 12 day study travel field course in Costa Rica. Students will visit three different forest ecosystems: tropical wet forest, tropical dry forest, and high elevation tropical cloud forest. Students will use the scientific method to generate questions, pose hypotheses, design experiments and collect data at 3 outdoor sites. Results from these hands on projects will be discussed within the group and with local experts. Basic ecological concepts will be compared between sites. Each student will learn basic flora and fauna at each of the 3 sites. Environmental issues including hydroelectric power, man-made reservoirs, rainforest logging, agricultural land use, coffee production, pineapple and house plant production, exotic plant and animal control, ecotourism, and maintenance of biodiversity will be discussed and observed first hand. BUS 115 Business Tours “What is a business?” “What do business people DO all day?” “Why might I want to major in business?” “Where might I want to start a career in business?” These and other questions can be answered by taking BUS 115 Business Tours during the Spring 2009 J-Term. Studying the basic functions of accounting, HR, information systems, marketing and management, you will discover some of the common characteristics of all businesses, as well as understand what makes them different. There will be ample opportunity to see a number of organizations “first hand”, including local trips to John Deere, Nordstrom Distribution, West Dubuque Biodiesel, Klauer Manufacturing, American Trust, and Prudential Retirement, as well as taking a trip to Madison, Wisconsin to visit American Family Insurance and Saris cycling products. We’ll conclude the course by giving you the opportunity to test your business acumen by participating in a business simulation against your classmates. It’s a great time, and a great way to learn about business! CHE 201 Introduction to Forensic Chemistry This course will provide an in‑depth introduction to forensic science with an emphasis in forensic chemistry. The topics that will be covered in this course include: handling data, collection of physical evidence, identification of evidence, characterization of glass and soil evidence, examination of hairs, fibers, and paints, drug analysis, serology, fingerprint detection, and questioned document analysis (analysis of documents whose authenticity is doubted). This course will focus on the chemical basis behind the forensic techniques used in crime labs. Students will be taught how different chemical techniques can be used in the analysis of physical evidence, with the hope that they will gain a working understanding of the theory behind these methods. COM 289 Documenting the Holocaust A creative, documentary production course centered on the Holocaust of WWII. Students will begin the pre-production process on campus and then travel to Germany to research, interview, write, shoot and edit a documentary film relating to their personal journey into the Holocaust nearly 70 years after it happened. Prior creative production skills not required, but helpful. COM 299 U.S. Presidential Inauguration Seminar In this course students will explore the nature, surrounding rituals and process of the smooth transition of power from the current U.S. President to the newly elected President of the United States by examining the key dimensions of the Inauguration Ceremonies past and present. This course will involve two main activities, in addition to reflection, writing, and group presentation: a) fact-finding and discovery as the students research prior Presidential Inaugurations and Addresses and the historical progression of the formal procedure surrounding that historic event in the first two weeks of coursework at Loras and b) the experiential component of travel to Washington, D.C. to take part in the ceremonies, traditions and rituals surrounding the Inauguration and transfer of power to the newly elected POTUS. EDU 203 Multicultural Education This course focuses on preparing pre-service teachers to work with students from diverse backgrounds. Topics include the following achievement categories assessed by No Child Left Behind: race, low socio-economic status, and English language learners. The goal of the course is for pre-service teachers to see first-hand diversity in Dubuque and during a week long experience in Chicago. As a result, students will be able to gather insights from teachers, administrators, and K-12 students at the various school settings they visit. Due to these experiences, students will develop an understanding of the achievement gap and propose solutions to help all students succeed academically. EME 240 Mechatronics and Smart Product Design This in-depth study course is an introductory course in mechatronics. Mechatronics is a study that combines concepts from computer science, digital electronics, sensors and measurement, linear control theory, and mechanical design. It focuses on the use of microcontrollers, digital electronics, and electronic sensors in the design and application to smart systems. Students will learn how to use a microcontroller system and create a smart project application which measures and controls a mechanical system. ENG 242 English Literature – AA The students will read, analyze, discuss, and study novels, stories, plays, and poems set in whole or in large part in Chicago. They will also read primary documents written in the time span of the literature, such as letters, newspaper reports, and reminiscences. These will root the students in the historical matrix from which the literature arose. For a theme, issue and idea, the course will address the affect of moving from a rural area to a large city. Several of the works depict a young person moving from a small town or rural area to Chicago. Students will spend three days in Chicago connecting the literature studied to specific locations in Chicago. ENG 253 Native Voices, Native Lives Throughout this partially community-based, experiential learning course, students will read carefully and respectfully and then reflect through group discussions and individual writing assignments on a variety of Native American voices and experiences in novels, short stories, myths, poetry, and nonfiction. They will focus on those by the Cherokee people and other members of the “5 Civilized Tribes Group,” such as the Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminoles. They will examine the cultural and historical contexts for each reading, film, or artifact, spending approximately two weeks at Loras—one prior to travel and one after travel. In the middle week of this 3-week course, students will travel to live, learn, and work among the Cherokee people for a week in Cherokee, NC, at the Reservation site of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. Students will read and/or “hear” texts, films, and guest lectures from members of the Cherokee Cultural Resources Office, The Tribal Council, the Qualla Arts Center, and the Museum of Cherokee Indians. ENG 301 Poetry in Performance Pre-requisites: LIB 105 College Writing or ENG 111 Critical Writing or equivalent; or LIB 110 Public Speaking and Group Communication, or equivalent. Recommended: one or more college-level literature courses. This course is an in-depth study of lyric poetry for students who would like to approach the subject in an experiential way. Students will learn to understand and appreciate poetry by doing close readings of poems, and by making them part of themselves through memorization. They will also learn to read aloud and recite poems in a way that develops their skills for reading expressively and for public speaking. The course is open to all students who have taken one of the possible prerequisites, but would be of particular interest to students majoring or thinking of majoring in English Literature or Creative Writing, or taking a minor in English, World Literature, or Theater, as well as any student wishing to learn about poetry and develop their memorization, critical reading, critical writing, expressive reading, and public speaking skills. EXP 273 The Sustainable Community: The real and the ideal This course will explore the essential features of a sustainable community (i.e., a community that meets the needs of the present generation with regard to natural resources and a livable environment without compromising the ability of subsequent generations to meet those needs). Accordingly, in this community-based learning course students will explore the nature, justification, and practical applications of environmental/ecological sustainability by examining the key dimensions of sustainability as they are currently practiced in a community (i.e., for the purposes of this course, the city of Dubuque) and by studying current “best practice” sustainability measures and policies. EXP 250 From Bean to Cup – The experiences of producers and consumers in the global coffee commodity chain How many times have you heard someone state, “I just can’t function without my cup of coffee in the morning”? While it is highly unlikely that the average consumer would suffer serious personal or other hardships without his/her coffee, it plays a central role in the personal, familial, and communal lives of millions of growers and producers around the globe. From Bean to Cup examines the life experiences of and interconnections between people on the two ends of the global coffee commodity chain—that is, the average consumer and the average grower. To this end, students will examine economic, environmental, and social aspects of the coffee industry in two locales—that of the consumer in the Tri-State area (Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin) and of the grower/producer in Latin America (i.e., Honduras). HIS 227 The March for Life: American Catholics, Sexual Morality and Public Policy This course will be a Study Travel Course. The study-travel component will center in preparing for, participating in (levels of participation may vary, at the minimum we will travel with a pro-life contingent) the March For Life 2009 and reflectively processing the participation experience. We will also visit Network A National Catholic Social Justice Lobbying and educational organization in the Washington, DC area and thoughtfully processing that experience as well. HIS 278 Chinese Cities in the Past and Present This is a study travel course, which explores China’s urban history and far-reaching changes now taking place in Chinese cities. Students will travel to Shanghai, the largest city in China; Suzhou, a historical city that Marco Polo, a famous Italian traveler of the 13th century, compared to Venice; and Hangzhou, a city that served as China’s capital in the 12th and 13th centuries and is known for its beautiful scenery. Themes to be studied include (1) the development of cities and their political and economic roles in pre-modern China, (2) physical and spatial features of pre-modern Chinese cities and the social and cultural contexts that created these features, (3) traditional Chinese gardens and the underlying philosophical and aesthetic views, (4) China’s current accelerated urbanization and urban planning, and (5) the social and cultural transformation of Chinese cities currently taking place. IVA Mixed Media and Installation Art This course is open to students of all levels that have an interest in studio art. This seminar and studio-based course will introduce students to the historical framework of mixed media and installation art. Learning will occur in the classroom as well as during museum, gallery and art center visits. Students will investigate subject, form and content as they seek new forms of visual vocabulary. The final component of this course will allow students to work through a visual and artistic problem as they create an installation piece. This will broaden their imagination and appreciation, as well as present the challenges of experimentation and interpretation. Mixed Media is a technique of creating an artwork by incorporating two or more media into a single work. Installation art is a technique of creating three-dimensional works of art by combining various elements, especially found objects, into an integrated whole. LIB 112 Mathematics of Games In this course students will learn the mathematics behind games that have a significant element of chance in them (the games will be selected by the professor). This will include logic, counting techniques, probability, and statistics. The students will use these tools to engage in a cycle of creating strategies, playing these strategies against other students, analyzing strengths and weaknesses of their strategies, revising their strategies, playing again with their new strategies. By engaging in this cognitive cycle, the students will learn the skills of making informed conjectures, testing these conjectures, reflecting on the results, and modifying their conjectures. In particular, they will learn how to use mathematical modeling as a powerful tool in this process. PSY/SCW 190 The Working Poor This three week intensive course will introduce and challenge introductory students to critically think about the economic, housing, social, cultural, and environmental realities of the working poor. Through a hands-on simulation, readings, class discussions, guest speakers, and media presentations, students will gain a foundational knowledge of the history of the working poor in the U.S., the theories regarding causation and reduction, and the grassroots efforts for change as they relate to the social class referred to as the working poor. Students will build on this foundation by developing a specific knowledge of the working poor in the Dubuque community through interviewing and writing personal histories of a local family and through interviews with local agencies serving the working poor. REL 210 World Religions This is a study travel course that will involve five all-day field trips. Broadly, the course introduces students to the comparative study of religion by examining the content and practices of several major traditions. The course presumes the integrity of these ancient beliefs and practices and it respects their claims to truth. Because the course is offered in a J term format, it advances a certain focus for this vast amount of material: it examines the content and practices of religious traditions as they appear in sacred places. Throughout the J term, students will a) visit such sacred places b)compare and contrast the nature of those spaces c) analyze why certain traditions fashion certain types of spaces d) reflect upon the similarities and differences between these spaces and ones they are familiar with. SMG 225 Sports Business: Balancing the Bottom Line with the Mission Statement This course will study and critique multiple current issues surrounding sport, business, and capitalism through the lens of Catholic, Protestant and secular teachings. Multiple perspectives and examples from the sport industry, including from athletes, coaches, consumers, families, and entrepreneurs, will be presented and analyzed. An emphasis will be placed on how companies and individuals attempt to balance the desire to excel in the athletic or business arena with respect for their competitors and consumers. Examples will include the moral obligations athletic departments at different colleges owe their multiple constituents; the responsibilities businessmen and women in sport have to their constituents; the responsibilities athletes, corporations and the media have in promotion of athletes or products; youth sport issues relevant to families; and labor conditions, including the use of immigrant labor, in sporting goods factories, sports facilities. Students will travel to St. Louis to visit with athletic department officials at a Catholic, Protestant, and secular college and to visit with front office personnel of sports teams and businesses. SOC 295 Racism, Poverty and Hurricane Katrina This is a three week intensive travel study course, which will introduce and challenge students to critically think about the situation in New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina, focusing particularly on racism and poverty. Through readings, class discussions, media presentations, and reflection assignments, students will gain knowledge on the history of race and poverty in New Orleans and how that history effected responses to the storm. Additionally, students will get first-hand experience of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the tremendous devastation left in its wake by traveling to New Orleans. Students will build on the knowledge they have gained from the class materials through their interaction with local residents and by participating in service work in New Orleans. Themes to be studied include (1) brief history of racism and segregation in the South, specifically in New Orleans (2) the intersection of race and poverty, (3) media influence on racial stereotypes, (4) prevalence of racism and poverty in American cities. |
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