CPEA 211 – To Walk with Nature: Environment and the Artist (4 CR) 

(GCR-ENV) (GCR-Arts Area) 

This course will examine the multiple relationships that exist between art and environment. We will look at ways in which the natural environment has inspired artists and arts movements, and we will look at the Environmental Art Movement that uses art to advocate for environmental change. We will also explore ways in which specific environments (galleries, place-based installations, outdoor exhibitions, for example) have on the perception of art, we will examine environmental art movements, and study art exhibits that are related to specific environments. We will learn about artists who work in sculpture, music, dance, theater, photography and architecture to address environmental issues. Students will engage in making environmental art projects based on their individual interests and art backgrounds, and they will work on collaborative art projects in media that may be new to them. 

Format and Time: Synchronous Online, Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 12:50 – 2:10 p.m.

Instructor: Curry 

CPEC 253 - The Optimist’s Telescope: Futuring and Strategies of Imagination (4 CR) 

When addressing social problems from climate change to homelessness, racial disparities to the impact of COVID-19, our solutions are often limited by what we can’t imagine; we try to paint pictures of what could be using only the palette of what already-is. This class is a laboratory of imagination, looking at the strategies of imagination that introduce futuristic and sometimes seemingly-impossible ideas, practicing mapping, learning from, and rearranging existing information into the possible and the necessary. Utilizing speculative thinking and borrowing from artistic strategies, studying social science and creative text, students will choose examples of problems from real life to explore and venture past what’s considered “unthinkable,” mapping out possible solutions and new ways of seeing. Students are limited to one CPE course per semester.   

Format and Time: Synchronous Online, Monday – Friday, 10 AM-12 PM and 12:50 PM - 2:10 PM 

Instructor: Hopper 

CPED 207 – The Addicted Brain: Understanding America’s Drug Crisis (4 CR) 

(GCR Biological and Physical Science area) 

The opioid crisis is one of the deadliest drug epidemics in U.S. history. “Opioids” include illegal recreational drugs (such as heroin), but also powerful pain relievers often prescribed for patients with chronic medical conditions. In this course, we will dive into the neurobiology of opioid drugs, the effects they have on the brain, and how this contributes to the development of an addiction. We will also examine the many intersecting factors (education, class, race, cultural background, genetic predisposition, psychological health, and others) that influence who becomes addicted to opioids, and what help they receive. Students will then conduct collaborative investigations of a drug of their choice in a specific local or national setting (for example, methamphetamine abuse in the rural Midwest, or Ritalin abuse by urban teens), working to understand the factors influencing the abuse of this drug from social and biological perspectives. Students are limited to one CPE course per semester. 

Format and Time: Synchronous Online, Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 12:50 – 2:10 p.m.

Instructor: Starkey 

HIS 208 – Juneteenth (4 CR) 

(GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area) 

On June 19, 1865, about two years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas to let the last of those in former Confederate states know that the Civil War had ended. By General Order 3, more than 250,000 Black people were now free. This course explores the power of the Emancipation Proclamation in Confederate Territory, thinking through the symbolism of Abraham Lincoln while challenging the narrative of the “Great Emancipator”.  Students will have a chance to examine southern history against the backdrop of the American slavery-to-freedom story, understanding how place and memory worked together to create a national liberation story.  Students will also examine the social, cultural and legal circumstances that led to its 2021 national holiday status. Furthermore, as a jubilee, students will learn of the cultural and historical significance of culinary traditions and musical expression that populate the event. 

Format and Time: Asynchronous Online 

Instructor: Kami Fletcher 

PLS 204 – Law and Society (4 CR) 

An introductory, interdisciplinary examination of law as a social institution. Focus is on the origin, history, and philosophy of legal systems from an international perspective, as well as the relationship in the United States between common law and statutory law, federal and state law, the courts and legislative bodies, and the courts and the executive branch of government. Exploration of the legal profession, its history, practice, goals, and place in American society. This course is a required course for the Legal Studies minor, but all students are welcome. 

Format and Time: Asynchronous online. 

Instructor: Adam Lippe 

SP 120 - Elements of Spanish II (4 CR)  

Continued development of the four basic language skills-listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing-within the context of Hispanic cultures. Four contact hours. Prerequisite: SP 110 or SP 110V with a minimum grade of C- or placement exam.  

Format and Time: Synchronous Online, Monday - Friday, 10 AM-12 PM and 12:50 PM - 2:10 PM  

Instructor: Gomis Quinto 

SP 130 - Intermediate Spanish (4 CR) 

(LER-FL) (GCR FL - Platforms 1 & 2) 

This course is designed to expand knowledge of the Spanish language and explore the cultural diversity in the Spanish-speaking world through the development of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. This is the third and final course of the lower-division language sequence. Satisfactory completion of the course fulfills the foreign language requirement. Four contact hours. Prerequisite: SP 120 or SP 120S or SP 120V, with a minimum grade of C- or placement exam. Fall and Spring semesters. 

Format and Time: Synchronous Online, Monday - Friday, 10 AM-12 PM and 12:50 PM - 2:10 PM  

Instructor: Ramos Fontán 

WEC 206 - Professional Communication (4 CR)  

(GCR- WEC)  

Open to students from any major, this course will develop and enhance students’ skills in a range of written and verbal communications in organizational settings. Students will work on a variety of projects, including standard business correspondence and career development documents in multiple platforms.  Students will also craft persuasive arguments in the form of longer researched articles and grant proposals. Students will learn to write for a range of audiences. There will be an emphasis on presentations as well. Prerequisites: WRT 181 or WRT 181H or FYS 100W or CWP. Fulfills WEC requirement.  

Format and Time: Asynchronous Online.  

Instructor: Lana Oweidat