LBA 107/207:Composition I / Honors Composition I
(3 hrs.)
(Required of all students.)
The first semester of a two-semester sequence, this course provides students with a wide range of opportunities to sharpen their reading, writing, research, reasoning, and digital medial skills. At the same time, the course also encourages students to develop, in both their writing and their speaking, their own distinct and identifiable voice. The format of the course will include guest speakers, class discussions, small group presentations, individual presentations, formal and informal papers, writing exercises, and peer reviewing.
LBA 108/208: Composition and Research II / Honors Composition and Research II
(3 hrs.)
(Prerequisite: LBA 107 or LBA 108.) (Required of all students.)
Students continue to sharpen their skills in critical reading, writing, researching, reasoning, and digital-film making with an additional focus on learning to make good use their speaking voices. Composition and Research II links closely with the other Liberal Arts course offered in the student’s Learning Community, supporting and enriching the reading, research, and writing required in the linked course.
LBA 142: Social Science: Peacemaking in the Modern World
(3 hrs.)
Usint the resources of philosophical and religious ethics, students in this course examine theories of war, terrorism, justice, and peace, as well as principles of nonviolence and alternative methods of conflict resolution.
LBA
151: Cultural Studies: Seven Pleasures
(3 hrs.)
This course provides an opportunity for students to study art as
aesthetic experience across cultures and time. Specifically, the
course explores seven basic ways of enjoying works of art: the pleasures
of illusion, narrative, pattern, emotion, form, the unconscious
and the intellect.
LBA 153: Cultural Studies: Women in Music
(3 hrs.)
This course takes an historical, international perspective on the study of women's contributions to classical and popular music as composers and performers. (new course)
LBA
161: Historical Studies: American Culture and Nature
(3 hrs.)
An environmental history of what now is the United States, from
the arrival of the first Asian peoples to populate North America
to the present. In this course human interaction with the natural
environment includes epidemic disease (specifically the 1918 influenza
epidemic) as well as agricultural use and misuse of the land, solid
waste disposal, the capitalist consumption ethic, and environmental
degradation, and many other topics.
LBA 171: Historical Studies: The American Dream
(3 hrs.)
This course studies the diverse history of America through an analysis of the changing hopes, dreams, aspirations, and expectations of its citizens.
LBA 172: Historical Studies: Unruly Women
(3 hrs.)
Students in this course study the history of women in the United States through the perspectives of women that challenged the norms of society through their actions, lifestyles, race, and gender, focusing in part on women in Missouri's history.
LBA 173: Historical Studies: America 1960-1990: Domestic and Global Perspectives
(3 hrs.)
Students in this class will study America's involvement in the world through the lenses of human rights, race, roles of women and gender, poverty, the environment, and globalization. (new course)
LBA
181: Social Science: Psychology of Creativity
(3 hrs.)
This course provides the student with an introduction to the psychological foundations of creativity, including biological, social, familial, and cognitive factors. Basic psychological principles will be studied to expand the student's understanding of the creative process.
LBA 214:
Honors - Literary Studies: Contemporary International Fiction
(3 hrs.)
This course investigates the elements of fiction by reading six
contemporary novels from around the world. Students will examine
the historical, cultural, sociopolitical, and economic context of
the literary readings and explore themes common to contemporary
literature.
LBA 218: Social Science Core 1: Government and Economics
(3 hrs.)
This course focuses on the national and trans-national relationships between governments, especially the United States government, and economic systems, corporations, institutions, and agreements. As the first of the two Social Science Core Courses offered in the second year of the LBA program, this course helps students learn about some of the most powerful forces in the world at the same time as it gives them opportunities to sharpen their reading, writing, researching, reasoning, and speaking skills.
LBA 228: Literary Studies: Southwestern Border Literature
(3 hrs.)
Focusing on Chicano/a fiction, poetry, and memoir, this course offers
an introduction to contemporary literature emerging from the Mexico/U.S.
border. Students will examine the historical, cultural, sociopolitical,
and economic contexts of the literary readings and explore themes
of La Casa/El Barrio/La Lucha: Home/Neighborhood/The Struggle.
LBA 238: Literary Studies: Coming-of-Age Literature
(3 hrs.)
This class focuses on coming-of-age narratives, a specific and well-documented genre of literature representing the transition between childhood and adulthood, an intense and memorable time filled with conflict: first love, lost love, rebellion against authority. Readings will include a variety of novels, short stories, essays, and scholarly and popular articles on developmental theory.
