Elective Courses | College of Liberal Arts | SIU

International or Intercultural

CMST 493: Intercultural Dialogue
Dr. Nilanjana Bardhan
Summer First Session (6/10-7/7), Online Hybrid (Asynchronous and Synchronous)
This special topics online hybrid (asynchronous and synchronous) course will focus on the theory and practice of intercultural dialogue, which is the process of open and respectful communication between culturally different individuals and groups. The course will take a case studies approach so students can get experience in unpacking complex and specific intercultural situations through a dialogic lens and discover pathways for communicating across difficult differences.

GER 101a and GER 101b
Dr. Mary Bricker
Summer, Online (Asynchronous); GER 101a 5/13/24-6/7/24 and GER 101b 6/10/24-8/2/24
Germany is one of the United States’ most important trading partners, which makes German useful for banking and commercial industries, such as athletic attire, automobiles, aviation, beer and wine, pharmaceuticals, and tourism. German is one of the most widely spoken language in the European Union and can be helpful for numerous fields, including chemistry, physics, engineering, environmental studies, history, literature, philosophy, political science, music, theater, and theology.

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Business, Politics, Science, and Technology

ANTH 455c Primate Behavior and Ecology
Dr. Ulrich H. Reichard
On-campus, T/Th 9:35-10:50
The course explores what primates can teach us about human social behavior from an evolutionary perspective. We will investigate primate behavioral ecology within the contexts of feeding ecology, predation pressure, social organization, and reproductive strategies. Our examples will include the Lemurs of Madagascar, New and Old World monkeys and apes.

LCIS 401: Marxism and Its Competitors
Dr. Chris Chiasson
On-campus, MW 2:00-3:15
LCIS 401: Advanced study of selected topics related to the culture, history, literature, and cinema of diverse countries, cultures, and groups. This specific offering focuses on the effects of people such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Weber, Hannah Arendt, Niklas Luhmann, and Sigmund Freud on modern society. Readings and discussion in English.

LING 440/540: Speech Technologies: Applied Linguistics Perspectives (undergraduate or graduate credit)
Dr. Shannon McCrocklin
On-campus, T/Th 11:00-12:15
This course will explore speech recognition and speech synthesis technologies. After developing a base understanding of how the technologies work, the course will explore applied linguistics research on the technologies including issues of accuracy for native and non-native speech and usefulness within linguistics, education, and speech and hearing science.

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Cultural Topics

CLAS 333: Creeds & Kings, East & West
Dr. David Johnson
On-campus, TR 9:35-10:50
Playing is the best way to learn (or at least the most fun). Take this class, and you’ll first play a
Brahmin or Buddhist advising King Ashoka (268-232 BCE). Then, as an early Christian bishop, you’ll shape early Christianity at the Council of Nicaea (325 CE) under Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor of Rome. We’ll prepare to play by studying texts from the Brahmin, Buddhist, and Jain traditions, readings from the New Testament, and selections from the first history of Christianity. You’ll then pursue your own historical winning objectives in class debates and written work.

CMST 493: Video Games: Art, Culture & History of a Medium
Justin Young
On-campus, MWF 1-1:50
From the Lincoln White House to nuclear research facilities, from pinball to virtual reality—take a journey through the history of video games and along the way examine how novelty machines grew into the largest media industry in the world. Delve into what makes the medium a unique art form from aesthetic, storytelling, and  production perspectives. From Qbert to Halo, from Super Mario to Elden Ring—let’s a go!
 
GER 230 Germanic and Norse Mythology
Dr. Chris Chiasson
On-campus, MW 9:00-9:50 and F 9:00-9:50 or 10:00-10:50
GER 230 is an introductory course in Germanic and Norse mythology. It provides an overview of the beliefs and religious practices of the pre-Christian Germanic tribes and documents the afterlife of many of these myths in the contemporary world. All readings and lectures are in English.
 
LCIS 401: Marxism and Its Competitors
Dr. Chris Chiasson
On-campus, MW 2:00-3:15
LCIS 401: Advanced study of selected topics related to the culture, history, literature, and cinema of diverse countries, cultures, and groups. This specific offering focuses on the effects of people such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Weber, Hannah Arendt, Niklas Luhmann, and Sigmund Freud on modern society. Readings and discussion in English.

THEA 311A-950 Script Analysis
Dr. Jacob Juntunen
Summer Intersession (4 Weeks), On your own schedule (no Zoom!)
Fulfills Writing Across the Curriculum Requirement
This course examines scripts in a variety of performance media: on stage, on screen, in social media, in everyday life, etc. We will read plays, watch films, post on a class blog, and write a 3-page paper. It is a 4-week intersession course, online, on your own schedule (no Zoom). It fulfills CoLA's Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) requirement.
Any pre-reqs are waived for the summer offering.

WGSS 491 & 596 Sex and HIV/AIDS (undergraduate or graduate credit)
Dr. Jacob Juntunen
Summer 8-Week Session, COMPLETELY Online (no Zoom!)
Explore how HIV/AIDS affected sex. Since the appearance of what was reported as a "mysterious new disease among gay men" in the U.S., HIV/AIDS has been closely associated with sexuality. In this course, we draw upon scholarship in the social sciences and humanities to examine the interplay between HIV/AIDS and sexuality. It is an 8-week summer course, online, on your own schedule (no Zoom). It counts towards the graduate WGSS certificate, the undergraduate WGSS minor, and the undergraduate Sexual Diversity Studies minor.

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Identity

LING 201: Language Diversity in the USA
Dr. Rachel Olsen
Summer 8-week Session, Online (Asynchronous)
Fall 16-week Session, Online (Asynchronous)
Do you speak "American" and what does that even mean? Why does your roommate from New York sound different from your roommate from Chicago? How have languages other than English shaped the linguistic landscape of the US? What impact do attitudes about language have on education, the legal system, the medical system, and across wider US society? Join us as we explore these questions and more in LING201 - Language Diversity in the USA. 3 credits - online asynchronous - fulfills UCC Multicultural/Diversity: Improving Human Relations requirement. Grades based on discussion board participation, short (20-minute or less) assignments, open-book/notes/lecture quizzes. Contact Dr. Rachel Olsen (rachel.olsen@siu.edu) with questions!

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Interactive Learning

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Conflict