Our school has partnered with Straighterline in regards to offering the following courses. It is a requirement that if you have not taken Humanites & Fine Arts and your course of study requires it, you will need to select one of the following.
POLS101 – American Government
“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union…” These are the first words of the United States Constitution, the country’s most important government document. What did the framers of this document envision as a “more perfect union?” In this course, you will explore the result of their vision—the American government. You will discover how the founders created a democracy based upon the ideals of liberty, equality, and self-government. You will explore how the government is structured and how it operates, and you will examine the three branches of government—legislative, executive, and judicial—that make up the system of checks and balances. You will find that although the Constitution in principle grants certain rights and liberties to the people, many groups have not been allowed those rights in practice and have had to fight for them. But as you will discover, the very nature of the United States government means that the people have a voice, and that the Constitution is a living document, because it can be adapted and amended to change with the times.
3 credit hours
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course.
ART101 – Art Appreciation
Art Appreciation equips students with the vocabulary to understand and discuss art, while introducing them to various mediums. Students will learn themes of art, principles of design, types of two-dimensional and threedimensional media, and be taken on a tour of art through the ages. They will learn the different eras of art, how culture is affected by and affects art, and how to use elements of a piece of work to identify its time period or artist.
3 credit hours
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites to take this course.
ANT101 – Cultural Anthropology
This course provides a solid introduction for students who are new to the branch of cultural anthropology. Students are presented with all the basic information pertinent to the field. The topics discussed include:
- Relevant anthropological theories
- Ethnocentrism and culture
- Language and communication
- Economic and political systems
- Kinship and descent
- Marriage and family
- Gender and sexuality
- Race and ethnicity
- Religion and belief systems
- The effects of colonialism and industrialization Globalization
3 credit hours
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites to take this course.
COM101 – Introduction to Communication
Communication 101 encourages students to consider how engaging in public discourse can serve as a purposeful, action-driven form of communication. In this course, students will gain foundational knowledge of communication, as influenced by constitutive, contextual, and cultural factors, and then apply this knowledge through a series of public speaking projects centered around advocacy and argument. Students will design preparatory, informative, persuasive, research and reflective projects, engaging in civic discourse as a process of advocacy including consideration of the following: organizational structure, context, content, modality, language, aesthetic and rhetorical choices, statements of connectivity, and desired outcomes. In addition, students will learn how to appropriately select, analyze and synthesize credible source material, with the ultimate goal of combining researched evidence with their own unique insights. Finally, students will engage in ethical and effective research techniques, using the Modern Language Association’s (MLA-Version 8 or 9) formatting recommendations.
3 credit hours
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites to take Introduction to Communication.
PHIL101 – Introduction to Philosophy
This course is a critical introduction to the field of philosophical inquiry. After defining philosophy and identifying the major fields of philosophical study, the course examines the history of Western thought, from the famous Greek philosophers up to the cutting-edge intellectuals of today. The course then dives into various thematic topics, including metaphysics, epistemology, free will and determinism, evil and the existence of God, personal identity, ethical values, and political philosophy. The course concludes with an analysis of different perspectives, including Eastern philosophies, and postcolonial thought.
3 credit hours
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites to take Introduction to Philosophy.
REL101 – Introduction to Religion
This course provides students with a comprehensive overview of cultural-religious phenomena in a global world. Commonalities and differences among religious traditions and contexts are analyzed, and various religious traditions and points of view are compared and contrasted. philosophical formulations, sacred writings, religious experiences, ethics, rituals, and art are also discussed.
3 credit hours
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites to take this course.
SOC101 – Introduction to Sociology
This course provides a broad overview of sociology and how it applies to everyday life. Major theoretical perspectives and concepts are presented, including sociological imagination, culture, deviance, inequality, social change, and social structure. Students also explore the influence of social class and social institutions, such as churches, education, healthcare, government, economy, and environment. The family as a social structure is also examined.
3 credit hours
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites to take Introduction to Sociology
USHIST101 – United States History I
This course focuses on the characteristics of societies existing in the Americas prior to Students learn about European exploration and colonization of the New World and they examine the impact on Europe, Africa, and the young United States. The emergence of political, religious, economic, and social institutions is discussed. Specific causes of the American Revolution are examined, as is the resulting impact on politics, the economy, and society. Students learn how the Industrial Revolution and Western movement changed the lives of Americans, they examine the causes and events of the Civil War, and they evaluate how Reconstruction plans succeeded or failed.
3 credit hours
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites to take U.S. History I.
USHIST102 – United States History II
This course provides an overview of the history of the United States and its effects on American society from Reconstruction following the Civil War to the post-9/11 era. Students apply historical research skills to major themes in American history and evaluate the successes and failures of various Reconstruction plans. Factors that led to the rise of Populism, American expansionist policy, and the development of theProgressive movement are identified, and the effects on American society are discussed. Students investigate the causes of World War I and analyze the social and economic developments that characterized the period between World War I and the Great Depression. Factors that lead to the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War are examined, and the major economic, social, and diplomatic developments of the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations are investigated. The causes, events, and consequences of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s are examined, as well as U.S. involvement in Vietnam and the impact of the war on American society. The major domestic and international developments of the Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and the first Bush administrations are analyzed and assessed, as is the significance of major domestic and international developments since 1990.
3 credit hours
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites to take U.S. History II but it is recommended that students complete U.S. History I first
CIV101 – Western Civilization I
This course provides students with a comprehensive overview of the development of early civilizations from Neolithic times to 1715. Early and contemporary Western cultures are compared and contrasted, as are major religious, social, and political reforms. Other topics include the religious influence of Judaism and the Bible, the rise and fall of ancient Greece, and the transformation of Rome from a republic to an empire. The Crusades, the origins of feudalism, and the evolution of Christianity are examined, as is the evolution of the European economy during Westward expansion. The Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment period are also discussed.
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites to take Western Civilization I.
