Core Courses Fall 2023

Civic Conversation and Education for Democracy

This class focuses on the practice of productive public conversation about complex topics, a necessity not only for university education but for a functional democracy.  We will build skills for three distinct kinds of conversation – dialogue, deliberation, and debate – through engaging with three “cases,” social inequality, artificial intelligence, and freedom of expression. The class will include biweekly mentored, small-group meetings.

From Surviving to Thriving: The Importance of Building Resilient Communities
In this course, students will reflect on the meaning of sustainable community—building it, preserving it, and living it. As a class, we will reflect on our relationships with our environments (campus, neighborhood, city, country, world) from both a physical and social perspective. Students will have the opportunity to engage with campus and city resources relating to wellness and the promotion of sustainable community-building 

Justice and Judgment in the Western Imagination
How do we decide what is right and fair?  When, if ever, is it permissible to break the law?  What role should mercy and revenge play in legal and moral judgment?  How should we respond to historical wrongs and how can we rectify legal and social injustices today?  Such questions have not only preoccupied jurists and philosophers but have also figured prominently in literature.  In this seminar, we consider how imaginative writers from the classical period to the present day have examined the nature, problems, and possibilities of justice.  At the same time that we examine the contributions of literature to pressing legal and moral debates, we work on honing your close reading and writing skills.  Texts may include Sophocles’s Antigone; William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure; Herman Melville’s Billy Budd; Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life; Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers”; Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird; Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”; poems by Amanda Gorman, Nicole Sealey, and Reginald Dwayne Betts; Ida Fink’s The Table; and Ferdinand von Schirach’s The Collini Case.  Our literary texts will be supplemented by selections from jurists, philosophers, and historians, and we will view several film adaptations.

Humans and Other Natural Phenomena
Humans have had an ambivalent relationship with the world around us as far back as we can tell, but this ambivalence has accelerated at an unprecedented rate since the Industrial Revolution. Eliciting the loftiest praise from poets and prose writers, the earth itself and non-human species have also been brutely instrumentalized. Clearly beneficial to our health and well-being, frankly necessary to our survival, and indeed what we ourselves are, the natural world is also something ever more distant from the regular lived experience of more and more humans. As so many of us spend ever more time within the built world and the virtual world, how do we understand our relationships with other natural phenomena—since we have them whether we acknowledge them or not? How should we understand them? What are the consequences of different ways of living out these various relationships, especially for human self-understanding, human health, social justice, and the safety and thriving of all the other species who call earth home? How have artists, philosophers, and scientists of various stripes attempted to represent, explore, and encourage our species’ interactions with the other natural phenomena around us? These are some of the questions we’ll explore this term with such writers as Robinson Jeffers, Pope Francis, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Lorine Niedecker, Val Plumwood, Kate Crawford, and more. We’ll also take several field trips to allow for experiential, dialogic encounters, not only critical reading.

Humans and Other Natural Phenomena
Humans have had an ambivalent relationship with the world around us as far back as we can tell, but this ambivalence has accelerated at an unprecedented rate since the Industrial Revolution. Eliciting the loftiest praise from poets and prose writers, the earth itself and non-human species have also been brutely instrumentalized. Clearly beneficial to our health and well-being, frankly necessary to our survival, and indeed what we ourselves are, the natural world is also something ever more distant from the regular lived experience of more and more humans. As so many of us spend ever more time within the built world and the virtual world, how do we understand our relationships with other natural phenomena—since we have them whether we acknowledge them or not? How should we understand them? What are the consequences of different ways of living out these various relationships, especially for human self-understanding, human health, social justice, and the safety and thriving of all the other species who call earth home? How have artists, philosophers, and scientists of various stripes attempted to represent, explore, and encourage our species’ interactions with the other natural phenomena around us? These are some of the questions we’ll explore this term with such writers as Robinson Jeffers, Pope Francis, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Lorine Niedecker, Val Plumwood, Kate Crawford, and more. We’ll also take several field trips to allow for experiential, dialogic encounters, not only critical reading.

Immigration, Identity, and Intersectionality
In Notes of Native Son (1955), James Baldwin claimed that in the United States “our passion for categorization, life fitted neatly into pegs, has led to an unforeseen, paradoxical distress; . . . [to] confusion, a breakdown of meaning.” But this seems counterintuitive: categorization is meant to do just the opposite--to define, classify, order and group. In this course, we will explore works of American literature that test Baldwin’s thesis, particularly with respect to individual and group identities shaped by race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. We will draw from the fields of critical race and ethnic studies, sociology, psychology, history and literature. This interdisciplinary approach offers a valuable introduction to a variety of disciplines as you begin to hone your academic interests into majors/minors.

Culture, Fear, and How Monsters Get Made
Stories about “things that go bump in the night” are some of the oldest and most pervasive narratives in human history across essentially all cultural traditions. Yet we’re often told these stories are not worth studying in academic settings. So what happens if we do look closer at the monsters in our world? How can scary stories help us better understand the cultures that create and tell those stories

In this course, we’ll dive into studying language and culture through the lenses of fear and monstrosity. We’ll explore everything from ancient stories of dangerous creatures to modern true crime shows to consider how humans have always used monsters to describe the world we live in and the beings we share it with. In addition to these stories themselves, we’ll look at how scholars of horror can help us better analyze the ways expressions of fear are related to an individual’s and a culture’s conceptions (and biases) of race, gender, class, and disability, as well as other identities and social groups.

This is not a “horror” class, so those who are easily scared (like me) are definitely welcome! But we will examine how fearplays a fundamental role in how we see ourselves and others, and how we move through the world.

Finding Our Homeplace
We use the terms “unity” and “belonging” with the hope of celebrating or striving for a sense of uncomplicated and all-encompassing community. We hear this in presidential addresses (President Biden’s Inauguration theme—“America United”), voter campaigns (“Unity Over Division”), and on college campuses (“We Are Marquette”). To realistically and responsibly arrive at these optimistic visions of inclusion, rigorous discussion and deliberation are key. This course aims to dig into this work by exploring how we define and use concepts like “belonging” and “unity,” which generally promise equity and justice for all, and we’ll productively reckon with the challenges these ideals pose. How do we arrive at “we” with any satisfaction? How can unity accommodate difference and diversity? Can injustice and trauma be healed or exacerbated in the face of calls for harmony? We will wrestle with these questions by examining authors and artists, predominantly from the 19^th-century U.S., who encounter the difficulties of finding “home” in the U.S.

We’ll engage with poets of the American Civil War, 21^st-century Poet Laureate Natasha Tretheway, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Prescott Spofford, Walt Whitman, and Herman Melville, among others. The experiences, strategies, and, in some cases, warnings offered by these authors give us historical context and tools for reflecting on palpable political and cultural division in the U.S. today.   

Engaging the City: Milwaukeeans Reckon with History

This class is about Milwaukeeans reckoning with their past. We will explore what it means to reckon with the past, especially in urban contexts, and what happens when we try to ignore the past. You will learn about developments in Milwaukee history that require further grappling such as forcing Native peoples off the land, Marquette University’s original official seal, a sexual assault by a famous abolitionist in the 1850s, a lynching, early physical education, the Great Migration, the environmental impact of heavy industry, and how highway construction damaged the city’s Black community. You will also learn inspiring stories of how Milwaukeeans are currently engaging with the past through art, fiction, protest, commemoration, and urban planning. Class trips and outside visitors will give you a new appreciation of the city in which we live. The semester will culminate in a community-engaged history project that requires you to work collaboratively and apply your historical skills to a contemporary challenge.

Engaging the World: U.S. Cities and the Narratives of Crisis
The last few years have brought a number of radical disruptions to the daily lives of people living in the United States. Political and civic leaders, pundits, and academics speak of a three-part crisis wrought by a global health pandemic, an economic recession, and a reckoning with a centuries-long national history of white supremacy. For urban residents across the country, however, many of whom have taken the streets in protest after facing public health disparities, a ballooning wealth and income gap, and racism for decades, this concept of ‘crisis’ is not a new one. To better understand the history of these ‘urban crises’ narratives in the United States, this class will interrogate a number of questions, including: what are the origins of these ‘crises,’ and how have communities living in urban centers grappled with them across the twentieth century? How and why have urban populations changed, and how have residents understood the communities that develop in urban spaces? Who holds economic and social power in urban areas, and who has the ‘right’ to live in an urban space? And, how do urban residents organize to mitigate or reverse the effects of these economic, public health, and racial ‘crises’ on their communities? With these questions in mind, this course offers an introduction to the twentieth-century history of cities in the United States, focusing specifically on the development of a crisis narrative in urban space. Throughout the course we’ll pay special attention to the complicated and conflicting ideas about cities that have emerged in relation to adjoining rural and suburban areas, examine the rise of the modern metropolis, interrogate the role of public health in urban development, and analyze the political, social, and environmental dimensions of cities’ growth. We will examine the relationships between cities and migration, while also studying the ways in which the distinctions of city and country have been continually drawn and redrawn over time. We’ll seek to understand what caused these massive fluctuations in urban life, with a special focus on cities in the Midwest, as well as how these shifts connect to larger national and transnational trends. Focusing on economic, social, environmental, demographic, and cultural change, this course offers an introductory overview of what it has meant to be an urban denizen across the twentieth and early twenty-first century.

Preserving the City as Art and History

This course will introduce students to the history of architecture, parks, monuments, and urban design in America as well as the theory and practice of historic preservation. Through object analysis, historic research, and extensive fieldwork, students will learn how to “read” a building, monument, or cultural landscape as form of public art and as a source of historic evidence, think critically about their built environment, and discover the role which citizens can play in preserving art, history, and community. Using Milwaukee and Chicago as case-studies for these themes, students will come to understand “the power of place” to shape their lives—and their own power to shape civic life.

This class looks at contemporary social issues through the lens of the economic, ideological, and institutional structures that frame them.  We will look at the historical context of these structures and attempt to venture some ideas on how to overcome the tensions and injustices that face us here in Milwaukee.

Religious Places, Divided Spaces, and Hope for the FutureDr. Martin Luther King famously observed that America is most segregated on Sunday at 11AM. Was that true of Milwaukee while Dr. King called for the nation to redeem its troubled racial legacy? Is it still true today? If so, how is it that churches mirrored society's basest elements rather than demonstrating its highest ideals? This course introduces students to the history of Milwaukee by examining the city's religious heritage. Neither the city nor its religious landscape can be fully grasped without broadly understanding the contours of urban history, the role of race in America's founding and growth, the place of city churches and synagogues in welcoming immigrants, and the promise of God to "make all things new." Learn about Marquette's hometown and meet servant leaders throughout Milwaukee who are actively putting their faith into practice to bridge the divides that still keep people apart on Sunday mornings.

BIOL 1001H 901 LEC   
MWF 9:00-9:50am; Th 6:00-6:50pm        Stephanie Abramovich

BIOL 1001H 902 LEC 
MWF 11:00-11:50am; Th 6:00-6:50pm     Stephanie Abramovich

BIOL 1001H 903 LEC 
MWF 1:00-1:50pm; Th 6:00-6:50pm         Martin St. Maurice

DIS 961    M   2:00-2:50pm
DIS 962    T    9:30-10:20am
DIS 963    T    2:00-2:50pm

CHEM 1001H 902 LEC    MWF   10-10:50am      Llanie Nobile

            941 LAB    W    2:00-4:50pm                   

            942 LAB     T    5:30-8:20pm   

            961 DIS     W    1:00-1:50pm   

            962 DIS     T     3:00-3:50pm   

CHEM 1001H 903 LEC    MWF   1:00-1:50pm     Llanie Nobile

            943 LAB    T     5:30-8:20pm                

            944 LAB    W    2:00-4:50pm 

            963 DIS     T     3:00-3:50pm   

            964 DIS     T     3:00-3:50pm   

CHEM 1013H 901 LEC    MF       9:00-10:15am     Scott Reid

            941 LAB   W     9:00-11:50am                  

COMM 4550 101      MW       2:00-3:15pm     Ayleen Cabas-Mijares

* This is not officially an honors section, but honors student who enroll will receive honors elective credit. COMM 4550 meets the Individuals & Communities humanities or elective course requirement in the Discovery Tier.

**Enrollment for Honors students is limited and will be done by permission number - please contact Erin if you are interested in taking this class.**

ENGL 3301 101       TTh  11:00am-12:15pm                  Liza Strakhov

* This is not officially an honors section, but honors student who enroll will receive honors elective credit. ENGL 3301 meets the Crossing Boundaries humanities or elective course requirement in the Discovery Tier.

**Enrollment for Honors students will be done by permission number - please contact Erin if you are interested in taking this class.**

ENGL 4755 102     TTh 11:00am-12:15pm                  Melissa Ganz

* This is not officially an honors section, but honors student who enroll will receive honors elective credit. ENGL 4755 meets the Basic Needs & Justice humanities or elective course requirement in the Discovery Tier.

**Enrollment for Honors students will be done by permission number - please contact Erin if you are interested in taking this class.**

HEAL 1025H 901     F     9:00-11:40am                   Theresa Schnable

HEAL 1025H does not require a permission number. If you have trouble enrolling, please contact the Nursing department.

HIST 4255H 901     MWF    1:00-1:50pm                  Timothy McMahon

HIST 4255H meets the Crossing Boundaries humanities or elective course requirement in the Discovery Tier.

LLAC 1001 101     MWF    12:00-12:50pm                Sergio Gonzalez

* This is not officially an honors section, but honors student who enroll will receive honors elective credit. LLAC 1001 meets the Crossing Boundaries humanities or elective course requirement in the Discovery Tier.

MUSI 1120H 901   W 5:00-7:00pm, Sun 3:15-5:00pm      Andrew Mountin

^please note MUSI 1120H is 1 credit. For full honors elective credit, students will need to complete three semesters of MUSI 1120H.

PHIL 1001H 901 LEC    MWF     12:00-12:50pm              Michael Olson

PHIL 1001H 902 LEC    MWF     1:00-1:50pm                  Michael Olson

PHIL 1001H 903 LEC    MW       3:30-4:45pm                  Corinne Bloch-Mullins

PHIL 1001H 904 LEC    TTh       9:30-10:45am                Peter Burgess

PHIL 1001H 905 LEC    TTh       11:00am-12:15pm         Peter Burgess

PHIL 1001H 906 LEC    TTh       11:00am-12:15pm         Grant Silva

PHIL 1001H 907 LEC    TTh       2:00-3:15pm                  Peter Burgess

PHIL 1001H 908 LEC    MW       2:00-3:15pm                 Corinne Bloch-Mullins

PHYS 1003H 901          MWF 9-9:50am; M 6-8pm             Jax Sanders     

PHYS 1003H 902          MWF 12-12:50pm; M 6-8pm         Melissa Vigil 

PHYS 1003H 903          MWF 1-1:50pm; M 6-8pm             David Haas      

PHYS 1003H 904          MWF 2-2:50pm; M 6-8pm             David Haas      

            941 Lab            W 6-7:50pm    

            942 Lab            Th 4-5:50pm

            961 Disc           W 5-5:50pm

PHYS 1013H 901          MWF 1:00-2:50pm                        Andrew Kunz

POSC 2201H 901          MWF 10:00-10:50am                     Karen Hoffman

POSC 2201H 901          TTh 12:30-1:45pm                        Darrell Dobbs

PSYC 2050H 901 LEC          TTh 12:30-1:45pm                   Astrida Kaugars

  941 LAB          W 12:00-12:50pm

THEO 3530H 901          TTh 2:00-3:15pm                   Christopher Gooding