5 units
POLS& 201: Introduction to Political Theory
Examines the philosophical foundations of politics and power. Utilizes texts in political philosophy/theory to introduce concepts including justice, citizenship, legitimate authority, power, liberty, rights, and equality.
5
Units
POLS& 202: United States Government
Survey of the origin and functions of the U.S. government. Examines the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution and the creation of the federal system as well as the three branches of American Government. Analyzes the functions of institutions through the lens of political history and through analysis of current events. Topics include political culture, elections and campaigns, interest groups, the media, and public policies.
5
Units
POLS& 203: International Relations
Introduction to international relations and governmental organizations. Examines major issues in the international arena including nationalism, national sovereignty, globalization, international law, economics, security, environmentalism and foreign policy. Emphasis on issues that foster or frustrate world peace and prosperity.
5
Units
POLS 210: Cannabis & Social Justice
This course explores issues of justice, criminalization, history, and inequities of drug prohibition/policies in the United States. Specifically, it considers the evolution of federal and state policies on cannabis. This requires a thorough understanding of prohibition, the `War on Drugs', disproportionate enforcement, and long-term impacts on communities of color.
5
Units
POLS 249: Introduction to Labor Studies
This course examines work, workers, and the labor movement in the US from a range of social scientific perspectives. We will examine workplace problems and their sources; explore the US labor movement's historical development and current struggles, with a special interest in diverse workers and workplaces in our local community; and will develop the practical skills to plan and carry out a workplace organizing campaign.
5
Units
POLS 264: Queer Politics
Queer Politics will survey the history and current moment of queer political organization, struggles, and liberation. Using a queer theoretical lens, we will examine how queer communities struggled and built queer political power, from organizing in bars to fighting for modern rights. We will examine our modern queer politics and the possibilities for an intersectional modern queer movement based in collective action/mutual aid.
5
Units
SOC 105: Society of Black Americans
Evaluation of the sociological impact of the African-American experience in relation to various social systems in America.
5
Units
SOC 120: Sociology of The Media
Uses the sociological perspective to examine print and electronic media, including television, film, news, and advertising. Students analyze the impact of media institutions on identity formation and on social, political, and cultural discourse. Students also assess how American cultural values shape and are shaped by the media, both historically and in the present.
1 to 5 Units
SOC 225: Psychology of Addiction
Psychology of addiction, a critical examination of the behavior and mental processes associated with addiction. Systemic approaches to investigation through psychosocial, biological, cognitive and sociobehavioral areas in psychology. Lecture, research, presentation and critical examination. 5 credit class. 200 level course. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 General Psychology or SOC 101 Intro to Sociology This is a dual PSYC/SOC course.
5
Units
SOC 230: Human Sexuality
Survey of sexual behavior. Covers historical, physiological, psychological and social components of sexuality and its deviations. May be taken as PSYC 230.
5
Units
SOC 253: Organizational Behavior
Organizational behavior as seen through sociological theory. Concepts show how managers can improve organizational effectiveness by attending to the human side of the enterprise. Topics such as leadership, conflict theory, motivation, social interaction theory, power, politics, group dynamics and organizational design are examined for the effects on employees and their performance.
5
Units
SOC& 101: Introduction to Sociology
Introduces students to the scientific study of society and to several sociological concepts, including socialization, stratification, research methods, social theory, group dynamics, social class, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, media, family, deviance, and social and cultural change. Students learn how to connect research to concepts and use the sociological imagination, the relationship between self and society, to deepen their understanding of social life.
5
Units
SOC 249: Introduction to Labor Studies
This course examines work, workers, and the labor movement in the US from a range of social scientific perspectives. We will examine workplace problems and their sources; explore the US labor movement's historical development and current struggles, with a special interest in diverse workers and workplaces in our local community; and will develop the practical skills to plan and carry out a workplace organizing campaign.
5
Units
GEOG& 100: Introduction to Geography
Introduction to the discipline of geography and understanding modern issues in our human and physical world with a geographic perspective. This course looks at physical geography by understanding the human impact on Earth's biology, climate, and physical landforms. This course examines human geography with a focus on politics and culture using perspectives from Black, Queer, Latinx, and Indigenous geographers. Students will also engage in geographic research, communication, and mapmaking.
5
Units
GEOG 272: Food, Culture, and Justice in the Northwest
This course considers farming, fishing, cooking, and eating in our region from a wide range of social scientific perspectives. We will examine the significance of food, farming, and cooking as cultural practices among Indigenous peoples, settlers, and immigrants; explore the racialized and gendered environmental and labor issues associated with our current food chain; and engage directly as participants in potential solutions in our local community.
5
Units
GEOG 277: Cities and Power
Examines the economic, political, and social organization of urban space. By studying current social issues like homelessness, gentrification, and police violence, students will explore the links between power, oppression in U.S. cities in the context of global capitalism. We will also explore how social movements have sparked important social changes.
5
Units
ANTH& 100: Survey of Anthropology
Introduces the field of anthropology. Covers biological and cultural anthropology, linguistics, and archaeology. Survey of humans over time and space. Includes evolution, ethics, political structure, social structure, economics, and communication.
5
Units
ANTH& 206: Cultural Anthropology
Introduction to the study of human culture, including social organization, economics, political systems, religion, technology, art and language. Cultural perspective focuses on the interactions between large and small scale societies in an increasingly globalized world.
5
Units
ANTH 272: Food, Culture, and Justice in the Northwest
This course considers farming, fishing, cooking, and eating in our region from a wide range of social scientific perspectives. We will examine the significance of food, farming, and cooking as cultural practices among Indigenous peoples, settlers, and immigrants; explore the racialized and gendered environmental and labor issues associated with our current food chain; and engage directly as participants in potential solutions in our local community.
5
Units
HUM 105: Intercultural Communication
Examines the skills in communication and empathy required for intercultural communication. Includes an interdisciplinary study of diverse cultures and perspectives in the United States in the context of economic, political, and cultural globalization.
5
Units
HUM 110: Introduction to American Film
Examines Hollywood film-making as an art form, a business and a shaper of culture. View, discuss and critically analyze classics, features and documentaries for increased understanding of literary and artistic elements. Covers the impact of films on personal experience, American culture and the world.
5
Units
HUM 120: Asian Cinema
Introduces 20th and 21st century films/filmmakers of several Asian countries. Students will explore Asian film narratives that represent social, political and cultural movements in Asia. Invites students to connect AAPI identities and cultures to Asian cinema topics such as nationalism, representations of spiritual practice, borders/migration, war/empire, new technologies, storytelling, etc. Fulfills GS, IS, Comm, VLPA designations. Prerequisite: ENGL& 101 Placement
5
Units
HUM 130: World Cinema
Survey of 20th and 21st century international films and filmmakers from around the globe. Course emphasizes the power of world cinema to tell culturally diverse stories representing and influencing social, political and cultural movements. Students learn basic terminology of film analysis and discuss representations of identity (ie: race, class, gender, nationality, and sexuality, etc.) within course films. Examines film techniques, themes, and narrative styles in global films.
5
Units
HUM 210: Introduction to LGBTQ Studies
Introduces key themes and critical frameworks in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Queer (LGBTQ) Studies. Topics include histories of sexuality; forms of oppression including heterosexism, homophobia, and transphobia; resistance to oppression; violence against LGBTQ people; queer activism; diverse experiences of sexuality; and representations in literature, art, and popular media.
5
Units
HUM 299: Special Problems In Humanities
An independent study/research course in the interdisciplinary field of humanities. Prereq: Permission.
1 to 5 Units
HUM 119: Graphic Novels: Art, Identity, and Storytelling
This interdisciplinary course features comics, graphic novels, manga, and film to explore the diversity of graphic/sequential storytelling media as a product of culture. Students will put graphic storytelling media into conversation with meaningful aspects of human society, identity, and culture such as art, literature, history, and equity and social justice issues within a global context. They will develop creative, interdisciplinary, and multi-modal projects. Dual ENGL/HUM course.
5
Units
HUM 151: Introduction to Film
This class provides an introduction to the basic tools of film analysis. We will examine how elements like mise-en-sc癡ne, cinematography, editing and sound work together to create meaning in a range of films. We will also examine how these elements are put together in different types of films 聶 narratives, documentaries and experimental cinema 聶 and how films function in society to circulate ideas and ideologies.
5
Units
HUM 107: Introduction to Environmental Humanities
Why do we think of "nature" as something apart from human "culture"? How have past representations of this disconnect informed our attitudes today? How can the arts and humanities help to create and maintain a more resilient and biologically diverse world during global ecological crisis? This introduction to ecocriticism in the humanities explores these questions and a wide range of ethical & political concerns for the environment, nonhuman animals, and environmental justice.
5
Units
HUM 201: Cities and Power
Examines the economic, political, and social organization of urban space. By studying current social issues like homelessness, gentrification, and police violence, students will explore the links between power, oppression in U.S. cities in the context of global capitalism. We will also explore how social movements have sparked important social changes. Prerequisite: English 099 eligibility
5
Units
HUM 220: Cultural Studies: Exile and Migration
Introduces key cultural studies methods while exploring a selection of 20th and 21st cultural texts such as literature, poetry, film, music, and art that represent experiences of migration, diaspora, and exile in US and global contexts. Students will analyze cultural texts across genres, situate them within their appropriate historical context, think comparatively across geographic and historical settings, and develop their own critical and creative responses to the course materials and themes.
5
Units