After reading the descriptions below, rank your top four choices (1 being the highest, 4 the lowest) on the Orientation/ Academic Advisement registration.
This first-year seminar will explore the changing identity of ‘the student’ in different historical and cultural contexts. We will learn about how important thinkers have imagined what it means to learn and be taught in the ancient, medieval and modern eras in China, the Middle East, Greece and elsewhere - including Buffalo, NY. By reading historical and literary works, we will open up the meaning of ‘being a student’ to new possibilities and create a space for informed, critical reflection on why we invest so much of our time and money in higher education. By the end of the course, participants will have a new perspective on their aspirations and objectives as they embark on the life-changing experience of undergraduate education.
The Foundations of a Creative Vocabulary is designed to engage anyone interested in talking about or viewing creative endeavors. Topics will include how the Visual Arts are an essential part of a Liberal Arts education, the vocabulary necessary to interact with an increasingly visual world, and the interaction of the visual arts with other disciplines. Special focus will be placed on the development of a creative process, which can be applied to visual projects, paper writing, or presentations.
This survey course in literature includes textual analysis of literary works, classic through contemporary, selected from various genres. Writing assignments are based on the readings.
A course designed to improve students' application of mathematical concepts in their everyday experience. These concepts will be developed through inductive/deductive reasoning, and topics such as fractal, pattern, sequences, geometry, logic, and statistics. Not offered for credit to mathematics majors.
This is an introductory level course that presents students with an overview of theories relating to how stress affects the body and brain. We will also review the factors that make individuals susceptible to, or resilient from, the harmful effects of stress. The weekly readings and discussions will focus on classic and current theories and research on stress; this course will encourage students to think critically about the material and apply it to their own experiences. Special focus will be given to the perspectives on stress and resilience from the following subfields of psychology: biological psychology, cognitive psychology, clinical/applied psychology, social psychology, and developmental psychology.
This course traces the development of modern ideas about natural rights and freedoms within the US and the world from 1776 to the recent past. Through examining "replies" to the Declaration, we will study the way that groups and liberation movements in the US and throughout the world have adapted the foundational ideas of the Declaration in different political and temporal contexts.
Analysis of theater and drama, historical and current production practices, in order to enhance aesthetic appreciation.