Course Descriptions

ART 110 A: History of Western Art
This course will advance the belief that art is an irreplaceable way of understanding and expressing the world — equal to but distinct from other methods of inquiry and certainty. By charting the emergence of unique and continuous traditions of visual imagery from Chauvet to the last works of the Post–Impressionists, this course will highlight the canonical paintings and sculpture from major periods of Western culture. Focusing on the key innovations, personalities and styles of Western art, this general survey class will encourage a basic appreciation, analysis, recognition and interpretation of art.

ART 134 A: Basic Drawing
This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of drawing. Line, modeling, light and shadow, composition, Renaissance and intuitive perspective, will be explored, with a strong emphasis on life drawing.

CLAS 107 A: Introduction to Roman Archaeology
What was it like to live under Roman rule? How is it that the Romans can feel so familiar and yet so profoundly foreign? This first year seminar seeks to address these questions and to shed light on the distinctive features of Roman culture through the critical examination of the material remains that the Romans left behind. Students will gain familiarity with the major monuments, artifacts, and works of art produced over the course of Rome’s history from its origins in the eight century BCE down to the dissolution of its Empire in the fifth century CE. This course will also serve as an introduction to the most important questions underlying archaeological research in the Roman world today and the methods employed in their investigation. Major topics to be explored include the changing relationship between state and society; imperial conquest and multiculturalism; daily life (urban and rural); the ancient economy; religious pluralism; and the legacy of the Romans. The course satisfies the following goals of the Core Curriculum within the Western Tradition (WT) area: Problem-Solve Creatively, Think Critically.

EDUC 101 A/B: Educational Foundations
This foundational course in the teacher preparation program provides a framework for students to deeply and critically examine societal structures/challenges and their impact on the U.S. education system from multiple perspectives. The course addresses the development of schools as institutions from historical, philosophical, political, and sociological perspectives while considering the students, families, and communities schools serve. These topics are framed by discussions of teachers' roles within the education system. (community-engaged course designation).

ENGL 150 A: Literature and Writing: American Horror Stories
Ghosts, witches, jokers, oh my! These specters are not merely the stuff of nightmares, but some of the subjects of our course this semester. Whether in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight or Toni Morrison’s Beloved, these characters are everywhere in literature and film today, but they are by no means new! They make up what is a much longer tradition known as the “American gothic.” We will be getting to know this tradition and its underlying social tensions as we cultivate a more sophisticated understanding of literature as well as our own reading/writing processes. This course will teach you to analyze language, understand literary forms and express your ideas through cogent writing. We will approach writing as an evolving process of critical thinking and communication pivotal for your success, and we will conquer our own writing fears and ghosts along the way!

ENGL 150 B: Literature and Writing: American Myths
This course will consider the theme of American Myths through a variety of literary texts: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and plays. We will also view and analyze films to unpack these myths. Using these varied texts, we will analyze several myths—including rugged individualism, meritocracy, and the melting pot—that pervade American culture, always bearing in mind that while myths tend to exaggerate, they also hold grains of truth. More broadly, the works on this syllabus will likewise engage with the notion of e pluribus unum, “out of many, one” that has become so definitive an understanding of the nation’s identity. Students will use their critical thinking skills to question and examine received notions of American identity, in order to understand the relationship between the individual and the community.

ENGL 150 C/D: Literature and Writing: Literature and Medicine
This course examines the relationship between literature and medicine from a variety of critical perspectives. How are physical illness and mental health portrayed in poetry, prose, and drama written from classical antiquity to the present day? What role does literary language play in medicine and medical care, especially in how we describe and understand pain? Can the skills of literary criticism – especially the practice of slow and attentive close reading ­– help cultivate empathy and compassion in the (present and future) health professional? Is literature a therapeutic tool? Topics to be explored may include: literature and disability; pain and metaphor; narrative medicine; ancient and medieval medicine; mental health and psychoanalysis; the HIV/AIDS epidemic; science fiction and bioethics.

HUMA 189 A: College, Communio and the Quixotic
In this first year seminar we will read Miguel de Cervantes’s classic novel Don Quixote de la Mancha as a means to explore the unique experiences and values at St. Norbert College that make it a special place to learn, discover, and grow. Don Quixote has been called the first modern novel and the most important piece of literature of all time. Only the Bible itself has been translated into more languages. But what makes this work so important? Why and how has it touched readers across cultures for more than 400 years? And why is it relevant to us today as readers in the technological twenty-first century? In this first year seminar, we will read Don Quixote in English and explore its connections to the college experience at St. Norbert College. We will also engage art, music and film to examine how this beautiful and profound work informs our sense of self, relationships with others, and connection to place. Within the context of these themes and others, we will use Don Quixote as a lens to explore our shared values of communio that make St. Norbert College unique.

HIST 105 A: Conquistadors
Triumphant fables, untold stories, centuries-long cover ups. This class examines the sixteenth-century meetings between Spaniards and the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, peeling back generations of storytelling and silencing to try to understand what “really happened.” Through critical analysis of Spanish chronicles, Indigenous writings, and cutting-edge scholarship, we will explore the dynamics of cultural encounters that have shaped our world.

IDIS 100 A-C: College Writing
College Writing is designed to sharpen your skills in critical thinking, reading, and writing with the goal of making you a stronger, more confident writer. Students will learn about the composing process—planning, shaping, writing, revising, editing and proofreading—and how to apply this process to an array of writing experiences that include personal narratives, informational summaries, persuasive essays and documented research essays. In preparation for each assignment, we will focus on generating and organizing ideas, as well as developing and improving sentence and paragraph structure and word choice. Throughout the semester, we will use a variety of strategies to achieve our goals: in-class writing assignments, small group assignments, class discussions, and writing workshops. You should come to each class mentally and physically prepared to write. This particular section (C) is an FYS section that allows students to explore the following major course themes: academic writing for college, work/jobs/vocation, and generative AI/ChatGPT.

PHIL 120 C-I: Philosophical Foundations in the Study of Human Nature
This course provides a thematic and historical introduction to basic philosophical issues regarding human nature utilizing primary texts from established figures in the philosophical tradition. Topics include the moral dimension of human experience, the fundamental nature of the world, the nature of truth and knowledge, and justice. Readings include dialogues of Plato, authors from at least three of the four philosophical epochs (ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary), and at least one author from the Christian philosophical tradition. Emphasis will be placed on methods of logical inquiry including Socratic dialectic, deductive and inductive inference, and other forms of philosophical discourse with the goal of developing the student’s skills in written and oral communication.

THEA 101 A: Introduction to live Performance
This course introduces students to first identify, describe and analyze various ways in which they encounter live performance in their daily lives (sporting events, church attendance, school assignments, party games, rock concerts, etc.) in order to begin to understand and develop standards of criticism. Additionally, basic theatrical forms are introduced as a way of describing and expanding students’ awareness of how live performance influences recorded media.

THRS 117 A, C, D, F, & I: Theological Foundations
This course will introduce students to the principal elements of Christian theology, particularly in the Catholic tradition, including biblical studies, historical and systematic theology, and ethics. It will address foundational theological questions, including: What does it mean to study God, and why do we do it? What sources are available for the investigation of God and how do we evaluate these sources? What images and metaphors have been and continue to be used for God? What implications does belief in God have on ethical behavior and the building of communities?