Courses
Culture, Advocacy, & Leadership Courses
- CAL 1001: Commons iSeminar Topics vary.
General Elective credit only. - CAL 1002: Fundamentals of Culture, Advocacy, and Leadership
Subject matter and methods of public engagement. Concepts and practices related to citizenship, civil society, and social change. - CAL 1150: Free Speech, Dangerous Ideas
Contemporary debates over freedom of expression. Case studies on hate speech, pornography, blasphemy, and sedition. Legal, political, and technological dimensions of free speech. Historical and cultural contexts. - CAL 1700W: Arguing for Social Change
Practice of narrative, nonfiction writing for social change. History of American investigative journalism and scholarship. Interviewing, research, narrative and revision skills. Serves as repeat credit for HIST 1710W. - CAL 1800: Speaking, Leading, Engaging
Speaking and communicating for community engagement. Historical and contemporary case studies. Skill-building for public advocacy. Offered on a graded basis only. - CAL 2100: Sports, Culture, and Society
Multifaceted role of sports in culture and society, past and present. Cross-cultural perspectives on U.S. sports and related practices. - CAL 2125: Stories of the City: People, Places, Projects
Methodologies of oral history and curation. Focus on community engagement, storytelling, and public-facing projects. Offered on a graded basis only. - CAL 2150: Hip-Hop Culture in America
Hip-hop culture from 1970s to today. Significant texts, music, films, and more trace hip-hop’s growth into a force in music, fashion, media, and activism. Music industry in Nashville. - CAL 2175: Conspiracy Culture in America
Conspiracy theories in American culture and history. Topics include witch trials, anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, the red scare, UFOs, and the Kennedy assassination. Relation of conspiracy theories to broader cultures of knowledge. - CAL 2180: Friction in the Machine: Society, Technology, Safety, Freedom
Structures of individual, communal, corporate and technological freedom. Politics of enclosure, city planning, modern crop science, social media, demolition derby and driverless cars. Ideas about individual, corporate, communal and political freedom. Offered on a graded basis only. - CAL 2275: Finding Your Roots: Genealogy, Migration, and the Making of Your Identity
Exploration of self and identity in relationship to place, family, history, and narrative. Archival research and personal reflection on culture, context, and community, culminating in public-facing research project. - CAL 2300: Responsible Advocacy in a Complicated World
Theory and practice of advocacy, community engagement, and shared authority across multiple disciplines. Navigating ethical concerns in community-engaged advocacy work. Offered on a graded basis only. - CAL 2700: Religion, Politics, and American Culture
Political role of religion and religious role of politics. Christian Nationalism; religious social activism; atheism in America; emergent religions and political resistance; immigration, religion, and community. - CAL 2500: American Cultures: Past, Present, Future
American cultural history from earliest contact between North American indigenous peoples and Europeans to the present. Popular norms and beliefs as well as literature, art, and philosophy. Ideas of exceptionalism, democracy, and the marketplace; struggles over inclusion and citizenship; and the U.S. role in globalization. - CAL 2700: Religion, Politics, and American Culture
Political role of religion and religious role of politics. Christian Nationalism; religious social activism; atheism in America; emergent religions and political resistance; immigration, religion, and community. - CAL 2725W: Why Argue About Politics?: An Approach to Deliberative Democracy
Ideals and practices of deliberative democracy in the US. Prospects for deliberation and conversation in a divided political era. - CAL 2750: Cultures of Resistance in American History
Study of riots, rebellions, protests across history. Questions of social change and political violence. Tactics, demonstrations, music, symbolism, networks, and more. Examples include West Virginia coal wars, the Tulsa massacre, and the urban unrest of the 1960s. Serves as repeat credit for AMER 1002W-01 offered Spring 2024. - CAL 2800: Global Perspectives on American Cultures
Production and representation of culture. International, hemispheric considerations of America. Nationalism, conquest, colonialism, race, gender, and inequality. - CAL 3200: Democracy, Deliberation, and Lived Experience
Exploring and debating government in people’s everyday lives. Imagining new ways of democratic life. Research projects involving various people, communities, and groups. - CAL 3300: Beer Me! The Science, History, and Culture of Brewing
Science of beer and the cultures of brewing past and present. Beer ingredients, styles, and tasting. Alcohol addiction and abuse. Brewing process from beginning to end. Must be 21 or older to take this course. - CAL 3850: Independent Readings & Research
Independent readings and/or research. May be repeated for a total of 6 credits if there is no duplication in topic, but students may earn only up to 3 credits per semester of enrollment. - CAL 3880: Internship Training
Offered on a pass/fail basis only and must be taken concurrently with 3881. Under faculty supervision, students intern in public or private organizations, conduct background research and reading, and submit a research paper at the end of the semester during which the internship training is complete. Background reading and research will be completed in 3881 concurrently with the completion of internship training, 3880; a minimum of 3 hours of 3881 must be completed, independent of hours taken in 3880. Corequisite: 3881. - CAL 3881: Internship Readings and Research
Under faculty supervision, students intern in public or private organizations, conduct background research and reading, and submit a research paper at the end of the semester during which the internship training is completed. Background reading and research will be completed in 3881 concurrently with the completion of internship training, 3880; a minimum of 3 hours of 3881 must be completed, independent of hours taken in 3880. Corequisite: 3880. - CAL 3890: Special Topics
May be repeated for credit if there is no duplication in topic. - CAL 4000: Practicum and Internship Experience
Coursework to accompany practicum/internship requirement of CAL major. Discussion and application of concepts related to leadership and community engagement. - CAL 4500: American Futures
Reinvestigation of key concepts around culture, advocacy, and leadership. Student-led seminar and research workshop culminating in public-facing research project. Offered on a graded basis only. - CAL 4998: Senior Honors Research
Acquisition, reading, and analysis of primary source research material. Open only to senior honors students. - CAL 4999: Senior Honor Thesis
Writing an honors thesis under the supervision of the thesis adviser.