Liberal Studies (LIBS)

LIBS 528     Art, Memory, and Cognition in the Roman World     3 Credit Hours

This course examines Roman art associated with personal commemoration and cultural memory, including portraiture, funerary monuments, imperial monuments, and public architecture. We explore these objects’ relationship to Roman literary culture’s theories of mnemotechnics and in the social context of the Roman obsession with memory perpetuation. Additionally, we explore how art, architecture, and behavior acted as cognitive partners as Romans learned and retained information about their communities and notable citizens. We examine how art historians apply modern theories of collective and social memory and cognition in their scholarship on Roman art, creating new ways of understanding Roman sculpture, painting, and architecture. Graduate students will be responsible for additional readings each week as well as a more substantial research paper. Students cannot earn credit for both ARTH 428 and ARTH/LIBS 528.

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Class is Graduate

LIBS 583     Early Mod Era/New & Old World     3 Credit Hours

This is a course on the history of the early modern West from multiple perspectives, with special emphasis on the role played by the Old and New World, together, in the creation of the modern. Course fulfills the Liberal Studies track core seminar requirement. (OC).

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Class is Graduate

LIBS 599     Independent Studies - MALS     1 to 3 Credit Hours

Provides opportunity for qualified graduate students in the MALS program to pursue independent research under the direction of a graduate faculty member. Project must be defined in advance, in writing, and must be appropriate to the student's chosen track. It must be designed to produce a scholarly paper or papers which reflect significant results from the course.

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Class is Graduate
Can enroll if Major is Liberal Studies

LIBS 690     Topics in Liberal Studies     3 Credit Hours

Presents topics of current interest in graduate liberal studies. Topics vary from term to term. (OC).

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Class is Graduate
Can enroll if Program is

LIBS 697     MALS Capstone Experience     3 Credit Hours

This course is designed as a capstone experience for students in the MALS program who are interested in a non-thesis/non-project option. Its aim is to allow students to reflect and draw upon the knowledge they gained in MALS, and then apply this knowledge in class discussions, essays, and research projects on an interdisciplinary topic chosen from an agreed-upon list of topics that relate to the general MALS curriculum. In the first section of the course, students will reflect upon the interdisciplinary nature of their graduate training, drawing connections between diverse courses they have taken, pinpointing applications to the outside world, and examining the ways that interdisciplinary work has transformed their thinking. The remainder of the class will be organized around an interdisciplinary exploration of one of the following interrelated topics: "Memory", "Identity", "Place", "Community", or "Ways of Knowing". Students will examine how different disciplines and scholars approach the topic. They will also consider the relevance of this broad theme for contemporary issues and debates. Also, students should have completed at least 24 credits in the MALS program, if enrolled concurrently in a LIBS graduate course, or 27 credit otherwise, with a minimum GPA of 3.0.

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Class is Graduate

LIBS 698     MALS Master's Project     3 or 6 Credit Hours

An alternative to the usual master's thesis for students who can present a feasible plan for a project using methods of intellectual exploration and analysis other than the document-based research typically used in preparing a thesis. Might include gathering data through the use of human subjects, as with interviews and survey instruments; creative representation, as in painting; creative writing, and other forms of artistic expression; or devising new modes of interdisciplinary analysis of human experience and thought. To be carried out under the general supervision of a member of the graduate faculty in CASL. Project plan must be approved by the MALS program director before student registers for this course. Report and oral presentation to a panel of faculty members required when the project is completed. (F,W,S).

LIBS 699     MALS Master's Thesis     3 or 6 Credit Hours

MALS students electing the Thesis option in the last stage of the program will work under the general supervision of a member of the graduate faculty in CAS&L, but will plan and carry out the work independently. A prospectus for the thesis must be approved by the MALS program director before the student registers for this course. The student will submit a report on the thesis and give an oral presentation to a panel of faculty members when the thesis is completed. (F,W,S).