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May 2024 Non-Travel IL Courses

Non-Travel IL Courses for May 2024

You can register for any of these non-travel courses via Self Service.  Some courses have prerequisites which are listed below.  

Room and Board for May 2024 is included in your Spring Semester Room and Board fees.  Note that some courses have an additional fee for day trips or trips away from campus.  These will be charged to your Self Service account in April, 2024.  Couses with a C as the first letter of the section (e.g. INQ-177-CC) are on-campus courses that may have day trips associated with them.  Those with an F as the first letter (e.g. INQ-177-FA) spend most of their time on-campus but will include travel for a few nights to another destination.  Please talk with the instructor if you have specific questions.

INQ 177-CA/BIOL 177-CA It Could Happen To Us: A Realistic Look at Human Disease and the Rise of Drug Resistant Organisms
Instructor: J. Brooks Crozier
Prerequisites: None
Fee: None
Campus

A microbiological, literary, and documentary-based exploration of disease and the organisms and viruses that cause illness. We will explore plagues in human history and reflect on the appearance of drug-resistance in microorganisms. Students will learn the biology, history, politics, and potential modern significance of diseases, such as plague, tuberculosis, yellow fever, influenza, cholera and the real danger of the emergence of novel pathogens.

INQ 177-CC Ticked Off
Instructor: J. Meg Steinweg
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $70
Campus

Is Lyme’s diseases presence similar in southwestern Virginia ticks as it is in other regions? What species of mosquitoes are found in southwest VA and what diseases are they capable of carrying? Recent news reports about diseases have seemed scary with talk of Zika virus from mosquitoes and increasing Lyme’s disease because of ticks. These diseases, and others transmitted by arthropods are known as vector borne diseases. In southwest Virginia we know some of these vector borne diseases exist but how bad is it? Whether you are interested in public health, are an avid outdoorsperson, or own a pet, vector borne diseases may be on your mind. This course will focus on vector borne diseases, with the main focus on ticks and mosquitoes. What does our data mean for the possibility of vector borne illness for our community – both human and animal. We’ll work to answer these questions and generate meaningful information for our region.

INQ 177-CD Sport Consumer Behavior: Exploring Fandom
Instructors: K. C. Mayer, Darcey Powell
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $250
Field Trip/Campus

Why are people sports fans? Why do people like certain teams, sports, or players? Why do people watch and attend games? This course will provide students with the opportunity to analyze sport experiences and visit various sports venues to gain a deeper understanding of the motives and psychology of participants and fans and the implications for the sports enterprise. Students will analyze how sport organizations enhance the consumer experience and increase loyalty within the sport. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on understanding the application of marketing principles to ensure sport organizations’ profitability.

INQ 177-CF Drawing On and Off the Page
Instructor: Hanna Traynham
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $35
Campus 

Artists spend years developing the integration of perceptual and drawing skills—coordinating hand, eye, and mind to create polished works of art. We don’t have that kind of time in May. In this experimental course, we are going to pivot and focus on developing perceptual skills and pairing these with exploring a broad understanding of drawing/mark making and visual communication. What can drawing be? Why does one draw? What does a drawing look like? How can mark-making communicate content? What role does the audience and their participation have in making meaning? We will explore a variety of approaches to “alternative” drawing such as performative drawing techniques, installation, mapping, and collaborative projects. Our primary muse will be our interaction with nature and our environment through exploratory walks, day trips, readings, and reflective writings.

INQ 177-CJ The Mathematics of Gambling and Games
Instructor: Adam Childers
Prerequisites: None
Fee: None
Campus

The gaming industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that relies on the mathematics of its games to drive their profits and avoid their losses. This course provides both a hands-on and a computational analysis of the probabilities involved when gambling and playing games. We include an introduction to the rules of and basic winning strategies for roulette, blackjack, various forms of poker, and other games, including selected board games and sports. Students will also learn to apply skills developed in this class to other games they come across.

INQ 177-CK Differ-abilities: Considering the Experiences of the "Disabled"
Instructor: Frances Bosch McCutcheon
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $25
Campus

What are the experiences of an individual with disabilities living in an able-bodied world? Throughout American history how have able-bodied individuals provided opportunities and imposed limitations on those perceived to be disabled? What qualifies as a disability? This course is designed to challenge students to understand, and view with greater tolerance and appreciation, the challenges and abilities of differently-abled individuals. We will examine basic human anatomy, and consider mis-function in the human system, and living with mal-functions. We will investigate how laws and society perceive, protect, and limit people with differ-abilities; examine the lives of famous and successful individuals with differ-abilities; investigate careers in Assistive fields; and propose solutions or modifications to improve the lives of individuals with differ-abilities. Increasing empathy, and consideration of careers in the field are the expansive goals of this curriculum.

INQ 177-CL Fiber Arts and Culture
Instructor: Linda Hensel
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $40
Campus

Fiber Arts and Culture will explore the intersection of gender and fiber as it relates to issues of race, social class, individualism, religion, industrialization, oppression, and culture. As we explore these topics, students will learn to knit and/or crochet and will make items for those in need (e.g., chemotherapy hats, scarves for the homeless, blankets for immigrants). Additionally, students will gain practical experience in the processing of fiber from fleece to fabric and will explore in depth the silk industry, historically and currently, as we raise our own silk worms and process their cocoons into fiber that we may dye and knit into fabrics.

INQ 277-CA Exploring Vision through the Eye of the Lens
Instructor: David Nichols
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $100
Campus

This class will utilize the digital camera as both a metaphor for the human eye and as a tool to create photographic representations of principles of human vision. Cameras and the human eye will be compared and contrasted in order to better understand both. Mechanisms of human visual perception, such as color vision, depth perception, and motion perception, will first be discussed in lecture format and then assignments will be carried out wherein students take purposeful photographs to illuminate the discussion topics. The idea is that application through photography of principles discussed in relation to human vision, i.e. how we sense and perceive the world, will give you a better understanding of how and why the human vision system works the way it does. Photographic expeditions will be done both around campus and as part of full day trips.

INQ 277-CB/ENST 277-CB Mountain Roots
Instructor: Kathy O’Neill
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $275
Campus

This course explores how the physical landscape of western Virginia has influenced – and continues to influence – the ways in which humans interact with the land. Answering this question leads us on a journey through time from the formation of the Appalachian Mountains up through the land use and resource development patterns that we see today. Our investigations will take us on many field trips into the mountains, valleys, and communities of southwestern Virginia to explore the interconnections between the health of the land and human well-being and to discuss opportunities for promoting greater environmental resilience on a changing planet. There are no pre-requisites; however, much of the class will be outdoors and students should be prepared for day travel, time outdoors, and moderate hiking.

INQ 277-CC Visions of Jesus in Literature and Film
Instructor: James Peterson
Prerequisites: None
Fee: None
Campus

Jesus is one of the enduring icons of Western culture. In this course we will study Jesus’ “incarnations” in literature and film as apocalyptic martyr and judge, law giver, divine revealer, and subversive teacher. We will read a number of ancient literary portraits of Jesus (Mark, Matthew, John, Gospel of Thomas, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, and excerpts of the Qur'an) and explore some of the wealth of modern representations of Jesus in film.

INQ 277-CD Forensic Economics
Instructor: Timothy Carpenter
Prerequisites: ECON-121, ECON-122, and BUAD-248
Fee: None
Campus

An in-depth study of the required research, analytical techniques, report generation and court preparation required in the evaluation and court testimony for Personal Injury, Wrongful Death and Business Valuation Losses.

INQ 277-CM/SOCI 277-CM Understanding Poverty through Community Service
Instructor: Jesse Griffin
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $100
Campus

This course provides the opportunity to explore and reflect on poverty as a lived social condition in the contemporary United States. Poverty will be examined through discussion of a variety of readings and experientially through community service. Field trips will encompass doing volunteer work as a group.

INQ 277-CN Artificial Intelligence Versus Human Cognition
Instructor: Anthony Cate
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $50
Campus

Do artificial intelligence systems succeed by mimicking human cognitive skills? If so, do they produce the skills in the same way as the human brain? This course involves hands-on experimentation using artificial intelligence models as a means of understanding the differences between machine and human performance; no programming experience required. It focuses on two Cognitive Psychology topics in which AI neural networks have become productive tools recently: visual object recognition and natural language processing. These, in turn, will lead us to explore the related topic of creativity. We will investigate how the process of categorization is a central topic in neural network theory with practical consequences for how both AI models and humans can jump to incorrect conclusions about groups of things. We will discuss how AI software is prone to reflect social stereotypes present in its programmers and in training datasets.

INQ 277-CP/HIST 277-CP History Detectives
Instructor: G. Samantha Rosenthal
Prerequisites: None
Fee: None
Campus

In this course, students will be introduced to the basic skills of archival research. Students will learn how to trace people, places, objects, and ideas in the historical record as they seek to answer significant questions about the past. In particular, students will learn how to conduct meaningful research, navigate online databases, and interpret a variety of primary and secondary sources.

INQ 277-FA/POLI 277-FA Parks: The Hiker’s Guide to Politics and Natural Heritage
Instructor: Andreea Mihalache-O’Keef
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $80
Field Trip

This course explores parks in SW VA through a political science lens, seeking to understand the relationship between people, natural heritage, and power. We will ask: what are the meanings and value of natural heritage? Who and how designates heritage? How is nature administered? Who benefits? We will walk, read, interview, discuss, observe, and reflect, with Political Science frameworks for the study of power, policy, and inclusion as our anchor.

Aspiring hikers welcome. This course does not expect any hiking experience, nor does it require participation in strenuous hikes; site visits are required of all students, but accommodations will be made based on accessibility needs, ability, and preference.

INQ 277-FB Social Justice and Broadway Musicals
Instructor: Carrie Murawski
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $750
Field Trip

Broadway theatre continues to play a vital role in advocating for social justice and inspiring positive change in society. Broadway acts as a catalyst for social change by shedding light on pressing issues such as racial inequality, LGBTQ+ violence, and gender discrimination. When art meets activism, stories for the stage challenge societal norms and inspire empathy, fostering a sense of unity among audiences. In this class we examine social movement rhetoric in both historical and contemporary Broadway productions through scholarship, musical cast recordings, film adaptations of plays and musicals, as well as a field trip to New York City. We will think critically about the economy of Broadway, casting decisions, narratives, scripts, music, and what these stories teach us about American politics.