May 2023 Non-Travel IL Courses
Non-Travel IL Courses for May 2023
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 2023 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, 2023. 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-FA Adventure into Nature
Instructor: Steve Powers
Prerequisites: none
Fee: $100
This course is an adventure into nature examining the geology, plants and animals of the central Appalachians and their interactions with each other and their human inhabitants. These interactions will be experienced in a classroom setting as well as first hand through trips into the central Appalachians that will include many strenuous hikes, wilderness camping and snorkeling in rivers. This course will provide students with a background in natural history and experience with resources commonly used by amateur and professional field naturalists, planning and executing adventures into nature, maintaining trails, and interpreting those adventures within an academic context providing students with the tools necessary for a lifetime of adventuring into nature. Students must be proficient swimmers (will have to pass a swim test) and have at least a moderate level of cardio-vascular fitness for admission to class. Camping in unimproved campgrounds will be the only form of lodging available for the travel portion of the course and is essential for complete "immersion" into our topic. That means no hotels, no beds, no bathrooms, no showers, etc. So, if you don’t think you can bathe in a river, cook food on a camp stove, or "go" in the woods, this is not the class for you. One objective of this course is to prepare you for future adventures into nature, and using unimproved campgrounds will illustrate how economical adventure travel can be when hotel costs are not an expense.
INQ 177-CC Psychology of Teams
Instructor: Travis Carter and Danielle Findley-Van Nostrand
Prerequisites: none
Fee: $60
The goal of this course is to examine what makes teams effective, drawing upon classic and modern research in psychology. What changes when individuals must function as part of a team? How do effective teams solve problems and make decisions? What group dynamics lead to challenges in effectively solving problems? What kinds of team environments foster cooperation and allow for successful communication? What makes for a good team leader? What kinds of personality traits make for the most (and least) effective team members? We will attempt to answer these questions through a combination of readings and daily activities, including a number of cooperative and competitive team-based games and local field trips.
INQ 177-FD Puzzling through Games with Logic
Instructor: Maggie Rahmoeller
Prerequisites: none
Fee: $600
Logic forms the basis of many popular games, such as Chess, Sudoku, Ticket to Ride, and the all-powerful Rubik’s Cube. In this class, we explore several areas of mathematics that are used in the construction and playing of these types of games. We will cover fundamentals of game theory, probability, logic, graph theory, and combinatorics – all through hands-on activities (yes, playing these types of games!), computational analysis, and a trip to New York City to visit the Museum of Mathematics and more.
INQ 177-FF Health and Happiness
Instructor: Mike Maina
Prerequisites: none
Fee: $450
What makes people happy? How do people find happiness? How does being happy influence your life? The focus of this course will be on the relationship between the concept of happiness and its impact on all aspects of wellness. In particular, the course will look at several theories surrounding the idea of happiness, how real people have applied the theories to their everyday lives, and the results they have experienced. Students will be required to actively participate in all activities planned and be able to reflect upon their experiences showing a deeper understanding of the complex nature of happiness and its influence on health.
INQ 177-CI Sport Consumer Behavior: Exploring Fandom
Instructor: KC Mayer and Darcey Powell
Prerequisites: none
Fee: $225
Why are people sports fans? Why do people like certain teams, sports, or players? Why do people watch and attend games? Why do people play certain sports? In this on-campus course, to gain a deeper understanding of the motives and psychology of sport participants and sport fans, we will experience sporting behavior from the views of the participant and the spectator. As such, we will visit and participate in local sport activities (schedule and weather permitting we will: attend a game, play mini-golf, drive go-karts, go to the batting cages, etc.) to gain a deeper understanding of this area.
INQ/CJUS/POLI 277-CA Law and Film
Instructor: Daisy Ball
Prerequisites: none
Fee: none
This course will examine how popular culture (more specifically, film) portrays lawyers and the legal system and how those images affect our perceptions of the legal system.
INQ 277-CC Science Storytelling
Instructor: Chelsea Peters
Prerequisites: none
Fee: $125
In this course, students will create a children's book about a scientific concept or process. Selecting a topic most interesting to you, you'll come up with a narrative and then create a graphical storyboard to lay out your book. Whether your book answers the question "What is wind?", depicts an epic battle between a virus and white blood cells, or features an octopus comedian, I'm sure you have a story to tell. You'll learn from children's book authors about their storytelling process and from scientists who incorporate public outreach into their research. By the end of the course, you will be a practiced science communicator and self-published author.
INQ 277-CD Philosophy and Food
Instructor: Brent Adkins
Prerequisites: none
Fee: $150
This course studies the relation between the perennial philosophical question, “How should one live?” and the more mundane question, “What should one eat?” The relation between these two questions will be explored through reading, discussion, and hands-on experimentation in the kitchen. Every class will contain both discussion of assigned readings and an opportunity to cook. The cooking will be focused on the cuisine of Italy, particularly Roman cuisine.
INQ/ECON 277-CI Experimental Economics
Instructor: Eddie Nik-Khah
Prerequisites: ECON-121
Fee: none
The use of controlled laboratory experimentation in economics was regarded an impossibility a mere two decades ago, and yet practitioners have recently been recognized with nothing less than the Nobel Prize in economics. In this course we shall find that the study of laboratory experimentation in economics provides a golden opportunity to develop an understanding of the sudden emergence of economics as an “experimental” science, experience being an experimental economist and an experimental subject, and examine the pathways along which experimentation is actually changing social science. Students will not only learn the precepts of the field, but also have the opportunity to participate in real experiments.
INQ/POLI 277-CJ Should You Ratify the Constitution
Instructor: Justin Garrison
Prerequisites: none
Fee: none
Should the Philadelphia Constitution have been ratified? Many spirited arguments for and against were made at the time. As a student in this course (and, therefore, as a citizen and delegate at a ratifying convention held in “the State”), you can have your say about the Constitution. Persuade your classmates to adopt, amend or reject it. This course immerses students in political ideas that shaped debates between the Anti-Federalists and the Federalists during 1787 and 1788. It consists of lectures, discussions, group strategy sessions, a ratifying convention simulation, a reflection paper, and a final exam.
INQ/EDUC 277-CK Coloring Outside the Lines: Children's Literature as Resistance
Instructor: Jennifer McCloud
Prerequisites: none
Fee: $20
What is “subversive” children’s literature? How can it help prepare you to deal with real-world problems? From which of these problems should we protect children? In this course, we will critically consider social justice, equity, and prejudice using children’s and adolescent literature as our lens. You will read a diverse collection of literature, much of which you will choose yourself, ultimately using your readings to construct an artifact (essay, video, podcast, etc.) that explains how such texts may prepare young people to interact with the current socio-political environment.
INQ/SOCI 277-FL Politics in Art: Film, Literature, and Art
Instructor: Marit Berntson
Prerequisite: INQ-260SO or SOCI-101
Fee: $600
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the study of political ideas, conflict, events, and action as expressed in literature, cinema, and other works of art – technology, architecture, painting, and sculpture. We will view several films, read 2-3 books and take a field trip to Washington, DC to learn about the architecture of our capital’s major buildings, monuments, and the design of the city itself. We will visit the Smithsonian, the National Gallery, and the Newseum. Students will explore the representation of politics in art through a combination of requirements, including large and small group discussions of films, books, and art, informal essays and journal writing, and a final exam consisting of short answer and essay questions.
INQ/SOCI 277-CM Toward the Green Society: Community Sustainability Initiatives
Instructor: Daniel Sarabia
Prerequisites: INQ-260SO or SOCI-101
Fee: $40
The course examines the ideals and principles that contribute to conceptualizations on environmental sustainability. Of focus will be the competing meanings, visions, and strategies that signal the social construction of the environmentally friendly society. Discussions on environment occur in a social context where pathways to sustainability are debated and informed by our own cultural understandings of societal organization and human nature. Implicit in the discourse on sustainable futures are the contemporary problems we now face and the foresight required to preserve society. Out of crisis surfaces the empowering challenge of being able to envision and create for ourselves communities reflective of our collective ideals. The course fee covers the cost of a day trip to the Twin Oaks Community in Louisa, Virginia.
INQ/SOCI 277-CN Sociology Goes to Bollywood: Gender in Indian Cinema
Instructor: Meeta Mehrotra
Prerequisites: none
Fee: none
The purpose of this course is to help students understand and critique the social construction of gender in India as reflected in Indian cinema. Students will watch several films and examine how men and women are represented in Indian films, whether these representations reflect reality, and how women challenge traditional gender expectations. While the focus is on gender, students will also be introduced to some of the central and unique socio-cultural, economic, and political issues in India, and to the unique conventions of Indian cinema.
INQ/PHST 277-CO Outbreaks, Epidemics, and Public Health
Instructor: Kristen Rapp
Prerequisites: none
Fee: none
Epidemics shape the world we live in. History has demonstrated that bacteria, viruses, and parasites, though often invisible to us, have the power to decimate populations, restructure economies, and shape the way cultures and civilizations develop. This course will examine outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics in historical and contemporary context. Course content and discussion will apply a population perspective of health, using several illustrative examples of both infectious and non-infectious pandemics that have fundamentally shaped societies and the practice of public health. This class will also explore how knowledge of outbreaks and epidemics is acquired by outbreak investigators, translated to the public, and interpreted through the lens of both scientific and cultural understandings of the time. Finally, we will examine how epidemics intersect with existing social inequities to exacerbate health disparities and consider public health strategies that may contribute to a healthier and more equitable world.
INQ 277-CP Speculative Fiction Workshop
Instructor: Teresa Milbrodt
Prerequisites: none
Fee: none
Why are people drawn to read and write fantasy, sci-fi, and speculative fiction? How can these literary works suggest new possibilities for the future, or paths that could led to destruction or recreation? This type of fiction may go outside the bounds of reality to shape new worlds or tweak the world we know. Speculative fiction might involve an element of social commentary, or function as escapism and entertainment. Among other issues, this class will discuss the social role of writers in shaping new possible realities and questioning conventions. We will consider how to make fantastical elements integral to our stories, what we can say using speculative fiction that may not work as well within the bounds of realism, and how we can describe/enact/embody the fantastic so precisely that the reader doesn't doubt its reality in the fictive world.
INQ 277-FQ Identity Quest at Washington DC
Instructor: Carrie Murawski
Prerequisites: none
Fee: $1,000
How accurately is identity represented in popular media? What are the implications of these representations for us as individuals as well as for our society? In this course, students will learn about the history of some underrepresented social groups such as African American, Indigenous, and Latinx people. Students will learn about current issues that affect these groups, and how these issues and their identities are portrayed in popular media. The class will travel to historical landmarks, museums, and explore cultural events, art, and food relevant for these groups. Approximately one week of the course will be spent in the Washington, DC area.
INQ 277-FV Natural History of the Southern Appalachians
Instructor: Rachel Collins
Prerequisites: none
Fee: $400
This course is designed for those interested in the natural history of the Southern Appalachian region. Biology majors, environmental studies majors, and others with strong curiosity or experiences in the natural world are welcome. We will explore the biodiversity and ecology of forest communities as naturalists do. Students will keep field notebooks and develop skills for identifying trees, forest wildflowers, birds, and other animals common in the region. The course will include a number of day trips to nearby forest and a multiple night camping trip to an Appalachian natural area (an area with extremely high biological diversity).