First-Year Experience

This course is reserved for incoming Honors students. The readings and assignments will be built around the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals that aim to provide “a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” Class discussions will tap into students own curiosity, passion, creativity, and sense of responsibility to include a distinctive learner-directed environment and philosophy that are the hallmarks of an Honors program.

Instructor: J. Robbins

Day/Time: TTH 8–9:20 a.m.

Companion: F 12–12:50 p.m.

This Honors course focuses on self-care and burnout prevention and connects to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of well-being by highlighting the importance of mental health, stress management, and everyday habits that affect overall wellness. Students learn to recognize signs of burnout and explore realistic, sustainable ways to care for themselves, which can positively impact both their own lives and the communities they are part of. The course also reflects several Honors pillars. Through engagement and exploration, students reflect on their routines, choices, and environments. With applied learning, they practice personal self-care strategies and take part in developing a national awareness campaign using tools like webpages and interactive videos to inspire others. This project also builds problem-solving skills, as students consider common barriers to self-care and work through questions like, “I would take care of myself if I had more time in the day.” Finally, the course promotes leadership by encouraging students to advocate for wellness and share their work with a broader audience.

Instructor: C. Vejar

Day/Time: MW 2–3:20 p.m.

Companion: M 12–12:50 p.m.

Beer, wine, and bread. Civilization would not have developed without these everyday items. Ancient peoples may not have known it, but all of these items are products of biotechnology. Today, biotechnology influences our health, what we eat, what we wear, how we heat our homes, and many other things we take for granted. Civilization as we know it has been brought to you by several thousand years?of advances in biotechnology.

Instructor: W. Patton

Day/Time: MWF 11–11:50 a.m.

Companion: F 12–12:50 p.m.

Do you feel you are the only student undecided about your college major? Would you like to have an answer to the nagging question “So, what’s your major?” It’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed about how you will make this decision. This course will help students to understand the connection between major and career. Your college major opens the doorway to many career possibilities, but it’s up to you to make the most of your experience both in and out of the classroom. The world of work today is complex and dynamic. Through applied learning including interactive experiences, texts, film, and podcasts, students will critically examine and explore academic majors available at LVC. This course is designed for Exploratory majors or anyone unsure about their major.

Instructor: E. Julian, S. Bartz

Day/Time: TTH 12:30–1:50 p.m.

Companion: W 12–12:50 p.m.

Do you feel you are the only student undecided about your college major? Would you like to have an answer to the nagging question “So, what’s your major?” It’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed about how you will make this decision. This course will help students to understand the connection between major and career. Your college major opens the doorway to many career possibilities, but it’s up to you to make the most of your experience both in and out of the classroom. The world of work today is complex and dynamic. Through applied learning including interactive experiences, texts, film, and podcasts, students will critically examine and explore academic majors available at LVC. This course is designed for Exploratory majors or anyone unsure about their major.

Instructor: E. Julian, S. Bartz

Day/Time: TTH 12:30–1:50 p.m.

Companion: F 12–12:50 p.m.

This course delves into the rich and diverse landscape of religious healing across the Americas, examining how different traditions understand illness, wellness, and the sacred. Students will explore a wide range of healing practices while also grappling with the social and ethical controversies that surround these practices. The course further investigates how spiritual healing is portrayed in popular culture, analyzing its presence in music, film, literature, and other creative forms to understand how these narratives shape public imagination and belief.

Instructor: M. Maldanado

Day/Time: MWF 8–8:50 a.m.

Companion: W 12–12:50 p.m.

In this seminar, we’ll explore issues surrounding science denial, which involves the rejection of verified scientific evidence and/or the methods employed by scientists to gather reliable data. We’ll study the causes and motivations underlying denialism, the various techniques used by purveyors of science denial to spread misinformation, and the harmful consequences of denialist attitudes for individuals, societies, and our planet.? We’ll also discuss the steps that can be taken by individuals and larger societal entities to combat false/misleading information that, when not addressed, can destabilize valid science-related messaging and interventions designed to enhance human life.

Instructor: L. Manza

Day/Time: MWF 9–9:50 a.m.

Companion: F 12–12:50 p.m.

Are You Ready for Some (Fantasy) Football?: Fantasy football is a billion-dollar industry played by millions of people worldwide. Not surprisingly, content about fantasy football abounds, trying to draw in the reader with insider advice, expert analysis, or relatable anecdotes. In this course all students will compete in fantasy football leagues with their classmates. Students will engage with and produce a wide variety of fantasy-related content as they experience firsthand the ups and downs of fantasy football.

Instructor: T. Peelen

Day/Time: MWF 10–10:50 a.m.

Companion: M 12–12:50 p.m.

Our brain makes us who we are. It regulates how we think, what we remember, how we react to situations, how we speak, and how we move.? This seminar explores the brain from a dysfunction perspective by incorporating how brain diseases and injury affect behavior and function. There are many famous cases such as those of Phineas Gage and Louis Victor Leborgne and stories illustrated by Oliver Sacks and others that have provided great insight into the relationship between brain anatomy and function. In this seminar, will use books, short stories, research articles, and films to discuss this relationship and also explore how recent advances in neuroscience have helped us to better understand how the brain works.

Instructor: E. Unger

Day/Time: MWF 10–10:50 a.m.

Companion:? W 12–12:50 p.m.

The Book of Revelation has confounded many readers since it was first penned by the John in the late first century. This course will delve into the highly symbolic, dramatic piece of ancient apocalyptic literature portraying a cosmic battle between good and evil. Students will be introduced to the Bible as a historical record, cultural/political influences of the period, and basic tenets of Christianity before attempting to decode the vivid prophetic visions, symbols, and metaphors found in Revelation. Also, by exploring artistic interpretation and visual media renderings, students will gain an appreciation of how God, spiritual beings, and ‘end of days’ events have been portrayed throughout time. Students of all beliefs and/or faith denominations (including those who identify as agnostic and/or atheist) are welcome.

Instructor: M. Fink

Day/Time: TTH 2–3:20 p.m.

Companion: TBA

In?this course, we will discuss the basics of music: how to write about music, how music functions in different situations and cultural contexts, relationships between musicians and audiences, and how music communicates identity. We will hear examples from various times and places globally, and students will bring their own examples to class discussions and as topics for their essays.

Instructor: R. Norris

Day/Time: MWF 11–11:50 a.m.

Companion: W 12–12:50 p.m.

Over the past one hundred years, the American film industry, driven by Hollywood, has emerged as a global force, creating narratives that entertain audiences around the world. More importantly, film plays a powerful role in shaping how we look at the people around us, whether it’s subconsciously reinforcing an existing stereotype or outright challenging a dominant norm. This course will examine how contemporary films reflect, construct, and question the dominant image and understanding of America’s diverse societies and culture, focusing particularly on race, ethnicity, gender, class, and sexuality. By placing films within their broader historical and cultural contexts, students will learn to analyze and understand films as sociological and ideological productions.

Instructor: E. Julian

Day/Time: MW 2–3:20 p.m.

Companion: F 12–12:50 p.m.

Calling hobbyists, tinkerers, doodlers, aspiring Bake-Off contestants, artists, inventors, and the making-curious! In Make(r)Space, we’ll explore the act of making things and how we think about those actions in terms of creativity, functionality, and physical interaction with materials. We’ll study the art of attention by considering how we use our time and where we put our energy, and we’ll consider how we communicate our experiences and our research to a variety of audiences through both shared class experiences and individual projects. In a world of increasingly ephemeral digital interactions and high-stakes final products, Make(r)Space invites us instead to engage with process, practice attitudes of flexibility and resilience, and connect with ways of making. And we’ll make some stuff. The only thing you need is a willingness to try.

Instructor: H. Wendt

Day/Time: MW 3:30–4:50 p.m.

Companion: W 12–12:50 p.m.

This course explores the dynamic world of fan culture in sports and entertainment marketing. Students will examine the deep connections fans develop with iconic figures and the various ways they engage with them. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the course investigates the motivations, behaviors, and impact of fandom, encouraging students to reflect on their own fan practices and the broader cultural significance of audience engagement.

Instructor: B. Mason

Day/Time: TTH 8–9:20 a.m.

Companion: W 12–12:50 p.m.

And they lived happily ever after.. Whether there be ogres, monsters, princes, witches, talking frogs, evil stepmothers or magic beans; almost every fairy tale has one thing in common – the happily ever after. But if fairy tales are the stuff of childhood why do they crop up in the adult world through films like the steam punk gore rendition of Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters or the feminist retelling Maleficent, procedural TV shows like Grimm and Beauty and the Beast, or ads for Chanel No.5 and Adidas? We will explore the frame narratives of the “classic” fairy tales of the Grimm brothers and Charles Perrault in the hands of twentieth century writers to reflect on modern renditions of the “ever after” myth. The class will investigate the validity of fairytales in an era of reworkings and adaptations through various readings, music videos, films, ads etc.

Instructor: S. Bhattacharya

Day/Time: TTH 9:30–10:50 a.m.

Companion: W 12–12:50 p.m.

This course offers students the opportunity to take on the role of researcher as we explore the lives of Jack’s victims and the investigation into his murderous spree through a variety of readings and viewings. While there are many solid theories of the identity of Jack the Ripper, he has never been caught. After learning more about Jack’s profile and theoretical motives, the course will move on to other serial killers to understand who they killed and why they killed, putting our analytical skills to work. We will read, discuss, analyze, and write about both real and fictional killers.

Instructor: A. Hildebrand

Day/Time: TTH 9:30–10:50 a.m.

Companion: TH 8:30–9:20 a.m.

From Beethoven to Ellington, from the French Revolution to the Civil Rights Movement, this course will examine the lives of prominent composers, explore the lasting impact their music has had, and connect this music to pivotal moments in history. Seminar participants will also have the opportunity to research the lives and music of noteworthy contemporary composers and performers from around the world. Musical scores, classic recordings and selected readings will provide the framework for this course. While the ability to read music is not a requirement for this class, it will prove helpful.

Instructor: J. Dietrich

Day/Time: TTH 9:30–10:50 a.m.

Companion: F 12–12:50 p.m.

Amish and similar groups have been a part of Pennsylvania for a long time, but they also live in 30 other states and beyond. They are often seen as outsider, imagined as saints, or as a group with dark secrets. They have become a part of pop culture, from tourism and furniture to romance novels. In this course, we will explore the main ideas and beliefs of Amish and the main ways how non-Amish perceive them. We will analyze how Amish are depicted pop culture, for example, literature, television, and movies, to answer the questions: why do the Amish live that way and why are they so fascinating to many of us?

Instructor: J. Meindl

Day/Time: TTH 9:30–10:50 a.m.

Companion: TH 8:30–9:20 a.m.

Students will study how sports have impacted our society and how the media has shaped the relationship. We will study the history of sports journalism, and students will read and analyze a variety of writing styles from sportswriters in all media, including broadcast, print and the web. We will also analyze how sports feature stories attract an audience who may not be avid sports fans; it’s the power of words that brings us together.

Instructor: J. Fettrow-Alderfer

Day/Time: TTH 9:30–10:50 a.m.

Companion: F 12–12:50 p.m.

Science Fiction, Fantasy, and other “speculative genres” are a special part of our culture. Sci-fi and fantasy dominate films, series, literature, and games, but why? What do we find so compelling about worlds that “don’t exist”? This class is focused on exploring our fascination with alternate worlds and the stories we tell with them. Drawing on academic texts, literature, popular culture, and experiences from our own lives, students will critically engage with works of sci-fi and fantasy. The aim of this class is to open and complicate our understanding of speculation and genre as artistic and social tools through critical, academic, creative, and reflective activities.

Instructor: N. Cialini

Day/Time: 2–3:20 p.m.

Companion: M 12–12:50 p.m.

This course seeks to develop the sociological imagination through an examination of the way in which film both influences, and is influenced by, dominant social and cultural ideology. Integral to the course is an analysis of the role of the filmmaker as artist, investigating the figure’s historically dichotomous role as both social subversive and propagandist. This semester especial focus will be given the portrayal of the monster in science fiction, horror, and comedy.

Instructor: A. Owen

Day/Time: TTH 2–3:20 p.m.

Companion: M 12–12:50 p.m.

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of academic writing and critical thinking through the lens of dystopian literature. We will explore how authors imagine societies shaped by oppression, technology, environmental collapse, and resistance, and examine what these narratives reveal about human nature and contemporary concerns. We will use a combination of short stories from Bradbury, LeGuin, and Gaiman as well as short novels such as The Island of Dr. Moreau and Klara and the Sun to explore these themes.

Instructor: T. Rosenberg

Day/Time: TTH 2–3:20 p.m.

Companion: F 12–12:50 p.m.

For millennia, human cultures have offered various recipes for “flourishing,” a life filled with deep satisfaction, well-being, resilience, and accomplishment.? In this class, students will learn some of the key ingredients of flourishing and the skills that contribute to its realization.? Throughout the semester, we will explore perspectives from the sciences and the humanities about what it means to flourish and what the key ingredients of flourishing might be.? Appreciating the tremendous diversity of perspectives and experiences even within our university community, we will seek to empower students to come to their own understanding of flourishing that embraces both individual uniqueness and also what is shared across diverse cultures and contexts.

Instructor: C. Garcia Armero

Day/Time: MWF 1–1:50 p.m.

Companion: W 12–12:50 p.m.

Ancient Voices, Living Questions: Socrates, the Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammed. This course invites students into a conversation with four of the most influential figures in human history: Socrates, the Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammed. ?Students will learn their life stories and discuss their legacies in the worlds of philosophy, religion and world culture. The course will emphasize discussion and critical inquiry, with the aim of cultivating habits of thoughtful reading, respectful dialogue, and intellectual curiosity.

Instructor: J. Robbins

Day/Time: TTH 9:30–10:50 a.m.

Companion: F 12–12:50 p.m.

In our digital age, the challenge is not how to access information but rather how to curate it: what is reliable and relevant information? How can we avoid being overwhelmed or manipulated? The course explores important ways how humans understand and deliver information, for example, psychological biases shaping our perception; major patterns of storytelling, e.g., in myths, fairytales, urban myths, advertising, conspiracy theories; methods to distinguish information from misinformation.

Instructor: J. Meindl

Day/Time: MWF 8–8:50 a.m.

Companion: T 8:30–9:20 a.m.

Have you noticed women’s sports on TV more often? Do the names Caitlin Clark, Simone Biles, or Coco Gauff sound familiar to you? What about the legendary icons like Serena Williams, Alex Morgan, or Billie Jean King? Women’s sports are having a cultural moment, but it was not always this way. In this course, students will explore the history of women’s sports, the fight for visibility and equality, and how women athletes continue to transform American society. Through various readings, films, and class discussions, the course will highlight the achievements, challenges, and ongoing significance of women in sports.

Instructor: K. Mirance-Popelka

Day/Time: MWF 9–9:50 a.m.

Companion: M 12–12:50 p.m.

From documents to DNA, how far back can you trace your family tree? If you have heard someone claim they can trace a family line back to the Middle Ages, don’t believe them. You will examine what it takes to really trace the path of ordinary people far back into the past. Traditionally, this path has stopped when original documentation is no longer available, but in the last 20 years we have learned to use the information in our DNA to trace back even further. More recently yet, we have learned to unlock the secrets of very ancient DNA to reveal previously unknown human populations and their migrations. In this course, you will study what it takes to follow a path through human history into the earliest documented past, and then even farther. Along the way, you will consider why 23andme claims they can identify Neanderthal DNA in modern humans, why scientists think they can reconstruct the Y-chromosome of Genghis Khan, and why ancient Sanskrit has striking similarities with English. You will also think critically about the morality of recent uses of DNA, considering how modern uses have led to permanent reductions in individual privacy and have raised the specter of some of the worst misuses of science, from eugenics to the mistreatment of African Americans and Native Americans.

Instructor: B. Smith

Day/Time: MWF 1–1:50 p.m.

Companion: W 12–12:50 p.m.

How do we translate the complexity of our inner lives and the world around us into words that resonate? Write your World: An Exploration of Self, Style, and Culture is a writer’s workshop designed to transform raw ideas into polished, purposeful prose. By examining the intersection of personal identity and cultural context, students will develop the technical and creative skills required for high-level communication across expository, persuasive, and creative modes. In an information-saturated world, the ability to write with clarity and conviction is a superpower. This course provides a toolkit for navigating the modern landscape – teaching students to conduct rigorous research, analyze literature, and experiment with various forms of creative writing. Whether arguing for social change, analyzing a text, or drafting an original creative work, you will learn to ensure your voice is not just heard but understood.

Instructor: J. Broderic

Day/Time: TTH 12:30–1:50 p.m.

Companion: W 12–12:50 p.m.

From documents to DNA, how far back can you trace your family tree? If you have heard someone claim they can trace a family line back to the Middle Ages, don’t believe them. You will examine what it takes to really trace the path of ordinary people far back into the past. Traditionally, this path has stopped when original documentation is no longer available, but in the last 20 years we have learned to use the information in our DNA to trace back even further. More recently yet, we have learned to unlock the secrets of very ancient DNA to reveal previously unknown human populations and their migrations. In this course, you will study what it takes to follow a path through human history into the earliest documented past, and then even farther. Along the way, you will consider why 23andme claims they can identify Neanderthal DNA in modern humans, why scientists think they can reconstruct the Y-chromosome of Genghis Khan, and why ancient Sanskrit has striking similarities with English. You will also think critically about the morality of recent uses of DNA, considering how modern uses have led to permanent reductions in individual privacy and have raised the specter of some of the worst misuses of science, from eugenics to the mistreatment of African Americans and Native Americans.

Instructor: B. Smith

Day/Time: MWF 2–2:50 p.m.

Companion: M 12–12:50 p.m.

From Beowulf to The Walking Dead, art has expressed people’s fascination with monsters and violent mayhem. Though the horror genre has always been popular, it is also often dismissed as lowbrow, even exploitative, entertainment that caters to humanity’s baser instincts. In this class, we will confront that point of view by looking at the ways in which horror entertainment both reflects and challenges the cultures in which it is produced. We will analyze a variety of texts, including Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein and George Romero’s film “Night of the Living Dead”. Students will learn about milestones in the development of the horror genre in film and literature, gain an understanding of introductory terminology in film and literary analysis, and discover the main theories about why audiences enjoy horror.

Instructor: L. Eldred

Day/Time: TTH 9:30–10:50 a.m.

Instructor:?J. Denniston

Day/Time:?W 12–12:50 p.m.

Instructor: J. Denniston

Day/Time: F 12–12:50 p.m.

Instructor: S. Bost

Day/Time: F 12–12:50 p.m.