Critical Reading and Writing and First Year Seminar Courses

Critical Reading and Writing (CRW) Courses

The goals and capabilities of Critical Reading and Writing Z111 and Z112 are the same as those of First Year Seminars. Students learn how to engage with and evaluate texts and issues drawn from first-year courses in the social sciences, humanities, and physical sciences.

CRW Z111
Critical Thinking I
This course focuses on the critical thinking, reading, and writing needed to succeed in college level studies. Using materials drawn from various disciplines in the college curriculum, students develop their ability to recognize and discuss ideas. By learning to relate generalization to supporting ideas and to identify the patterns into which ideas are structured, students gain practice in applying effective strategies for understanding college material. The class meets on a regular basis in a computer lab where students use computers to develop these analytical capabilities and apply them to course work.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits (Pass/Fail only)

CRW Z112
Critical Thinking II
In this course, students gain experience in the processes of intellectual inquiry as it is practiced in the liberal arts and sciences. Through both oral and written presentations, they analyze and interpret readings taken from college-level texts. They learn to distinguish the methods authors use in developing their ideas and the differences and similarities among perspectives of various authors, as well as to recognize implications and to question authors’ purposes. The class meets on a regular basis in a computer lab where students use computers to develop these analytical capabilities and apply them to course work.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits (Pass/Fail only)

CRW 221
Interdisciplinary Critical Thinking
Students practice critical thinking strategies and examine transfer students’ acquired knowledge by inquiring: How is knowledge transformed when it is transferred to new academic communities? What discipline-specific expectations can students meet by depending on prior experience? How do research criteria and restrictions differ by discipline and learning institution? Which schemata and theories work across disciplines?
Prerequisite: Transfer student with 30+ credits, including both EN 101 and EN 102.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

First Year Seminar (SEM) Courses

SEM G114
Investigations Across the Curriculum
Working in teams and individually, students conduct library research; analyze and orally present arguments; and write and revise essays. Students ultimately evaluate the effectiveness of their own and others’ arguments. Topics vary by section.

Section I: Reality and the Americas
This section examines how reality and fantasy are understood and constructed by, across, and in the Americas. Materials drawn from across the curriculum (e.g., from history, psychology, media, and communication studies) are used to question definitions of reality, fact, truth, fiction, fantasy, magical realism, myth, virtual space, reality-TV, and corporeality. Students gain the ability to defend their positions about how categories such as reality and fantasy differ and overlap.
Ms McCarthy
4 Lect Hrs, 4 Credits
Prerequisite: CRW Z111

Section II: Court Cases
This section is about arguments, particularly legal and related arguments that are used in the courtroom. Students follow court cases in the news, undertake library research, and write about the issues and arguments in Supreme Court transcripts.
4 Lect Hrs, 4 Credits
Mr Williams
Prerequisite: CRW Z111

SEM G120
Mind-Body Connections
The course examines traditional and modern views of the mind and body, for example the interaction between physical awareness and mental functions, and connects these views to study strategies. Physical exercises—adaptable for disabled students—are integrated into most class sessions.
Mr Williams
4 Lect Hrs, 4 Credits

SEM G122
Communication Technology
This course explores historical and contemporary issues in communication technology. How have social, economic, and political interests influenced the development and use of communication technology? How has communication technology been used as a tool for education? What impact does communication technology have on the accessibility of information? Assignments include the use of the computer as a tool for critical analysis.
Ms Jahn
4 Lect Hrs, 4 Credits

SEM G123
Cuba Today and Yesterday
Why do we have neither trade, tourism, nor political relationships with a country forty minutes away? Why fight over a six-year-old boy? Why has Fidel Castro been in power for forty years? To raise and answer such questions, this course makes use of material from literature, history, journalism, film, economics, and even comic strips.
Mr Cluster
4 Lect Hrs, 4 Credits

SEM G125
Defining Freedom
By examining issues of race, class, and gender, participants look at what freedom has meant to different people in the United States. They are also asked to reflect on and write about their personal definitions of freedom, and to broaden and deepen the understanding they bring to their own historical situations.
Ms Welsh
4 Lect Hrs, 4 Credits