COMM 103 Introduction to Communication (3)
Students develop an increased competency in communicating with precision and style, and also have the opportunity to think critically and creatively about the process of communication. Major topics in communication theory and practice are surveyed in addition to a focus on public speaking.  

COMM 103W Introduction to Communication (4)
Essentially, students in COMM 103W Introduction to Communications explore one central question: What is human communication? While it is true that humans use verbal “message-and-response” interchanges, we will discover that communication is a sophisticated, ongoing process. This will lead us to other questions: When and where does human communication occur? How has it shaped centuries of human development? What makes us choose one form of communication — email, text messages, etc. — over another? What are the effects of each medium of communication on the quality of our messages? This course allows a student to earn their Basic Writing requirement. 

COMM 111 FYS: Communicating Community and Combatting Loneliness in Online Spaces (3)
This course asks: How can we use leading communication technologies (such as social media and other computer and digital media) to communicate in ways that build community, combat loneliness, and establish spaces of belonging? Students will engage a critical and reflective lens to consider issues of community and communication media from historical and contemporary perspectives. Drawing from interdisciplinary insights, they will build an awareness of the strengths and shortcomings of leading communication technologies in their capacity to build community and spaces of belonging. In a moment of polarization, students will examine constructive practices for communicating for community rooted in dialogic engagement. This course is a First Year Seminar. 

COMM 112 FYS: AI and the Future of Human Communication (3)
How is artificial intelligence (AI) reshaping human communication, academic learning, and ‎societies? This first-year seminar introduces students to the transformative impact of AI, ‎particularly generative AI tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek, on everyday communication. Students ‎will learn how AI challenges traditional notions of originality, creativity, and authorship, influences ‎educational experiences, and raises ethical concerns related to misinformation, deepfakes, ‎diversity, and digital inequality. Through engaged discussions, guest lectures, case studies, and ‎collaborative projects, they will develop the skills needed to navigate an increasingly AI-driven ‎world. The course fosters interdisciplinary thinking, ethical reflection, and dialogue across ‎differences, empowering students to make informed decisions about AI’s role in their academic, ‎personal, and professional lives. By working in teams, students will explore best practices for the ‎ethical and responsible use of AI in education and beyond, applying their learning to real-world ‎challenges in the 21st century.‎ This course is a First Year Seminar. 

COMM 113 FYS: #MeToo: Communication, Advocacy, and Accountability (3)
 This course engages an interdisciplinary approach to understand legacies of violence against marginalized groups, using #MeToo and the MeToo. Movement as a contemporary example. We employ an intersectional lens to explore the ways in which race, class, gender, sexuality, and other identity markers have historically influenced who is subjected to such violence (and who initiates it), highlighting the role of communication in defining, perpetuating, and resisting violence, as well as mediating accountability therefore. We read a variety of texts, including social media, docuseries, legislative testimony, comedy routines, and news coverage to survey communicative practices and their impacts on victim/survivors, alleged abusers, and societal perceptions. In this seminar, we also engage in active learning by leading class discussions, writing reflectively, and developing a social media campaign in which we advocate for justice.  This course is a First Year Seminar. 

DPH 201 Humanities at Work (3)
This class will help you connect the dots between your love of books and your curiosity about life after college, between analyzing a text and analyzing a data set. It will equip you with answers to big questions like what do we mean when we say the "humanities," and what can you do with a degree in English or History? The class features discussion as well as digital and project-based assignments. This course is also a requirement for the Gender & Women’s Studies major.

ENVS 161 Introduction to Environmental Studies (3)
An interdisciplinary course on the systemic interaction of human beings with their environments. It identifies interests informing environmental decisions and introduces practices of environmental advocacy. 

GERO 201 Gerontology: Services and Policies (3)
An overview of programs and policies designed to enable older adults to obtain necessary services, enhance their health, improve or maintain their economic well-being, and provide support to families of the aging. Trends in the aging programs, services, and policies are discussed. Topics include work, retirement, and income maintenance; delivery and regulation of health care; and social or community services that promote well-being in older adults. Depending on current health and safety regulations, visits are made to providers serving older adults and their families, and an experiential learning component is integrated into the course.

GLST 250 Global Places, Peoples, and Problems:  An Introduction to Global Studies (3)
Global Studies is an interdisciplinary, holistic, and experiential field of study that investigates the most pressing issues facing people around the globe today. This course introduces students to key theories of globalization through topics such as: colonialism, nationalism, transnationalism, and postcolonialism; global economic systems, trade networks, and neoliberalism; diaspora, migration, and the refugee crisis; global media, performance, and expressive culture; global anti-blackness and systemic racism; globalization and its impact on women and minoritized genders; and climate change, health & diseases, and environmental justice.

GWS 180 FYS: Intersectional Leadership and Empowerment (3)
This FYS will explore the complexities of gender, leadership, and the challenges leaders face navigating power structures. Students will analyze how norms and stereotypes related to gender, race, class, and sexuality affect leadership while focusing on developing strategies for overcoming barriers and creating more just and inclusive leadership environments. Using a strengths-based approach, students will develop a personalized leadership plan that fosters confidence, self-efficacy, and resilience. Students will engage with diverse readings, personal reflection, and leadership development exercises to cultivate a contemporary understanding of leadership. This course is a First Year Seminar. 

GWS 207 Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies (3) 
This interdisciplinary course introduces students to the field of gender and women’s studies. The course will enable students to understand how gender impacts their everyday lives, social institutions, and cultural practices both locally and globally. Additionally, students will examine the significance and meaning of one’s gender identity in different historical periods, the history of feminist movements, and transnational perspectives on feminism. Students will also discuss how gender intersects with other identity categories such as socioeconomic class, race, ethnicity, sexuality, age, geography, and generational location. Lastly, students will examine and critique cultural representations and claims about women and gender identities.  

HUST 101 FYS: Imagining Futures (3) 
This course examines how humans have used imagining potential futures and ideal societies as ways to identify and propose solutions for contemporary social problems. Students will analyze films (Metropolis, Blade Runner, Black Panther) and historical and literary accounts of experimental communities (ranging from Plato’s Republic and Thomas More’s Utopia to the Communist Manifesto and Fordlandia to works of science fiction, such as Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun). After encountering debates on topics such as reliance on robots and AI, the control of human thought and reproduction, and concerns for the environment, students will research a community (living, fictional, or historical) to identify and evaluate proposed solutions to social injustices and will consider ways in which more just communities might be constructed.  This course is a First Year Seminar.