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Interdisciplinary Programs and Courses

Community-Based Learning

Advisers — CORIELL, HYDE, STANEC

Community-Based Learning (CBL) is experiential education that promotes student learning in community contexts, by focusing on community concerns. It goes beyond treating the community as a mere lab by building reciprocity — be this immediate or deferred — and prioritizing participants’ mutual reflection. Courses with a CBL notation include the intention of equipping students with the skills, knowledge and experience to exercise influence toward social, cultural, environmental or civic outcomes that benefit the common good. Please contact the faculty member listed to learn more about the CBL component of the course.

AS110 Introduction to Three Dimensional Design-Environmental Design Emphasis. Reed.

AN208 Topics in Anthropology, Anthropological Perspectives on Conservation. Fish.

AN208/ES209 Topics in Anthropology: Youth, Power and Social Movements. Tiongson.

AN242 The Anthropology of Food. Montaño.

CH366 Physical Chemistry I. Meyer. 

CH383 Biochemistry of Nucleic Acid. Grover.

DR/AH200/EV260 A City in a Forest. Marble.

ED120/100 College Aides in the Colorado Springs Schools. Gortner.

ED150 Contemporary Issues in Education. Mendoza.

ED203/EV250 Environmental Education. Taber.

ED275 Mentoring At-Risk Youth. Department.

ED202 Teaching English as a Second Language. Emmer.

ED220 Power of the Arts in Education. Stanec.

ED320 Teaching through the Arts. Stanec.

EV212 Energy and the Environment. Meyer.

EV321 Environmental Management. Perramond, McKendry. (Note: Only the section taught Block 2.)

FG410 Practicum in Feminist and Gender Studies. Victoria.

FS218 Topics in Filmmaking: The Documentary. Haskell, Nelson.

HY200 Colorado and its Histories. Hyde.

PH203 Globalization and Philosophy. Hernandez-Lemus.

PY299 Neuroscience. Jacobs, Driscoll.

SO/FG235 Sociology of Family. Murphy-Geiss.

Departmental Major/International Affairs Option

Advisers — KAPURIA-FOREMAN, LYBECKER, PRICE-SMITH

The departmental major/international affairs option is designed to allow students the advantage of a traditional major along with the development of an understanding of international affairs. It assumes that such an understanding begins to develop through study of a foreign language, an extended experience outside one’s own country, and a familiarity with approaches which address the affairs of nations and peoples.

The requirements of the departmental major/international affairs option are as follows:

  1. The requirements of the major.
  2. At least three units of credit for study outside the United States.
  3. Proficiency in a foreign language:

For languages that are taught at Colorado College, proficiency through the Conversation and Composition level (usually 305). For languages that are not taught at the college or are taught only to the intermediate (usually 202) level, proficiency through the intermediate level. Students may meet this requirement through placement exams.

4. Three units of credit in courses that cover in a substantial way the foundations used by a discipline to understand and compare the social affairs of nations and peoples and interactions among nations and peoples.

A course which covers certain phenomena in geographical areas other than the United States does not qualify per se. A student whose major is in a discipline which offers foundations courses must take at least one of the three units in the major. See an international affairs adviser for a list of approved courses.

Liberal Arts and Sciences

Adviser — Associate Dean of the College EVITT

Some students may wish to pursue a major other than an existing disciplinary or interdisciplinary major. Such students may petition to major in liberal arts and sciences (LAS) and should submit their LAS major application to the committee by the end of their second year. This option permits students with the help of two faculty advisers from different departments to design special interdisciplinary concentrations according to particular interests and needs. It is assumed that the liberal arts and sciences major is interdisciplinary in its conception and is at least as rigorous as any departmental major.

  1. Students selecting the liberal arts and sciences major must fulfill the appropriate college degree requirements as listed in the catalog. A minimum of nine units or a maximum of 14 units may be counted toward this major. The maximum number of units is recommended.
  2. Only two units at the 100 course level can be counted toward the major (language courses at the 100 and 200 level cannot be counted as part of the major). At least seven and no more than 12 of the units, designated as constituting this major, must be above the 100 course number level. One or two of these units may be General Studies 400 and General Studies 401 (Thesis).
  3. Thesis Proposal: A student declaring an LAS major should outline his or her thesis topic and the courses that will prepare the student to write the thesis. In particular the student should address which courses will provide the methodological and theoretical skills to write a successful thesis on the anticipated topic. A written thesis proposal must be submitted to the principal adviser no later than the end of the junior year. The thesis must be completed and turned in to the principal adviser no later than Block 7 of the senior year.
  4. Courses, which constitute the major in liberal arts and sciences, are designated on the transcript by two asterisks.
  5. A student must submit the application for a liberal arts and sciences major to the Dean’s Advisory Committee during the second semester of the sophomore year. A student wishing to apply for this major after the sophomore year, or to change from another major to the major in liberal arts and sciences, must present persuasive evidence that such a proposal is educationally advisable and that circumstances make it possible to achieve a satisfactory major. The student must also submit a written statement explaining why the proposed goals of the major cannot be achieved through a departmental major, a major and a minor, a double major, an interdisciplinary major, or through outside courses taken in addition to the requirement of a departmental major.
  6. The principal adviser works closely with the student in constructing the initial proposal, reviews and approves changes to the original proposed major, helps the student to conceptualize and complete the thesis and turns in the final grade. The associate adviser reviews the initial proposal providing criticism and suggestions, acts as a reader of the final draft of the thesis and recommends a final grade to the principal adviser. Each faculty adviser is expected to write a letter of support for the student’s proposed program.
  7. The program of courses should be accompanied by a typewritten description of the concentration proposed in the major — that is, a rationale demonstrating the cohesiveness of the proposed program of courses. Each course in the proposed program should be listed by course number and title, along with a statement as to how it relates to the written description of the major. The original application for the major should contain some indication of what this final project or theses will be. (See point 3 above.)
  8. At the end of the senior year, the faculty advisers will submit a report to the Dean’s Advisory Committee, evaluating what the student has accomplished in the major.

North American Studies

Adviser — Price-Smith

The North American studies program is designed to create an understanding of the complex regional forces shaping North America. Political, social, cultural, and economic ties among Mexico, the United States, and Canada are transforming all three countries, creating a region which is ever more closely related and interdependent.

  1. The North American studies program includes:
  2. A thematic minor.
  3. Block visitors from Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

A North American institute during the Summer Session. This first part of this course is taught at Colorado College, followed by travel to Canada and Mexico. In order to help students interested in North American studies to locate courses of interest, we have cross-listed those departmental courses which deal with North America under the course heading, North American studies.

They are listed below:

ANTHROPOLOGY:

  • 204 Prehistory: North America.
  • 211 The Culture Area: Eskimos.
  • 242 The Anthropology of Food.
  • 290 American Indian Music.

ART HISTORY:

  • 180 Native American Art.
  • 200 Topics: Art of Mexico.

HISTORY:

  • 105 Civilization in the West: The Atlantic World.
  • 203 Native American History (Canada).
  • 267 History of the Southwest under Spain and Mexico.

MUSIC:

  • 290 American Indian Music.

POLITICAL SCIENCE:

  • 103 Western Political Tradition.
  • 341 International History of North America, 1754–1867.
  • 410 Tutorial in International Relations.

ROMANCE LANGUAGES:

  • SPANISH 338 Latino Literature in the United States.

SOCIOLOGY:

  • 234 Sociology of 20th-Century Mexico.

SOUTHWEST STUDIES:

  • 275 The American Southwest: The Heritage and the Variety.

SPANISH:

  • 339 Chicano Literature.

Race and Ethnic Studies

www.coloradocollege.edu/academics/dept/raceandethnicstudies/

Advisers — ‑CHAN, GARCIA, HERNANDEZ-LEMUS (director), HYDE, Kapadia, Lewis, MONTAÑO, PADILLA, WONG

The race and ethnic studies program offers a minor. Students are encouraged to consult with race and ethnic studies faculty and with their faculty advisor in their pursuit of a race and ethnic studies thematic minor. 5 units minimum. 

All students are required to complete:

  1. ES185 – Introduction to Race and Ethnic Studies.
  2. One approved course on the theorizing of race, such as ES212 Theories of Race and Ethnicity or ES 200/PH285 Philosophy and Race. Other courses offered in a given block may be considered in consultation with members of the RES steering committee;
  3. One approved methods course (e.g., ES215/AN215 Research Design: Method and Theory or ES321/AN321 Rio Grande: Culture, History, and Region), suitable to the student’s focus, chosen in consultation with the RES advisor;
  4. Two units of approved electives (all to be cross-listed with race and ethnic studies, such as ES200/HY217 American Frontiers, ES200/SW200 Topics in Southwest Studies: The Student’s Role in the Sixties Southern Civil Rights Movement, ES253/EN280 Literature of the American Southwest: Mexican-American Literature, ES223/SO113 Racial Inequality, and ES220/FS220 Blacks and the Cinema;
  5. An Integrative Experience, Capstone project demonstrating the student’s ability to conduct a critical examination of racial and ethnic groups. Students can choose to focus on social issues (e.g., racial disparities in housing, health care, employment, education, income, or criminal justice) that affect racial and ethnic groups, cultural and artistic expressions associated with a particular racial and ethnic group, or the ways racial and ethnic groups have challenged social inequality. It could consist of a paper, presentation, internship with reflective component, or other independent work, to be completed after other requirements have been fulfilled. Proposals for the Integrative Experience are approved by members of the RES committee and evaluated by the director and a faculty advisor assigned to the student.