Servant Leadership in an Ever Changing World
Ashley Farmer Hanson
As we explore globalism, we will focus our efforts around leadership, advocacy and service. This course will take you on a journey of self-reflection and analytical thought about volunteerism around our country and the globe. We will explore servant leadership and giving of yourself is and why people give up their lives to help others. We will try to explain why global societal problems can be solved through common efforts. Special emphasis will be given to the local community and exploration of how the various cultures give back to make our city a better place to live and be. We will compare local, national and international service organizations and see how they develop global volunteerism of tomorrow. From small nonprofit to large worldwide agencies we will discover what helps keep our world turning during trying times.
Culture Shock: Moral and Ethical Decision-Making in a Global Society
The choices you make while in college are likely to have an impact on you for the rest of your life. What forms the basis of those decisions? How do we decide what is right and wrong? Why do we still make some choices even though we know they are wrong? This course will focus on how the ethical choices we make can impact our likelihood for success inside and outside the classroom, during college and beyond. The course will also discuss how the social morality of culture, especially in this global age, affects us on a daily basis. Be prepared to read, write, reflect, discuss, and grow as this class delves into the important topic of how our beliefs and character can guide us through the challenges of college and life.
The Role of Women in the Global Community
While women make up half of the world's population, their power and status is anything but equal. This seminar course will explore the idea of globalization and the significant effect it has on women. Together, we will look at issues such as prostitution, sex trafficking, child brides, female genital mutilation, and much more using the bestselling book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide as our guide. In addition to discussing the impact of globalization on women, we will also look at the ways in which women are influencing the global community. Using readings, class discussions, videos, and selected web sites, we'll consider both the advantages and the disadvantages of being a woman in the 21st century.
An Introduction to Globalization
This class will introduce multi-disciplinary research on globalization in order to help students take informed responsibility for their lives in a changing world. In addition, the content of this course will help students prepare for years of success in BVU's new globalized General Education program. Today, globalization is a large and varied compilation of social adjustments adopted in response to technological, economic, and environmental changes - evolutionary changes beyond the scope of research in any one academic discipline. For example, BVU's new globalized General Education program is a result of influences that global responsibilities have on national and local traditions. As academic researchers, students in this course will study a wide array of research materials: empirical studies, newspaper and magazine articles, academic monographs, popular books, maps, and sociological theories. While studying evolutionary change as it happens, students will isolate and analyze the transnational processes that cause and characterize their encounters with globalization.
Like, Follow, Copy? Human Imitation and Globalization
What are new brain science, cutting-edge theory, and trends in creativity and conflict revealing about human imitation? We copy and follow others in ways far more profound and amazing than once thought. Not only are other people's styles and ideas inspirational; desire itself is imitative, as TV advertising's focus on models proves. But desire causes conflict when people's wants all converge on the same thing, whether openly or secretly. This interdisciplinary section of University Seminar will explore how technology worldwide is amplifying the role of imitation in creativity, competition, conflict, and our self-understanding. We'll read contemporary and classic authors, watch innovative TV and film, and cover topics from mirror neurons and modern marketing to coolhunting, international rivalry (U.S.-China), and all sorts of bubbles, crashes, and trends.
What is terrorism? What motivates terrorists? What can be done to help protect us? You spent the summer reading The Demon in the Freezer: A True Story and learning about the bioterrorism risk of anthrax and smallpox. Now spend the semester continuing to deepen your understanding of terrorism. We will use a wide variety of sources including textbooks, scholarly articles, historical documents, personal narratives, newspaper articles, and films to explore the issue of terrorism. Student discussion will be an integral part of the course. Reflective writing, independent research, and group projects are also utilized to help students develop a more thorough understanding of terrorism and the impact it has in today's world.
The World In Your Front Yard: An in depth examination of Storm Lake, Iowa
Storm Lake has long been on the leading edge of a variety of issues confronting the United States and world today- immigration, diversity, religious freedom, commerce, global trade, and city planning. Through primary research, access to city and regional leaders, and service-learning opportunities, you will learn how these issues contribute to Storm Lake as a microcosm of the world and how you and your college experience puts you in the middle of that world.
We sleep with our phones. We express feelings with emojis. We text and tweet. We post and snap. We like and unlike. We yak , then upvote and downvote. And that's just in the last half hour. It's all because we are living in what's been dubbed the "Digital Age," and you are part of the "digital generation." But what does it really mean to be living digital? In this course, we'll explore how the emergence and rapid growth of digital media technologies have affected human experiences such as relationships, communication, identity, civic participation, and education. We will research what advantages and opportunities the digital generation has, as well as what challenges and obstacles you face. Additionally, we will explore how to avoid digital pitfalls andwield your digital savvyin order to become successful students, responsible community members and emerging professionals.
Where Are All of the Scientists?
Fewer people are entering STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and yet there is an increasing need and many job opportunities in these fields. This class will explore the current and historical trends of people entering STEM fields and implications these trends have on our society. We will look at the attitudes towards STEM research and job opportunities around the world (Asia, Europe, South America, Africa) and compare them to attitudes in the US. We will explore reasons why increased numbers in STEM fields is essential to a growing economy and staying competitive worldwide. We will research the challenges students face going into these fields (education, gender, diversity) and ways to promote and encourage young people to pursue higher education in these fields. We will also put what we learn to practice with science outreach with local children and small research projects.
To Act or Not to Act - Dilemmas and Decision-making on Stage and in Life
Brazilian theatre artist Augusto Boal stated, "We are all actors: being a citizen is not living in society, it is changing it." Students in this course will examine the ways theatre challenges us to examine ethical questions on many levels. In addition to research, writing, and class discussion, students can expect to read plays and movie scripts, attend performances, and participate in improvised and scripted activities.
The Real Cost of Products We Consume
Americans are among the most gluttonous consumers on the planet, irritated when our favorite products are temporarily vacant from a favorite store's shelves or they become more expensive. The cost of products we consume, however, cannot be measured by the price tag alone. A long trail of costs precedes the "cha-ching" at the cash register. Millions of workers in developing nations live in abject poverty and work in deplorable conditions to harvest and refine raw materials, to manufacture, to assemble, to transport the myriad of nonessential items we demand and take for granted. A long trail of toxic waste flows onto arable land, spills into ground water, and billows into the air, the long-term health costs of which loom menacingly in our not so distant futures. Working cooperatively as a community of learners we will explore the real costs of some of our favorite products from apples to Zippos. More important, we will learn the size of our own global footprints and explore strategies for educating consumers about ways to reduce our global impact. Our resources will include a textbook, selective websites, lessons in films, stories, and songs from indigenous cultures who live sustainably, and excursions to observe and interview consumers.