2020-2021 Academic Catalog 
    
    Apr 19, 2024  
2020-2021 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course Descriptions


Courses at Furman are typically identified by codes separated into three distinct parts. The first segment designates the academic subject of the course, the second component relates to the level of instruction, and the final element (when displayed) assists with the identification of the meeting times and location for individual course sections.

Credit bearing undergraduate courses typically are numbered between 100 and 599, graduate instruction is typically numbered between 600 and 999, while zero credit experiences frequently have numbers between 001 and 099. Undergraduates can further expect courses numbers to reflect:

100-299 introductory courses, geared to freshmen and sophomores
300-499 advanced courses, designed for majors and other students with appropriate background and/or prerequisites
500-599 individualized instruction, including internships, research, independent study, and music performance studies
 

Sustainability Science

  
  • SUS-120 Principles of Sustainability Science


    GER: NWL (Empirical Study of the Natural World with laboratory) and NE (Humans and the Natural Environment)
    Introduction to the concepts of sustainability science and the complex problems associated with sustainability. In particular students will examine the challenge of supporting nine billion people without destroying the planetary resource base, social cohesion, and integrity of the individual. Labs will cover introduction to methods in sustainability. 4 credits.
  
  • SUS-125 Sustainability and Society


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    The grand challenge of sustainability science is to improve both the well-being of people on Earth and reduce the impact of humanity on the environment at the same time. What does “sustainable” mean? This course explores the ethical obligations and realistic challenges of achieving this goal. 4 credits.
  
  • SUS-200 Sustainability Living and Leadership


    Covering multiple facets of sustainability, encouraging students to experiment and live a more sustainable lifestyle, and providing leadership training for promoting campus and community sustainability. 1 credit.
  
  • SUS-201 Making Change Happen


    Designed for students in the Greenbelt Community, developing and implementing action plans for sustainability related change on campus and in the Greenville area.  1 credit.
  
  • SUS-210 Urban Sustainability


    SUS-120 
    What does a sustainable city look like, and how do we create one? In this course, students learn theory, principles, and practices of urban planning as it applies to sustainability science and planning for sustainable urban development. 4
  
  • SUS-240 Human Systems


    Prerequisite: EES-112  or SUS-120 
    Exploration of the effects of human activities, consumption patterns and the complexity of human behavior on sustainable development. Application of the science of human behavior to complex problems such as sustainable consumption, human health, poverty, equity, and food security. 4 credits.
  
  • SUS-241 Social Systems


    Prerequisite: EES-112  or SUS-120 
    An overview of how comparative cultures conceptualize sustainability and the ways in which the actors, institutions, and policies at all scales (e.g., local, regional, national) shape societal well-being. Connections to the global environmental and human systems are emphasized and explored. 4 credits.
  
  • SUS-242 Dynamic System Modeling


    Prerequisite: EES-112 , EES-113 , EES-115  or SUS-120  
    An introduction to systems thinking and modeling of the human-environment relationship. Stocks, flows, feedback loops, homeostasis, and cyclic processes will be considered. Problems in sustainability such as climate change, population growth, and energy consumption will be modeled. 4 credits.
  
  • SUS-320 Consumption and Culture


    Prerequisite:  EES-112  or SUS-120 , and ANT-101  
    Explores the ways in which culture drives material consumption beyond basic human needs, and the relationship between culture, consumption, and our capitalist system. 4 credits.
  
  • SUS-325 Conservation and Communities


    Prerequisite:  EES-112  or SUS-120  or  ANT-101  
    Focusing specifically on political ecology, an environmental anthropology approach to understanding the relationship between conservation initiatives and local communities that depend on natural resource extraction for sustenance. Includes an exploration of themes involving governance, power, and inequality as we trace the social implications of conservation policy from the past to present. 4 credits.
  
  • SUS-330 Ecological Economics


    EES-112 , SUS-120 , and ECN-111  
    This course will introduce the critical approach of the new transdisciplinary field of ecological economics,and use this approach to assess the problem of perpetual economic growth within limited planetary boundaries. We will analyze and challenge the viability of our current global economic paradigm, including
    market-based approaches to environmental policy. 4 credits
  
  • SUS-335 Sustainability and Social Justice


    SUS-240 , SUS-241  or EST-301  
    Focus on the social justice aspects of sustainability; disproportionate impacts of sustainability actions on different social groups; environmental justice in terms of fair treatment and meaningful involvement of both positive and negative environmental actions. 4 credits
  
  • SUS-345 Resilience and Adaptation


    Prerequisite: EES-111 , EES-112 , EES-113 , EES-115  or SUS-120  
    How social change shapes the environment and how environmental change shapes society. “Adaptation” and “vulnerability” concepts compared and contrasted through social-ecological resilience and political ecology approaches. Case studies from the developed and developing world will illustrate the utility of these concepts for pressing environmental issues such as global climate change. 4 credits.
  
  • SUS-351 Off the Grid


    An off the grid, eco-village immersion experience. Topics in social, ecological, and economic sustainability, with a focus on organic foods, regenerative systems, and community living. Students will be immersed into the village, livelihoods, businesses, and farms of an eco-village community. May Experience ONLY. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • SUS-352 Community Partnership: Envisioning Space and Place


    In a project setting, students will learn from and partner with a local neighborhood and county officials, apply methods of inquiry and analysis, and create a community-driven vision for addressing a local challenge. May Experience ONLY. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • SUS-370 Sustainability Solutions Workshop


    Prerequisite: SUS-240 SUS-241  or SUS-242  
    Sustainability science addresses pressing challenges facing society. But how do we understand these challenges and design actions to create desirable change? Through a one semester-long, guided group project, students collaboratively implement principles and methods of sustainability science to generate potential solutions for a local problem. 4 credits.
  
  • SUS-410 Sustainable Futures


    Prerequisite: SUS-120  and SUS-240 SUS-241  or SUS-242  
    Striving for sustainability requires a clear, long-term perspective on both sustainability problems and their potential solutions. Students will explore sustainability science as a future-oriented endeavor and practice methods including scenario development and visioning, among others. 4 credits.
  
  • SUS-472 Research and Analysis


    WR (Writing-Research Intensive)
    Same as EES-472 . Analysis of data, reading of scientific literature relevant to individual research, and writing of a thesis based on the results of an independent research project. Students must also present results at a professional meeting and to the department. EES-502 must be enrolled at the same time. 4 credits.
  
  • SUS-473 Sustainability Science Practicum


    GER: WR (Writing-Research Intensive)
    Prerequisite: any first year writing seminar
    Capstone experience in the major emphasizing solution-based research. Students will have the opportunity to conduct rigorous, applied research and further develop critical analysis skills. Research analysis will be conducted at the local level in partnership with local organizations (nonprofit, public, or private), addressing a pre-determined research question. Exploring topics that allow students to grapple with how to reduce environmental impact and increase social welfare, designed to encourage “engaged scholarship” to prepare students for interdisciplinary team-based research in their careers. 4 credits.
  
  • SUS-474 Senior Capstone


    Synthesis integrating the research experience into the interdisciplinary context across EES and SUS majors.
    Develop writing, collaboration, and communication skills. 4
  
  • SUS-475 Sustainability Science Seminar


    2 credits.
  
  • SUS-502 Research


    Original field and/or laboratory research focusing on a topic selected be the student in collaboration with a faculty member. Results of research are reposted in a paper written according to the style and format of professional publications in the Earth and Environmental Sciences. The grade will depend largely on the initiative of the student. Variable credit.
  
  • SUS-504 Directed Independent Study


    A topic of special interest selected by the student and a faculty member with whom the student chooses to work. The study is done mostly with sustainability science literature. Results of the investigation are reported in a paper written according to the style and format of professional sustainability science publications. The grade will depend largely on the initiative of the student. The grade will depend largely on the initiative of the student. Variable credit.

Theatre Arts

  
  • THA-001 Theatre Practicum


    Significant participation in the department’s theatre productions as determined by the faculty, including, but not limited to, serving as a cast member, in stage management, as a crew head or as an assistant to a designer.  Required for declared majors every semester.  Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory ONLY. Required for declared majors every semester. Satisfactory-Unsatisfactory ONLY. 0 credit.
  
  • THA-101 Introduction to Theatre


    GER: VP (Visual and Performing Arts)
    Script analysis, dramatic structure, production styles, introductory overview of acting, directing, design, and technical elements of production. Participation in some phase of play production (backstage or onstage) or a creative project is part of the course. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-111 Introduction to Acting


    GER: VP (Visual and Performing Arts)
    Designed for Non-Fine Arts majors.
    Training in the basic element of the actor’s craft. Exploration of the study and practice of realistic acting principles. Work will center on modern scene study, exercises and observation. No credit for students who have previously successfully completed THA-120. 4 credits. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-112 Make-Up


    Principles of makeup design for the theatre based upon play reading and script analysis. Techniques of application limited to the painterly approach and beginning three-dimensional techniques. Compilation of a resource file of graphic images provides the basis for design choices. 2 credits.
  
  • THA-113 Sound Design


    Study of the history of theatre sound design and production. Introduction to sound recording, digital sound capturing and editing, microphones and sound reinforcement techniques. Students complete design projects related to theatrical production. 2 credits.
  
  • THA-115 Stagecraft


    Prerequisite: THA-101  
    Technical theatre nomenclature, tools, materials, rigging, scene painting and standard construction techniques for standard theatrical scenery. Laboratory required. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-116 Costume Crafts


    GER: VP (Visual and Performing Arts)
    Principles of costume technology, including basic sewing/construction techniques, fabric identification, and modification technique; and crafts techniques, such as millinery, armor construction, and dyeing and painting. Production Work required 4 credits.
  
  • THA-120 Foundations of Acting


    GER: VP (Visual and Performing Arts)
    Fundamentals of acting technique including script reading and analysis, movement, vocal development, and performance theory and practice. Theatre Arts and Vocal Performance majors ONLY. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-140 Digital Technology for the Theatre


    Introduction to hardware and software technologies used in theatrical production, study, research and analysis. Students produce projects directly related to theatre scholarship, design and practice in such areas as graphics, database, audio and video production and editing, html and web publishing, page layout, and design. Laboratory required. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-150 Clothing as Self Expression


    GER: VP (Visual and Performing Arts)
    Students will explore fashion as a form of self-expression and attempt to assess the importance of our personal daily routines relative to external manipulation of our fashion priorities. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-210 Theatre History I


    A survey of classical Greek and Roman theatre, the beginnings of eastern theatre, the theatre of medieval Europe, Renaissance Italy, France and Japan, Golden Age Spain, Elizabethan and Restoration England, and Baroque France. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-211 Theatre History II


    A survey of theatre history from the end of neo-classicism through German romanticism and on through realism. Includes elements of twentieth-century eclecticism such as epic theatre, the theatre of the absurd, and the theatres of participation, confrontation, protest and ritual. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-220 Acting II: Characterization


    Prerequisite: THA-120  , THA 223, or THA 224.
    Advanced acting techniques with emphasis on exploration and development of character through play reading and analysis, improvisation, ensemble acting, experimentation and performance. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-223 Actor’s Voice


    Exploration of the natural voice using methods developed by Kristen Linklater including articulation for the stage, developing character voices and stage dialect. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-224 Movement for the Actor


    GER: MB (Mind & Body)
    Laboratory required.  Exploration and development of the actor’s physical expression for the stage.  Includes: stage combat, period styles, mask work, physical conditioning, personal fitness and other methodologies that can be applied to theatrical performances. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-230 Readings in Dramatic Literature


    GER: TA (Critical, Analytical Interpretation of Texts)
    Study of the dramatic literature of a particular historical period, genre or nation. The topic changes depending on the instructor teaching the course. Offerings might include readings in Irish Theatre; Restoration Theatre; Theatre of the Absurd; Nineteenth Century Realism; Late Twentieth and Early Twenty First Century American Theatre. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-240 Playwriting


    GER: VP (Visual and Performing Arts)
    Introduction to and practice in the art and craft of playwriting for the stage. Emphasis on play structure, character development and dialogue. Students write frequently, read their work in class and complete a 10-minute play and a one-act play. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-310 Directing


    Prerequisite: THA-120   Completion of THA 210, 211, 315, 316, 317 helpful, but not required.
    Introduction to modern directing theory and strategies, including script analysis, casting and rehearsal techniques, and direction of a one-act play for public performance. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-315 Scene Design


    Prerequisite: THA-101  and THA-115   Completion of ART-111 , ART-113  or ART-124  helpful, but not required.
    Exploration of theatrical perspective drawing techniques. Analysis, research and execution of selected scenic design projects. Completion of ART-111, 113 or 124 helpful, but not required. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-316 Costume Design


    Prerequisite: THA-101 , THA-115 , THA-116  or THA-120  Completion of ART-111 , ART-113  or ART-124  helpful, but not required.
    The costume design process, from elements and principles of design to analysis of script and character, historical research, and methods of rendering. Completion of ART-111, 113 or 124 helpful, but not required. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-317 Lighting Design


    Prerequisite: THA-101  and THA-115  
    Introduction to the history and practice of theatrical lighting design, including basic electricity, instruments, control, analysis, research and execution of design projects. Lab required. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-320 Acting III: Period Styles


    Prerequisite: THA-120  , 223 or 224.
    The study and practice of period acting styles and the research tools available to actors. Offerings might include Greek Golden Age, Italian Commedia dell’Arte, Elizabethan England, French Neoclassicsm, and Comedy of Manners. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-350 Travel Study in United Kingdom


    Topics include, but are not limited to, play attendance, visits backstage at major theatres, visits to foreign museums, and field trips to other sites of interest. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-410 Theatrical Criticism


    GER: TA (Critical, Analytical Interpretation of Texts)
    Analysis and discussion of major trends in theatrical criticism from Aristotle to the present. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-420 Acting IV: Advanced Topics


    Prerequisite: THA-120 and THA-220, THA-223, THA-224 or THA-320
    Emerging issues and innovative content not covered by other acting courses. Topics might include advanced scene study, contemporary or classical styles, show development, or collaborative theatre-making. Significant laboratory component required. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-430 Senior Synthesis


    A portfolio assembly/presentation completed by senior Theatre Arts majors. Student presentations will demonstrate levels of accomplishment in acting/directing, backstage, design, and written project work. Students will focus intensively on one particular project to demonstrate mastery in that area. Presentations will contain evidence of students’ in-depth ability to understand and articulate the meaning of plays from a design, performance, technical or research perspective. Senior majors ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • THA-440 Creative Dramatics & Classroom Technique


    Practical games, exercises and improvisations for actors and teachers who wish to work in the children146s theatre field or use creative dramatics in the non-theatre arts classroom. Includes creative dramatics and drama structures for the non-theatre classroom. 4 credits.
  
  • THA-501 Independent Study


    Independent projects not specifically related to directing or design. Projects may be approved in, although not necessarily limited to, acting, theory and criticism, theatre history or playwriting. May be retaken for credit. Variable credit.

Urban Studies

  
  • UST-501 Independent Study


    Variable credit.

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

  
  • WGS-230 Issues in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies


    Focus on both classical and contemporary issues in Women’s and Gender Studies. Survey of feminist theory and historical developments in the women’s movement, it provides a foundation for the understanding of contemporary women’s issues, including education, family, health, religion, economics and politics. 4 credits.
  
  • WGS-240 Women in Science


    Study of the obstacles faced by women in science. Topics include: strategies used to overcome obstacles, professional relationships, the “female perspective” and current issues. Group projects will be developed through on-going discussions, selected readings, and individual research. 4 credits.
  
  • WGS-250 Introduction to Queer Theory and Sexuality Studies


    GER: TA (Critical, Analytical Interpretation of Texts)
    Prerequisite: any first year writing seminar
    Study of Foucault, Butler, Sedgwick, Anzaldua, Edelman, Mercer and Ferguson among others to understand what it means to say that sexuality has a history and that it is socially constructed. Topics include the ways queer theory problematizes the connections among sex, gender, and sexuality; modern lesbian, gay, and transgendered movements; and anti-identitarian alternatives to normative sexual regimes. 4 credits.
  
  • WGS-252 Sexual Revolutions in Modern America


    Changes in sexual attitudes and behaviors in modern (post-Word War II) America. The historical construction of gender, as well as social and political factors, are also examined. Primary sources are emphasized. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • WGS-502 Directed Research


    FYW, WGS 230 OR WGS 250, permission of instructor
    The student will develop and execute an independent research project or collaborate substantially on multiple phases of a faculty-designed research project focused on women’s, gender, and/or sexuality studies in one or several disciplines. 4
  
  • WGS-503 Supervised Internship


    WGS-230   or WGS-250  
    This supervised internship provides students with an educational experience in an organization that engages with topics related to women, gender, and/or sexuality. Students engage in reading, writing, and reflecting associated with their internship. Variable credit.
  
  • WGS-504 Directed Independent Study


    Under the supervision of a Women’s and Gender Studies faculty member, a student may develop a proposal for extensive study on a topic of special interest. The proposal must be approved by the Women’s and Gender Studies oversight committee. Project culminates in a paper, presentation, performance or other appropriate activity. Variable credit.
 

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