Fall 2023 Courses

An interdisciplinary study of centers of African civilization from antiquity to the 1960s. Such centers include ancient Egypt, Nubia, Axum, Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Kilwa, Malinda, Sofola, Zinzibar, and Monomotapa.

(Section 001Q/MW: 11:45AM-1:00PM)
GEP: Global Knowledge
GEP: Humanities

Study of human evolution. Processes of evolution, human variation and race, behavior and morphology of nonhuman primates, and the fossil record. Emphasis on the study of human biosocial adaptation, past and present, and on humans as culture-bearing primates.

(Section 004Q/ MW: 4:30-5:45PM)
GEP: Social Sciences

This course provides both science and non-science students and opportunity to learn about current and historical issues in biotechnology. From alternative fuel sources to the ramifications of the elucidation of the human genome on health care issues, advances in biotechnology are constantly reshaping the world we live in. Students will give presentations and participate in discussions in the classroom, as well as be engaged in the laboratory on a variety of different topics in biotechnology that affects all our lives.

(Section 001Q LEC/T: 8:30-11:15AM)
(Section 201Q LAB/ Th: 8:30-11:15AM)
GEP: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
GEP: Natural Science

(Linked) This class is all about relationships! We will explore self-concept, language and culture, self-disclosure, active listening, verbal and nonverbal communication, and conflict management. We discuss how we form, maintain, and sometimes end friendships, as well as family, romantic, and workplace relationships. We will examine our own lives, as well as examples from social media, television, movies, and other media. Each week we will enjoy discussions that apply what we learn to real life examples, as well as methods to improve our relationships.

(Section 002Q/TTh 10:15-11:30AM)
GEP: Social Sciences

This course introduces students to the basic components of an entrepreneurial lifestyle in the arts for those interested in starting an arts business. Students explore fundamental issues arts entrepreneurs encounter and how they can be addressed before the startup process reaches the launch cycle. Students are required to provide their own transportation to and cover the admission costs of off-campus events.

(Section 001Q/TTh: 10:15-11:30 AM)
GEP: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

(Linked) Significant British authors are chosen from among such figures as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Swift, Pope, Austen, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Tennyson, Browning, Bronte, Dickens, Joyce, Eliot, Woolf, and Yeats.

(Section 001Q/MW: 3-4:15 PM)
GEP: Humanities

A survey of American literature from the Civil War to the present, including such central authors as Whitman, Dickinson, Twain, James, Crane, Wharton, Frost, Eliot, Hemingway, Hurston, Faulkner, Wright, O’Connor, and Morrison

(Section 001Q/MW: 8:30-9:45 AM)
GEP: Humanities
GEP: U.S. Diversity

This course examines how literature and cinema portray urban society, popular culture and social change in the twentieth century from a variety of contexts – East Asia; South Asia; Latin America; the Middle East; and Western Europe. Through examination of visual, cinematic and literary culture in the context of global social and historical trends, we explore the ways in which the stories we tell interact with shifts in local and global culture.

(Section 001Q/TTh: 11:45-1 PM)
GEP: Global Knowledge
GEP: Humanities

Food science is an exciting, multidisciplinary career that draws on chemistry, microbiology, and engineering principles to produce, preserve, and protect the foods that we eat every day. This course is designed to help you understand the journey of foods from “farm to fork”, the effect of diet on human health, and the laws governing food labeling and marketing. It’s science you can eat!

(Section 002Q/MW 10:15 -11:30 AM)
GEP: Natural Science

Students in this course explore issues related to sustaining natural resources for current and future generations. Physical, biological and ecological principles are considered as well as the complex ways that humans interact with natural resources. Global and local examples are examined for a broad array of topics including endangered species conservation, climate change, invasive species, water availability, deforestation, and environmental justice.

(Section 002Q/MW 1:30-2:45 PM)
GEP: Natural Science
GEP: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
GEP: Global Knowledge

This course is about the history of the scientific ideas and practices that made science a large part of modern life, including the invention of methods, the mechanistic worldview, the relation of scientists to
authority, and the interaction of science with religious beliefs. We will look at some key ideas and moments, and people and places, over the last four centuries. We will use stories about scientific change to open
questions about innovation, disruption, persuasion, and values. That means also a bit of myth-busting about some famous figures and events.

(Section 002Q/MW 1:30-2:45 PM)
GEP: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

This course explores music and musicians from North Carolina, with emphasis on the state’s distinctive musical cultures and styles. It examines the musical contributions of different populations including indigenous people, enslaved Africans, and European colonizers from the 17th century to today. Musicians we study include hip-hop legends 9th Wonder and J. Cole, jazz innovators Nina Simone, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane, country hitmakers Randy Travis and Luke Combs, American Idols Scotty McCreery and Fantasia Barrino, Pulitzer Prize winning composer and Kanye West co-producer Caroline Shaw, and many others. Students will conduct their own scholarly research and interview professionals actively involved in the creation, dissemination, or support of music in North Carolina. Prior musical experience not required!

(Section 002Q/TTH: 11:45 AM-1 PM)
GEP: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Introductory analysis of the diverse processes of globalization, and an interdisciplinary survey of the social, political, economic, and cultural patterns reflected in the interrelations between various regions of the world. Emphasis on the historical and cultural contexts of debates in current global issues.

(Section 005Q/MW: 11:45AM-1:00PM)
GEP: Global Knowledge
GEP: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Climate is changing with potentially catastrophic implications for the Earth and for people. In this course we discuss how and why climate is changing and how climate change is affecting and will affect human
well-being in society. We draw upon the multiple disciplinary lenses and diverse perspectives needed to evaluate proposed solutions to climate change across multiple dimensions and/or to assess fully the consequences of inaction.

(Section 001Q/TTh: 10:15-11:30AM)
GEP: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

(Linked) Analysis of American political institutions and processes, including the constitution, political culture, campaigns and elections, political parties, interest groups, the media, the president, congress, the federal courts, and public policy. Discussion of contemporary and controversial issues in American politics. Emphasis on placing current issues in comparative and historical perspective where relevant.

(Section 002Q/MWF: 11:45AM- 12:35PM)
GEP: Social Science

How are rural communities changing, and what unique challenges do they face? This course focuses on contemporary social problems in the rural United States. We will examine how conflicts over social, economic, and environmental resources are linked to broader inequalities, histories, and social structures. We will also investigate how communities are organizing to solve these problems.

(Section OO1Q/MW 11:45-1 PM)
GEP: Social Science

(Linked) World Population and Food Prospects examines the dynamics of population size and food needs production, distribution, and utilization. The course also analyzes the consequences of inadequate nutrition, food choices and efforts to increase the compatibility of effective food production systems.

(Section 002Q/TTh: 4:30-5:45PM)
GEP: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
GEP: Global Knowledge

Interdisciplinary introduction to the reciprocal relationships between scientific/technological research and contemporary understanding of gender. Special emphasis on social factors influencing scientists and engineers in their professions.

(Section 001Q/MW: 12:15 PM- 1:30 PM)
GEP: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
GEP: U.S. Diversity

This course will use major texts – great speeches, short stories, court decisions, and pop culture across generations – to transform students’ thinking about the diversity of human life in America’s past, present and future and their place in it. While not formally affiliated with FYI, we’re happy to promote this new course that features many of the same qualities we champion: innovative teaching from great instructors (including FYI faculty) in small sections that facilitate instructor/peer and peer to peer engagement.