Serial Offenders
Professor Catherine Arnold, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice
The spectacle known as the 'media circus' began with print capitalism's obsession with the serial killer. Numerous serial killers are the products of sensational media campaigns that have taken on lives of their own. This course will examine serial offender characteristics and profiles as well as scrutinize the press coverage of these criminals from a variety of perspectives."

Revolutionary Brothers: The Spirit of '76 and the "Real" Greatest Generation
Professor Patrick M. Eagan, Department of History
Have you ever asked yourself why the generation of our "Founding Fathers" was able to combine revolutionary ideas and politics so effectively? What were the values that these men and women shared and made them so unique in comparison with today's political leadership? Do you wonder why subsequent generations have had such difficulty in doing so? If you have, then join us as we take an in depth look at the formation of the American governmental system through the lives of the "Founding Generation." This course will explore a wide range of material; from 18th century primary sources to modern American political science as we try and answer the question of whether the "Revolutionary Generation" was the best America has yet to offer.

Invasive Species, Menace or Myth?
Professor Shannon Galbraith-Kent, Department of Biology
In this FYS course, we will use a combination of various readings, case studies, guest lectures, and field trips to explore the impact of invasive species in the Greater Cincinnati Area.

Abnormal Psychology at the Movies
Professor Kathie Langen, Department of Psychology
This seminar examines psychological disorders by examining their portrayal in film and to some degree in fiction and autobiography. The goal of this course is twofold: first, to use film and autobiography to illustrate both psychopathology and its treatment in order to give them a human dimension and second, to look at the accuracy of these fictional portrayals and see where they may be distorted by the public and professional biases of the time in which they were produced or written. Students will be assigned summer reading and asked to view several films.

Beauty Today: Reflections on Art and Culture
Professor Jerome Langguth, Department of Philosophy
This course will examine the place of beauty in the contemporary world from an interdisciplinary perspective. Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Is it merely skin-deep? Is what we find beautiful determined by our culture, or does beauty speak to us across cultures and historical periods? Students will read and discuss works by philosophers, poets, musicians, anthropologists, cognitive scientists, and others addressing the nature of beauty and its importance for life and culture.

Holy Hatred: The Twisted History of Antisemitism
Professor Jim McNutt, Department of History
This class explores the historical expressions of hatred for the Jewish people and their faith throughout the past 2000 years. From the earliest Church Fathers, through the Crusades, Reformation, Enlightenment, Nazi Germany, militant Islam, to the liberal left of postmodern pop-academia; prejudice towards Jews has left a bloody stain. This class explores the nature of this hatred and how it expressed itself under the cloak of religious piety, enlightened reason, and contemporary politically correct agendas.
Through selected readings and audio-visual presentations, the student will be challenged to confront an uncomfortable past and uncertain present. The course seeks to help develop critical thinking and writing, along with providing the student with historical-critical tools to responsibly evaluate past sources and contemporary media reports in order to better make crucial, independently based decisions in today’s world. A firm foundation for the future can only be found in a responsible grasp of past and present realities.

What’s All The Twitter About?
Professor Mary Jo Nead, Department of Communication and Drama
You’re probably used to using Facebook, You Tube, Twitter and other new media. But have you stopped to consider how these new media merge art and technology? Or how your communication experience is no longer linear? We will delve into these ideas as we explore how new media has influenced our lives. You’ll be asked to view new media from many perspectives: philosophical, psychological, and business. We’ll look at comics, TV, radio, music, video games, and electronic publishing. We’ll view the history of new media and examine the current convergence of old and new media. Finally, you’ll create your own new media. Not just another Facebook page but something creative and uniquely yours.

The Popular Choice
Professor Bartley Richardson, Department of Computer Information Systems
Jay-Z, Stephen Foster, Swatch watches, flappers, the Model-T, Facebook, The Beatles, leg warmers - all of these represent American culture at some point in our collective history. Pop culture is more than simply a fad; it has the ability to affect all aspects of our lives, from politics to economics to social agendas. Entire generations can be shaped and defined by their own collective idea about what is popular and what is not. Join us this semester as we investigate popular culture both past and present and examine its effect on those that lived through it. How was the political climate of the 1970's shaped by a new generation's ideas of what was popular? How do our current views on pop culture help define us, and how have they affected change on almost every level? We also look to the future to theorize how current trends in pop culture may evolve and change. Go ahead, make the "popular" choice and have fun while we all learn!

The Life of the Mind
Professor Robert Riehemann, Department of Mathematics and Physics
What kinds of projects do “intellectuals” attempt? We will look at a wide variety of such individuals, from philosophers to folk singers who rode the rails during the depression, from saints to poets, novelists to mathematicians.

Your Money or Your Life?
Professor Malcolm Robinson, Department of Economics
Americans complain constantly about our Health Care System. For example, a common gripe is that our health care costs too much. How can we evaluate this claim? Consider the following thought experiment. Suppose a hospital offered you the following proposition: it would treat you with 1950s style medicine and charge you 1950s style prices. Would you be willing to give up the medical advances of the last 50 or even 20 years in order to receive a lower bill? We shall develop the economic reasoning tools needed in order to think about this question.

Business Enterprise in American History
Professor Richard Shuey, Department of Business
This course will look at the good, bad, and ugly ways used by American business in the development of capitalism from slavery to riches. We'll look at how the American character was developed through self-reliance, industrialization, unionization, greed, and social responsibility. Special attention will be devoted to the role of Greater Cincinnati in the development of American business enterprise. A field trip to the Cincinnati Museum Center will be a required part of this course.

Spaceships and Politics
Professor J.T. Spence, Department of History and Political Science
By studying the material presented in, “Spaceships and Politics,” students will have the chance to explore perspectives on politics while developing experiences in dialogue, speaking, writing, and interacting with their peers and with faculty. The material presented and the required academic assignments are meant to help students develop or refine important academic skills and methods of inquiry, including critical thinking, methods of research, and applying and presenting analysis in a written format. Through an interdisciplinary experience students will see important connections between various and diverse areas of study and, hopefully, developing a heightened understanding and respect for the scholastic community.

Help- I’m Innocent
Professor Jim Swartz, Departments of Chemistry and Computer Information Systems
This class will investigate cases of people who have been wrongly convicted and how they were finally found innocent.

What Good is Democracy?
Father Gerald Twaddell, Department of Philosophy
In an election year we should not take democracy for granted. Ancient thinkers considered it a bad idea; modern ones judged it good. This seminar will explore arguments that can be made for democracy and what qualities it needs to have to contribute something good to human life.

From the Pastor's Wife to Martha Stewart, Witches to Cougars: The Changing Role of Women in History.
Professor Sara Scheyer-Farmer, Department of History
In this class we will discuss the changing role of women, and by association men, throughout our past. We will examine the images of women in media, as well as written documents to determine both the ideal expected of women as well as the actual actions of women in society. Where did these stereotypes come from and how true were they? We will also explore what the future may hold for our society and the expectations for men and women.

Playing with Comedy
Professor James Schuttemeyer, Department of English
What's so funny? Read any good cartoons lately? Why is the genre of Comedy almost always paired with romance and sex? Is marriage a happy ending? What's love got to do with it? Why do we laugh? What is humor's relationship with violence? What do Darwin, Freud, and others have to say about theories of comedy, its biological value, its cultural roots? This course will explore what’s funny and why (comedy), and the structures and conventions of the theatrical and film genres (Comedy), with a special focus on Black Humor—“the use of the morbid and absurd for darkly comic purposes.” We will examine jokes and cartoons, classic and modern drama (Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and others), short fiction, and contemporary feature films. Course may require extension into lunch period on selected days for film viewing, and will include excursions to live theatre: The Importance of Being Earnest on a Thursday evening, and Shakespeare's gory dark humorous tragedy, Titus Andronicus, TBA.

Makers of World History (Honors Students or by Invitation Only)
Professor Raymond Hébert, Department of History
“Are men and women able to force change upon history by their skill and wits, their nerve and daring? Are they capable of altering history’s course by their actions? Or are they hopelessly caught in the grinding process of great interpersonal forces over which they have no great control?” Historians and students of history have long grappled with these questions. These courses will examine the careers and impact of a number of figures who have significantly influenced modern world history or who have embodied much that is significant about the periods in which they lived. In doing so, the course will also introduce students to the chief varieties of historical interpretation and the process known as historical method.