NCSSM COURSE CAtAlOG - North Carolina School of Science and ...

the Cold War to the present day, some analysis is given to the early encounters
and assumptions formed largely in the nineteenth century that created the
foundation for relations between Latin America and its neighbors to the North.
Students examine topics such as the devastating effects of the Cold War/Proxy
wars in Latin America, the development of different cultures throughout the
region, environmental concerns and crises affecting the resources and
environment of Central and South America, the influx of Hispanic immigrants into
North America, the development of Latino identity, the impact of the drug wars
on all parts of the Americas, and new roles for Latin Americans in the twenty-first
century. Texts for this course include modern periodicals and media, current
analyses of the political, economic and cultural events of Latin America, as well
as reports and materials on Hispanic and Latino life and culture in North
America. Students participate in a research project/presentation investigating a
current issue in Latin American life and culture.
EN436 Western European Cultural Studies I: Origins to 814
One trimester
Credit: One unit core English credit, one unit core elective credit.
Prerequisite: Completion of three trimesters of AS303 Writing and American
Studies or AS305 American Studies or completion of two trimesters of AS303 or
AS305 and permission of the Dean of Humanities.
Meeting pattern: Two 100-minute evening class meetings.
This class focuses on the cultural fabric of the Western tradition. We start with the
cave paintings at Lascaux and end with the birth of the Crusader ideology. We
study literature, history, the visual arts, and philosophy as strands within the great
tapestry of the Western past. We read plays by Euripides, Plato’s philosophic
meditations on the nature of love and the ideal society, Aristotle’s analysis of
political communities and the world of nature, and Thucydides’ first attempts to
write objective history. We look at the cityscapes envisioned by Alexander the
Great and see how they became the model for Augustan Rome. We read epic
poetry by Vergil and the anonymous author of the Song of Roland, as well as
the first autobiography, which was written by St. Augustine in the fourth century.
We ask questions about the uniqueness of Western man’s emphasis on the life of
the mind and reason, and why the idea of the individual develops as it does in
the Western world.
EN438 Western European Cultural Studies II: 814 - 1650
One trimester
Credit: One unit core English credit, one unit core elective credit.
Prerequisite: Completion of three trimesters of AS303 Writing and American
Studies or AS305 American Studies or completion of two trimesters of AS303 or
AS305 and permission of the Dean of Humanities. EN436 WECS I suggested, not
required.
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