Dec 03, 2024  
2013-2014 Academic Catalog 
    
2013-2014 Academic Catalog [Published Catalog]

Courses


 

 For the current year, when searching for courses by code, enter the first digit of the course number followed by an asterisk, for example 3* 

 

 
  
  • RCSS 504/5204 - Applied Estimation (3 cr.)



    Description
    Introduction to Probability, Probability theory, Bayes theorem, Bayesian Inference. Introduction to estimation. Linear Optimal Filters, Predictors, Smoothers, Nonlinear Filters. Kalman and Information filter, Continuous and Discrete Time Kalman Filter. Extended Kalman filter and implementation, Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF). Distributed Kalman filter over network. Particle filter, Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filter (RBPF). Particle filter Fast SLAM. Case Studies.
     


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  • RCSS 521/5221 - Intelligent and Autonomous Robotic Systems (3 cr.)



    Description
    Autonomous and Mobile robots, Locomotion concepts and mechanisms, Degrees of mobility and steering. Non holonomic concept and constraint. Wheeled mobile robots: Kinematic and dynamic models. Trajectory generation and Control methods. Sensors, sensor models and perception. Mapping and knowledge representations. Control architectures and Navigation: Planning, Subsumption, Potential field, Motor Schemas, Probabilistic, Learning from observations and Reinforcement learning. Relative and absolute localization. Navigation and localization techniques. SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). Multi robotic system: navigation, cooperation and autonomy.
     

    Cross-listed
    Same as  .


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  • RCSS 522/5222 - Mechatronics Innovations and Experimental Robotics (3 cr.)



    Description
    Mechatronics innovations: Concepts and innovative ideas, design and hands-on experimentation. Sensors and intelligent sensor systems. Interfacing techniques. Controllers. Electrical motors: selection and control, encoders, and drivers. Power systems and control: pneumatic, electro-pneumatic, hydraulic and electro-hydraulic. Technologies and techniques associated with industrial and mobile robots. Joint space and operational space control. Velocity saturation, trajectory generation and tracking. Project work supporting design, simulation and experimentation.
     


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  • RCSS 523/5223 - Bioinspired Robotics and Multi Robotic Systems (3 cr.)



    Description
    Traditional and Biomimetic robots. Bioinspired robot design: actuators, sensors, and material. Bioinspired algorithms for robot control. Social Networks. Multi robotic systems (MRS): concept, homogeneous and heterogeneous architectures. MRS control architecture: MRS planning, Motor schema based MRS, Behavior based MRS. MRS and machine learning. Inter-robot communication and coordination. Auction-based task negotiation for MRS. Autonomy and cooperation. Task definition, decomposition and knowledge representation. Resource management and deadlocks. Collaborative Observation and Localization. Multi-Robot Navigation. Human-Robot Interaction. Biological inspired solutions: Ant colony and social insect behavior, Swarm intelligence and self organization.
     


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  • RCSS 524/5224 - Robotics and Intelligent Automated Manufacturing (3 cr.)



    Description
    Manufacturing systems: organization, facility layout, performance indicators. Robotics in Manufacturing. AGVs in Manufacturing. Robot work cells. Sensors in Manufacturing. Communication protocols. Agile manufacturing. Models and Metrics. Automation, NC/CNC. Design for Manufacturability. Manufacturing systems design: single cell, assembly line, group technology, cellular and flexible systems. Material transport and storage systems. Analysis of flow lines, assembly systems and line balancing. Quality measurement and reliability. Manufacturing support systems: CAD/CAM/CIM tools and product cycle, process and production planning, shop floor control, inventory control. Modern manufacturing systems: Push/pull systems, pull systems (KANBAN and CONWIP), Just-In-Time, TQM.
     


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  • RCSS 531/5231 - Teleoperation, Haptic Systems and Collaborative Control (3 cr.)



    Description
    Technical specifications: teleoperation and haptics systems. Haptics: Human, Machine, and Computer haptics, and their interrelation. Haptic systems: sensors, actuators and interfaces. Haptic device modeling and control. Event-based haptics. Rendering of stiff walls and friction, rigid-body and deformable body interaction. Haptic teleoperation. Bilateral teleoperation. Teleoperation and haptic systems architecture control approaches. Force control, impedance control, stiffness control Feed-forward control, Adaptive motion/force control. Performance specifications and stability issues, Stability and Transparency, stability against passive human and environment impedances. Design for time-delayed teleoperation. Robustness issues. Collaborative control and collaborated virtual environment.
     


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  • RCSS 532/5232 - Robust and Optimal Control (3 cr.)



    Description
    Linear system theory and robust control. System analysis: stability and performance, sensitivity function, integral quadratic constraints, small-gain argument, H2 and H∞ space and performance. NORMs. Robustness and Uncertainty. Robust stability, quadratic stability, and stability margin. Robust performance, controller parameterization, design constraints. Balanced Model Reduction, Modeling uncertainty. Linear fractional transform (LFT). Structured singular values, μ –Analysis, LMI analysis. μ synthesis. H2 optimal control, H∞ control and controller order reduction, H∞ loop shaping. Optimal control theory: optimization of static functions, calculus of variations, optimal linear regulators, dynamic programming.
     


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  • RCSS 533/5233 - Nonlinear and Adaptive Control (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Consent of instructor.

    Description
    Introduction to the analysis and design of nonlinear control systems. Linearization of nonlinear systems. Phase-plane analysis, Lyapunov stability analysis. Design of stabilizing controllers. Properties of adaptive systems, Adaptive control and real-time parameter estimation, Deterministic self-tuning regulators, model reference control, Adaptive observers, model reference adaptive control, gain scheduling controller modeling. Stability of adaptive control systems.
     

    Cross-listed
    Same as  .


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  • RCSS 534/5234 - Networked Control Systems: Design and Applications (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      and  

    Description
    Introduction to Networked Control Systems, real-time systems, network architecture, wired and wireless network protocols, international standards, NCS in industrial control, NCS in terrestrial transportation systems, Study of different software packages and simulation tools for NCS.
     

    Cross-listed
    Same as  .


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  • RCSS 541/5241 - Smart Systems and Computational Intelligence (3 cr.)



    Description
    Intelligent systems and evolutionary algorithms. Computational methods, intelligent behaviors and algorithms observed in nature and humans. Neural networks: Supervised and unsupervised Neural Networks (NNs), Single and Multi layer feed-forward NNs, Feedback NNs, Hopfield NNs, Associative memories (Kohonen networks), Learning vector quantizer (LVQ) Radial base function (RBF) NNs. Evolutionary algorithms, genetic algorithms. Fuzzy logic: memberships. reasoning, Fuzzy controllers, Neuro-Fuzzy networks, Fuzzy ARMAP. Swarm Intelligence and Colony optimization. Feature selection. Computational intelligence: imprecise and uncertain knowledge, learning, adaptive behavior and real time problems. Case studies.
     


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  • RCSS 542/5242 - MEMS/NEMS Technology and Devices (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      and consent of instructor.

    Description
    This course will cover basic MEMS/NEMS fabrication technologies, various transduction mechanisms such as piezoelectric, pyroelectric, thermoelectric, thermionic, piezoresistive, etc. In addition, the theory of operation of few sensors will be covered this will include infrared detectors, radiation sensors, rotation and acceleration sensors, flow sensors, pressure and force sensors, and motion sensors. Finally, the course will give insight of different techniques for analyzing experimental data.
     

    Cross-listed
    Same as  , .


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  • RCSS 543/5243 - Image Analysis and Computer Vision (3 cr.)



    Description
    Perception and image systems. Pinhole Camera Model. Auto-calibration. Digital image processing fundamentals. Image normalization, gray and binary image processing, RGB and IHS color space representations. Image enhancement: contrast stretching and digital filtering in the spatial and frequency domains. Image restoration. Coding and compression. Image segmentation. Image Convolution / Correlation Matching / De-convolution. Object classification and classifiers. Object recognition and interpretation. Estimating image field and image motion, Optical flow and motion. Stereo vision. Multi-view and motion-based 3-D object reconstruction. Dynamic vision: object tracking, recursive state estimation, autonomous navigation, discrete self-localization. Robotic Control via visual servoing.
     


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  • RCSS 544/5244 - Sensors, Perception and Smart Systems (3 cr.)



    Description
    Sensors and perception. Physical principles of sensing. Static and dynamic characteristics of sensors. Sensor classifications and selection. Interfacing techniques. Calibration and self-calibration of smart sensors. Sensors and intelligent systems: design trends in the field of smart sensors systems. Sensors for: intelligent and autonomous robots, smart systems, automotive and manufacturing industries, smart structures, and other modern industries and smart products. Sensor integration and data fusion. Sensors in remote control and real time systems. Wireless sensor networks, features, architecture and technology, topology, energy, communication protocols and security, distributed & collaborative signal processing, and applications.
     


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  • RCSS 545/5245 - Advanced Artificial Intelligence (3 cr.)



    Description
    Problem Solving by Search, Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, Planning, Quantifying Uncertainty, Probabilistic Reasoning, Learning from Examples, Learning Probabilistic Models, and Reinforcement Learning.

     

     

    Cross-listed
    Same as

     .


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  • RCSS 592/5930 - Selected Topics in RCSS (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Consent of the faculty advisor.

    Description
    Topics to be chosen according to specific interests. Maybe taken for credit more than once if content changes.
     


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  • RCSS 590/5940 - Graduate Thesis Seminar I (2 cr.)



    Description
    Seminar on research topics, research methodology and thesis writing. The seminars given by invited speakers include topics on the sustainable development and economic impact of RCSS and relevant technology, Industrial needs and the evolution of RCSS and advanced research.
     

    Cross-listed
    Same as  .


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  • RCSS 591/5941 - Graduate Thesis Seminar II (1 cr.)



    Prerequisites
     

    Description
    Seminars on research topics given by invited speakers that include ongoing development in the area of RCSS interdisciplinary field. In addition, seminars are given by the enrolled students on their research work.
     

    Cross-listed
    Same as  .


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  • RCSS 593/5980 - Capstone Project (3 cr.)



    Description
    Students are required to attend the library and the writing modules of RCSS 5940  and , to undertake an engineering project approved by student’s advisor and the director of the program. A final report of the project should be submitted and orally defended in the presence of a supervisory committee consist of student’s advisor and two faculty members.
     


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  • RCSS 692/6930 - Advanced Selected Topics in Robotics, Control and Smart Systems (RCSS) (3 cr.)



    Description
    Advanced topics in the field of Robotics, Control and Smart Systems (RCSS) to be chosen every year according to specific interests and the evolution of knowledge and development trends in RCSS. May be taken for credit more than once if content changes.


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  • RCSS 699/6980 - Research Guidance Dissertation (3 cr.)



    Description
    Consultation on problems related to students thesis. To be taken 11 times for credit.

     


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  • RHET 101/1000 - Approaches to Critical Writing (3 cr.)



    Description
    Develops proficiency in critical expository writing, critical reading and greater fluency in expression. Focuses on the writing process with an emphasis on developing the student’s voice, organizing and developing ideas independently within the context of academic writing. Introduces library research and use of sources.

    When Offered
    Offered in fall, spring and summer.
    Notes
    For students beginning fall 2013 and later, RHET 1000 and RHET 1100  have been replaced with one course    .


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  • RHET 110/1010 - Analytical and Persuasive Writing (3 cr.)



    Description
    RHET 1010 is designed to help first year students improve their analytical and argumentative skills. This involves reading texts analytically and critically within various disciplines, considering the rhetorical situations in which they are working, organizing and supporting ideas to make a convincing argument while maintaining their voice as writers. This course also provides training in the use and integration of sources, library and online research and fosters a more discriminating attitude to academically acceptable sources. Ultimately, the course provides opportunities for students to develop effective and coherent communication skills.

    Notes
    RHET 1010 replaces   and   for students beginning in the Freshman Program in fall 2013 and later.


     


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  • RHET 120/1020 - Research Writing (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      concurrent with  .

    Description
    This semester, after performing an extensive review of the literature on an area of interest, you will choose an area of study that requires you to gather data to support a hypothesis. The topic should be one that lends itself to research. You are encouraged to pursue an area that is related to your major or another of personal interest.
     

    Notes
    RHET 1020 replaces  for students beginning the Freshman Program in fal 2013 and later.


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  • RHET 199/1099 - Selected Topics (3 cr.)



    Description
    Course addressing broad intellectual concerns and accessible to all first year students irrespective of major.

    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • RHET 102/1100 - Effective Argument (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
     

    Description
    Develops the skills to produce effective argument with a focus on organization, content, analysis of readings, critical thinking. Provides training in the use and integration of sources, library and online research.

    When Offered
    Offered in fall, spring and summer.
    Notes
    For students beginning fall 2013 and later, RHET 1000   and RHET 1100 have been replaced with one course:  


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  • RHET 201/2010 - Research Writing (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or its equivalent.

    Description
    Develops the skills to produce extended forms of academic essays and research papers with a focus on the methods of research, process of research paper writing, integration and evaluation of sources and critical analysis.

    When Offered
    Offered in fall, spring and summer.
    Notes
    For students beginning fall 2013 and later, RHET 2010 has been replaced by  


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  • RHET 299/2099 - Selected Topics (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
     

    Description
    Course addressing broad intellectual concerns and accessible to all students irrespective of major.

    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • RHET 225/2220 - Public Speaking (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or its equivalent.

    Description
    Public Speaking is a course designed to provide both a practical introduction to the fundamental principles of speaking in public and a forum for practicing public speaking skills. Through a variety of instructional strategies - discussion, class workshops, readings, lectures, and presentations- students learn the processes by which effective speeches are conceived, prepared, and delivered.
     


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  • RHET 399/3099 - Selected Topics (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or equivalent.

    Description
    Course addresses broad intellectual concerns, and is accessible to all students irrespective of major.


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  • RHET 345/3110 - The Writer’s Workshop (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      or equivalent.

    Description
    This course focuses on the writing and critique of personal narratives, reflecting upon students’ places as individuals within the larger contexts of family, country, and/or region. They will learn fundamentals of narrative life writing, understand the crafts of writing and revising, and consider their life stories in the wider context of cultural theory. Students will learn and practice advanced discussion techniques in workshop, when narratives are critiqued by instructor and peers.


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  • RHET 340/3120 - Life Narratives: Reading as Writers (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or equivalent.

    Description
    This reading-intensive course will introduce students to the field of autobiographical and biographical literature known as life writing.  Students will analyze writing strategies in classic and contemporary memoirs, confessions, letters, diaries, and visual portraits as well as autobiographies and biographies, through key themes of self, identity, secrets, truth, inheritance and ethics.


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  • RHET 341/3130 - Travel Writing (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or equivalent.

    Description
    In this course, students will become familiar with the genre of travel writing, and the history, politics and economics of place and how these influence culture. Through various reading, writing, and travel experiences, students will gain an understanding of themselves vis-à-vis the other and develop an appreciation of how travel can transform the self. They will learn how to respond critically to travel narratives, identify credible sources to inform their writing, make original observations, and modify perspective to compose alternative texts.


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  • RHET 342/3140 - Writing Children’s Literature (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      or equivalent.

    Description
    Students in this course will assess and write works of fiction and nonfiction addressing children through different media (picture books, plays, short stories, novellas). Students will explore who writes and illustrates for children and why, and the language used to address children during different stages. They will engage in projects to entertain children, while providing indirect instruction, and produce written works for organizations that serve the needs of children.


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  • RHET 380/3150 - Poetry Writing (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
     

    Description
    As a workshop with a significant critical component, this course focuses on developing students’ mastery of language through the writing of poetry. That writing is grounded with an examination of poetry’s rhetorical and cultural impact. Students in this course will write a series of poems in response to weekly assignments, analyze the work of poets from both the West and the Middle East, and complete a final portfolio that shows significant revision and careful analytical thinking about the poems themselves as well as their place within the genre.


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  • RHET 390/3160 - Fiction writing (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      .

    Description
    This course focuses on the craft and discipline of fiction writing. Students will study writers in the Arab and Western literary tradition, and from that study, they will learn the fundamentals of various rhetorical strategies in fiction, understand how to transform small ideas from daily life into fiction, and consider how their cultural background affects how they tell stories. Students will also learn how to critique other students’ stories in workshops and how to revise and develop their own work.
     


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  • RHET 320/3210 - Business Communication (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or equivalent; junior standing or instructor approval.

    Description
    This course focuses on the methods of persuasion that business professionals and administrators of organizations use to shape messages for professional and public audiences. Rhetorical analyses of various workplace document genres are followed by application of knowledge and skills to produce effective and appropriate business messages. Students will conduct research on topics of interest to the business community, and present findings in the form of proposals, formal reports, and oral presentations.

    When Offered
    Offered in fall, spring and summer.


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  • RHET 321/3230 - Technical Communication (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      or equivalent; junior standing or instructor approval; science and engineering majors or instructor approval.

     

    Description
    This course develops the knowledge and skills to produce technical documents that meet professional and ethical standards required by technical fields and professions. It focuses on both the rhetorical and workplace problems that are addressed by writers, such as audience, exigency and purpose, and workplace constraints. Throughout the course, students will analyze and discuss recent areas of concern in the field technical communication, as well as produce documents in various technical genres, including proposals and formal reports.

    When Offered
    Offered in fall, spring and occasionally in summer.


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  • RHET 332/3240 - Presentation and Persuasion in Business (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or equivalent.

    Description
    This course acquaints students with both the presentation and interpersonal communication skills required in business-related, professional situations.  It addresses both the composition and the delivery of professional speeches, such as sales presentations, convention addresses, job bids, as well as the interpersonal skills necessary for the successful conduct of business discourse, in particular negotiation contexts.


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  • RHET 334/3250 - Digital Rhetoric (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      or equivalent.

    Description
    This is a course in the rhetorical analysis of the relatively new but increasingly important genres that comprise the various practices of E-Writing, including: blogging, wiki-development, networked writing, hypertext, social networking and other manifestations of the digital age.  Students will study and work with various digital environments with attention to their evolving possibilities and constraints.


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  • RHET 310/3310 - Effective Rhetoric: Discourse and Power (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      or its equivalent.

    Description
    This course guides students through key texts in rhetorical theory to give them not only a foundational knowledge of major questions, concepts and debates in the field but also to provide them with the language and tools to critically analyze a variety of texts, whether these texts be visual, oral, or written. Students will reflect on, through various writing assignments, the intellectual, social, and political contributions of rhetoric to the study of human communication.


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  • RHET 322/3320 - Writing in the Social Sciences (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      or equivalent; consent of instructor, consent of Chair/Associate Chair, junior or senior standing.

    Description
    This course focuses on writing in the student’s discipline. Particular attention is paid to the conventions of professional writing and citation, as well as a variety of approaches to delivering discipline-specific information to diverse audiences. Also included are advanced research, public writing and public presentations.


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  • RHET 323/3330 - Changing Words, Changing Worlds (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      or equivalent.

    Description
    Changing Words, Changing Worlds engages students with contemporary discourse within the humanities. It takes as its point of departure a seminal work that frames our understanding and concepts within the humanities relating how this key text acts as a trajectory creating a paradigm shift and permeating into other fields, such as Marx’s Manifesto of the Communist Party. By analyzing the interplay between language and ideas, students will be able to relate to how discourse within one area of the humanities is infiltrated becoming a reference point for other fields.


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  • RHET 325/3340 - The Rhetoric of Argument in the Humanities and Social Sciences (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or equivalent.

    Description
    This course engages students in the study of argumentation, its theory and practice.  Students will employ instruments for identifying differences of opinion, analyzing and evaluating explicit and implicit standpoints of argument, and presenting arguments in oral and written discourse. 


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  • RHET 330/3350 - Writing and Cognition (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or equivalent.

    Description
    This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the phenomenon of writing by examining the cultural values embedded in writing and the cognitive claims about the relationship between thought and language, and by surveying the ways written expression has been used as a tool for reconstructing perception, memory, self and society. These issues will be approached through reading and writing together, and through experimenting with assumptions and hypotheses about what happens when people write. Class readings come from history, philosophy, cognitive psychology, composition studies, and literature.


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  • RHET 460/4060 - Independent Study (1-3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Pre-requisites: Consent of Instructor, Consent of Chair/Associate Chair, Junior or Senior Standing.

    Description
    In exceptional circumstances, students, in consultation with a faculty member and with approval of the Chair/Associate Chair, may design or take a course that is not regularly offered.  In such a case, the student, in consultation with the instructor, will propose a course of study and work will culminate in one of the following: a scholarly research paper on some aspect of the history, theory, or application of rhetoric and composition; a practical application of writing, such as a grant or report submitted to an outside agency; a body of work that is normally expected in a listed course not being offered during the current term.


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  • RHET 450/4160 - Imagining the Book (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    At least one 300-level RHET course and/or instructor permission solicited through a project proposal.

    Description
    Students in this course will complete a substantial portion of a long writing project while analyzing and modeling approaches to manuscripts. Each student will design and generate a different project, so projects may span across genres(i.e., a group of personal narratives or short stories, a novel, a book of poetry, a collection of critical and/or academic essays, etc.). Students will engage in the process of writing a manuscript through utilizing genre analysis and class workshops. Students in a number of writing contexts and disciplines, as well as Rhetoric and Writing Minors, are encouraged to take this capstone course.


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  • RHET 410/4260 - Writing for Project Funding (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      or equivalent.

    Description
    Grant writing skills may be used for fundraising, applying for scholarships and fellowships, starting new businesses, securing research and conference grants, and acquiring funding for the cultural, non-profit and non-governmental sectors. This course develops the skills of effective fund-seeking and proposal writing through a step by step service-learning activity, where students learn how to access donor funds to meet the needs of local non-profit organizations.


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  • RHET 480/4270 - Research and Writing Internship (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or equivalent; B in 300 or 400-level RHET course.

    Description
    This capstone course immerses students into an applied, real-world writing experience that helps them transition from academic writing to work-place writing, as well as provides in-class guidance and reflection.   Students select one of three tracks of internship experience – professional business writing, literary writing and publishing, or technical writing for non-profits. 


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  • RHET 490/4280 - Advanced Scientific and Technical Writing (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or equivalent. Engineering and Science Majors only; junior or senior standing. 

    Description
    This course develops advanced scientific and technical communication skills for both academic and practical environments. It features the IMRAD method of report writing, oral and visual presentation skills for senior projects, literature reviews for scientists and engineers, technical reports for the workplace, and technical documents that represent organizations to the public.


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  • RHET 400/4360 - Writing and Editing for Publication (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      or equivalent.

    Description
    This course develops the skills to produce effective articles and presentations with a focus on journal submission requirements, journal review and publication processes. Provides training in the integration of information technology for presentations, and in primary and secondary research methods.


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  • SCI 105/1005 - Science and Technology of Ancient Egypt (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Prerequisite: Not for credit for Science, Engineering and Computer Science students.

    Description
    Development of civilization in ancient Egypt. Primitive time reckoning and measurement. Building materials. Outline of the different chemical arts and crafts which developed in Egypt as interpreted from mural paintings and works of art. Mummification. Aspects of mathematics and medicine in ancient Egypt.

    When Offered
    Offered in fall and spring.


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  • SCI 109/1009 - Exploration of the Universe (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Prerequisite: Not for credit for Science, Engineering and Computer Science students.

    Description
    An introduction to historical and conceptual developments in astronomy. Stars and galaxies: the sun as a case history in stellar evolution; the formation of elements in the stars. A survey of the sky with particular attention to the solar system: the members of the solar system as physical bodies with specific structures and as entities whose motion characteristics can be understood and predicted.

    When Offered
    Offered in fall and spring.


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  • SCI 150L/1015 - General Science Laboratory (1 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or concurrently and not for credit for Science, Engineering and Computer Science students, except for Actuarial Science students.

    Description
    Introduction to experimental techniques of measurement in the general fields of physics, chemistry, and other sciences.

    Hours
    One three-hour lab period.
    When Offered
    Offered in fall, spring, and occasionally in winter and summer


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  • SCI 120/1020 - Scientific Thinking (3 cr.)



    Description
    The course emphasizes the unifying aspects of the scientific approach to the study of nature and human behavior. About one-third of the course is devoted to scientific inquiry and investigation. The course focuses on fact identification and concept formation and testing. In the remaining parts, the students are exposed to applications of the approach in various disciplines. The course sets some basic concepts and theories of science into broad historical, philosophical, and cultural context and traces the development of these theories to their present status. This serves the double purpose of acquainting students with the appropriate setting in which a given idea gained relevance and exposing them to the evolution toward the current methods of investigation. Moral and ethical issues in science are examined.

    When Offered
    Offered in the fall and spring.


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  • SCI 199/1930 - Selected Topic for Core Curriculum (3 cr.)



    Description
    Course addressing broad intellectual concerns and accessible to all students, irrespective of major.

    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SCI 240/2004 - Chemistry, Art and Archaeology (3 cr.)



    Description
    The course provides students with some grounding in the application of Natural Sciences to the solution of problems related to Art and Archaeology and instigates in them an appreciation of the complementary contributions of the Humanities and Sciences to the study of particular phenomenon.  Students are introduced to analytical scientific techniques on a need to know basis depending on relevant applications.  Celebrated cases of fakes and forgeries are discussed.  The course aims at enhancing the student’s analytical ability and skills to solve problems related to forgery.

    When Offered
    Offered in fall and spring.


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  • SCI 250/2005 - Introduction to Geology (3 cr.)



    Description
    Fostering a basic understanding of the physical environment and the nature of forces at work that shape our dynamic planet, this course provides an introduction to the material, origin, history, internal structure of the earth and the presently accepted system unifying plate tectonics, continental drift and sea floor spreading. The economic contribution of geology to development with an emphasis on Egypt is included.

    When Offered
    Offered in fall and spring.


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  • SCI 260/2006 - Environmental Geology (3 cr.)



    Description
    Environmental geology is applied geology focussing briefly on the entire spectrum of possible interactions between people and the physical environment.

    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SCI 251L/2015 - Introduction to Geology Lab (1 cr.)



    Description
    Introduction to the physical properties of the earth material. Identification of minerals and all types of rocks; mode of preservation and identification; of fossils; topographic maps and map readings; geological maps and cross sections; remote sensing (aerial photography).

    Hours
    One three-hour lab period.
    When Offered
    Offered in fall and spring.


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  • SCI 302/3002 - Science, Technology and the Environment (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Prerequisites: Junior standing or higher.

    Description
    An introductory, multidisciplinary approach to studying the relationships between science, technology and the environment. Principles of ecosystem structure, function, balance, communities and populations. Principles of environmental sciences, outline of crises, overpopulation, depletion and pollution. Framework for understanding environmental problems. Group projects, aimed at exploring broad range of environmental issues from an interdisciplinary approach, constitute a major component of the course.

    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SCI 450/4005 - Geology of Raw Materials (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or consent of instructor

    Description
    An interdisciplinary study. The geology of naturally occurring minerals, methods for determining the utility of natural resources, and the environmentally sound industrial conversion of raw materials. Particular attention given to the natural resources of Egypt, especially to their importance in economic development.

    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SEMR 111/1011 - The Human Quest: Exploring the “Big Questions” (3 cr.)



    Description
    This is an interdisciplinary survey course aimed at helping new undergraduate students acquire an attitude of engaged curiosity, a widened worldview, and enhanced self expression as they begin to discover how a university education can help them find their places in the world. Using an interdisciplinary approach combining geography, history, biology, political science, anthropology, sociology, literature, and the arts, it aims to introduce students to the process of raising and exploring life’s enduring “Big Questions,” through readings, music, debates, films, and technology, and thus they acquire some of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed by a university student in the 21st century.
     


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  • SEMR 112/1012 - “Who Am I?”: Explorations in Consciousness and Self Across the Disciplines” (3 cr.)



    Description
    Self-awareness allows us to perceive both limits and possibilities. This course will be a practical and theoretical exploration of different approaches to consciousness and the self in the sciences, psychology, philosophy and religion, among others.
     


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  • SEMR 123/1023 - Celebrating Ideas: A Voyage Through Books, film, Art and Theater (3 cr.)



    Description
    This course aims at exposing students to a wide range of key landmarks in human intellectual and cultural development. This is achieved through reading a number of texts, each important, simulating, often groundbreaking and discussing the ideas and concepts embodied in these texts. The topics and themes raised through the readings will be further explored and enhanced through exposure not just to the written word but through film, art and theater, all modes in which humankind has been able to express its intellectual development and creative energy.
     


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  • SEMR 410/4018 - Cross-Cultural Perceptions and Representations (3 cr.)



    Description
    This course provides a unique opportunity for students at AUC to share their educational experience with students from the United States. The medium for this shared experience will be videoconferences held over the internet with university classes in the U.S. This semester, we will hold thirteen videoconferences with classes from different American institutions. For each videoconference, we will be reading the same texts as the students at our partner institutions. The videoconferences provide not only the medium for the shared component of this course; they also suggest the substantive theme of the course. For, while we encounter the apparent cultural other over the internet, we will be exploring with them the question of our relationship to the other- especially how our perceptions of the other have developed over time and how they continue to influence the political interaction between “East” and “West” today.
     


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  • SEMR 411/4028 - The Arab Spring in Arab Eyes: Perceptions and Reflections from the Arab World (3 cr.)



    Description
    This videoconference dialogue course offers a comparative view of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution in relation to the Arab revolts that have swept the region since the beginning of 2011, in what became known as the Arab Spring. This course shall use an interdisciplinary approach to explore the social, economic, political and cultural contexts that led up to these popular uprisings. In this light, AUC will be holding videoconferences with various partner universities and institutions in order for the class to share perspectives and first-hand experiences relating to the Arab Spring with the partners. Specific readings will be assigned by AUC and the partnering universities, offering a general introduction of the countries that will be studied and a specific background with regards to the linkage these countries/geographical areas have with the Arab Spring. This is an interdisciplinary course that can be relevant to students from different backgrounds and disciplines, especially those that have an interest in contemporary Middle East issues.


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  • SEMR 412/4038 - South-South Dialogue: Perceptions and Reflections from the Global South (3 cr.)



    Description
    This videoconference dialogue course aims at offering a comparative view of and a fresh perspective on the ‘Global South.’ The course shall use an interdisciplinary approach to explore the social, economic, political and cultural contexts of some of the countries/regions that constitute what is known today as the ‘Global South’ in an attempt to outline the commonalities as well as the differences that exist within this global conglomerate of nation-states. In this light, AUC will be holding videoconferences with various partner universities and institutions in order for the class to share perspectives and first-hand experiences relating to the themes and topics of discussion with the partners. Specific readings will be assigned by AUC and the partnering universities to have a general introduction to the countries that will be studied and a specific background on the linkage these countries/geographical areas have with the Global South as an economic and a political amalgam. This is an interdisciplinary course that can be relevant to students from different backgrounds and disciplines, especially those that have an interest in contemporary development issues.
     


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  • SOC 199/1099 - Selected Topics for Core Curriculum (3 cr.)



    Description
    Course addressing broad intellectual concerns and accessible to all first-year students as part of the Primary Level Core.


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  • SOC 210/2005 - Arab Society (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or concurrent.

    Description
    Description and analysis of social and cultural characteristics and problems of contemporary Arab Society, taking into consideration the specific historical, economic, and ideological forces that shape it. The social basis for Arab unity and identity. Introduction to basic concepts and principles for understanding social phenomena.

    Cross-listed
    Same as  .
    When Offered
    Offered in fall and spring.


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  • SOC 299/2099 - Selected Topics for Core Curriculum (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
     

    Description
    Course addressing broad intellectual concerns and accessible to all students, irrespective of major.

    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SOC 201/2101 - Introduction to Sociology (3 cr.)



    Description
    General sociology concepts and theoretical issues. Survey of the field covering the sociology of small groups, the family, education, work, community structure, and political life; discussions on the uses of sociology.

    When Offered
    Offered in fall and spring.


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  • SOC 240/2201 - Introduction to Community Development (3 cr.)



    Description
    Introduce the students to the different concepts and approaches to community development as well as to community organizing.  Utilizes a critically reflective framework as part of the curriculum to overcome the potential division between theory and practice.  Identifies the key issues that the students are likely to confront in community development and organizing work.

    Cross-listed
    Same as   ,  .
    When Offered
    Offered in fall.


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  • SOC 203/2301 - Social Problems of the Middle East (3 cr.)



    Description
    Major theoretical perspectives in studying social problems. Systematic examination of the salient stresses and strains in Egyptian, Arab, and Middle Eastern societies. Discussion of selected concrete problems, such as population, bureaucracy, youth unrest, deviance, drugs, prostitution.

    When Offered
    Offered in fall.


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  • SOC 206/2302 - Arab Family Structure and Dynamics (3 cr.)



    Description
    The family as a social institution with emphasis on Middle Eastern characteristics, selected aspects of marriage and family life, special attention to the social consequences of changing family styles.

    When Offered
    Offered in spring.


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  • SOC 301/3010 - Social Psychology (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
     

    Description
    The extension of general psychological principles and methods to the study of interaction and social environment. The nature and methodology of research in social psychology. The major theoretical concepts and their applications and contributions to a variety of areas in the field including development and socialization, social perception and attribution of causality, attitude formation and changes, pro- and anti-social behavior, interpersonal attraction and intimacy, and the social effects and functions of groups.

    Cross-listed
    Same as   .
    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SOC 304/3025 - Development Agencies (3 cr.)



    Description
    The course examines the various agencies active in the field of development. It investigates how these organizations, such as NGOs, state bureaucracy and international development organizations shape the process of development.

    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SOC 306/3030 - Sociology of Literature (3 cr.)



    Description
    The social bases of literary productions both oral and written and the functions of literature for social integration. The interrelationship of literary expression and movements for social change.

    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SOC 321/3045 - The Urban Experience (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Three hours of Social Sciences.

    Description
    This course will explore a variety of approaches for the study of life in cities, providing students with tools to think critically about the meaning of urban life in the new century.  Are cities the vibrant, vital centers of all that is exciting, new and provocative in modern life or are they the decaying, decadent and dangerous remnants of an industrial age whose time has passed? How do we link the lives of corporate elites and pop icons with crack dealers and shanty town dwellers?  How do we place migration, world capital flows, transnational media, and global consumption in our studies of city life?

    Cross-listed
    Same as  .
    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SOC 322/3050 - Rural Sociology (3 cr.)



    Description
    The Middle Eastern rural community and its relation to agricultural development, tenure systems, ecological processes, urbanization, migration, and changing technology.

    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SOC 323/3055 - Fundamentals of Population Studies (3 cr.)



    Description
    Facts and issues of human population. Creates demographic literacy, and an ability to deal with population realities. Substantive knowledge covering processes and determinants of population structure, growth, and changes: fertility, mortality, and migration, as well as challenges of population growth.

    When Offered
    Offered in alternate years.


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  • SOC 332/3060 - Social Constructions of Difference: Race, Ethnicity, and Class (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Three hours of Social Sciences.

    Description
    The course will first introduce students to the vast theoretical literature on the concepts of race, ethnicity and class from sociology and anthropology.  Second, the course will expect students to shift focus away from looking at different cultures to analyzing cultural productions of difference.  In the course we will be concerned with how racial, ethnic and class identities are shaped by diverse hegemonic systems, modes of resistance, and the structuring of social relations in different societies.

    Cross-listed
    Same as  .
    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SOC 370/3085 - Environmental Issues in Egypt (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Three hours of Social Sciences.

    Description
    The technical aspects of environmental issues in Egypt are examined taking into account the cultural, social, and political dimensions upsetting the balance of the environment.  Major issues such as water scarcity, global warming, desertification, urban pollution, tourism, and demographic pressures are presented and analyzed. 

    Cross-listed
    Same as  .
    When Offered
    Offered in alternate years.


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  • SOC 309/3102 - History of Social Theory (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Prerequisites: 9 hours of social sciences, and junior or senior standing, or consent of instructor.

    Description
    The nature and function of social theory and its development, especially since the Enlightenment. Emphasis on the cumulative insights and ideas which have contributed to modern social theory. The essential aspects of the philosophy of social science, especially epistemological problems in the sciences of sociology and anthropology.

    Cross-listed
    Same as  .
    When Offered
    Offered in fall.


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  • SOC 204/3103 - Social Statistics (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Prerequisites: Students must have taken SOC 2101  , no exceptions

    Description
    This course is designed for students in the social sciences who do not have a background in mathematics except high school algebra. The course will provide an introduction to statistics as a tool for analyzing and understanding data related to social life. The course deals with basic concepts and procedures and integrates SPSS demonstrations and exercises..

    When Offered
    Offered in fall.


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  • SOC 310/3104 - Contemporary Sociological Theory (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or consent of instructor.

    Description
    The main trends, basic problems, and unresolved issues of post-war sociological thought. Essential aspects of the logic of scientific inquiry; contemporary theories as model building in sociology including new functionalism, critical theory, structuralism and poststructuralism.

    Cross-listed
    Same as  .
    When Offered
    Offered in spring.


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  • SOC 381/3105 - Doing Survey Research in the Social Sciences (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
      and   . For sociology minors only: An equivalent statistics course may be substituted for SOC 3103  only with the permission of the instructor.

    Description
    .This course introduces students to the basic survey methods used in the social sciences. Emphasis is on the logic of social science and the implications of the major forms of quantitative research methodology. Allows students to recognize and analyze merits of research in the social sciences including public opinion and policy action research .

    When Offered
    Offered in spring
    Notes
    Students will be encouraged to conduct mini-scale surveys on the campus and beyond.


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  • SOC 340/3202 - Participatory Action Research in Community Settings (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
       or consent of the instructor. 

    Description
    This course will introduce students to the appropriate research methodologies when dealing with community organizing and development, particularly the participatory action research approach to community development. 

    Cross-listed
    Same as   ,  .
    When Offered
    Offered in spring.


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  • SOC 303/3303 - Social Movements (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Three hours of Social Sciences.

    Description
    Basic processes by which societies initiate, consolidate, transform, and change their basic institutions and social structures. Anatomy of reform and revolutionary social movements, especially those affecting Arab and Third World societies.

    Cross-listed
    Same as  .
    When Offered
    Offered in spring.


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  • SOC 307/3304 - Social Class and Inequality (3 cr.)



    Description
    The basic theory and methods of the sociology of inequality. The nature and variety of stratification systems, major theories of stratification, empirical studies and social correlates of class phenomena, social mobility, and class conflict. Emphasis on Middle Eastern material.

    When Offered
    Offered in fall.


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  • SOC 405/4005 - Sociology of Work (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, 6 hrs. of social science or the permission of the instructor.

    Description
    The course examines the concept of work and how it is defined and understood in contemporary society. It investigates the changing nature of work, labor issues, changing management styles, and gender and the work place.

    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SOC 406/4010 - Educational Sociology (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Prerequisites: 9 hours of social sciences, and junior or senior standing.

    Description
    The nature and interrelationship of educational agencies to other social institutions. The emergent structure of Middle Eastern educational programs and their implications for social change and integration.

    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SOC 408/4020 - Criminology (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Prerequisites: 9 hours of social sciences, and junior or senior standing.

    Description
    Theories of crime and social control. Institutional programs charged with the custody and treatment of law violators. Problems of deviance as related to class structure and social change.

    When Offered
    Offered occasionally.


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  • SOC 422/4025 - Religion in a Global World (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    9 hours of social sciences and junior or senior standing.

    Description
    Comparative study of religion in culture and society.  The course will explore a variety of theories and controversies in the anthropological understanding of religion.  Emphasis is on how religion may restrict but also empower believers, inform their social identities, and intersect with political and economic practices and institutions in a globalizing world.

    Cross-listed
    Same as  .
    When Offered
    Offered in fall.


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  • SOC 431/4035 - Political Sociology (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Prerequisites: 9 hours of social sciences, and junior or senior standing

    Description
    Social bases of various political systems such as Western-type democracy, authoritarianism, and totalitarianism. Topics include: determinants of political behavior, power, elite formation, bureaucracy, and the political role of the military and intellectuals in Third World societies.

    Cross-listed
    Same as   .
    When Offered
    Offered in fall.


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  • SOC 435/4040 - Gender and Power in Development (3 cr.)



    Prerequisites
    Prerequisite: nine hours of social sciences, at least junior standing or the consent of the instructor.

    Description
    The course will examine the transformations in the lives of women and men through development and incorporation into global economic and political systems from a sociological perspective, particularly from the “Third World”. However, the focus is not limited to women, but rather concentrates on the structure and process of gender relations. In examining “gender politics”, we will explore the politicization of gender relations at various levels of society, from domestic settings to national contexts to the international sphere.

    When Offered
    Offered annually.


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