GB, 3 credits
GenEd Human Behavior courses address the relationships between
individuals and communities. Courses may focus on the relationship
between individuals and communities in general or may engage those
relationships from specific perspectives (such as art, music,
education, religion, economics, politics or education), or look at
them within specific themes (such as food & eating, crime,
crisis, sexuality, adolescence).
Human Behavior courses are intended to teach students how
to:
- Identify and explain social phenomena;
- Identify and explain different analytical models
- Compare and contrast similar social phenomena across
individuals or communities.
Select One Course
Asian Studies 0811, Chinese 0811, Critical Languages 0811,
Japanese 0811, Philosophy 0811, Religion 0811
We incessantly engage ourselves in doing things. We are
beings-at-doing. We define ourselves by the kind of actions we
perform. How we act or conduct ourselves is shaped by the kind of
self we construct for ourselves. And that self is shaped by the
society into which we happen to be born. Self-identity, which is
socially and culturally constructed by our experiences and
interactions with others, carries a personal as well as an
interpersonal meaning. Learn the four Asian paradigmatic cases of
self-identity and examine your self in light of them.
Criminal Behavior
Criminal Justice 0812
Although we like to think differently, committing crime is an
extremely common human behavior. From the extremes of armed robbery
or serial murder to the ordinary failure to declare income on tax
returns or the tendency to speed on the highway, nearly everyone
has broken the law and committed a crime at some point. Considering
physiological, psychological and pharmacological factors, we
explore the influences of family, peers and the effects of alcohol
and drugs on the incidence of criminal behavior. And we examine how
the urban and social environment encourages (or inhibits)
opportunities to commit crime.
Geography & Urban Studies 0813, Therapeutic Recreation
0813
Odds are that each of us will encounter disability at some point
in our lives, either directly or indirectly through family,
friends, neighbors and colleagues. What is it like to live with a
disability, and how does disability intersect with other aspects of
personal identity, like gender, race and culture? Is disability
socially and culturally defined? Join us as we examine historical
perspectives of disability marked by fear and discrimination and
fueled by media portrayals. We will then explore most recent
indicators of personal, social, and environmental change that
support disability identity and result in a more accommodating
environment for us all.
English 0837
You are what you eat, they say, but what, precisely, determines
our eating habits and what, exactly, do they say about us? How do
these habits influence our relations with others in our communities
and beyond? Eating is an activity common to all human beings, but
how do the particularities and meanings attributed to this activity
vary across different times and places? Using literature, visual
media, cookbooks, food-based art, and advertisements as our
starting point, we will examine how food perception, production,
preparation, consumption, exchange, and representation structure
individual and communal identities, as well as relations among
individuals and communities around the globe. Our focus on this
most basic of needs will allow us to analyze how food conveys and
limits self-expression and creates relationships as well as
delimits boundaries between individuals and groups. Materials will
be drawn from a wide range of disciplines including, but not
limited to, literary and gender studies, psychology, anthropology,
history, sociology, and economics
Human Ecology
Anthropology 0814, Geography & Urban Studies
0814
Human hunters may have contributed to animal extinctions as
early as 10,000 years ago; civilizations in the ancient Near East
developed complex irrigation networks that led to some of the
area's permanent deserts. Since pre-history, humans had an
impact on the environment, but changes in technology have magnified
the scale of human influence. Today, attempts at sustainable land
use are often at odds with struggles for indigenous population
rights, with population migration and increases in population size,
or with desires to preserve areas for national parks or tourism,
let alone attempts to exploit natural resources. Study the
ecological principles underlying the relationship of humans with
the environment and the explosion of conflicts surrounding modern
environmental use.
Human Sexuality
Psychology 0818, Sociology 0818
Our sexuality is a core part of being human. We often think
about sexuality in terms of the physical and reproductive aspects
of sex. But our sexuality is complex and dynamic. We will address
this dynamic complexity as we explore the physical, psychological,
relational, and cultural aspects of sexuality. The goal of this
course is to broaden your perspective of human sexuality, and
deepen your understanding and awareness of your own sexuality and
the many influences on this essential part of yourself.
Human Resources Management 0838
As we go through life there will be natural changes that we must
deal with. For college students this involves for many being on
your own for the first time, picking a major, trying to figure a
possible work career, dealing with a roommate. There will also be
unplanned changes or crises that each of us will face at different
times, such as the sickness/death of loved ones; broken
relationships; work problems, as well as our own mortality. One
goal is to face each crisis in as healthy a way as possible,
without physically or emotionally hurting others or ourselves. The
Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech tragedies are an
extreme example of how someone can lash out violently. The more
prepared we are to deal with a crisis and conflict, the better we
can come through it, helping ourselves and perhaps others too. Part
of this preparation can involve examining our belief
systems--including religious/spiritual—and the ways we
perceive and think.
Interpersonal Communication
Psychological Studies in Education 0836
In a reflective, supportive environment, enhance your ability to
develop successful interpersonal communication with your family,
friends and work colleagues. Assess your own communication skills,
develop and set personal goals and an action plan to create the
change you wish to see. Investigate how interpersonal communication
needs and effectiveness change throughout life, from early
childhood, to adolescence, through young adulthood, middle
age, and old age. There will be frequent small group discussions,
and opportunities to learn through direct observation of real-life
situations.
Anthropology 0815, Communication Sciences 0815, Education
0815, English 0815, Italian 0815, Psychology 0815, Russian 0815,
Spanish 0815
How did language come about? How many languages are there in the
world? How do people co-exist in countries where there are two or
more languages? How do babies develop language? Should all
immigrants take a language test when applying for citizenship?
Should English become an official language of the United States? In
this course we will address these and many other questions, taking
linguistic facts as a point of departure and considering their
implications for our society. Through discussions and hands-on
projects, students will learn how to collect, analyze, and
interpret language data and how to make informed decisions about
language and education policies as voters and community
members.
Tweens & Teens
Education 0819
- Exuberance, excitement, social expansion, risk-taking,
experimentation, breaking away, testing limits.
- Anxiety, peer pressure, competition, parental pressure, work
and school, drugs and alcohol, test scores.
These are some of the challenges that make adolescence one of
the most intriguing and disturbing stages of life. Take a close
look at one of the most confusing, exciting, and critical phases of
development, the pre-teen and teen years. Using literature, TV and
film, as well as articles and books from the field of human
development, explore how children grow into teenagers, how they
survive the challenges of adolescence, and how they become
productive adults.
Psychology 0816
A Caucasian is heckled during his night-club act and goes into a
rant against African-Americans. A celebrity is pulled over for DUI
and goes into a rant against Jews. Both then claim that those
behaviors are “not the real me.” They claim that they
are not racist or bigoted. If they do indeed believe their denials,
then we are left with a question: Why did they behave as they did?
Perhaps we are not always in conscious control over what we do.
Drawing on disciplines within psychology, including neuroscience
and cognitive science, as well as clinical, developmental,
evolutionary, and cultural psychology, we explore the possibility
that we can process information and behave in response to
information in ways that are out of our conscious control.
Anthropology 0817, Education 0817, Sociology 0817
Do you listen to hip hop, spend all your time in Second Life,
dress up like a cartoon character and go to anime fairs, or go
skateboarding every day with your friends? Then you're part
of the phenomenon called youth culture. Often related to gender,
race, class and socio-economic circumstances, youth cultures enable
young people to try on identities as they work their way to a
clearer sense of self. Empowered by new technology tools and with
the luxury of infinite virtual space, young people today can
explore identities in ways not available to previous generations.
Students in this class will investigate several youth cultures,
looking closely at what it means to belong. They will also come to
appreciate how the media and marketing construct youth identities
and define youth cultures around the world.
