Course Schedule

In this course, we will study literary depictions of women’s education in order to understand contemporary concerns about domestic life, professional roles, gender categories, sexuality, family relationships, ethnic identities, and political movements. Our readings span the years 1847 to 2010, focusing on the lives of women from a range of cultural backgrounds in Britain, the Caribbean, and the United States. By pursuing the theme of education, we will explore important questions about changing representations of women in literature, history, and society. Course texts will include Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea, Margaret Edson’s Wit, Joy Harjo’s Crazy Brave, Alice Walker’s Meridian, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, and Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies.

One traditional characteristic of the “professions” (education, law, medicine, inter alia) is the wide latitude granted to the professional to perform her duties in the manner she believes best, often without significant oversight. Along with this broad freedom, however, comes the expectation that professionals will take their ethics seriously. This course will investigate the character traits, principles, and values essential to professional ethics, as well as the ethical theories that can help us apply and make sense of them. What should we do when the responsibilities of our professions conflict with our responsibilities as persons? What should we do when our desire to respect others conflicts with our concern for their well-being?  What should we do when the desire for privacy is at odds with the need for safety? We shall grapple with the questions above (along with many others) as we explore a variety of ethical models. Ideally, we will be able to identify a principled framework and use it to resolve specific problems in both personal and professional ethics. 

All course materials available through Brightspace or Butler Library.

This course provides an overview of the science of weather and meteorology. In addition, there will be class discussions on current weather, especially as it relates to concepts discussed in class. The objective of this course is to provide you with a sound foundation in weather terminology and concepts, and an understanding of WNY’s weather, to prepare you for further study, and to provide you with an appreciation of weather in your daily life, in your travels, or in the news.

This course provides an introduction to biological anthropology and archeology while exploring our human origins. Physical anthropology topics include evolutionary theory and genetics, the human fossil record, and the study of non-human primates. Archeology scientifically reconstructs past cultures. We will cover the basics of archeological data and dating methods and then move on to the transformation from a hunting and gathering lifestyle to one based on food production. Finally, we will examine the role of agriculture in the development of complex sociopolitical institutions and state societies.

Introduction to the study of sustainability and human-environment interactions. Applies the principles of sustainability to current environmental and social problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, energy and resource use, waste management, food security, and environmental justice.

Hands-on introductory studio course in ceramics. Ceramics will be introduced through an exploration of functional and sculptural approaches to clay. We will cover the basic clay forming techniques of hand building and wheel throwing, along with various surface, glazing, and kiln firing techniques.  Emphasis will be on the artistic process dealing with creative expression, design, aesthetics, technical skills, and concept development.  

This course includes a basic framework of political and economic historical developments in U.S. history, but it will focus more on post-1877 social, ethnic, cultural, and religious movements within a nation having ever greater interaction with the rest of the world. We will read a wide range of documents from a wide variety of people in the past, to research, analyze and discuss problems, proposed solutions, and outcomes over the past century and a half.

Music is a language. The organization of tones communicates in a manner mere words cannot. This course will decipher the language of classical music and put it in its proper historical context for a deeper understanding of a unique syntax. We will examine how the language of classical music is shaped by a culture and how the music contributes to molding a civilization. The course will also address the symbiotic relationship between music and other languages such as architecture, the visual arts, and literature. No musical background is necessary.

In this class, we explore the politics and economics of love, marriage, sex, kinship, and gender through a cross-cultural study of marriage practices. Paying special attention to the structures of kinship, as societies transform, we will study the emotions of marriage, as negotiated and experienced by people in a number of cultural contexts. The purpose of the class is to consider structural transformations in gender and kinship practices and how these effect aspirations of people as they seek a future in or out of traditional marriage, however that is defined.

This course aims to cultivate informed, responsible, and active citizens through the study of literature, media, and film. By examining various narratives, we will explore cultural and societal comparisons, significant historical events, and influential figures, and their lasting impacts on the present. Students will gain insights into cultural diversity, social structures, and community interactions. Engaging with current events, the course encourages the application of learned concepts to real-world situations, fostering critical thinking, source evaluation, and the analysis of diverse perspectives. This approach promotes the development of strong analytical and research skills.

This survey course examines the main events that shaped Europe and its relationship to the rest of the world from 1914 until the end of the twentieth century. Topics include World War I, the Russian Revolution, the rise of fascism, World War II, the Cold War, decolonization, and the collapse of Soviet Communism. Most attention will be paid to political history, but we will also pay attention to important social, economic, cultural and intellectual developments.

Lifeways of the original inhabitants of the Islands of Polynesia, especially the Hawaiian archipelago. Origins, geography/ecology, cultural identity and agency, political struggles from the 10th century to today of Indigenous Hawaiian peoples using archaeological, historical documents, and oral tradition evidence. Representations of Indigenous Hawaiians originating inside and outside the region. Encounters and transformation by first inhabitants, explorers, missionaries, colonists, and recent global flows of people. Modern sovereignty movements, reclamation of sacred landscapes, and the return of cultural meanings associated with hula and surfing.

This class offers an interdisciplinary introduction to lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, queer, asexual, intersex, 2-spirited, + studies. We will pay special attention to social constructions of gender and sexuality and their intersections with race, class, and ethnicity. Using films, television, literature, archival materials and community conversations, we will explore LGBTQAI2+ communities and identities from ancient history through 2024. We will be highlighting Buffalo and WNY, which have a rich and well documented LGBTQ+ history.  

New York’s second-largest city serves as our textbook in this experiential learning course – including its people, neighborhoods, culture, architecture, history, geopolitical location, cuisine, and more. Through a combination of direct observation, mapping exercises, interviews, discussions, and reflections, we will work together to build a deeper understanding of the City of Buffalo and challenge our own perceptions along the way. Students will examine various dichotomies that exist throughout the city to answer questions such as: Who defines a place, and how? Is the “City of Good Neighbors” a reality for all? 

Students MUST be available to participate in FOUR off-campus explorations during the semester to be scheduled on Thursday afternoons from approximately 3:00-6:00pm. These excursions will involve considerable walking and use of public transportation.

THIS CLASS DOES NOT FULFILL GEN ED REQUIREMENTS. THIS CLASS IS 1 CREDIT.

Explore the essential elements of conceptualizing, organizing, and executing events, from intimate gatherings to large-scale galas. The curriculum covers critical aspects such as event conception, budgeting, audience analysis, and logistical management. Event practicum includes being involved at a “gift gathering” for Bengala 2025, Thursday, February 6, and execution and strike of Bengala 2025, Saturday, April 5 in the E.H. Butler library. This hands-on experience offers invaluable insight into the challenges and complexities of managing a major event. Through a combination of theoretical study and real-world practice, students will develop the skills necessary to navigate the demanding field of professional event planning. 

THIS CLASS WILL MEET AT A MUTUALLY AGREED ON TIME FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE ENROLLED. MANDATORY PRACTICUM FOR PASSING ARE: February 6 evening event, April 5 Bengala, and April 6 early-morning strike. The instructor will contact students the first week of class to determine the first meeting time and place. 

THIS CLASS DOES NOT FULFILL GEN ED REQUIREMENTS. THIS CLASS IS 1 CREDIT.

This course considers film as both product and (re)producer of North American culture. In this course we will investigate cultural, political, aesthetic, ideological, and historical constructions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class and disability as represented and explored through the medium of film. We will learn how to critically analyze film structures, techniques and content and pay special attention to narratives that challenge fictional conventional around race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, class and disability as well to intersections between these categories. We will also explore differences between storytelling, representations and techniques in mainstream and independent films and explore what happens when people from marginalized communities are writing, producing and/or directing those films. Ultimately, we will consider the overall role of film representations and filmmakers in building and sustaining a diverse and democratic society. 

THIS CLASS DOES NOT FULFILL GEN ED REQUIREMENTS – it does count as an elective in any COM major, and towards the Women in Gender Studies and Film Studies minors. 

This course will explore current controversies regarding art collecting and museums that raise vital questions about the economics of art, public access to art, art’s value and its role within contemporary society in relation to broad histories of art collecting and museums. Why is there still a proliferation of looted objects within modern museums and what is the relationship of the art museum to war? Why do collectors purchase art for vast sums of money even if those objects sometimes carry questionable attributions? Why do collectors keep renowned art objects in vaults, utterly out of the public eye? Why has the most expensive painting in history, the Ecce Homo attributed to Leonardo, disappeared from public view? Why is it increasingly common to find a single art object owned by multiple investors? Why are museums increasingly sites of political and social protest, as with protests over the opioids epidemic or over climate change? Why are an increasing number of exhibitions canceled when political or social controversy develops? What kind of institution is the contemporary art museum and what obligations does it have to the public? In spite of these many recent controversies, can the art museum facilitate social healing as it did after 9/11?

THIS CLASS DOES NOT FULFILL GEN ED REQUIREMENTS 

This course focuses on real-world applications to exercise and human performance. We will use a systems – hormonal, nervous, skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular, and pulmonary - approach of the basic concepts of human anatomy and physiology. Using lecture, labs, self-directed labs, case studies, and presentations, students will apply understanding of human physiology to exercise and human performance. Students are required to shadow in Buffalo State’s Fitness Center and attend a Buffalo State Athletics competition of their choosing. 

THIS CLASS DOES NOT FULFILL GEN ED REQUIREMENTS – it does count as a required course in Exercise Science (ESM and EXR), an elective in Health and Wellness major (HEW and HWP), an elective in Human Biology Minor (HMB), and meets the applied physiology requirement for Pre-Health students. Prerequisite: successful completion of Human Biology or anatomy/physiology course.

All Honors students preparing to graduate should enroll in this course. During this course students will complete career-related assignments, read a social justice-focused book and produce a project around a social justice theme, describe their applied learning experience, and provide feedback for the Honors Program and other areas on campus. 

THIS CLASS WILL MEET AT A MUTUALLY AGREED ON TIME FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE ENROLLED. There will be an online or in-class option and the class meets infrequently over the course of the semester. The instructor will contact students the first week of class to determine the first meeting time and place.