Interdisciplinary foundation
Five interdisciplinary courses provides the foundation for and connections between ideas and disciplines. These courses are taken throughout the four years.
First Year Seminar (3 SH )
FYS is a foundational course closely linked with other core courses that provides students with the critical thinking skills and theoretical frameworks needed for successful university work. As an interdisciplinary course the FYS provides the introduction to the Micah 6:8 theme, an understanding of world views and the student's place in relation to God, self, and others.
Life Wellness (2 SH)
Complementing the intellectual and spiritual focus of the FYS, this highly experiential course focuses on stewardship of the body in relation to doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. The inter-disciplinary faculty for this course draws content from the disciplines of Theater, Nursing, Physical Education, and Psychology.
Colloquia (6 SH)
Intentionally designed to be interdisciplinary in nature, colloquia courses explore a particular theme through the lenses of several disciplines. Students have the opportunity to learn and experience the interconnectedness of the world through exposure to the arts/humanities, natural and social sciences, and Bible/theology. Colloquia courses offered 2007-2008:
GVC 211 Cities (3 SH)
In this course students and faculty will examine the phenomena of cities and urbanization. An underlying theme will be to open ourselves to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God in the city. In this context we will ask the following questions: How/why have cities evolved? What does urban (vs. rural) living do to us and for us? What makes a city work well? Among other outcomes, students will recognize the potential for the city structure to act as an agent for social change, recognize the potential the city provides for demonstrating human creativity, and understand how to use and apply the scientific process to study an urban problem.
GVC 231 Passion/Obsession: Mind and Matter; Being Human (3 SH)
Passion. Obsession. Desire. Addiction. Faithfulness. Fanaticism. Love? Hate? We are created by God to live a life of meaning. As a result, we have inherent drives and appetites that can be either creative or destructive. At what point does a desire develop into a life-consuming addiction? Where is the line between faithfulness and fanaticism? Can love destroy and hate create? Together we will explore through Art, Science, and Philosophy humanity's eternal struggle with this dichotomy, and hopefully gain insight both corporately and individually into the human condition.GVC 242 Plague: Examining Humanity’s Place in Nature (3 SH)
Infectious diseases have shaped human populations throughout history and the specter of pandemic flu is again causing global concern. This course will explore aspects of contagious diseases that impact on communities, both past and present, and address the fundamental position of humanity in creation. A multidisciplinary approach will blend theology and biology, history and philosophy of the common good. We will study the biology of disease transmission, disease agents and their vectors with the history of past epidemics and their impact on human communities. We will look at the biblical accounts, the history of the Christian movement, and at contemporary theological and ethical responses to disease. Students will be challenged to think and respond to questions such as: How can we build stronger communities? Can we maintain our values in the face of a major disaster? Understanding that disease is part of our world, how do we respond?Note: Any student may satisfy one colloquium by completing a semester cross-cultural experience. In addition, Liberal Arts majors may satisfy one colloquium by completing 15 semester hours from four of the following five areas: Math/Science, History, Literature, Fine/Performing Arts, or Social Science.
Senior Seminar (2 SH)
Students choose from a selection of topics such as the humanities, faith, culture and science. These courses provide graduating seniors with a context for integrating ideas and values with matters of faith. The courses, collaborative in nature, engage students and a two-person faculty team in a capstone course designed to broaden from the major to integration within an interdisciplinary world and to revisit Micah 6:8 prior to graduation.
GVC 401a Senior Seminar: An Exploration of Suffering (2 SH)
The universal theme of suffering perceived through various cultures and articulated in art, song, story, scripture, poetry, and essay is the focus of this course. How pain and suffering are connected to our vocation in life is another aspect of the course. In Western cultures persons often ask “why” in the face of suffering while other cultures regard suffering as a necessary part of being human. The course builds on the students' cross cultural experience and the cultures and religions represented in the campus and local community in the pursuit of understanding the experience and meaning of and response to suffering. Guest lectures, group presentations, readings, a field trip to Washington D.C., and discussions provide forums for reflection.
GVC 401b Senior Seminar: Myths, Legends, and Superstars (2 SH)
Using pop-cultural “texts” (possibilities include Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, and the works of Bob Dylan, U2, the Dixie Chicks), this seminar will explore the irony of post-modernism which deconstructs all meta-narratives, while simultaneously constructing new and powerful replacements. Using communications theory, cultural analysis and biblical perspectives, students will explore deeply the chosen texts, themselves, and the future. This seminar will help students map their own faith landscape within the contemporary and often confusing pop-cultural milieu.
GVC 402a Senior Seminar: Following Roots, Finding Wings (2 SH)
It is often said that Christians are in the world but not of the world. Some claim that this calls Christians to isolate themselves from the world. Others claim it calls Christians to go into the world proclaiming, more by word than deed, creating the presence of something different in the world. To be in the world but not of it begs questions around two important themes: identity, and the meaning of one’s presence in the world. These become even more intriguing questions as one considers the times. In this class these themes will be explored, primarily through the arts because they can hold a mirror to show where one has been, and can offer a lamp to show where one might go. Students will be asked to explore the questions, “Who am I?” and to create something personal (not a paper) by which to communicate and make tangible their ideas.
GVC 402b Senior Seminar: Relating to the Land (2 SH)
This seminar promotes thinking about the various ways human beings relate to the land: as growers, builders, exploiters, transformers, artists, and dreamers. In part one, students explore the relationship between colonization and the aesthetic/landscape theories that often helped Europeans envision indigenous people as the “other.” Part two tracks the rise of the environmental movement and its relationship (both positive and negative) to indigenous peoples. Part three examines the relationship between agrarianism, environmentalism, and the built environment in contemporary America. The question that will be asked throughout the semester is, what does it mean to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God in relationship to the land.
