HISTORY COURSES


History Philosophy Sociology Courses

Lecture 3 hours. May be offered as an honors section.

The course teaches historically the major elements in the Western heritage from the earliest Mesopotamian civilizations through the religious reformations of the sixteenth century. Introduces students to the ideas and institutions central to western civilization, and acquaints them, through reading and critical discussion, with representative contemporary documents and writings of enduring interest.

Lecture 3 hours. May be offered as an honors section.

The course teaches historically the major elements of the Western heritage from the Age of Absolutism in the 17th century to the present. Introduces students to the ideas and institutions central to western civilization, and acquaints them, through reading and critical discussion with representative contemporary documents and writings of enduring interest.

Lecture 3 hours.

Course surveys the political, economic, social, and intellectual history of Latin America from the Age of Exploration, conquest of the indigenous people of the Americas, through the colonial period.

Lecture 3 hours.

The course explores the political, economic, social, and intellectual history of Latin America and the development of the United States during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with special emphasis on their interpolitical relationship.

Lecture 3 hours. May be offered as an honors section.

The course surveys the history of the United States from pre-Columbian times to 1865. Devotes particularly attention to political and social events as well as the development of America’s central institutions.

Lecture 3 hours.

The course surveys the political, economic, social, and intellectual history of the United States from the Civil War through the Twentieth Century.

Lecture 3 hours.

This course covers the main events, actors, and themes of the 20th century, primarily focusing on their impact on American history (i.e. cultural, political, and social movements), including a discussion of America’s central institutions.

Lecture 3 hours.

Surveys United States history and major American institutions from the early Colonial Era through the Civil War with special emphasis on the contributions of African-American to the nation’s political and social development.

Lecture 3 hours.

Traces the historical evolution of the Mexican and his culture and institutions to 1865, and surveys the contributions of the Mexican- American to the United States, with particular emphasis on the Southwest, and the causes and consequences of the Mexican-American War.

Lecture 3 hours.

Traces the historical evolution of the Mexican-American since the 1850s, and analyzes the aftermath of the Mexican-American War, legal and illegal immigration from Mexico, the civil rights movement, and the contributions of the Mexican-Americans to the American experience. Includes a discussion of basic American institutions.

Lecture 3 hours.

The course explores the political, economic, social, and intellectual history of women in the development of the United States from the early colonial era to the present day with special emphasis on their contributions as well as their problems.

Lecture 3 hours.

This course traces the development and interrelationships of the major world civilizations and their cultural traditions and contributions from the earliest times to the era of European expansion in the sixteenth century.

Lecture 3 hours.

The course traces the development and interrelationships of the major world civilizations and their cultural traditions and contributions from the era of European expansion in the sixteenth century to the present.

RPT 2

Conference 1 hour per unit.

Allows students to pursue Directed Study in History on a contract basis under the direction of a supervising instructor.

*UC Credit Limit: History 11, 41 and 43 combined, maximum one course.
**UC Credit Limit: History 12, 13 and 44 combined, maximum one course.

HUMANITIES COURSES

Lecture 3 hours. May be offered as an honors section.

An interdisciplinary program in the liberal arts, which covers an historical period such as the Renaissance from the perspectives of philosophy, art, music, literature, architecture, science, etc.

Lecture 3 hours.

A study in some depth of cultural history from the Industrial Revolution to the present. The approach is interdisciplinary, involving art, music, literature, drama, philosophy, and history. The emphasis is upon the evolutionary development which has influenced and shaped modern culture.

PHILOSOPHY COURSES

Lecture 3 hours

Students analyze some of the fundamental issues of philosophy and humanity that includes topics such as knowledge and reality, the foundations of truth and science, and the nature of human consciousness/self.

Lecture 3 hours

Students study and evaluate some of the traditional and contemporary theories in social and political philosophy, covering topics such as rights, governments, social institutions, citizenship, and distributive justice.

Lecture 3 hours

Students develop and refine the critical thinking skills necessary to formulate and evaluate argumentative essays. Critical writing about philosophical and logical concepts that are applicable to any systematic thinking is emphasized.

Lecture 3 hours  

Students learn how to understand, evaluate, and distinguish arguments and explanations by applying accepted standards of good reasoning. Students will learn techniques to recognize deductively valid arguments and avoid fallacies. They will also consider what is required for inductively strong arguments in order to avoid informal fallacies. There is particular emphasis on the appeals made in advertising and political rhetoric.

Lecture 3 hours

Students analyze techniques for representing truth-functional statements using letters and symbols, determining the validity of arguments using such statements, and demonstrating validity through formal proofs using a natural deduction system. Covers both propositional and quantificational logic through to first-order predicates and identity.

Lecture 3 hours

This course introduces the student to a rigorous overview of ancient Greek thought starting with pre-Socratic philosophers and ending with Greco-Roman philosophy of the later ancient period. Major emphasis is placed on the works of Plato and Aristotle.

Lecture 3 hours 

Students study western philosophy from the Renaissance to the 20th century. The course explores the rise of modern science, continental rationalism and British empiricism, and Kant.

Lecture 3 hours

This course studies recent philosophical developments in Continental and/or Anglo-American philosophy with readings from such figures as Nietzsche, Heidegger, Husserl, Derrida, Foucault, Gadamer, Ricouer, Habermas, Russell, Wittgenstein, Dewey, Quine, Davidson, and Rorty.

Lecture 3 hours

Students are introduced to some of the traditional ethical theories and how they apply to contemporary biomedical ethical problems. Topics to be discussed will include some of the following; abortion, euthanasia, suicide, organ donation, informed consent, allocation of scarce resources, genetic engineering, human and animal research, stem cell research, and cloning.

Lecture 3 hours

Students consider human conduct, study the rules and institutions of moral order, and philosophically examine a range of today's moral issues, such as the just distribution of the social good, abortion, euthanasia, the environment, war, and world hunger.

Lecture 3 hours

Students study the relationship between human beings and the environment, in particular human obligations to the environment. The focus is on "traditional" normative theories of ethics, morality, and rights, as applied to issues involving the environment and animals, and on a critical examination of environmental ethical theories with consideration of the value and moral status of the environment (animals, plants, ecosystems).

Lecture 3 hours

Philosophy 30 presents the history and key teachings of the philosophical traditions of East and South Asia with emphasis on Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

Lecture 3 hours 

This course offers a study of the history and doctrines of those religions that have emerged from the tradition of the prophet, Abraham. The course will consider other major influences on their early development, including, but not limited to, Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian Religions, Zorastianism, Greek Philosophy and Hellenic Mystery Religions. Representative sacred texts will be read.

Lecture 3 hours

Students are introduced to the meaning of art, the meaning of beauty, truth in art, creativity and art, various philosophical theories regarding the nature of art.

Lecture 3 hours

Studies the literary medium as it is employed to express and explore philosophical themes such as freedom, determinism, moral responsibility, and alienation. Each particular class also allows for a review of literature of a relatively specific milieu, for example, twentieth century existentialism. Cognate concepts from literary criticism, psychology and religion are utilized for understanding selected literary works, although no background in any of these fields is required.

Lecture 3 hours 

Students examine film as philosophy, as a philosophical statement by the filmmaker via his or her art form, covering the traditional philosophical problems within the human condition, such as the very meaning of that human condition, reality, self, morality, mortality, along with other questions within the human quest that come under the role of philosophy. Students also examine film philosophically, as a topic for philosophical inquiry.

Lecture 1 hours

Students study Philosophy on a contract basis under the direction of a supervising instructor.

SOCIOLOGY COURSES

Lecture 3 hours

This course is designed to introduce the students to the discipline of sociology. Main theoretical and research approaches will be discussed and applied to a variety of social phenomena. Issues analyzed include culture, social interaction, social structure, deviance, social inequality and social institutions.

Lecture 3 hours

Students examine the sociological analysis of contemporary social problems in the United States. Analyzes issues of power, inequality, privilege and oppression. Topics include racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, the environment, crime, war and terrorism. This course will also offer possible solutions.

Lecture 3 hours

Students examine the nature and extent of crime and delinquency, theories of causation, types of juvenile and adult offenses, and efforts by society to cope with law violations. Includes programs for prevention, correction, and rehabilitation. 

Lecture 3 hours

Students examine the fundamental principles and methods of sociological research design and implementation. Students analyze the key types of evidence—including qualitative and quantitative data, data gathering and sampling methods, logic of comparison, and causal reasoning. The work of several scholars is evaluated and students create their own research design related to a sociological issue.

Lecture 3 hours

Students examine the definitions, history, and experiences of ethnic and racial groups in the United States from a sociological perspective. Attention is given to Black, Latino, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and White Americans from an intersectional perspective. What social, economic, and political factors affect majority-minority relations? What are the sources of discrimination and prejudice? Is social equality between different groups possible?

Lecture 3 hours

Students explore social psychology, focusing on the contributions of sociology to this field. The relationship between the individual and the social environment is examined. Issues analyzed include socialization, self, identity, symbolic communication, altruism, aggression, deviant behavior, group processes.

Lecture 3 hours

Students engage in the sociological analysis of religion. The distinctions between the sociological perspective and the alternative approaches to religion are explored. Issues analyzed include the connections between religion and other aspects of social life, such as gender, sexual identity, class, race and ethnicity. Students also examine the relationship between religion and social continuity and change, particularly the impact of globalization on religion and religious identity.

Lecture 3 hours

Students analyze the social, cultural, historical, and religious influences that shape contemporary sexual values and normative beliefs in the United States. Major and diverse paradigms of sociology regarding sexual practices and behavior, including cross-cultural traditions, sexual attraction and response, sexual deviance, sexual orientations and the commercialization of love, sex, and eroticism are examined.

Lecture 3 hours

This course is designed to introduce the students to the sociological analysis of the family. Examines the family as a social institution. Issues analyzed include family diversity, dating, cohabitation, marriage, parenting, socialization, violence, divorce.

Lecture 3 hours

Students examine the evolution of the US presence in the Middle East and Central Asia and explore the development of terrorism and the US response.

Lecture 3 hours

Students examine the social significance of gender in contemporary US society and analyze the social construction of gender ideology and how people's experiences are affected by social institutions such as work, education, the family, and the criminal justice system. People's differential experiences are analyzed within the context of race, class, and sexual orientation. Students learn how the experiences of people are created through social institutions and can, therefore, be transformed through social and institutional change.

Lecture 3 hours

The course presents a sociological and historical analysis of labor movements in the United States and their effects upon American society. The course introduces students to distinctions among different forms of labor (forced and free), the role of markets and the State in regulating labor, and the effects of external factors (Industrial Revolution, abolition of chattel slavery, the Great Depression, war, globalization) and internal (to the laboring class) factors (competition among workers, ideologies, social and political organization) affecting the development of labor movements.

Lecture 3 hours

This course is the sociological study of power, politics, and the state. In political sociology, students will examine the interrelation of politics and society by combining sociological analysis with analyses of political structure and political processes. Emphasis is placed on political sociological theories, elites and masses, the state, globalization, nationalism and social movements, media and interest groups, social and political institutions, capitalism, corporatism, and status.

Lecture 3 hours

This course is designed to introduce students to the analysis of the historical and current development and emergence of American popular culture and its relationship to social institutions, collective behavior, and roles in people's lives. Social, technological, political, and economic aspects of society are examined with regard to the adoption, maintenance, and changes in popular culture, including the consumption of mass media, fashion, music, consumerism and food. Distinction between popular culture and culture, mass culture, folk culture and its contribution to society's contemporary outlook is analyzed.

Lecture 3 hours

Examines the structural and individual causes of deviant behavior in American society. Both absolutist and relativist analysis describe the very nature of why people engage in “undesirable” and socially “unacceptable” behavior. Apart from criminology, this discipline observes other behaviors that are not sanctioned by a legal body. The causes, consequences, practical data and ameliorative methods are offered.

Contact

Brian Walsh, Department Chair
Email: walshbp@piercecollege.edu
Phone: (818) 710-2894

Professor Sheryl Nomelli, History Student Advisor
Email: @email
Phone: (818) 710-4309