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College Catalog 2009-2011 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Courses

 

Mathematics
  

  • MATH 361 - Theory of Computation

    A discussion of the basic theoretical foundations of computation as embodied in formal models and descriptions. The course will cover finite state automata, regular expressions, formal languages, Turing machines, computability and unsolvability, and the theory of computational complexity. Introduction to alternate models of computation and recursive function theory. Prerequisite: COMP 124 , MATH 136 , or permission of the instructor. Every spring. Prerequisite(s): COMP 124, MATH 136, or permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 365 - Computational Linear Algebra

    Cross-Listed as COMP 365.
    This course covers a central point of contact between mathematics and computer science. Many of the computational techniques important in science, commerce, and statistics are based on concepts from linear algebra: subspaces, projection, matrix decompositions, etc. The course reviews these concepts, adopts them to large scales, and applies them in the core techniques of scientific computing; solving systems of linear and nonlinear equations, approximation and statistical function estimation, optimization, interpolation, Monte Carlo techniques. Applications throughout the sciences and statistics. Prerequisite: COMP 121  or COMP 123 , and MATH 236 . Every spring. Course is cross-listed with COMP 365 . Prerequisite(s): COMP 112 or 123 and MATH 236. (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 369 - Advanced Symbolic Logic

    Cross-Listed as  
    A second course in symbolic logic which extends the methods of logic. A main purpose of this course is to study logic itself-to prove things about the system of logic learned in the introductory course. This course is thus largely logic about logic. Topics include second order logic and basic set theory; soundness, consistency and completeness of first order logic; incompleteness of arithmetic; Turing computability; modal logic; and intuitionistic logic. Prerequisite: PHIL 120 , MATH 135 , or permission of instructor. Alternate years. Prerequisite(s): PHIL 120, MATH 135, or permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 371 - Modern Geometry

    Topics in geometry selected by the instructor. Possible courses include classical Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry (Hilbert’s axioms; parallel postulate; hyperbolic, elliptic, spherical, projective geometries; Poincare models), differential geometry (calculus on surfaces; curvature; minimal surfaces; geodesics; the Gauss-Bonet theorem), computational geometry (triangulation; point location; voronoi diagrams; linear programming). Prerequisites: MATH 236  and MATH 237 . Prerequisite(s): MATH 236 or 237. (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 373 - Number Theory

    An introduction to the properties of and unsolved problems about the integers (whole numbers). This course is built around the problem of proving that a large integer is prime or finding its factorization into primes. Topics include: divisibility and prime numbers, the Euclidean algorithm, modular arithmetic, quadratic residues, continued fractions, and public-key cryptosystems. Alternate fall semesters. Prerequisite(s): MATH 136  (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 376 - Algebraic Structures

    Introduction to abstract algebraic theory with emphasis on finite groups, rings, fields, constructibility, introduction to Galois theory. Prerequisite: MATH 136  and MATH 236 . Every spring. Prerequisite(s): MATH 136 and 236. (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 377 - Real Analysis

    Basic theory for the real numbers and the notions of limit, continuity, differentiation, integration, convergence, uniform convergence, and infinite series. Additional topics may include metric and normed linear spaces, point set topology, analytic number theory, Fourier series. Prerequisite: MATH 237 . Every fall. Prerequisite(s): MATH 237. (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 379 - Combinatorics

    Advanced counting techniques. Topics in graph theory, combinatorics, graph algorithms, and generating functions. Applications to other areas of mathematics as well as modeling, operations research, computer science and the social sciences. Alternate spring semesters. Prerequisite(s): MATH 136 , COMP 121  or COMP 123 . (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 394 - Topics Course

    Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 432 - Mathematical Modeling

    Draws on the student’s general background in mathematics to construct models for problems arising from such diverse areas as the physical sciences, life sciences, political science, economics, and computing. Emphasis will be on the design, analysis, accuracy, and appropriateness of a model for a given problem. Case studies will be used extensively. Specific mathematical techniques will vary with the instructor and student interest. All 400-level courses will involve some independent student work such as oral presentations, papers, or computer projects. Alternate fall semesters. Prerequisite(s): MATH 312  or MATH 365 , and COMP 121  or COMP 123 . (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 437 - Continuous Applied Mathematics

    Theory and applications of partial differential equations (PDE). Construction of PDE as models of natural phenomena. Solution via separation of variables, Fourier series and transforms, and other analytical and computational techniques. Independent or group research projects on open problems in applied PDE. Prerequisites: MATH 236  and MATH 312 , and COMP 121  or COMP 123 . Odd numbered spring semesters. Prerequisite(s): MATH 236 and 312 and COMP 121 or 123. (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 455 - Mathematical Statistics

    An introduction to the mathematical theory of statistics: sampling distributions, estimation, hypothesis testing, regression. Additional topics may include: analysis of variance and goodness of fit. Emphasis on the theory underlying statistic, not on applications. Prerequisite: MATH 354 . Every spring. Prerequisite(s): MATH 354. (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 469 - Discrete Applied Mathematics

    Topics in applied mathematics chosen from: cryptography; complexity theory and algorithms; integer programming; combinatorial optimization; computational number theory; applications of geometry to tilings, packings, and crystallography; applied algebra. All 400-level courses will involve some independent student work such as oral presentations, papers, or computer projects. Alternate fall semesters. Prerequisite(s): Prerequisites: MATH 236  and MATH 379  and COMP 121  or COMP 123 . (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 471 - Topics in Topology/Geometry

    An introduction to the topology of Euclidean, metric, and abstract spaces. Covers the fundamental ideas from point set topology - continuity, convergence, and connectedness - as well as selected topics from knot theory, three-dimensional manifolds, fixed-point theory, the fundamental group, and elementary homotopy theory. Prerequisites: MATH 236  and MATH 377 . Prerequisite(s): MATH 236 and 377. (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 476 - Topics in Modern Algebra

    Topics in algebra to be chosen from: group representations; algebraic coding theory and finite fields; Galois theory; algebraic and transcendental numbers; ring theory; applied algebra. Prerequisite: MATH 376 . Alternate fall semesters. This course counts toward the capstone requirement. All 400-level courses will involve some independent student work such as oral presentations, papers, or computer projects. Prerequisite(s): MATH 376. (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 477 - Topics in Analysis

    A continuation of Real Analysis including discussion of basic concepts of analysis with particular attention to the development of the Riemann and Lebesgue integrals. Introduction to metric spaces, Fourier analysis. Prerequisite: MATH 377 . Alternate spring semesters. All 400-level courses will involve some independent student work such as oral presentations, papers, or computer projects. Prerequisite(s): MATH 377. (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 478 - Complex Analysis

    Algebra of complex numbers, analytic functions, the Cauchy-Riemann equations, Cauchy’s theorem, the Cauchy integral formula, Taylor and Laurent series, the residue theorem, and conformal mapping. All 400-level courses will involve some independent student work such as oral presentations, papers, or computer projects. Alternate spring semesters. Prerequisite(s): MATH 377  or MATH 437  (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 490 - Senior Capstone Seminar

    Working with their capstone supervisor, seminar coordinators, and other faculty, students will discuss their capstone project, make presentations of their progress, critique the work of other students, and participate in the activities of the seminar. These activities will include instruction and discussion of strategies for research, writing, and oral presentation. The scheduled times will include both group meetings with other seminar participants as well as individually arranged meetings with the student’s capstone supervisor. Spring semester. S/NC grading only. (1 credit) All 400-level courses will involve some independent student work such as oral presentations, papers, or computer projects. (1 Credits)
  

  • MATH 494 - Topics Course

    Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
  

  • MATH 650 - Geometry in Context

    (2 Credits)
  

  • MATH 651 - The Intersection of Geometry and Algebra

    (2 Credits)
  

  • MATH 652 - Number Thinking

    (2 Credits)
  

  • MATH 653 - Algebraic Habits of the Mind

    (2 Credits)
  

  • MATH 654 - Number Thinking II

    (2 Credits)
  

  • MATH 655 - Combinatorics

    (2 Credits)

Media and Cultural Studies
  

  • MCST 110 - Texts and Power: Foundations of Media and Cultural Studies

    This course introduces students to the intellectual roots and contemporary applications of cultural studies, including critical media studies, focusing on the theoretical bases for analyses of power and meaning in production, texts, and reception. It includes primary readings in anti-racist, feminist, modern, postmodern, and queer cultural and social theory, and compares them to traditional approaches to the humanities. Designed as preparation for intermediate and advanced work grounded in cultural studies, the course is writing intensive, with special emphasis on developing skills in critical thinking and scholarly argumentation and documentation. Completion of or enrollment in MCST 110 is the prerequisite for majoring in media and cultural studies. Every semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 114 - News Reporting and Writing

    This class offers an introduction to writing, reporting, and news-gathering techniques associated with newspaper journalism. Readings, lectures, and discussions are applied to the coverage of events on the Macalester campus as well as to major events in the outside community - the 2008 elections, for example. The class typically meets with World Press Institute fellows and Twin Cities journalists and may serve as a springboard to internship opportunities in the media. It is taught by a Macalester graduate with more than 20 years of experience as a reporter and editor at the Star Tribune. Every year. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 126 - Local News Media Institutions

    An analysis of the major forces that determine media production and distribution. Topics include the political economy of media, ownership and government regulation, systems of power within media organizations, and the influence of advertisers on news and programming practices as well as on media access and diversity. Students will examine contemporary commercial media practices and structures in light of comparative, historical, and potential alternatives. Every year. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 128 - Film Analysis/Visual Culture

    This course introduces the aesthetics of film as well as selected issues in contemporary film studies. Its aesthetic approach isolates the features that constitute film as a distinct art form: narrative or non-narrative structure, staging, cinematography, editing, and sound. Topics in contemporary film studies that might be considered include one or more of the following: cultural studies and film, industrial organization and globalization, representations of gender and race, and theories of authorship, horror, and spectatorship. Several papers, a test covering basic film terms, and a short video project emphasizing abstract form are required. Suitable for first year students. Every semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 194 - Topics Course

    Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 202 - Global Media Industries

    Cross-Listed as INTL 202.
    We view the world and its peoples primarily through the “consciousness industry” of the media. As such, the way it is organized vitally impacts how we understand the world and our place in it. When did global media industries emerge, how are they organized, who owns them, and how have they transformed? In this course, we will investigate historical and contemporary forces of media production, explore theories for understanding the role of media in society, as well as consider paradigms that contest both practices and discourses of media globalization. Cross-listed with INTL 202 . (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 210 - Video as Activist Medium

    This course focuses on the rich political possibilities of video as intervention, propaganda, prank, advocacy, technique, educational tool, act of witness, subversive art practice, legal or physical defense strategy, etc. We will examine the politics of access, alternative and underground means of production and distribution, and strategies for collective process. The course will trace a history of radical video, from the initial use of the Porta Pak in the 1960s through the development of video collectives, the establishment of public access television, AIDS activist video, indigenous cultural preservation efforts, culture jamming and tactical media actions, and recent web & cell developments. Coursework will include screenings, readings, writing, in-class presentations, and critique. There will be various class trips to community video organizations in the Twin Cities, and individual students are expected to undertake significant research in an issue of their choice. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 211 - Activist Video Practicum

    This practicum focuses on video production in the context of activist video and tactical media. Through exercises, group and individual video production projects, critique, and community involvement, we will investigate strategies for politically motivated media production. Basic video shooting, lighting, sound recording and editing will be taught, with an emphasis on sharpening criticality and utilizing technology for maximum political or social efficacy. As their final projects, students will choose a political or social issue at any scale of local to global, and employ video as an activist strategy. No production experience is necessary. Offered occasionally. (2 Credits)
  

  • MCST 212 - Artists’ and Experimental Video

    This course will integrate history, theory, and practice in a critical examination of experimental and artists- video as an art form, political tool, and social process. The course will be structured around various key issues, including portraiture and autobiography, appropriation and collage, assertions or representations of identity, the presence of the maker and reflexivity, and conceptual, feminist, performative, and structuralist approaches. Art video-s relationships to experimental film, gallery and museum exhibition, and television will be considered. Coursework will include readings, screenings, writing, critique, and visual analysis. Video installation and other work not available in the classroom will be viewed in gallery and museum contexts around the Twin Cities. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 213 - Experimental Video Practicum

    This practicum class focuses on video production in the context of artists- and experimental video. Through individual video production projects and extensive critique, students will develop their own individual media production process. Basic video shooting, lighting, sound recording, and editing will be taught, with the emphasis being on developing aesthetic, analytic, critical and conceptual acuity through an integration of practice and theory. No production experience is necessary. Offered occasionally. (2 Credits)
  

  • MCST 234 - New Media Theories and Practices

    In the last couple of decades we have seen the invention and popularization of a wide assortment of digital technologies and with them, a wide variety of new media forms. The internet (which includes a collection of media forms, from web pages and peer-to-peer software to social media and video sharing sites), massively multiplayer online video games, ubiquitous computing, software, mobile phones - together, many argue, these and other forms of new media are reshaping how we live, create, work and even, what it means to be human. In this class we’ll examine a cross-section of contemporary humanistic research that has sought to understand the impact(s) of new media through a comparison to earlier, pre-digital media. In addition, we will engage in hands-on workshops, where we will use and learn some of the tools, software, and websites that our texts consider. Every year. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 247 - Documentary Film and Video

    This course explores the history and theory of documentary practices in film and video: the epistemological issues and critical debates surrounding documentary attempts to depict and/or comment on -reality,- the implications of cinematic technique and style for documentary representation and function, and the place of documentary representation in social, political and cultural discourses about nation, race, gender, sexuality, and class. The course integrates critical readings on documentary history and theory and viewings and discussions of relevant documentary films and videos. Recommended prerequisite: MCST 128  - Film Analysis and Visual Culture. Every year. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 248 - History of Film 1893-1941

    This course provides an overview of the history of film up through the release of Citizen Kane, examining aesthetic, industrial, social, and theoretical topics in a variety of national and cultural contexts. Discussions, lectures, and screenings emphasize commercial and avant-garde styles and their determinants. What is the style now referred to as the “classical Hollywood cinema?- Why did it materialize? What alternatives were there? The course explores issues of racism and gender as well as connections between the history of film and the modernization of European and U.S. culture. Several papers are required. Prerequisite: sophomore status or permission of instructor. Recommended prerequisite: MCST 128  - Film Analysis and Visual Culture. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 249 - History of Film Since 1941

    This course provides an overview of the history of film from the early 1940s, examining aesthetic, industrial, social, and theoretical topics in a variety of national and cultural contexts. Discussions, lectures, and screenings emphasize international commercial and alternative styles and their determinants. Why and how did alternative styles develop against and within the Hollywood system? The course explores issues of racism and gender as well as connections between the history of film and postwar transformations, with particular attention to the effects on filmmaking of the Cold War in the United States and of post colonial struggles in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Several papers are required. Students who have completed   will be encouraged to engage in independent research. Alternate years. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or permission of instructor. MCST 128 - Film Analysis/Visual Culture  recommended. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 256 - Mass Culture Under Communism

    Cross-Listed as RUSS 256.
    Revolution to the fall of communism. For each period in Soviet history, changes in the production and consumption of culture will be considered with specific examples to be discussed. Topics dealt with in the course include the role of mass media in society, popular participation in “totalitarian” societies, culture as a political tool. Popular films, newspapers and magazines, songs, radio and TV programs, etc., will serve to analyze the policies that inspired them and the popular reactions (both loyal and dissenting) they evoked. No prerequisites. Taught in English. Alternate years. Cross-listed with RUSS 256 . (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 286 - Media and Cultural Studies of Latin America

    Cross-Listed as INTL and LATI 286.
    This course explores cultural and media industries and texts - including folktales, art, performance, sport, film, and television - within their socio-political and historical context in Latin America. Organized around case studies that will allow us to apply learned cultural theories and methodologies to specific texts and historical moments, this class is imagined as a cultural studies “laboratory” in which we will collectively investigate varied topics in the field. No prerequisites. Offered every year. Cross-listed with INTL 286  and LATI 286 . (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 294 - Topics Course

    Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 315 - Gender, Sexuality and Film

    Cross-Listed as WGSS 320 
    This course aims to clarify the vocabularies of modernism, modernity, and modernization and their neo- as well as post- formations through an in-depth study of major movements in the 20th century. Ideologies such as fascism and imperialism, which have shaped the definitions of (wo)man, race, class, sexuality, culture, and politics, form the basis for this exploration. We will juxtapose the speeches, writings, and art of dominant and minoritized politicians, activists, and cultural creators like Benito Mussolini, Jean Rhys, Djuna Barnes, Cornelia Sorabji, and Una Marson. We will study issues such as citizenship, progress, democracy, individuality, and the end of history to re-define for ourselves what modernity and postmodernity signify today and will mean in the future. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 322 - Culture and Global Capitalism

    Cross-Listed as INTL and LATI 322.
    From the colonial sugar plantations of the Caribbean and new continental tastes for sweets, to Ford’s mass production lines and Fordist mass consumption, to Sony’s multinationally produced video technology and Sonyism’s transnational networks of information societies, the worlds of capitalism and culture have been closely intertwined. This class will study forms of global economic exchange, and their associated systems of international relations, cultural texts, and popular resistances. No prerequisites. Offered every year. Cross-listed with INTL 322  and LATI 322 . (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 331 - Racial Formation, Culture and U.S. History

    Cross-Listed as AMST and HIST 331.
    This interdisciplinary course will employ the methodologies of cultural and media studies within an historical framework to ask: What roles did “race” (the presence of diverse races; the relationships among those groups of people; the construction and representation of racial identities; the linking of material privileges and power to racial locations) play in the development of the United States? How have relationships of class, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality been linked to “race”? How has “race” been a site of struggle between groups? How is the present a product of historical experiences? Our coursework will rely on reading historical studies, theory, cultural analysis, and memoirs, and on viewing and analyzing cultural performances and films. This course is designed for students with experience in history, cultural studies, African American studies and/or American studies. Alternate years. Cross-listed with AMST 331  and HIST 331 . (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 334 - Cultural Studies and the Media

    Cross-Listed as AMST 334.
    An overview of contemporary approaches to media as culture, a determining as well as determined sphere in which people make sense of the world, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, identity, and social inequality. Students develop tools for analyzing media texts and accounts of audience responses derived from the international field of cultural studies and from the social theory on which it draws. Analysis emphasizes specificity of media texts, including advertisements, films, news reports, and television shows. Experience in cooperative discussion, research, and publication. Prerequisite: MCST 110  or permission of instructor. Every year. Cross-listed with AMST 334 . Prerequisite(s): MCST 110. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 354 - Blackness in the Media

    Cross-Listed as AMST 354 
    This course examines mainstream and alternative systems of African American representation in the media from the 1820s to the 1960s, including race records, race movies, the Black press, Black video, and Black appeal radio. It also examines the way Blackness is constructed in the media today, including the role of new media (such as cable and the Internet); new corporate formations (such as FOX, UPN, and BET), and new forms of representation (such as representations that reject the Black-White binary). Every year. Prerequisite(s): AMST 110  or MCST 110  or permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 355 - Advanced Journalism: Electronic

    Writing and production of news, feature, and documentary stories for radio, television, and news media. The course stresses effective script writing and the development of a strong sense of journalistic ethics in an electronic environment. Emphasis is placed on frequent visits with practicing journalists and policy makers, on-site visits to electronic newsrooms, and field news assignments on campus and throughout the Twin Cities. Students will produce video, audio, and Internet stories. The course also examines the changing role of the media and the impact of electronic media and broadcast journalists on politics, government, education, and the legal system. Taught by a 20-year veteran print and broadcast journalist and former U.S. Senate press secretary. Alternate years. Prerequisite(s): MCST 114 - News Reporting and Writing  or permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 357 - Advanced Journalism: Print

    In-depth reporting and writing of news, feature, and opinion pieces for newspapers and magazines. This course stresses effective writing and editing and the development of a strong sense of journalistic ethics. Emphasis is placed on field reporting on campus and throughout the community, on-site visits to newspaper newsrooms, and frequent discussions with practicing journalists, writers, and policy makers. Students will examine the changing role of print media and the impact of media and journalists on culture, politics, government, education, the legal system, and the community. Taught by a 20-year veteran print and broadcast journalist and former U.S. Senate press secretary. Alternate years. Prerequisite(s): MCST 114 - News Reporting and Writing  or permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 376 - Critical Social Theory and the Media

    Studies of the contributions critical social theory has made to research oriented toward democratic communication. Class discussion evaluates the social uses of theories and probes assumptions and values embedded within them. A research paper allows each student to examine one theory or theoretical issue in detail. Prerequisite: Texts and Power: Foundations of Cultural Studies (MCST 110 ), or permission of instructor. Alternate years. Prerequisite(s): MCST 110 or permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 394 - Topics Course

    Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 448 - Advanced Topics Seminar

    (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 488 - Advanced Topics Seminar

    In the capstone seminar, students working on an independent project in line with the theme of the seminar share their scholarship, integrating what they have learned in the major, emphasizing knowledge gained in their focus area, as well as presenting their work at a concluding mini-conference. The capstone experience involves close analysis of cultural artifacts that examine at a higher level issues first raised in the introductory course. The department plans to offer two seminars every year, at least one in media studies, enabling students to select the seminar most relevant to their intellectual development. In exceptional cases, students with sufficient preparation may take the seminar prior to their senior year. Students may take more than one HMCS senior seminar as long as content varies. Recent seminar topics have included: Image/Text: Metaphor, Myth and Power; Advanced Film Analysis; Advanced Studies in War and Media; Postmodernism, Identity and the Media; Whiteness and the Media; Advanced Queer Media. Every semester. Prerequisite(s):   or permission of instructor.   recommended for film studies seminars. Non-majors are welcome if they have taken   or a comparable course. (4 Credits)
  

  • MCST 494 - Topics Course

    Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)

Music
  

  • MUSI 72 - African Music Ensemble

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 73 - African Music Ensemble

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 74 - Macalester Concert Choir

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 75 - Macalester Choir

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 76 - Highland Camerata

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 77 - Highland Camerata

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 80 - Mac Jazz Band

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 81 - Mac Jazz Band

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 82 - Jazz/Popular Music Combos

    Jazz and Popular Music Combos are open to all who wish to concentrate on improvisation and original music. The combos present two concerts each year and record at a professional studio spring semester. (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 83 - Jazz/Popular Music Combos

    Jazz and Popular Music Combos are open to all who wish to concentrate on improvisation and original music. The combos present two concerts each year and record at a professional studio spring semester. (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 84 - Pipe Band

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 85 - Pipe Band

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 86 - Chamber Ensemble

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 87 - Chamber Ensemble

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 88 - Orchestra

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 89 - Orchestra

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 90 - Mac Early Music Ensemble

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 91 - Mac Early Music Ensembles

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 92 - Other Ensembles

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 93 - Other Ensembles

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 94 - Private Studio Instruction

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 95 - Private Studio Instruction

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 96 - Piano for Proficiency

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 97 - Piano for Proficiency

    (1 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 99 - Piano Proficiency Exam

    (0 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 110 - Music Appreciation

    Focuses on listening to music and making sense of what we hear. Explores diverse musical styles and cultures with an emphasis on concert music of the western world, placing the music within cultural-historical frameworks. Spring semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 111 - World Music

    A study of musical cultures from around the world. The place of music within the larger context of world cultures. Fall semester (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 112 - Basic Musicianship

    Basic elements of music including scales, intervals, basic music reading and writing skills, ear training and some keyboard. The course is especially designed for the general student and will operate at a slower pace than Theory I. Spring semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 113 - Theory I

    Pitch, meters, scales, modes, keys, intervals, triads and seventh chords, elementary diatonic harmony, composition of melody and bass lines; melodic and rhythmic dictation and solfeggio; elementary keyboard skills. Students should already be proficient at reading music. Three lectures and one ear training/keyboard lab per week. Fall semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 114 - Theory II

    THEORY II Continuation of written harmony through extended alteration of tertian harmony and modulation; analysis and composition of simple musical forms; continuation of dictation and solfeggio; keyboard harmony. Prerequisite: MUSI 113  or permission of the instructor. Three lectures and one ear training/keyboard lab per week. Spring semester. Prerequisite(s): MUSI 113 or permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 131 - African Music

    Study of music in various African traditions within a social and historical context. Interrelationships between music and society (function, context, structure, gender roles, political considerations). Instruments, life-cycle rites, genres, musical organizations, traditional musicians, contemporary popular music. Fall semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 153 - Electronic Music

    Electronic music composition explores the art of creating experimental sound compositions using analog and digital technology. Although we will survey the historical development of electronic music, the emphasis of the classis on composition, including multi-media and experimental work. The class format includes listening, discussion, lab sessions and a final concert showcasing works created throughout the semester. No prerequisites. Enrollment limited to 13 to allow each student sufficient lab time. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 194 - Topics Course

    Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 213 - Theory III, Form and Analysis

    Analysis of musical forms and musical development techniques with emphasis on music of the common practice period; advanced harmonic ear training. Prerequisite: MUSI 114  or permission of the instructor. Fall semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 294 - Topics Course

    Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 314 - Theory IV, Contemporary Theory and Literature

    Survey of contemporary music and modern compositional techniques with emphasis on analytical skills. Prerequisite: MUSI 213  or permission of the instructor. Spring semester. Prerequisite(s): MUSI 213 or permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 342 - Medieval to Mozart

    This course traces the development of Western art music from its beginnings in the monophonic chant of early Christianity, through the development of polyphonic vocal genres in the Renaissance (mass, motet, madrigal), to the emergence of opera in Italy around 1600 and the stylistic revolution that we now call the Baroque (including the musical life of the extravagant court of France’s Louis XIV and Johann Sebastian Bach’s synthesis of multi-national Baroque styles), to the multi-movement instrumental works and operatic genres of the later Baroque and Classical styles. Its central aims are: 1) to understand the place of music in social and cultural life in these particular times and places, 2) to gain an appreciation of the musical style and rhetorical devices that characterize each of the periods we study, and 3) to develop students’ abilities in communicating, in writing and the spoken word, what they learned about this music and the culture in which it was produced. Course activities will include lectures, musical analyses, performances, and discussion of assigned listening and reading. Lectures will introduce key terms and concepts and will address broader concerns of social-cultural life. In-class analysis and performance will lead to a more detailed understanding of key works. Examinations will test students’ retention of course listening and lecture/reading material. The course assumes no historical knowledge of the periods in question. However, basic skills in score reading and musical analysis are necessary in order to get the most possible out of it. Fall semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 343 - Western Music of the 19th Century

    Study and analysis of music written from the late 18th to the 20th century focusing on the stylistic shift from classicism to romanticism to modernism, including music from Beethoven to Mahler. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Spring semester. Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 350 - American Pop, Rockabilly, and Soul, 1954-64

    This course provides an in-depth look at one crucial period in American popular-music history, addressing in particular the roles that racial categories played in the production, dissemination, and reception of music in three dominant streams within the culture of American popular music. Topics for close study will include: Sam Philips’s practices of recording of black and white musicians for Sun Studios in Memphis during the 1950s; the early “crossover” hits of such recording arts as Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley; the doo wop repertory and theories of whiteness; issues of race, gender, and sexuality in the music of the “girl groups”; and a comparison of white-owned Stax Records and black-owned Motown in the early-mid 1960s. The course will move from a broad overview of the era at the beginning of the semester, through a discussion of conceptual, critical, and methodological issues, and into more detailed case studies of various recording artists, institutions, and repertories. The course aims to examine ways in which social and historical constructions of race operated on many levels, from the national industry (e.g., the Billboard charts), to regional and local scenes (e.g., the studio and “space/place” theory), to performative, technological, and aesthetic realms that intersect directly with issues of subjectivity and identity. This course is intended for upper-level majors and minors in Music and American Studies. It is designated as a seminar and not a lecture course; students will be responsible for leading class on a regular basis, coming prepared with handouts and sets of questions/topics for discussion. Generally offered alternate years. Cross-listed with AMST 350 . (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 361 - Composition

    Instruction in composition starting with exercises in motific and harmonic manipulation of materials, and leading to directed composition for available performers. Meetings will be as a group and as individuals. Composers will have at least two works performed on scheduled evening concerts. Prerequisite: MUSI 213  or permission of the instructor. Fall semester. Prerequisite(s): MUSI 213 or permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 370 - Conducting

    Emphasizes basic techniques, including beat patterns, baton techniques, score preparation and rehearsal techniques. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Alternate years. Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 394 - Topics Course

    Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 425 - Seminar in Composers/Genres

    Intended for upper-level majors and minors in Music, this course provides the opportunity for in-depth study of the works of a single composer, or of several works within a given genre or historical era. Topics will change regularly, and might include such examples as Beethove, Shostakovich, Verdi, Twentieth-Century Opera, Musical Nationalism, and Modernism. In addition to close analysis of significant works, course readings from the from the musicological literature will also introduce students to both classic and current scholarship in these topics. Skills in musical analysis are a must for this course. Prerequisite: MUSI 114  (Theory II). MUSI 213  (Theory III: Form and Analysis) also highly recommended. Permission of the instructor required. This course may be taken twice and counted both times toward the Music major or minor if the topic is different. Alternate years. Prerequisite(s): MUSI 114. (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 488 - Senior Project

    (4 Credits)
  

  • MUSI 494 - Topics Course

    Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)

Neuroscience Studies
  

  • NEUR 180 - Brain, Mind, and Behavior

    A multidisciplinary investigation of behavior and the nervous system. Particular emphasis is placed on human processes of perception, cognition, learning, memory, and language. This course serves as the introductory course for the neuroscience studies major. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Fall semester. Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
 

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