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LAC 100 and LAC 101: where your Eastern academic journey begins.
Your academic experience at Eastern begins with your selection of a Liberal Arts Seminar (LAC 100). You can choose from a range of immersive courses with relevant, thought-provoking themes, that break down barriers between disciplines, sparking your imagination in a dynamic environment.
Picture this: a tight-knit community led by dynamic faculty exploring a fascinating topic in your first semester. The discussion weaves together experiential and hands-on learning at the heart of every course you will take at Eastern.
But that's not all! LAC 101, a one-credit course taken together with LAC 100, will introduce you to Eastern’s five Learning Outcomes (communication, creativity, critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and quantitative literacy), which are the values of a liberal arts education, and the skills required of you in whichever career path you might choose. Peer Mentors will help introduce you to campus life and help you navigate your academic, social, and co-curricular activities at Eastern.
Students may choose from a variety of LAC 100 course topics. Learn more about the offered course topics below.
First-Year Seminars
Instructor: Lynn-Ann DeLima| Meeting times: TR 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: R 12:30 pm – 1:20 pm
This course will introduce you to our parks and green-ways. You will gain a better understanding of park use and the impact of humans upon them. You will consider controversial topics associated with park use and overuse. You will evaluate and formulate ideas and opinions regarding our relationship with our parks. Several field trips will allow you to critically compare different types of parks and identify their areas of need. You will discuss, create, present, and share ideas and projects with the course instructor, your peer mentor and your fellow students. As such, you will not be required to memorize material as you will not be tested or quizzed in the traditional sense. Your progress will be determined by; how well you actively engage in class discussions, your use of critical thinking skills in developing clear arguments, your ability in writing thoughtful papers, and your success in working on group projects. This course will culminate with an individual photo essay presentation to the class. Your contributions to your university include using the knowledge that you acquire in this course to become a broader member of your academic community. Your contributions to the university and larger community will include assessing the environmental conditions and clean-up effort in the campus arboretum and a local town park.
Instructor: Caitlin Carenen | Meeting times: TR 11:00pm - 12:15pm OR TR 2:00pm - 3:15pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: W 12:00pm - 12:50 pm OR 11:00am – 11:50am
As the famous phrase goes, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” Terrorism is a topic that generates a lot of emotions and is depicted in society in a variety of ways (heroes and villains). But is there a way to take a “neutral” approach to terrorism, to understand the ethical dilemmas of multiple perspectives and arguments? In what ways can definitions and contexts help us understand terrorism? How can understanding the context and motivations for terrorism help us to prevent or mitigate it? In this class, we will learn about how to define terrorism, consider the historical, social, and psychological context in which terrorism develops, and, using ethical reasoning skills and analyzing socio-demographic evidence and statistics, ultimately develop a hypothetical strategy to prevent or minimize it, using student selected case studies.
Instructor: Cara Bergstrom-Lynch | Meeting times: TR 9:30am - 10:45am
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: M 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm
This course critically examines racism and antiracism in the world around us and within ourselves, as well as social justice movements in health, education, the criminal justice system, and other institutions.
Instructor: Christine Garcia | Meeting times: MWF 9:00am - 9:50am
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: M 10:00 am – 10:50 am
This first-year seminar will focus on learning how to construct ethical arguments regarding contemporary cultural issues. Constructing ethical arguments includes learning to listen, summarize, analyze, and synthesize others’ opinions with our own. We will use public rhetorical acts such as speeches, debates, and dialogues and practice communicating in various multimodal genres.
Instructor: Lora Lee | Meeting times: M 12:00pm - 2:45pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting times: T 11:00 am – 11:50 am
Eager to advocate for a cause but don’t know where to start? Whether you are a talented artist or can’t even draw stick figures, you can create powerful poster designs to have your voices heard. Posters are a visual communication tool consisting of text and graphics that are displayed publicly for the consumption of the masses. When used effectively, posters can quickly capture the attention of a target audience, convey key information, and leave a lasting impression. In this course, we will focus on creating posters centered around public issues and exploring the importance of creative expression. You will learn basic principles of design and develop technical graphic design skills using Canva, a free-to-use online graphic design tool. You will advocate for a cause by producing a series of posters that will be printed, exhibited, and shared online.
Instructor: Matthew Rukgaber | Meeting times: TR 12:30pm - 1:45pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: R 2:00 pm – 2:50 pm
Friedrich Schiller once said that "the human being only plays when they are in the fullest sense of the word a human being, and they are only fully a human being when they play." In this course, we will explore the philosophical, ethical, educational, psychological, and cultural aspects of playing sports and games. Besides exploring several theories of both the capacities required for play and the benefits of it, we will explore the contrasts between play and work, competition and cooperation, the physical and the mental, reason and imagination, the individual and the team, and the real and the virtual. We will look a variety of issues that come up in play, sport, and gaming, including issues of gender and sexuality, technology, fairness and cheating, violence and safety, and freedom and rule-following. We will explore the value and purpose of play and sport across cultures and across time, looking at its religious and ritual origins to its economic and entertainment goals.
Instructor: Michele Bacholle | Meeting times: MWF 10:00 am - 10:50 am
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: M 9:00 am – 9:50 am
This LAC 100 seminar offers to ethically reflect on what it means to be exiled in our global age, where interconnectedness rules but where wars and natural disasters produce displaced persons, migrants, etc. We will investigate different facets of the exilic condition (immigration and exile in a foreign land, in one’s country, in oneself, in one's body/gender/sexuality). In addition to being exposed to non-US outlooks on the world, and gain awareness of global cultures and globalization, students will develop sophisticated critical thinking and ethical reasoning skills to learn to both assess what caused an individual's or group's exilic status, as well as whether it was preventable and what its possible consequences may be, and also comprehend our (and our community's and government's) responsibility and propose solutions to remedy the situation. This class will help develop ethical reasoning, critical thinking, and communication skills students will fine-tune in other Eastern classes and will use in their lives as privileged citizens of a wealthy country involved in the world's global workings.
Instructor: Soojin Kim | Meeting times: T 4:00pm - 6:45pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting times: R 4:00 pm – 4:50 pm
This dynamic and engaging course is designed to immerse students in the captivating worlds of digital art and media literacy. In an era where visual communication dominates, this course equips students with essential skills and knowledge to create, critically analyze, and navigate digital art, graphic design, and multimedia content. Students will be well-equipped to navigate the digital landscape as informed consumers and creators, prepared to excel in various academic and professional pursuits. Whether pursuing careers in the arts, journalism, marketing, or any field, the skills learned in this course will be invaluable in today's digital age.
Instructor: Brian Day | Meeting times: TR 9:30am - 10:45am
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: W 11:00 am – 11:50 am
This introductory seminar course on the relationship between film and culture examines the formal elements through which films tell stories and the kinds of stories they tell in response to audience needs and desires. It focuses on how audience interaction shapes narrative filmmaking and examines how the experience of watching films (theaters, screen size, sound, color, etc.) has changed in attempts to draw audiences to the theater. Students will gain a better understanding of American film in its cultural and historical context as well as the technical and economic factors involved in filmmaking. This course requires critical viewing, critical thinking, and writing to understand the pleasure and power of the movies. Students will get a better understanding of how films relate meaning and how to evaluate individual films.
Instructor: TBD | Meeting times: MWF 9:00 am - 9:50 am
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: M 10:00 am – 10:50 am
Owen Arthur said, “for he who has health has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.” This comprehensive introductory course is designed to provide students with a foundational understanding of the multifaceted world of health and healthcare. Health Sciences is a diverse and evolving field that encompasses a wide range of disciplines, from biology and anatomy to exercise science and public health. This course will also introduce students to the scientific method and develop skills in analysis, evaluation, and critical thinking. We will emphasize the importance of communication, team building, and professionalism in the context of the healthcare industry. This course is relevant for students who are embarking on a career in healthcare or simply interested in gaining insights into the complex interplay of factors that contribute to human well-being.
Instructor: Nahyun Oh | Meeting times: TR 9:30 am – 10:45 am
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: W 9:00 am – 9:50 am
Anyone can be more proactive and creative with an entrepreneurial perspective. "LAC 100: Getting started as an entrepreneur" is designed for future entrepreneurs who want to learn and explore entrepreneurial opportunities aimed at improving or benefiting economic, social, environmental, and cultural challenges that we face these days. This entry-level entrepreneurship course is open to students with all majors. This course is ideal for students who want to start a business but need help knowing where and how to start their entrepreneurial journey.
Instructor: Kristen Morgan | Meeting time: TR 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: M 2:00 pm – 2:50 pm
The purpose of this course is to investigate the origins and practices of creativity, both individually and from a global perspective. Students will test out a variety of creativity-boosting exercises, examine the creative process of individual artists, and evaluate published research on the subject of creativity. Throughout this process, students will strengthen their understanding of their own creativity and develop strategies for applying creativity to real-world problem solving across a spectrum of applications.
Instructor: Sukeshini Grandhi | Meeting times: TR 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: W 2:00 pm – 2:50 pm
This course examines how to be critical of data and information we encounter in everyday life. Students will learn the fundamentals of data types, data collection, data analysis and data visualization. They will critically reflect on how data is gathered and used in various personal and public domains such as news, elections, health, sports and big data algorithms.
Instructor: Kim Ward and Megan Heenehan | Meeting times: MWF 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: W 11:00am – 11:50am
The goal of LAC 100 LSAMP Becoming a Self-Directed Learner is to create a sense of belonging and self-identity in STEM, enhance students’ preparedness, confidence, self-efficacy, persistence and success in STEM majors and careers, and to learn how to become a self-directed learner. This LAC 100 is paired with LAC 101-LSAMP Introduction to the Liberal Arts and both must be taken in a student’s first semester at Eastern with the same instructor and same group of students. These two courses create a first-year learning community for the LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation) scholars, which is an NSF (National Science Foundation)-funded program. This section of LAC 100 is designed and reserved for the first-year cohort of the Eastern Nutmeg State LSAMP program.
Instructor: Timothy Cochran | Meeting times: TR 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: W 2:00 pm- 2:50 pm
Throughout the history of Western civilization, music has been defined by musicians, audiences, and thinkers in many different ways, each linked with the cultural, political, and philosophical values of its era. Despite the differences among eras, we can identify several recurring definitions of music in the history of ideas: music as a moral or spiritual force, as a reflection of the modern world and window into the future, as a reflection of the natural world, as a language, and as a symbol of national identity. This course will explore these themes as they have been expressed in historical documents (including philosophy, literature, poetry, and other music-history primary sources) and experienced in musical sound. Students will identify manifestations and implications of these ideas in their own world and assumptions about music. Through analysis of text and sound, debate, small and large-group discussion, writing, and presentation, students will expand their critical thinking, communication, and ethical reasoning skills, which can be applied beyond our course in a range of circumstances. Because this section of LAC 100 is designed for the first-year cohort of Honors Scholars, students will also learn what to expect and what is expected of them in the Honors Program and will grow together as a cohort of scholars who will support and challenge each other throughout the four years at the university.
Instructor: Paul Swift | Meeting times: TR 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: R 12:30 pm – 1:20 pm
Philosophy of the Martial Arts addresses issues of character development in philosophy of sport and introduces students to the history and cultures of the martial arts through Uechiryu karate. Students will learn basic movements to promote health, longevity, and self-defense, as well as learn about the history of virtue-based ethics from global philosophical perspectives to explore their relevance to practical life in the present day.
Instructor: Nicole Krassas | Meeting times: MWF 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting times: M 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm
Political disinformation is everywhere in our new media environment. It can often be difficult to distinguish between fact and fabrication in our current media environment. The result has been a kind of political chaos that is then used by political actors to convince people to endorse particular policy changes or particular candidates running for office. This course will deploy the study of disinformation and new media to enable students to develop sophisticated critical thinking and ethical reasoning skills to learn to both distinguish between fact and fabrication, but also comprehend the impact of disinformation on society. In addition, students will develop communication skills as they work together, present arguments to each other for criticism and partake in discussion. This class will help students in future classes deploy college level critical thinking and ethical reasoning skills, but also later in life as they partake in the civic life of their communities.
Instructor: Robert Blush | Meeting times: MWF 11:00 am – 11:50 am
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: M 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm
What is a game? How does playing differ from the rest of human life? Friedrich Schiller once said that “man only plays when he is in the fullest sense of the word a human being, and he is only fully a human being when he plays.” In this First Year Course, we will explore the philosophical, ethical, educational, psychological, and cultural aspects of playing sports and games. Besides exploring several theories of both the capacities required for play and the benefits of it, we will explore the contrasts between play and work, competition and cooperation, the physical and the mental, reason and imagination, the individual and the team, and the real and the virtual. We will look a variety of issues that come up in play, sport, and gaming, including issues of gender and sexuality, fairness and cheating, violence and safety, and freedom and rule-following.
Instructor: Elizabeth Cowles | Meeting times: TR 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: T 9:30 am – 10:20 am
Do vaccines cause autism? Are genetically modified foods safe? Is climate change real? What is homeopathy? Questions like these illustrate the difficulty that arises when dealing with a surfeit of complicated issues which are pervasive in our society. We cannot be experts in every field, so how do we determine what is real and what is fake? How can we discern good science from pseudoscience? This course addresses these issues by focusing on the application of critical thinking and scientific skepticism to questions such as those posed above as well as several others. We shall discuss the cognitive biases and logical fallacies to which we often fall victim. We shall apply critical thinking concepts to various examples of pseudoscience. We will develop communication skills to discuss science and pseudoscience and to create and present a hoax.
Instructor: Reginald Flood | Meeting times: MWF 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: F 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm
This first-year introduction class is about negotiating intimacy and artistic practice while taking on the challenge of changing the world around us. It is about the strength of the written word and how the process of observing, writing and performing changes the way individuals live their lives. We will write about ourselves, we will write about the work of others, and we will use our words (and our lives) to create original Spoken Word poetry. And, in the process we will improve our critical reading and thinking skills by listening carefully, talking thoughtfully and writing fiercely. One of the ways we will do this is to grapple with these questions. How does a piece of art work? What does it do and how? What is the connection between the body, activism and artistic practice? One of our main goals is to help you realize and then implement ways to construct a more creative life. The other (and tad more practical goal) is to help you learn basic strategies for gathering ideas, critical reading and thinking, and to learn to embrace the process of revision.
Instructors: Robert Greene | Meeting times: F 9:00 am – 11:45 am
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: W 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm
Explore the wonders of studio art and express your creativity in this fun, hands-on course. You will make art using a variety of medium, including painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and mixed media in a beautiful studio space. You will be introduced to the art elements and principles of design, understand the function of the arts in society through history and in the present, and develop studio art techniques while developing a visual problem-solving skillset.
Instructor: David Stoloff OR Laura Rodriguez | Meeting times: TR 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting times: R 4:00 pm – 4:50 pm OR T 4:00 pm – 4:50 pm
This course is designed for any first-year student who is interested in learning, teaching, participating and/or leading in pre-schools, elementary and/or secondary schools as future educators, parents, and concerned citizens. Through a 2-hour seminar focused on individual and group applications of how social scientists study schooling and a weekly 1-hour service-learning experience in local schools, students will actively investigate the dynamic and complex relationships of individuals and their communities around schooling. This section is designed to introduce the goals of Liberal Arts Learning Outcomes – Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Ethical Reasoning, and Quantitative Literacy - and provide student-developed evidence of applications of the social sciences for the study of schooling. This course is paired as a co-requisite with LAC 101 – Is Teaching Right for You?
Instructor: Miriam Chirico & Maryanne Clifford | Meeting times: MWF 10:00 am – 10:50 am OR MWF 9:00 am – 9:50 am
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting times: F 11:00 am – 11:50 am OR F 8:00 am – 8:50 am
The Empire of Disney will provide an interdisciplinary look at the imaginative stories and the behavioral economics of the magic that is Disney. This team-taught course will ask students to examine the historical context, as well as social and cultural factors of Disney products and services. Students will use the political economy approach to analyze economic and social issues associated with this multinational corporation and, in the second half, they will examine original sources of the animated and live action stories to understand the historical and literary foundations of the movies. Students successfully completing this course should leave with an understanding of the literary and economic foundations of Disney and be able to apply this knowledge to other aspects of the entertainment world around them.
Instructor: Jeffrey Calissi | Meeting times: TR 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: M 10:00 am – 10:50 am
This course focuses on the connections between music and communication from a musical and social scientific perspective. This LAC 100 seminar considers the ways in which we treat music as a form of communication distinct from verbal and nonverbal communication. The Music of Communication also explores the social origins, functions, and effects of music, and how music interacts with other forms of communication such as through media and technology.
Instructor: Peter Bachiochi | Meeting times: TR 9:30 am – 10:45 am
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: W 2:00 pm – 2:50 pm
Students will learn critical thinking skills to assess the debates on current topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on campuses, in workplaces, and in broader society. Topics of race, gender, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability will be addressed through interactive discussions of current events.
Instructor: Scott Moore | Meeting times: MWF 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: W 2:00 pm – 2:50 pm
Have you ever heard a story about a friend of a friend and then read the same story online about someone else? If so, you have run across an urban legend. Urban legends have been an important part of the cultural fabric of American and European societies for over a century. Earnestly told and often believed, they are an informal, but important way that groups communicate their values, ethics, and beliefs. These stories are also a tool that allows groups to maintain these characteristics. Because legends are spread, retold, and adapted by new storytellers in different settings, studying them provides a creative and critical thinking exercise that allows you to analyze and explain how value systems change over time and vary among different groups. Moreover, since studying folklore is by nature an interdisciplinary pursuit, examining urban legends will offer a unique way to draw from fields across the humanities and social sciences. Because of this potential, this class will provide a strong introduction to the liberal arts and the learning outcomes of ethical reasoning, creativity, communication, and critical thinking.
Instructor: Jamel Ostwald | Meeting times: TR 4:00 pm – 5:15 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: W 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm
This course will survey the reciprocal interactions of war and society from the Middle Ages onward. We will examine the numerous ways in which societies shaped the nature of armies and of combat, the impact of these wars on the societies from which they emerged, as well as the ethical quandaries of human behavior in wartime. In order to assess the impact of wars across time and space, we will also develop and analyze a dataset of countries' involvements in wars.
Instructor: Reginald Flood | Meeting times: MWF 2:00 pm – 2:50 pm
Paired LAC 101 Course Meeting time: M 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm
This seminar uses the cultural reality of “driving while black” as a metaphor to compare the oppressive reality that a lone black or brown driver (especially in a luxury car and a nice white neighborhood) is subject to with the alienation and estrangement students of color experience in the traditional creative writing classroom. In this seminar we will intentionally negate the pitfalls in which a diverse classroom with a traditional curriculum fails the students by insisting that those writers sublimate personal identity and cultural differences to white artistic expectations. In this course we will celebrate the home culture of our members to create a community of writers whose core artistic challenges will engage questions of equity and justice.
This class is for students of all races and backgrounds that want to confront the gap between their lived reality and the Eurocentric male-centered philosophies in most university creative writing classes. This course is an opportunity to begin your creative exploration with an aesthetic that puts you and your cultural reality at the core of this experience.