Course Descriptions
Culture and Society in the West I
FRS 1000 / 4 credits / Fall
An introduction to important themes of Western history and culture from archaic Greece to 1500, and a study of representative texts, documents, or art objects from the various historical periods. Students examine materials regarding ancient Greece; the Hellenistic and Roman era; the influence of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam on Western thought; the medieval period; and the early Renaissance.
Culture and Society in the West II
FRS 1001 / 4 credits / Spring
An investigation of important themes of Western history and culture from 1500 to the early 20th century. Topics include a consideration of significant social processes and transformations; a study of the foundations of modern political and cultural life; and an examination of specific texts, documents, or art objects from a range of historical periods.
Note: Different topics are offered under the umbrella of Culture and Society in the West II. Topic subtitles are listed in the online course schedule for the spring semester at studentservices.purchase.edu.
Science in the Modern World
FRS 1200 / 4 credits / Spring
An understanding of scientific principles is essential for an educated and engaged citizenry. This course investigates the substance and process of modern science and its role in society, including the scientific method and nature of scientific inquiry; scientific principles, analysis, and critical thinking; sources of scientific information, critical reading, and evaluation of authenticity; and distinguishing science from pseudoscience. Each course section focuses on a different topic or theme and considers some of the important scientific issues of our times.
Note: Topic subtitles are listed in the online course schedule for the spring semester at studentservices.purchase.edu .
College Writing
LWR 1110 / 4 credits / Every semester (primarily Fall)
An intensive course taught in multiple sections, by the end of which students are able to do the following:
- Produce coherent texts within common college-level written forms.
- Apply critical-thinking skills to evaluate their own and others’ assignments.
- Take a position of their own and develop an argument, using supporting details.
- Synthesize materials from various kinds of texts.
- Demonstrate the ability to revise and improve their papers.
- Use course concepts to develop in-depth readings of texts and critically literate written papers.
- Research a topic in detail and write a coherent, well-organized paper that develops an argument in dialogue with source texts.
- Demonstrate proficiency in oral discourse.
- Evaluate an oral presentation.
- Perform the basic operation of computer use.
Note: Students may only be exempted from the College Writing requirement (LWR 1110 or its equivalent) by achieving an AP score of 3 or higher.
American History, Society, and the Arts
GEA 2000 / 4 credits / Fall
Students examine how the arts serve as a narrator of American life, with emphasis on the birth of the republic and on 19th- and 20th-century political and historical issues. The course analyzes how social and cultural issues, both regional and national, have interacted with the growth of uniquely American art forms. Students also consider the central position the arts have taken in contentious national debates from the arrival of the Puritans to the Declaration of Independence, the Civil War, and the emergence of the U.S. as a cultural melting pot and as a superpower.
Updated June 18, 2008
