Liberal Studies Course Descriptions

P = prerequisite R = recommended
C = corequisite * = lab fee

Graduate Courses Offered

LBST-D 501 Zen in Literature, Art, and Philosophy
The purpose of this course is to explore the experiential dimensions of literature, art, and philosophy from the perspective of Zen Buddhist meditative thought, culture, and practice. Highly experimental in nature, and without precedent at IUK, the course crosses disciplines as well as cultures, combining insight into a major Eastern religio-philosophical discipline with Western conceptual strategies in order to examine the link between spirituality and aesthetics as a meditative practice.

LBST-D 502 Globalization and Social Inequality
This is a graduate seminar for required social science units for the Masters in Liberal Studies. It will introduce students to the current theoretical and substantive debates on globalization and its impact on the social construction of global social inequalities and forms of resistance it engenders. Through review of scholarly literature on this area, students are expected to gain an interdisciplinary understanding of neo-liberal globalization, its processes and structural embodiments, and how it shapes class, gender, and racial inequalities in a global context/perspective. As well, it will examine how these forms of inequalities are contested towards global social justice.

LBST-D 503 Dinosaurs: An Introduction to Integrative Science
An introduction to the taxonomy, ecology, and physiology of dinosaurs and their contemporaries; the history of dinosaur research and scientific, mathematical, and theoretical techniques to understand them; the impact of dinosaurs on modern science and culture.

FOLK-F 512 The Legend (Survey of Folklore)
The course will focus primarily on urban belief legends, probing for collective motives, and discussing these legends against the background of contemporary society. Each student is to research and present a topic in the form of a substantial paper. The research should be a combination of field-collected texts and readings in folklore publications and other sources that provide insights into the chosen topic.

LBST-H 511 American Diplomatic History
This course covers U.S. foreign relations from the Spanish-American war to the Gulf war. The course incorporates some of the most significant developments in American foreign affairs during the 20th century. Methodological and historiography questions will be raised as an integral part of the course.

SOAS-L 553 Studies in Literature
Study and practice in using critical methodologies; consideration of the history and motivational conditions of the study of English. The course will include a unit on Zen Buddhism and Literary practice.

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