Arizona International College: Interdisciplinary, Courses Summer 2000

Summer 2000 Course Descriptions
Key to Course Descriptions

Courses listed below are approved UA courses as of Summer 2000. Not all approved courses will be offered during this term. For course offerings/availability during a specific term, see the Schedule of Classes. Each course number below links to the Schedule of Classes.

Arizona International College: Interdisciplinary (AIID) College Info

AIID 101 On Becoming a Fully Educated Person (2) I II Introduction to discourse on what it means to be college educated and the unique system by which AIC facilitates that discourse. Students will investigate not only the American education system but will also develop a more global approach to alternative systems and how a global ethos should be part of any educated person's thinking. P, consent of instructor for non-AIC students.

AIID 102 Introduction to a Global Perspective (3) I This course introduces students to a global perspective and to what it means to be a global thinker. It emphasizes three components of the perspective: historical origins, contemporary ramifications and manifestations, and the affective ways people communicate with one another. Involves media, guest speakers, and field trips. Field Trips. P, consent of instructor for non-AIC students.

AIID 103 Human Consciousness and the Formation of World Views (6) II This core course examines the nature of consciousness, its historical and cultural meanings, and attendant world views. A comparative study of early cosmology and mythology is followed by an examination of modern epistemological shifts that have lead to contemporary world views. P, consent of instructor for non-AIC students.

AIID 104 Statistical Techniques for Problems of the Modern World (3) I II The students will learn techniques of descriptive statistics and statistical inference including: organization and summarization of data; measures of central tendency and dispersion; probability; discrete and continuous random variables; point and interval estimation; hypothesis testing, regression, correlation, and chi-square. P, college algebra or equivalent. Consent of instructor for non-AIC students.

AIID 175 First-Year Symposium (3) I This symposium is a structured group discussion that meets weekly and is guided by four faculty members. It provides a forum to integrate the participants' studies; to maintain an interdisciplinary focus on global topics, such as freedom, sustainability, human rights, and creativity; to deepen the students' participation in the intellectual community; and to ensure that students will have opportunity for early acquaintance and thoughtful exchange with a wider range of AIC faculty. P, open to AIC students only.

AIID 201 Science, Technology and Society (3) I II This course examines the origins of science and the scientific method, its impact on the development of technology and its ramifications for society. Basic scientific concepts are presented as a foundation for technology including philosophy of science, scientific method, mechanics and energy, ideal gas law, nutrient recycling, evolution, and complexity theory. Field Trips. P, consent of instructor for non-AIC students.

AIID 202 Politics, Popular Culture and Society (3) I II Concentration of four key aspects of any society's evolution: the state apparatus, the citizen's relationship to the state, the economy of the state, and the state's popular and political culture. Investigation will be made of at least three case studies, comparing different societies at similar stages of development. Students will study the nature and definitions of the state apparatus and analyze and compare various governmental structures. Field Trips. P, consent of instructor for non-AIC students.

AIID 203 Arts, Culture, and Society (3) I II Focuses on the relationship between a society, its culture and its arts. At least two societies will be studied with emphasis placed on comparable time periods. Exploration will be made of three general areas: "high" and general cultures, arts and cultural institutions, and critical theory. Emphasis will be placed on how societies define culture and, through that definition, how they position their artists. Comparative aesthetics will be studied in-depth. Field Trips. P, consent of instructor for non-AIC students.

AIID 205 Global Issues in Ecology and Environment (3) I II This course is designed to familiarize students with general definitions, topics, and issues affecting the global ecology and environment. It deals with the origins of these issues, their contemporary manifestations, and how these issues are played out in different ways, including non-cognitive experiences. P, consent of instructor for non-AIC students.

AIID 206 Media, Arts and Society (3) I II The course will explore how popular and fine arts are affected by the mass media culture and act as agents of social identity and change in small- and large-scale societies. Concerns will be the study of how major forms of media evolved and the specific roles that fine and popular arts play in contemporary society. P, consent of instructor for non-AIC students.

AIID 207 Global Political Economy (3) I This course explores the interplay of national economies, political systems and development strategies at the global level. This course is part of the second-year core. Students and faculty will work together to investigate selected contemporary political/economic issues. Success in the course will rely heavily on students' critical, creative, systematic, and collaborative thinking and their use of communication, information, and technological skills. P, writing skills at sophomore level; consent of instructor for non-AIC students.

AIID 230 Transition to AIC (2) I Introduction to the AIC educational philosophy and approach for transfer students.

AIID 296A Projects Proseminar I: Connections (2) I This seminar is an investigation that deepens students' knowledge of the topics addressed in the sophomore-level learning community and their powers of interdisciplinary thinking. It involves participation in 2nd year AIC learning community. P, participation in 1st-semester AIC learning community.

AIID 296B Projects Proseminar II: Connections (2) II "Connections" summarizes major points in the bodies of knowledge acquired while participating in the undergraduate core, illustrates the integration of the program, and provides opportunities for students to apply the knowledge and skills gained from the core experience. It involves participation in 2nd year AIC learning community. P, sophomore-level writing skills and basic technology skills. Participation in AIC 2nd-year learning community.

AIID 350 Conceptual Design (3) I This course provides in-depth considerations of design as a philosophy of materials and information, structure, and form. History, case studies, and theories of design as evident within different fields, both locally and globally, will be explored, with special attention to how form and meaning develop from design processes. P, enrollment at AIC and 3rd-year standing, or consent of instructor.

AIID 351 Technology and Information Culture (3) I This course will examine the design, policy, and implementation strategies for information systems, particularly in the context of the development of digital communication technologies. There will be a focus on regional and global effects of information technologies on cultural, economic, social, and political issues. P, consent of instructor for non-AIC students.

AIID 352 Frontiers (3) I II Even before Star Trek we all knew that frontiers were arbitrary and unstable borders. This course examines the concept of frontiers from an interdisciplinary point of view. What are the frontiers of science today? What are those of art, literature, history? During the semester students question the process by which bodies of knowledge and cultural manifestations are legitimized. They will also examine the criteria that serve as the basis for including and excluding ideas, and define the intellectual and social stakes in making such determinations. P, consent of instructor for non-AIC students.

AIID 353 Policy Analysis (3) II This class considers the various tools for making policy. Using historical case studies as a backdrop, students will consider current issues in policy design, implementation, and evaluation protocols. The course will make use of tools from many disciplines to examine and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of policies. P, consent of the instructor for non-AIC students.

AIID 396A Proseminar in Research Methods (3) I II Students will build on basic statistical and methodological skills learned in their required first year core courses. They will examine appropriate tools and methods necessary for approaching and solving social, economic, and environmental problems both locally and globally. This course will cover the various approaches used in at least two different academic disciplines. P, familiarity with basic statistical methods. Consent of instructor for non-AIC students.

Page last updated: May 20, 2013