*Choose from these courses if planning to complete a minor.

ART 300: Art Fundamentals (3 units)

• This course is designed to introduce studio art, art history, art criticism and aesthetics to the future elementary school teacher. This class will provide a foundation for life-long learning within the art discipline. Competencies pertaining to art instruction will be developed through various art experiences based upon art education theory and practice.

BIOL 101L: Principles of Biology (4 units)

• An examination of the cell, inheritance, ecology, human biology, the diversity of life and evolutionary theory. Emphasis is given to understanding central concepts and to the process of science. Attention is also given to the relationships between biology and Christian faith and practice. It provides foundational understandings for general education and liberal studies.

COM 155: Journalism Practicum (1 unit)

• Practical experience for students interested in writing for the student newspaper or other campus publications.

COM 320: Creative Writing: Nonfiction (3 units)

• This course has an emphasis on the expository mode of writing. Open to writers who have demonstrated a proficiency in the basic writing skills. 

COM 330: Writng and Reading Journalism (3 units)

• The course will include the reading of literary journalists and contemporary nonfiction writers in conjunction with journalistic writing. Course content investigates the reporting, writing, responsibilities and ethics of writing for the print media.

COM 346: Scriptwriting (3 units)

• This course establishes the script formats for several visual media and demands regular writing practice in these formats: TV commercials, PSA, corporate, training, TV drama/sitcom and interactive media. Students practice these forms by pitching ideas in class, writing for every class and turning in weekly or more frequent written assignments.

COM 355: Media Aesthetics (3 units)

• This course is designed to enhance audio/visual literacy and communication by promoting a deeper understanding of the primary structural elements of multimedia production. Students will learn how to perceive and manage these elements to clarify, intensify and interpret their mediated communication.

COM 360: Digital Video Production (3 units)

• A study of the key theoretical, organizational, technical and management elements in the craft of producing and directing a short video story. Through instruction and application students will gain a fundamental understanding of what is required to organize and successfully execute the production of a short digital video.

COM 368: Ancient and Medieval Rhetoric (3 units)

• A study of communication theory in the ancient and medieval world in such authors as Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine and others.

COM 370: Audio Production (3 units)

• This course is designed to provide the student with a good theoretical, technical and practical foundation for audio recording. Students will have ample opportunity to develop basic skills in digital sound and recording and post production techniques.

COM 380: Film Studies (3 units)

• Movies are a pervasive presence in American culture. This course seeks to understand the nature of film in its creative, aesthetic, social, personal and ethical dimensions. The student will be introduced to the history, technique and language of film. Through the viewing of films, the student will learn to analyze, understand and evaluate the film experience.

COM 385: Cinematography: Visual Story Telling (3 units)

• This course is designed to develop students' visualization abilities, their capacity to translate the complexities of life from script to screen in an effective and meaningful manner. Students will learn how to articulate their visualization goals in well developed storyboards and then explore methods of achieving these goals through operation and manipulation of the video camera and supporting tools.

COM 390: Creating on the Web (3 units)

• This course critically examines the nature of communication on the World Wide Web. Students explore web sites and forms of discourse found in new technologies for creative, theoretical and interpretative purposes.

COM 400: Intercultural Communication (3 units)

• A study of the principles involved in communication between people of different cultures. Emphasis is placed on the practical aspect of intercultural communication through cross-cultural contacts. 

COM 410: Media and Society (3 units)

• A study of mass media (television, radio, newspaper, etc.) as a social/communication force in American culture. Attention is given to media use by the church, as well as to such significant social/psychological problems as violence and sex in the media. 

COM 420: Conflict Management and Resolution (3 units)

• A study of the nature of human conflict and approaches to its management, resolution and transformation. This course focuses on the generic characteristics evident in most human conflict and surveys a variety of interdisciplinary approaches for understanding and responding constructively to conflict in interpersonal, intergroup and international settings.

COM 430: Group Dynamics and Leadership (3 units)

• A study of the nature of group tasks, interpersonal relations in group settings and group leadership. Provides a background of knowledge and experience helpful to the understanding of church groups, business and professional groups, educational groups, and small groups in society generally. 

COM 440: Performance and Culture (3 units)

• This course explores the role of performance in the making of culture. Students look at individual and group performance, everyday and staged performances intended for an audience and performances characterized by performer-participants. Types of performances include: religious services and celebrations; transitional ceremonies such as birthdays, baptisms, weddings, graduations; storytelling as oral performance; modes of play such as sports events and games; gender and identity performances; and artistic performances. The Mennonite Central Committee Relief Sale in March/April provides students the opportunity to practice performance ethnography as do in-class experiences.

COM 455: Philosophy of Language (3 units)

• A study of significant 20th century schools of thought concerning language. Disciplines encountered include philosophy, cognitive science, literary theory, sociolinguistics and etymological studies. Readings include Carroll, Lycan, Pinker, Wittgenstein, Barthes and Borges.

COM 483: Mediation Practicum (1 unit)

• An opportunity for intensive training in mediation leading to a supervised experience in mediating actual conflicts. The practical component may be completed with the Victim- Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) or other appropriate mediation programs, or the student may arrange to mediate an informal dispute situation approved by the instructor.

DRA 355: Creative Drama (3 units)

• This course equips people to lead others in process-oriented creative drama activities, including theater games, group improvisation, storytelling and related performance forms.

DRA 360: Directing and Staging Texts (3 units)

• A study of directing: basic organization, script analysis, directing theory and working with other theater artists. Focuses on directing for the stage, both dramatic and non-dramatic texts. May include a component on directing for film. Useful for students interested in teaching drama; film production; or participating in educational, community or professional theater. Practical in-class directing experience involved.

ENV 150: Introduction to Environmental Studies (4 units)

• An interdisciplinary study of the relationships between people and their environment. The use of natural resources, environmental degradation and human population are examined from ecological, social and religious perspectives.

HIST 150: American Civilization (4 units)

• A study of the development of American culture and society from the colonial period to the present. Major themes and events are examined within the context of America's geography, religious and immigrant heritage and sociopolitical development. (This course meets the U.S. Constitution requirement for teaching credential candidates.)

HIST 440: California History and Politics (4 units)

• California is often viewed as the "trendsetter" for the rest of the nation. This course seeks to explain why by acquainting students with the social, cultural, economic and political development of California from early settlement to the present. At the same time, it familiarizes them with the state's current political system and the politics that surround it. (Meets the California history and government requirement for teaching credential candidates.) 

KIN 460: Elementary Physical Education Methods (3 units)

LA 380: Learning Communities (1 unit)

• A seminar course with two hours per week of field experience that will focus on learning communities of elementary educational systems. The course will involve analysis and evaluation of classroom observations in relation to academic studies of the multiple subject programs.

LANG 310: First and Second Language Acquisition (3 units)

• An introduction to the ways human beings acquire a first and second language and the conditions that support acquisition.

LANG 340: Introduction to Linguistics (3 units)

• Language is studied as a system of systems including phonology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. Students also discuss language universals and current usage standards. 

LIT 180: Introduction to Literature (3 units)

• A study of outstanding examples of the short story, novel, poetry and drama genres. Designed to introduce the student to the world of literature, to create an appreciation for it and to provide analytical tools for further study.

LIT 395: Text and Performance (3 units)

• A study of performance as a critical tool for understanding human communication. The course will examine the components of performance including text, performer, audience and context.

LIT 449: Literature and Film (3 units)

• This course will focus on literary texts and their film adaptations. The course will examine the formal differences between literature and film; techniques of adaptation; and the role of historical, cultural and political issues in the adaptation process.

LIT 465: Literature for Children and Young Adults (3 units)

• This course is a survey course in the literature for children from preschool through junior high school. The course is particularly designed to assist teachers and teacher candidates in the selection and use of literature in the classroom.

MATH 132: Arithmetic and Data Analysis (3 units)

• This course is one of the two courses required for liberal studies majors intending to be elementary school teachers. The purpose of the course is to strengthen the students' conceptual understanding of the mathematics taught in the K-7 settings. Topics will include: numeration systems, a variety of algorithmic structures in arithmetic, simple set theory, probability, descriptive statistics, graphical interpretations of data, construction of appropriate graphical structures.

MATH 134: Algebraic Thinking and Geometry (3 units)

• This course is one of the two courses required for liberal studies majors intending to be elementary school teachers. The purpose of the course is to strengthen the students' conceptual understanding of mathematics taught in the K-7 settings. Topics will include: the interplay of algebra and arithmetic, generalization of algorithms from arithmetic to algebra, functions and equations, the hierarchical ordering of operations, basic analytic geometry, elementary geometric ideas of area, perimeter, classification and spatial relationships.

MGT 352: Organizational Communication (3 units)

• A study of organizational communication from three perspectives: (1) written forms of organizational communication; (2) personal forms of communication, such as oral, interpersonal and employment; and (3) technological communication. Students are exposed to both the theoretical and applied issues as they relate to these forms of communication. 

MUS 305: Music in the Classroom (3 units)PE 120: Dance Movement (1 unit)

• Music skills and effective means of teaching them are the subject of this class. A variety of approaches to teaching music, including the Kodaly method, will be explored. Students will learn the basics of reading and performing music. This course fulfills the requirement of the liberal studies major.

PE 120: Dance Movement (1 unit)

PHYS 105L: Physical Science (4 units)

• An integrative study of the physical sciences, including the history and methods of science, the relationship of scientific truth and biblical truth and the relationship of modern technology to science and its consequences for society.

PHYS 150: Earth Science (3 units)

• This course presents the concepts of the major geological processes affecting the physical earth and helps students appreciate the earth and understand environmental concerns. Exercises in mineral identification are also included.

PSY 120: Introduction to Psychology (3 units)

• The objectives of this course are to present the student with an overview of the facts and issues of the discipline, to examine the relationship of psychology to religion and to explore the implications of the subject matter for how we live. Such topics as perception, learning, biofeedback, stress, normality, therapy and community are discussed.

PSY 350: Child Development (3 units)

• A study of the development of the child from conception to adolescence. Topics of development, such as physical, intellectual, social, emotional and moral are studied.

SOC 310: Cultural Communities of California (3 units)

• An examination of the folklore and historical background of the major "parallel" cultural (minority) groups in California, including but not limited to Native American, African American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander and other Asian American populations. Though special attention is given to cultural groups students come into contact with, national and global, social and cultural issues are explored to enhance their understanding of the similarities and differences among the diverse groups in society. SOC 482 must be taken simultaneously if this is being used to meet a focus series requirement.

SOC 410: American Ethnicity and Pluralism (3 units)

• A study of the history of immigration, racism, discrimination and assimilation in American society. The experiences of various ethnic groups in America from the nation's founding to the present are examined and the rise of pluralism as the current model for structuring ethnic diversity in American institutional life is explored. SOC 482 must be taken simultaneously if this course is being used to meet a Focus Series requirement.

THEO 465: Theological Ethics of Conflict and Peacemaking (3 units)

• A study of the Biblical teaching on conflict, peace and justice, including questions raised on historical and theological levels. Crucial aspects of the study will include the Old Testament teachings on covenant and peace, justice, war, Jesus as exemplar of peacemaking and the church's responsibility in conflict and peacemaking.