TELECOURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Concordia University Wisconsin
Office of E-Learning
Revised June 20, 2008
AL424 -- Abnormal Psychology -- examines the complex factors that cause behavioral disorders by looking at biological, psychological, and environmental influences and demonstrates psychological, biological, and social approaches to the treatment of abnormal behaviors. (Meets Humanistic/Social Science requirement for Adult Education students.)
Videos: 13 one-hour sessions
Credits: 3
AL206 -- American Cinema -- an introduction to basic issues related to the phenomenon of American cinema. It looks at American film history from the 1890's through the 1990's, but it does not explore this history in a purely chronological way. It is a cultural history, which focuses on topics and issues more than on what happened when. It also explores how Hollywood films work technically, aesthetically, and culturally to reinforce and challenge America's national self-image.
(Meets Aesthetic/Creative Arts requirement for Adult Education students.)
Videos: 13 one-hour sessions
Credits: 3
AL377 -- Americas -- Explores the twentieth century history of Central and South America and the Caribbean in a multidisciplinary fashion. Through the use of videos and primary sources the student will gain a greater sense of the Latin American neighbors of the United States. (Meets Humanistic/Culture and Language requirement for Adult Education students.)
Videos: 10 one-hour sessions
Credits: 3
AL 208 -- Art of the Western World -- is an introductory level course on the history of the Western visual tradition from the Classical period to the present time. Through television lectures and visualization and through personal readings, students will learn to understand the principles behind the following periods/movement. (Meets Aesthetic/Creative Arts requirement for Adult Education students.)
Videos: 9 half-hour sessions
Credits:3
AL284 -- The Civil War -- explores the time period 1861-1865, when the United States was rent apart by the bloodiest and most decisive war in American history. Using the recently shown and widely acclaimed series "The Civil War", the course will examine the conflict which helped to politically, socially and economically define the United States. The course will investigate both the military and the civilian angles of this conflict. A rather intensive study of a short time span, this course will allow the student to focus on an important aspect of history, the stories of individuals. (Meets Humanistic/Citizenship requirement for Adult Education students.)
Videos: 9 one-hour sessions
Texts: Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
Credits: 3
AL286 -- Faces of Culture -- is an introduction to cultural anthropology. The telecourse features dramatic and unique film footage from around the world, embracing cultures from all continents, highlighting major lifestyles, and illustrating human adaptation to environment from the beginnings of the human species to the present. An expanded study guide and the most recent edition of a widely accepted cultural anthropology text complement the prize-winning television programs. (Meets Humanistic/Culture and Language requirement for Adult Education students.)
Videos: 26 half-hour sessions
Credits: 3
AL136 -- Literary Visions -- brings literature to life with dramatizations of individual works and readings of literary passages. This introduction to literature incorporates both contemporary and traditional works in its selection of literary texts. It also places a strong emphasis on writing about literature as a way for students to learn and use advanced compositional techniques. Organized around three major genres of literature -- short fiction, poetry, and drama -- the television programs examine literary elements such as character, plot, and symbolism. Hostess, Shakespearean actress Fran Dorn, identifies these elements within dramatizations of the representative literary works. Commentary from noted critics contributes the multiple perspectives that would be found in the class discussion. Contemporary authors James Dickey, August Wilson, Maxine Hong Kingston and Tillie Olson, among others, discuss their inspiration and the craft of creative writing. (Meets Aesthetic/Literature requirement for Adult Education students.) ** NOTE ** All exams for the course Literary Visions are monitored.
Videos: 26 half-hour sessions
Credits: 3
AL268 -- People's Century I -- presents a worldwide study of the tumultuous events, the individuals, the societies, the movements, and the changes that defined the Twentieth Century. Through the use of the course textbook, the dynamic video series People?s Century, period movies, and outside readings, the student will analyze the social, technical, political, and military history of the period 1900 through 1964. (Meets Humanistic requirement for Adult Education students.)
Videos: 13 one-hour sessions
Credits: 3
AL154 -- Race to Save the Planet -- provides a dynamic report of the current outlook for the global environment, describing the threats that different natural systems face and dissecting the complex web of interconnections that bind human society to the environment. The course will help develop a set of intellectual tools, an understanding of the sciences involved, and ways of thinking about man and the environment that will enable students to evaluate for themselves how serious a given environmental problem might be. Lab assignments and all materials needed are included in a kit. Lab kit must be returned in order to avoid a $25 charge to your account. (Meets Empiric/Lab Science requirement for Adult Education students.)
Videos: 10 one-hour sessions
Credits: 3
AL209 -- Varieties of Belief -- prepares students to understand how the teachings and practices of world religions, various Christian communities, and contemporary ideologies influence people's evaluations of themselves, direction for their societies, and hope for the future. (Meets Synoptic/Advanced Religious Studies requirement for Adult Education students.)
Videos: 5 one-hour sessions
Credits: 3
AL235 -- Voices In Democracy -- introduces the student to the study of American government, its structure, processes and actors. Students will examine the operations of the federal government as well as the roles of state and local governments. Also, the course will examine the role of the media and of public interest groups in American politics, as well as the nature of the electoral process. (Meets Humanistic/Citizenship requirement for Adult Education students.)
Videos: 26 half-hour sessions
Credits: 3
AL330 -- The World of Chemistry -- explores the foundations of chemical structure and behavior in the physical world. Laboratory methods of the scientist can be performed by students in their homes. Using empirical techniques of observation, measurement, data recording, and analysis, students learn to conceptualize theories or build a model based on scientific evidence. Twenty-six half-hour cassettes provide the lectures and demonstrations.Four proctored tests are required (Meets Empiric/Lab Science requirement for Adult Education students)
Note: A prerequisite or equivalent of Algebra is required. All exams are monitored.
Videos: 26 half-hour sessions
Credits: 4
AL425: The Pacific Century is an area studies telecourse which provides a comprehensive study of the people and events shaping the last 150 years of Asia-Pacific history. A ten-hour television series is integrated with a written text to describe the development of East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, and the Russian Far East) and Southeast Asia (emphasizing Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam). It is important to understand the cultural tradition and experiences which have formed today's contemporary Asian societies, and the effects of the interchanges between America and Asia. What awaits us in this new Pacific century is best understood by studying the one that has just passed.
Credits: 3
