Pictured | Shelby Alexander | Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences / Pre-Optometry | La Porte, Indiana (hometown)
Honors Program
Club Affiliation | IU South Bend Book Club (founder/president)

Common Core Courses (12 cr.)

Common core courses are designed to give greater coherence to the general-education experience at IU South Bend by demonstrating the productive relationships among disciplines and by emphasizing the value of fundamental literacies from the general-education curriculum. The four common core courses, each of which is offered in several disciplines under specific departmental codes, introduce students to many of the essential intellectual themes of the four broad (and not mutually exclusive) groupings of disciplines.

Students must complete one course from each of the following four areas, as designated in the Schedule of Classes. At least one of the areas must be completed at the 300–level.

Common core 300–level courses may have as prerequisite the completion of one or more of the fundamental literacies requirements, and in some cases other prerequisites may also apply.

Art, Aesthetics, and Creativity

This course explores the human need to experience and comprehend the creative process. It encourages students to experience culture and cultural artifacts as makers, performers, and audiences. Students gain familiarity with the discipline and craft by which artists and performers achieve their characteristic effects, as well as the satisfaction inherent in that process. Versions of this course explore the role of art, music, theatre, and other artistic modes in the formation and expression of a particular culture and encourage respect for diverse cultures and the artifacts they produce.

For these reasons, students are required as part of their General Education to complete a course in Arts, Aesthetics, and Creativity. Such a course should enable students to:

1. Practice making art within artistic disciplines
2. Engage with and critique works of art
3. Demonstrate knowledge of cultural contexts of artistic disciplines (e.g. aesthetics, ethics, movements)
4. Demonstrate knowledge of artistic terminology, techniques, and/or materials
5. Reflect on the creative process and its implications for personal, communal, academic, and/or professional pursuits

Although all sections of Art, Aesthetics, and Creativity bear the same title, the content and specific focus of the course varies. Each section has a specific subtitle that indicates its particular content and focus. Courses at the 100–level bear the designation A 190 (for instance, FINA-A 190 Art, Aesthetics, and Creativity), and the 300–level Art, Aesthetics, and Creativity courses appear in the Schedule of Classes as A 390 offerings in the specific disciplines.

Select A 190 or A 390 from ANTH, CMLT, EDUC, ENG, FINA, INMS, MUS, THTR, or in any other field in which a course in this category may appear, as designated in the Schedule of Classes.

Human Behavior and Social Institutions

This course introduces students to the distinctive perspectives the social sciences employ in building an understanding of our world. The course also focuses on the individual in relation to and as a product of that social world. It requires students to develop an appreciation of the processes of social interaction and emphasizes the analytic frameworks and techniques social scientists use to explain the causes and patterns of individual and institutional behavior.

For these reasons, students are required as part of their General Education to complete a course in Human Behavior and Social Institutions. Such a course should enable students to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of how individuals and institutions influence each other
2. Identify institutional and/or social power imbalances and how these impact individuals and/or institutions
3. Identify various approaches to understanding Human Behavior and Social Institutions

Although all sections of Human Behavior and Social Institutions bear the same title, the content and specific focus of the course varies; each section has a specific subtitle that indicates its particular content and focus. Courses at the 100–level bear the designation B 190 (for instance, SOC-B 190 Human Behavior and Social Institutions), and the 300–level Human Behavior and Social Institutions courses appear in the Schedule of Classes as B 399 offerings in the specific disciplines.

Select B 190 or B 399 from ANTH, BUS, COGS, GEOG, HSC, POLS, PSY, SOC, SPCH, SUST, WGS, or any other field in which a course in this category may appear, as designated in the Schedule of Classes.

Literary and Intellectual Traditions

Literary and Intellectual Traditions courses focus primarily on texts.  These courses make use of primary sources, such as texts, documents, artifacts, etc., either created during the period under study or by someone who participated in the events of the time, to demonstrate how disciplines in the humanities, such as English, Philosophy, History, Women’s and Gender Studies, and World Languages, contribute to the development, growth, and understanding of the human experience.  Students in these courses learn to analyze or evaluate texts, events, or ideas in their cultural, intellectual or historical contexts. Students will develop an interpretation or argument about forms of human agency, understanding, or expression grounded in humanistic analysis.  They will use literary and intellectual methods to analyze diverse narratives or viewpoints in order to explore the complexity of the fundamental issues related to the human experience across space and time. 

For these reasons, students are required as part of their General Education to complete a course in Literary and Intellectual Traditions. Such a course should enable students to:

1. Construct an interpretation or argument based on texts from literary, historical, or philosophical traditions
2. Analyze or evaluate texts in their cultural, intellectual, and/or historical contexts
3. Apply general concepts, terms, and/or methods of analysis to the particular course topic

Although all sections of Literary and Intellectual Traditions bear the same title, the content and specific focus of the course varies; each section has a specific subtitle that indicates its particular content and focus. Courses at the 100–level bear the designation T 190 (for instance, HIST-T 190 Literary and Intellectual Traditions), and the 300–level Literary and Intellectual Traditions courses appear in the Schedule of Classes as T 390 offerings in the specific disciplines.

Select T 190 or T 390 from ENG, CMLT, FINA, FREN, GER, HIST, HPSC, JOUR, MUS, PHIL, PSY, SPAN, TEL, THTR, WGS or in any other field in which a course in this category may appear, as designated in the Schedule of Classes.

The Natural World

Natural World courses are primarily about the methods and logic of science and aim to help students understand the importance of science in the development of knowledge in the world. These courses will serve to provide a context within which to evaluate the important scientific and technological issues we face in modern society, what constitutes a scientific approach to problems and the nature of proof, and the concept of change in the natural world.

For these reasons, students are required as part of their General Education to complete a course in the Natural World Common Core. Such a course should enable students to:

1. Demonstrate scientific literacy through an understanding of concepts, terminology, and fundamental theories, from at least one area of the natural sciences
2. Experience an experiment or observation or data analysis
3. Use information or data from primary literature to evaluate scientific arguments
4. Recognize a scientific approach to problem solving

Although all sections of The Natural World bear the same title, the content and specific focus of the course varies; each section has a specific subtitle that indicates its particular content and focus. Courses at the 100–level bear the designation N 190 (for instance, BIOL-N 190 The Natural World), and the 300–level Natural World courses appear in the Schedule of Classes as N 390 offerings in the specific disciplines.

Select N 190 or N 390 from ANTH, AST, BIOL, CHEM, CSCI, GEOL, HSC, MATH, PHYS, or in any other field in which a course in this category may appear, as designated in the Schedule of Classes. Corrected 10/11/2024

• Select N 190 from ANTH, AST, BIOL, CHEM, GEOL, PHYS, or in any other field in which a course in this category may appear, as designated in the Schedule of Classes
•  Select N 390 from ANTH, AST, BIOL, CHEM, CSCI, GEOL, HSC, MATH, PHYS, or in any other field in which a course in this category may appear, as designated in the Schedule of Classes.