CEL Courses Offered in the Fall of 2020

Senior Seminar: Studio Art

This is a course for senior visual arts students who wish to have a senior project exhibition. The seminar will discuss critical issues relating to the making, presentation, and interpretation of contemporary art. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Professor Casey Ruble, Course No. 4600

Conflict Analysis/Resolution

This course focuses on post-Cold War international conflict analysis as an instrument of peacemaking. We will analyze inter-state, internal, state-formation, and protracted social conflict and focus on the development of conflict analysis and resolution as an interdisciplinary component of international studies. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Professor Sarah Lockhart, Course No. 3516

Community Partner(s):

• NYC Housing (Housing Development and Preservation)

Project(s): This course will examine how political institutions and social structures shape the ways in which society organizes. In conjunction with NYC Housing will undertake a collaborative research project on the goals outlined in the Where We Live NYC Draft Plan, identifying potential challenges, and make recommendations. 

T&C: Tasting the City

An introduction to the literary analysis of texts and the cultural and historical contexts within which they are produced and read. Significant class time will be devoted to critical writing and to speaking about literature. Each section of Texts and Contexts will have a focus developed by the individual instructor and expressed in its subtitle. This course fulfills the Core requirements for the second Eloquentia Perfecta seminar.

Professor Anne Hoffman, Course No. 2000

Community Partner(s):

• Westside Campaign Against Hunger(WSCAH)

• Part of the Solution(POTS)

• Food Bank NYC

• Children of Promise NYC

Project(s): Students will respond to the neighborhoods around FCLC by taking photographs, shooting digital video, painting and drawing, using posters and text, recording sound, making architectural sketches or engaging in site-specific performances. Primary focusing on central community issues: food security, Covid-19 response, gentrification/housing.

Art Making in Hell’s Kitchen

Students will respond to the neighborhoods around FCLC by taking photographs, shooting digital video, painting and drawing, using posters and text, recording sound, making architectural sketches, or engaging in site-specific performances. The course will start with visits from neighborhood activists and observational walking tours to identify tensions and problems in the locales. Then students will make individual and group projects in their chosen mediums culminating in an exhibition of the work in the Lipani Gallery. No prior experience or equipment needed. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Professor Mark Street, Course No. 3333

Community Partner(s):

• Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center

• Lincoln Square Business Improvement District

• Goddard Riverside Community Center

• Rauschenbush Metro Ministries

Project(s): This course offers opportunities for various service projects throughout the community, including, but not limited to: Creating disclaimer posters for businesses in the community about Covid regulations (general or business specific); Assisting/Volunteer at food banks; Creating media for the Lincoln Square Neighborhood District Center; Creating media for the Goddard Riverside Community Center.

Marketing Principles 

Marketing's role within an organization is to develop products or services that have value to potential customers, to estimate that value and price accordingly to distribute the goods efficiently and to communicate their value and availability effectively. This course introduces students to techniques and theories that help the marketer to accomplish these tasks, whether for a mom- and-pop store or a global or multinational manufacturer.

Professor Marcia Flicker, Course No. 3223 & 3225

Community Partner(s):

• Fordham IALC

Project(s):  Students will be helping the Institute of American Language and Culture to understand the additional services this population might benefit from (and what other Community Based Organizations and Foundations are funding/providing). The project can best be captured by the question, ""How will someone with limited tech and limited English proficiency know what X services are available and where they can be found?"" The end result of each groups' efforts will be strategies to help service providers (of health care, immigration, and education services) to reach their intended clients more effectively."

Consumer Behavior

Analyzes the latest social science research and theories to better understand consumer behavior. Special attention is directed to applications in managerial decision-making. Topics including motivation, learning, memory, perception, attitude formation and change and decision-making are covered to explain and predict how consumers behave in the marketplace.

Professor Dawn Lerman, Course No. 7720

Community Partner(s):

• Bronx Arts Ensemble

Partner(s): Students in small groups research Bronx neighborhoods to inform Bronx Arts Ensemble's current and future offerings, especially responding to Bronx Arts Ensemble's social justice agenda and goals to be as culturally responsive and inclusive as possible.

Community Mental Health

This course considers issues that arise when implementing mental health interventions within diverse communities, especially those communities traditionally underserved by our health care system. Topics covered include factors that maintain inequality in mental health treatment, culturally-sensitive practices in conducting clinical psychological research, and ethical approaches to translating evidence-based psychological principles into practice. Includes a fieldwork component that is integrated with class discussion and seeks to address mental health needs within the Bronx. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Professor Elizabeth Raposa, Course No. 4850

Community Partner(s):

• MS180 - Dr. Daniel Hale Williams Middle School

• Fordham Community Mental Health Clinic

Project(s): Students will be given the opportunity to work with either MS 180 or the Community Mental Health Clinic. Students who chose to work with the Community Mental Health Clinic's, will assist the development website. While students who chose to participate with MS 180, will complete a number of tasks/activities (as needed) in conjunction with MS 180 students. 

Strategic Communication

Scholars and practitioners alike have devoted decades to the study of how organizations communicate to achieve their goals. They have analyzed advertising and public relations since the inception of these professions; they have also sought to investigate the protests of activists and the tactics of NGOs. This class will follow this intellectual tradition, weaving together insights from sociology, psychology, business, media studies, and a number of other disciplines to explore strategic communication in the contemporary world. To help direct this course, in keeping with the mission of the Public Media MA program, the focus will be on how strategic communication can be used to advance social justice and the public interest. This entails not simply studying the campaigns of organizations doing good but also confronting tough questions about how these well-intentioned groups can communicate in ways that are ethical, effective, and equitable.

Professor Timothy Wood, Course No. 5003

Community Partner(s):

• Catholic Charities Vardaman

• St Christopher's Church Pontotoc

• Camp Friendship

Project(s): Students will partner with a cluster of charitable organizations and NGOs in Vardaman, Mississippi, to design and implement strategic communication plans.

Infant & Child Development

A study within the framework of research and theory of emotional, intellectual and social growth of the child, with emphasis on norms in development and child-rearing practices. (Every Fall) Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Professor Joshua Brown, Course No. 2700

Community Partner(s):

• Concourse House

• City Tutors

• Jumpstart

Project(s): Undergraduate students will work as and reflect through discussions and written exercises on their work as classroom assistants and tutors with children ages 3-12 in collaboration with Concourse House, City Tutors and/or Jumpstart.

Spanish Community Engaged Learning

This advanced Spanish course develops students’ abilities in reading, writing, speaking, and oral comprehension. The goals of the course are for students to understand and communicate in standard Spanish in everyday contexts; to comprehend a variety of written, visual, and sounds texts, including literary works, newspaper articles, and films; and to comment on these texts orally and in writing in a coherent and grammatically correct manner. Grammar review will be an integral part of the reading, viewing, and writing activities for the course. The community-engaged learning component of this course treats the topic of Hispanic migration as a contemporary—not just historical—occurrence. Students will work in the community for an average of four hours every week using their Spanish and improving their language skills in a highly contextualized environment unmatched by the classroom experience. At the same time, they will gain first-hand knowledge about the immigrant experience while seeing real-world applications for their language skills.

Community Partner(s):

• Christians for Peace in El Salvador

• Other partners identified by instructor

Project(s): Students perform direct service at a set of partners in New York City. Representatives from CRISPAZ lead students through an integrated project around immigration and immigration reform.

Professor Casey Kasten, Course No. 2201

Community Service/Social Action

This course will deepen students understanding of the meaning of community service and social action in America and challenge them to confront the moral issues and social commitments necessary to be members of a just democratic society. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Professor Martin Carney, Course No. 4970

Community Partner(s):

• Part of the Solution (POTS)

Project(s): Students will volunteer their time at POTS (Part of the Solution). POTS is a community based non-profit organization which helps feed those most vulnerable in our Bronx community.

Urban Poverty

This course deals with contemporary issues and problems in cities, with a special focus on residential segregation and urban poverty. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Course No. 3601

Community Partner(s):

• Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA)

• Sistas and Brothas United - Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition

• Workers Write/Labor Arts

Project(s): Students perform direct service at a set of partner locations in the Bronx.

Internship Seminar: Community Organizations

This seminar explores the context, forms, and goals of community organization in the United States with a focus on urban, social, and environmental issues. Class meetings with proceed in tandem with students’ internship placements in local community-based organizations or other agencies. Students may choose their own internships, and assistance will be provided to help those in search of placement. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Professor Christopher Rhomberg, Course No. 4902

Community Partner(s):

• In this course, with our assistance, students are tasked with finding their own placements

Project(s): Students serve as interns at nonprofits in the Bronx and NYC. Placements include Highbridge Voices and UNHP.

Communication Ethics and Public Sphere (EP4/Values)

(Formerly COMM 4004): This course deals with the policy decisions and ethical issues facing society in the telecommunications age. Of special concern are the ethical issues raised by the melding together of heretofore discrete media into vertically integrated, profit oriented, corporations. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Professor Diana Kamin, Course No. 4360

Community Partner(s):

• Correctional Association of New York(CANY)

Project(s): Students will support CANY to employ data sets to construct cohesive and compelling narratives to support advocacy and lobbying efforts in criminal justice reform.

Diversity in Amerian Families

This course focuses on the forms and structures of the family with emphasis on practices and ideologies, and how they vary by race/ethnicity, immigration status, gender, and sexuality. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Professor Matthew Weinshenker, Course No. 3506

Community Partner(s):

• Flores Forbes

Project(s): Flores leads students in a reading and discussion group. Students will read Flores's book, "Invisible Men," which documents his experiences of incarceration and reentry.

Faith and Critical Reason

An introductory theology course designed to acquaint students with the analytical study of religion and religious experience, and to give them some critical categories of evaluating the history of theological discourse. The academic study of some of the forms, concepts, experience, and theological formulations found in Christianity and various other traditions will be introduced.

Professor Karina Hogan, Course No. 1000

New Media & Digital Design

This course focuses on how human-centered design and participatory design methods can be used as approaches to empowerment. Students will gain a hands-on experience with conducting user research, synthesizing findings into insights, ideating, sketching, rapid prototyping, and validating concepts with users. Course reading, discussions, and activities will be organized into a user-experience project to help students get out and interact with real users, needs, and challenges.

Professor Ralph Vacca, Course No. 3450

Community Partner(s):

• Options provided by instructor

Project(s): Ralph's students take up a non-profit or organization as a client and propose design-centric solutions to co-identified challenges.

Community Partner(s) for Manresa courses:

• Community Board 6

• Multiple local schools

Project(s):

• Tutoring

Lost Interlocutor: Philosophy of Human Nature

This course examines the philosophical views of pre-Socratic thinkers, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Descartes, and Ignatius of Loyola and their connections to contemporary science, religion, and Jesuit education. We analyze primary texts, critique theories, compose philosophical arguments, and critically challenge the thinking of multiple perspectives. These skills comprise the greater philosophical tradition that stems from the ancients to us today. Salient themes of our lives—knowledge, understanding, truth, falsity, doubt, goodness, mortality, reality, evidence, belief, love—stir fundamental questions that need systematic investigation in order to make sense of our human nature and give greater purpose to life. Since this Manresa course satisfies the FCRH first year Eloquentia Perfecta I requirement, it stresses critical spoken dialogue and writing-intensive assignments. It also consists of interactive (and fun) out-of-class learning experiences, and the professor even feeds you at most of these. This course satisfies the Philosophy of Human Nature Core requirement for both FCRH and Gabelli students.

Professor Robert Parmach, Course No. 1003

Sinners, Saints, and Stories

This course will explore both the ways that biblical narratives have informed the traditional self-understanding of the western world and the ways in which that self-understanding has been complicated in the modern era. Of particular interest for this course is 1) the different biblical presentations of what it means to be a “sinner” or a “saint,” 2) the further reflection on these narratives and topics found in post-biblical literature, and 3) the competing narratives that may be found in the modern world.

Professor Harry Nasuti, Course No. 1000

Spanish Colonialism Through Film

This course examines the diverse (personal, social, and national) narrations of one essential time period in the history of the Americas: the age of Spanish colonization of the New World. In particular, the course considers the recounting of this era through literary and visual means, through mainstream (the conquerors) and alternative (the conquered) perspectives, and through modern and traditional media.

Professor Sarah Lehman, Course No. 1010

The Ground Floor: Starting and Succeeding at GSB

This course introduces first-year students to business, to student-focused resources at Fordham, and to personal skills that contribute to success at GSB and beyond. Teamwork and critical thinking are emphasized to encourage students to develop an integrated perspective of business functions. Open by permission of the class dean.

Professor Michael McSherry, Course No. 1001

The Mind-Body Connection: Introduction to Behavioral Health

The overall goal of the course is to provide a comprehensive perspective on how psychology can augment the understanding and treatment of significant public health problems. In addition, this course will prepare students for future coursework or participation in behavioral health research.

Professor Rachel Annunziato, Course No. 1004

Drug Discovery: From the Laboratory to the Clinic

A rigorous course for non-science majors on the scientific, public policy, and ethical considerations of drug development and commercialization. Topics include an introduction to basic concepts of chemical structure and bonding as applicable to medicinal chemistry, computational structure-based drug design methods, drug testing and approval process, economics of drug commercialization, and public policy issues.

Professor Joshua Schrier, Course No. 1102

COURSE MODULES

The Ethics of Life

Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions have yielded complex religious responses to ethical, human dilemmas involving life/death issues. This course examines some of those responses in relation to sexuality, love and family, punishment, health and disease, death, and the environment through the lenses of Jewish, Christian and Muslim authors, texts, and traditions. Students will investigate how such responses are crafted in a liberal, pluralistic society, and assess their own reactions to religious difference and challenges to their own fundamental values. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Professor Kathryn Kueny, Course No. 4027

Community Partner(s):

• Guest speakers from faith communities

Project(s): Guest speakers from various faith communities (Islam; Christianity; Judaism) lead students through a comparative project.