Choose four or five USEMs from those listed that sound interesting to you.
Once you have completed the online tutorial, you will be able to register for one of the USEMs you chose.
21st-Century Technology for 21st-Century People
CRN 2842
What are the best uses of computing technology today? Explore different types of computing and technology:
- Useful gadgets, your personal computer, mobile technology, websites, social networking and your web presence, blogs, adaptive and assistive computing for the disabled, robotics, and more
- Consider the implications of the expanding use of computing technology in people's lives
How are computing and technology changing the way people communicate and interact? Is good technology always good? Is there any information privacy left?
Instructor’s discipline: Computer Science [back to top]
50 Things To Do (or be) Before I Die
CRN 8396
This seminar has students explore who we are and what we want our lives to be. What are the familial, cultural, and spiritual formations that we have experienced so far? Have those influences yielded the fruit we want in our lives? Does that fruit reflect the values of the Kingdom of God? How can we be intentional about the influences that craft us?
- Vocation, identity, and values will be explored through literature, music, film, and travel. (We will not travel during the course, however).
- The course features a reading list of choices for students including Parker Palmer, Thomas Merton, Viktor Frankl, Corrie Ten Boom, Kathleen Norris, and Anne Frank.
- Required reading: Black Like Me by John Griffin, and 100,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz, and The Everyday Writer by Angela Lunsford.
The final presentation by each student will be a presentation titled: “50 Things to Do (or be) Before I Die."
Instructor's discipline: Education [back to top]
The Amazing World of Autism: Loving the Gifts and Talents of God's Children With Special Needs
CRN 8397
This course introduces students to the complex field of autism spectrum disorders by exploring the special education profession. We will investigate the many ways God calls us to work with people who experience special needs and the procedures for gaining experience to work in the field. With a prevalence rate of 1 in 110 children affected with autism, working in any area of service profession (i.e., teaching, nursing, social work, etc.), you are almost guaranteed to encounter a person somewhere on the autism spectrum.
- We will examine upfront the domain of autism spectrum disorders.
- We will explore and discover the wonderful gifts and talents that God has given these folks affected by this complex disorder.
- We will also discuss effective strategies and techniques to assist in improving their quality of life and self-determination.
Instructor's discipline: Education [back to top]
Bad Science in Film
CRN 2859
Movies are one of the common cultural experiences we share as a society. In this USEM we will watch several popular movies and examine how inaccurate science (i.e. bad science) is used in the film. We will discuss what really is the case, look at how the director manipulated the science to fit their movie, and try to ask the question, why did the director include this bad science, what is he trying to sell us?
NOTE: Students are required to attend a weekly film lab on Monday evenings at 6 p.m. Do not enroll if you have other commitments on Monday evenings.
Instructor's discipline: Physics [back to top]
Baptizing the Imagination: Poetry, Fiction, and the Kingdom of God
CRN 2863
Can a metaphor or a dream most clearly describe reality? In this class, we will explore a paradox: That the best way to describe reality may be through something that appears to be unreal (i.e., through metaphor and symbol, dream, and fantasy).
- Explore a few of the parables of the New Testament, where Jesus uses story and metaphor to describe the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Compare ways in which artists have attempted to convey something of this indefinable reality — seeking not only to describe or explain but also inviting us to experience this truth.
- Explore the works of such writers as Dante, George Herbert, William Blake, and Charles Williams (close friend of Lewis and Tolkien), among others.
- Consider (time-willing) other forms of art in our exploration.
Creative work will be invited, along with analysis.
Instructor's discipline: English [back to top]
Be Part of the Solution
CRN 2849 and 2862
The world is falling apart, or so it would seem. We’re all going to run out of food, water, and fuel — and it will be really hot (or really cold). Clearly, the world has problems. Learn how engineers develop real solutions to real-world problems. This USEM is especially for students interested in an engineering major. In it, we will:
- Build robots, clean water systems, and all sorts of cool stuff that really works
- Team up with professional engineers to discover the different ways that engineers can make a difference in the world
- Explore how God can work through engineers to further his purposes in the world
- Admit that we will have to work and study hard in order to do all of these fun and interesting things!
Instructors’ discipline: Engineering [back to top]
The Biology of Venoms and Poisons in Nature
CRN 2846
The Pacific Northwest is home to an array of beautiful, but potentially deadly organisms. In this course we will examine the biology and chemistry of local plants, fungi, and animals that can cause serious harm... and even death!
Instructor’s discipline: Biology [back to top]
Business for God's Sake!
CRN 2858
Learn to “think Christianly” about business. We will consider and critique Christian teaching about the role and function of business in a modern, information-based, global context. Topics will include:
- The purpose of business and role of profits
- Utilization of capital, corporate structures, institutional roles, and personal accountability
Join us as we learn to “think Christianly” about this influential sector of modern society.
Instructor's discipline: Business [back to top]
Creativity, Faith, and Sustainability
CRN 2861
Western Christianity often struggles with the role of the creative arts within the context of a faith-filled life. Such things are often perceived as materialistic or of little importance when compared to basic physical needs and ministries. To what extent is this correct, and to what extent has it been an example of what might be considered a limited perspective? Through readings, media, discussions, and activities, we will discuss these questions, and also explore the following:
- What does God’s work tell us about his attitude toward beauty?
- How can art, architecture, and design be active expressions of love for others and ourselves?
- What are the responsibilities of Christian artists, architects, and designers as members of society?
- How do sustainability and Christianity relate to each other?
- What are some ways to embrace sustainability in everyday, green living?
Instructor’s discipline: Family and Consumer Sciences [back to top]
Encountering Energy: Personally, Locally, and Globally
CRN 2848
Energy is the single most precious resource on our planet. It plays such an essential role in every aspect of our lives that we often take it for granted. In this course, we will work together to uncover the energy that impacts our lives every day. We will build tools and strategies for making energy personal. We will reflect on our energy consumption within our local community and consider implications for the global community. We will explore question like:
- Can the world feed itself if we run out of coal, oil and gas?
- What does it feel like to generate a dollar's worth of energy?
- Can you live for a day on the energy budget of a person in Kenya? China?
- What would it take to get serious about climate change?
- Should you buy a new Toyota Prius, a Chevy Volt, or keep driving your Buick Skylark until it dies?
- If energy is always conserved than why does your mom always tell you to stop wasting energy?
And the many questions that only you can bring to the course.
Instructor’s discipline: Physics [back to top]
Energy, Earth, and Stars
CRN 9436
God has blessed us with our beautiful and wondrous world, the properties of which merit the hard work of study and understanding. Have you heard that matter is mostly empty space? Have you heard that you and I are basically stardust? Have you heard that scientists and Christian believers are always at odds? This course will expose you to these topics while introducing you to the nature of matter and the dynamics of energy. This course will explain the way the world works in terms of chemistry. We will study the history and structure of the universe, and we can discuss any issues this may have with regard to Christianity. This will be taught as an introductory level science class, so students who are inexperienced with science classes will gain the most benefit from this course. Traditional quantitative analysis skills will be taught in terms of chemistry, but the proportional reasoning underlying these analytical skills will be useful in any academic discipline.
Instructor’s discipline: Chemistry [back to top]
Energy — Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
CRN 2853
What will fuel humanity through the next millennium? Of the first 5,000 years of recorded history, petroleum has played a prominent role for only the past 100. The earth's supply of crude oil is not infinite, and its carbon dioxide combustion product may be harmful to the environment.
- What fuels will humanity utilize during the next 1,000 years?
- Some possible energy sources are coal, nuclear, solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass
- The pros and cons of nuclear energy will be examined in detail
- Strengths and weaknesses of these and other options will be explored
- This course will look at current prospects for our long-term energy needs from the perspective a chemistry teacher
Future generations will have to make progress in solving this problem to stay warm, stay lit, conduct commerce, and live healthy lives.
Instructor’s discipline: Chemistry [back to top]
Everything that You Ever Wanted to Know about the Opposite Sex
CRN 2856
How different are males and females? This seminar will use animal models to help us understand the biology of sex and gender. In this USEM, we will:
- Examine how male and female bodies (including brains) are formed during development and how this process differs between species
- Determine how hormones and neurotransmitters shape male and female behavior
- Look at similarities and differences between male and female behaviors in a variety of species, including humans
- Explore the relationship between Christianity and gender
Instructor’s discipline: Biology [back to top]
Explaining Evil: Why People Do Bad Things
CRN 2867
This seminar will explore various forms of good and evil behavior — from simple acts of charity to extreme acts of genocide. Emphasis will be placed on how social science can allow us to better understand our dual natures as both created in God’s image and as fallen creatures. Instructor’s discipline: Sociology [back to top]
Explosive Edge: Art & Faith
CRN 9435
The core values of culture include the arts and their influence on popular culture, yet the Protestant Church in America does not hold the Arts as part of its core values. The course will expose this conflict and clarify operational options for those who have a sincere faith and a passion for the arts.
Instructor's discipline: Art [back to top]
Friendship and Reconciliation as Relationship
CRN 6860
One of the most significant features of college life is the development of friendships.
This class hopes to introduce friendship as a moral and theological category, one that contributes to the formation and character of not simply individuals but also communities.
- We will read selections from John Perkins, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and some contemporary authors.
Because Christian friendship seeks the other in specific ways, it has implications for the practice and embodiment of reconciliation. So friendship is not something that "simply happens," but it marks a truthful and intentional way of living and interacting.
Instructor’s discipline: Theology [back to top]
From Page to Stage
CRN 2851
Experience live theatre in Seattle. In this seminar, students will use the great live-theatre resources in Seattle for a selection of plays that form the basis of the course. Students will follow a process of:
- Reading, analysis, interpretation, discussion of the processes of doing theatre, character analysis, rehearsing, and presenting scenes in class
- Attend a live production and write reviews/responses to that production
- Discussion and analysis of the play based on the viewed production
This process will be repeated two times over the course of the quarter, with three to four weeks spent on each play script and its production.
Instructor's discipline: Theatre [back to top]
Hard Decisions: Children's Health and Ethics
CRN 3601
Focusing on pediatric bioethics, students will explore issues related to medical decision-making with children and families.
- We will examine bioethical models, and consider foundational ethical principles.
- Students will apply these principles to case studies, stories, and examples, and use them to examine their own perspectives.
A focus will be on understanding a number of perspectives including theological, medical, educational, and legal. We will apply them to a variety of pediatric-focused ethical dilemmas. Instructor’s discipline: Nursing [back to top]
Helping Is Caring
CRN 6859
Not all students have high academic achievement in schools. In fact, K-12 students from under-privileged backgrounds struggle academically and/or socially in school. During this USEM course, we will explore academic and behavior concerns and solutions to these problems. We will work together/make connections with schools and social agencies to become agents of change. This USEM course will:
- Examine and identify the research regarding why students struggle with reading, writing, and social skills.
- Examine and identify evidence-based strategies that support academic and behavior achievement.
- Examine and identify school systems to improve academic and behavior achievement.
- Volunteer and work with schools and social agencies to improve academic and social outcomes for under-privileged K-12 students.
Instructor’s discipline: Education [back to top]
The History of Baseball
CRN 2860
What does baseball tell us about America — and vice versa? This seminar investigates the performances and statistical measures of the great American game; it looks behind the scenes at social and economic aspects as well. Historical coverage shows how professional baseball developed over the last century and a half in ways that mirrored important changes in American society. Develops skills of analyzing, writing, and speaking. Includes a personal introduction to the national professional Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), perhaps including a game at Safeco Field. Also uses certain aspects of the game as metaphors for important themes of learning.
Instructor's discipline: History [back to top]
The Hollywood Studio System
CRN 4057
In this seminar, students will investigate the art, business, and history of movies through studying the development of the studio system and classical Hollywood cinema. In detail, we will analyze:
- The house styles and star images associated with each studio during the golden age of American movies.
- The political and economic changes that led to the eventual decline of that system.
- How movie icons are linked to particular meanings and genres, and how those meanings are influenced and embraced by audiences, critics, and fans.
NOTE: Students are required to attend a weekly film lab on Monday evenings at 6 p.m. Do not enroll if you have other commitments on Monday evenings.
Instructor’s discipline: Communication [back to top]
Latin American Heroes and Villains
CRN 2843
A comparative, biographical-historical examination of key figures in Latin America who have made a difference for good or ill, including La Malinche, Simón Bolívar, Juan Manuel Rosas, Santa Anna, Benito Juárez, Juan and Evita Perón, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Pinochet, and Hugo Chavez.
- Students will attempt to construct the personality profiles of male and female power figures who make a difference in their worlds.
- One overarching concern will be to discover what characteristics are worth emulating, even of the figures whom history, or current views, deem as negative.
- Library and internet research skills.
- Oral reports and one final research paper, with bibliography.
Instructor's discipline: Languages, Cultures, & Linguistics [back to top]
Life at the Extremes
CRN 2854
How do people survive extreme environments as variable as the Arctic Circle and the Sahara Desert? In this USEM, we will explore the physiological abilities of our species to acclimate and survive while scaling the tallest mountains or exploring fathomless oceanic trenches. In addition we’ll
- Discuss the history of human exploration into extreme environments
- Look at biological changes of populations who live in edge environments
- Learn about some of the other organisms we find in these environments
- Compare methods of enhancing athletic performance at the extremes
Instructor's discipline: Biology [back to top]
Making the Most of Money
CRN 2845
We will begin with the very basic mathematical realities of personal finances and move into exploring various aspects of money management. The aim of the course is to equip students to become better stewards of the money they encounter. We will investigate the following topics, among others:
- Saving money: simple and compound interest, annuities (saving for retirement), inflation
- Spending money: tithing, taxes, credit cards, budgeting, buying a home or car
- Debt: credit cards, amortization of loans
- Making decisions about money: insurance offers, payment plans, budgets, analyzing data in order to make intelligent decisions, giving generously and wisely
Instructor's discipline: Mathematics [back to top]
Missions and Ministry: Culture and Communication
CRN 2869
Explore ministry in a variety of contexts with a focus on cross-cultural interaction, both internationally and domestically. In the context of ministry, we will:
- Explore how culture creates our communication and communication invokes our cultural values
- Discover what often happens when distinctly different cultures connect and examine some of the common places of miscommunication
- Increase our knowledge, sensitivity, and skills in communicating with people in a variety of cultural contexts different from our own
- Through books, films, discussions, and activities, we will consider how our faith and the Scriptures inform and motivate ministry as a lifetime vocation regardless of career choice
Students will also explore their own unique spiritual gifts and personality styles as they talk about, read about, and participate in ministry in a variety of contexts.
Instructor’s discipline: Communication [back to top]
Musical Monuments and Masterpieces
CRN 2865
Music has a mysterious way of touching something deep within us, teaching us things we cannot learn in any other way. Whether it is a timeless masterpiece such as Handel’s Messiah, a simple hymn like Amazing Grace, or a Grammy award-winning rock album, great music continues to speak to listener’s generation after generation.
- This course explores selected musical monuments and masterpieces from various genres and epochs.
Attendance at live musical events will be a part of the class experience.
Instructor’s discipline: Music [back to top]
Other People, Other Faiths
CRN 2847
Students will investigate the question: Why is Christianity distinctive? We will explore the history and beliefs of other religions with an emphasis on the nature of human religious experience by reading texts such as Huston Smith's Religions of the World as well as texts of other religions such as the Koran and the Dhammapada. Our objective will be to sharpen our own understanding of our personal religious faith and experience.
Instructor's discipline: English [back to top]
Pick Your Poison: The Psychology of the Seven Deadly Sins
CRN 2844
Popular media and press tend to depict “vice” as glamorous or entertaining (e.g. "Jersey Shore," "Desperate Housewives," etc.). At the same time, popular discourse makes the concept of “sin” or “vice” seem antiquated, unfashionable, or irrelevant. In contrast, the ancient classical and Christian conceptions of vice provide psychologically rich understandings of processes which are very normal, yet can destroy relationships and lives one day at a time. This seminar explores:
- Ancient formulations of the “seven deadly sins” (pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust)
- Applications of these ideas to understanding individual and cultural problems
- Modern psychological research on topics relevant to the deadly sins
Instructor’s discipline: Psychology [back to top]
Reel Music: The Music Behind the Movie
CRN 5067
Do all movies have music? Why or why not? What kinds of music are in movies? What role does music play in a film? Learn about:
- How music affects a film
- How it evolves during a century of filmmaking
- Discover great film composers and their unique contributions to our culture
- How music establishes psychological moods, guides our emotions, and reveals aspects of an unfolding narrative
You will never watch a movie in the same way again.
Instructor Discipline: Music [back to top]
S-P-You
CRN 2864
What person do you know better than anyone else in the world? Chances are, it’s yourself! Yet, we often don’t know or understand ourselves as well as we think we do. In this course we will consider the topics of self and personality, drawing on perspectives from multiple disciplines including philosophy, sociology, and psychology. We will investigate the origins, development, and impacts of our personality and self-views, and the dark side of distorted self-views and personality disorders. Through the use of journaling, discussion, and standardized assessments, we will aim to gain better self-awareness, and a Godly view of ourselves as created in His image.
Instructor’s discipline: Psychology [back to top]
Technology Makes a Difference Through Business and Nonprofits!
CRN 2855
Want to make a difference? Globally? Through technology? We’ll explore how engineers and businessmen have made, are making, and will continue to make a difference in the world, both locally and abroad. We’ll learn about some key people and the ways in which their engineered results impact the world through business and non-profit organizations. Along the way, we’ll discuss questions such as
- Who are the engineers and businessmen who enabled the technology of our 21st century lifestyle? Are they any different than you?
- What are "alternative energies" and the challenges of making them part of daily life?
- How is technology impacting the developing world?
- How is one woman making a difference using engineering skills to provide clean water?
- How can engineering designs lead the poorest in our world out of poverty, while making a profit for all involved?
- How might a Christian worldview impact the design decisions and implementation of technology?
Instructor Discipline: Engineering [back to top]
Telling a Good Story: Faith Language in Fantasy Literature
CRN 5565
This course will explore "the greatest story," Christianity, with the help of fantasy literature. We will read authors of an earlier generation, like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, and we will read their modern counterparts, like J. K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, and Philip Pullman. Our conversations will explore topics like
- the sometimes rocky relationship of fantasy literature and the church
- Christianity and fantasy literature share a basic “good vs. evil” story, but what are ways in which Christianity is distinctive?
- what effect the language of Christian faith has on fantasy literature, and what Christianity can learn from fantasy authors
Instructor’s discipline: Theology [back to top]
A World Unbroken: Poverty, Disease, and Injustice
CRN 2850
We live in a broken world; brokenness caused by suffering from poverty, disease, and injustice. What can be done about it? How can we impact poverty and oppression? Where does heart meet action? In this seminar, we will:
- Explore ways to live out loud and impact the people in our global community
- Investigate methods to alleviate poverty, overturn injustice, and heal disease
- Examine our own perceptions of poverty and motivations to impact it
Together we will consider how our faiths and the Scriptures inform and motivate our actions and the actions of others toward the poor and oppressed. We will look at various theories of poverty alleviation, including foreign aid, holistic development, and microfinance, and learn to better understand our own hearts and influences, how we think about the poor and oppressed, and how our hearts meet our actions.
Instructor's discipline: Business [back to top]
You and Your Family: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
CRN 2857
Students will explore the families from which each of us come; and they will consider how family lessons and experiences apply to the college transition. Each of us comes from a family, or families, of some sort. We have earthly families and the family of God.
How do our families function?
How do they influence who we are now and who we might become?
Instructor's discipline: Marriage and Family Therapy/Psychology [back to top]
You Bet Your Life (Whether You Know It or Not!)
CRN 2852
In this seminar, we will learn the skills of critical reasoning, and explore how to apply those skills to our lives. To achieve our goals and dreams, and live a life glorifying to God, we need to live deliberately by prayerfully and conscientiously, identifying our goals, and through the use of critical reasoning, identify and take the steps necessary to achieve them.
- We will explore the implications of living deliberately to academic endeavors, careers, and personal life.
- We will look at examples through readings, films, and guest lecturers.
- We will examine our own lives to consider how we can be more effective tools for God and achieve more of our objectives through learning to be more deliberate.
Instructor's discipline: Business [back to top] |
