Fall 2026 UNIV 190 Themes

The Classical Tradition in Western Literature

Professor Bryan Hudak

Section 7: Mon, Wed & Fri 9-9:50am | Section 9: Mon, Wed & Fri 2-2:50pm | Section 23: Mon, Wed & Fri 10-10:50am | Section 24: Mon, Wed & Fri 1-1:50pm

This course centers on the influence of the writings of Classical Greece and Rome and their effect on the development of Western literature. As we study some of the most influential of ancient works, we will address several of their most important questions: First of all, why does Classical literature still have a place in modern education? How is it that Western culture has come to value certain fundamental philosophical, political, and theological questions, even to the point of encouraging opposition? Through reading and analyzing classic texts of the Western canon, students will explore how these works continue to shape modern culture.

War and Peace, 1914-1945

Professor Alastair Kocho-Williams

Section 2: Tues & Thurs 11am-12:15pm | Section 3: Tues & Thurs 2-3:15pm

Why did World War I break out in 1914? What happened after the war and how was peace settled? Why did another world war break out twenty years after the end of the first? How did the victors create peace again?

In this class you will answer these questions and others, not by looking from them the outside, but by playing historical roles in a series of immersive games. Will you be the President of the United States seeking an end to war and a manageable peace? Can you as Prime Minister of Japan persuade others that Japan should not go to war with the United States in 1941? How will you and your classmates react to events as they unfold?

Forge alliances. Negotiate treaties. Give grand speeches. Make plans. React to the past. Make history.

There is No “I” in Team

Professor Martha Whalen

Section 5: Mon, Wed & Fri 12-12:50pm

Why is it that groups can attain positive, synergistic outcomes that are unrealizable by any individual alone? And why is it that we organize ourselves into groups in work settings, communities and society at large? 

Consider two larger, but related questions here:

What does it mean when we move from being members of groups to members of teams? And what traits do members of effective teams possess that, ultimately, lead to their successes?

You may likely find yourself pursuing assigned work with peers at some point during your studies at Clarkson University. Therefore, in this course, we will examine how teams can harness the power of “we” via strategies that foster positive change (incrementally, abruptly, or somewhere in between). 

We will explore real-life stories of team resilience and success against all odds – and glean practical advice relative to group processes, creativity, time management and meeting administration. By doing so, we will find opportunities to build and hone effective critical thinking skills via reading, writing, note-taking, thoughtful class discussion/debrief and related activities for practice.

Home: Person, Place, and Thing

Professor Jennifer Ball

Section 15: Tues & Thurs 9:30-10:45am

Home is both a social and individual concept at once–something created by ourselves and others simultaneously.  Home is based on other concepts such as family and love.  But what does this all really mean?  How do we study these concepts in ways that give us perspective in our own development and our ethical use of technology and resources.

Being Human: Persons, Knowledge, and Value

Professor Nathan Berthiaume

Section 1: Tues & Thurs 2-3:15pm | Section 11: Tues & Thurs 3:30-4:45pm | Section 16: Tues & Thurs 11am-12:15pm | Section 18: Tues & Thurs 9:30-10:45am

This course is a philosophical examination of who we are as human beings. We will ask questions about what makes us persons as opposed to mere things, how we know, and what it means for us to relate to others morally. Answering these questions will allow us to evaluate different attempts to define the purpose of human life and examine limits on our ability to do so. Our method will be to read central texts in the history of philosophy through the lens of oppressed voices that challenge them. A common theme throughout our analysis will be the relationship between theorization/reason and violence. We will ask questions like: Is every attempt to define personhood bound up with the exclusion of someone deemed other? Is reason an instrument of self-interest if it is divorced from all desire and feeling? How should we think to avoid participation in injustice?

When the World Falls Apart: Confronting Cataclysm

Professor Lisa Propst

Section 13: Mon & Wed 12:30-1:45pm

Worlds fall apart in different ways. Societies are ripped apart by war, disease, and environmental disaster. People face the destruction of their certainties or the disappearance of things they depended on. In the face of upheaval, people are inevitably left trying to figure out how they fit into an unfamiliar world.  In this class, we will explore ways of confronting cataclysms and the challenges they pose to self and society. What do people do when their certainties and sense of self are shattered? How do people build new lives and worlds?

Rebels and Heroes

Professor Elisabeth (Arti) Wulandari

Section 20: Tues & Thurs 2:00-3:15pm | Section 21: Tues & Thurs 3:30-4:45pm

Would you break the rules to do the right thing?

In this Clarkson Seminar, we’ll dive into the worlds of rebels and heroes—characters who challenge authority, defy expectations, or wrestle with the hard choices that come with doing what’s right. Some fight injustice with courage and conviction; others hesitate, fail, or pay a steep price for their decisions.

Through stories, poems, and plays spanning ancient Greece to twenty-first-century Indonesia, we’ll explore the motives, dilemmas, and consequences that shape these unforgettable figures. Along the way, we’ll ask a bigger question: what do courage, resistance, and responsibility look like across cultures—and in our own lives?

Come ready to think critically, debate boldly, and see yourself reflected in the rebels and heroes of literature from around the world.

From Pets to Factory Farms: Our Evolving Relationship with Animals

Professor Karen Gibson

Section 4: Mon, Wed & Fri 11-11:50am | Section 27: Mon, Wed & Fri 9-9:50am

What do our current relationships with animals look like and how do they affect us? As we begin to treat animals such as dogs and cats as family members, what issues will arise and how will we resolve them?  This class will focus on our interactions with other species, starting with domesticated animals and then moving on to the many ways our lifestyles have impacted wildlife and livestock. What is our moral obligation to other species? Why do we treat some species more humanely than others? What dangers do factory farms present to us and to animals and should we be moving toward more sustainable sources of meat? These and other questions will be addressed as we make our way through the course. In addition to several non-fiction readings that engage with these issues, we will explore the ways various animals are portrayed in film and fiction.

Power Play

Professor Elizabeth Pietropaoli

Section 26: Tues & Thurs 4-5:15pm

Who has rights – and why? What is power – and how is it gained, lost, and used? What is the intersection of rights and power? How are decisions regarding power and rights made globally, and how do they impact technology, education, medicine, laws, and employment? Together, we will examine different kinds of power, from the economic to the personal, and how power influences and informs the evaluation of rights. We will read and discuss excerpts from Nietzsche, Aristotle, Kant, Machiavelli, and others as we consider current ethical dilemmas with a particular emphasis on power and rights. 

Deconstructing Systems of Power and Privilege through the Dystopian Lens

Professor JoAnn Rogers

Section 14: Mon, Wed & Fri 10-10:50am | Section 17: Mon, Wed & Fri 11-11:50am

What does a dystopian world reveal about our own? In this section of UNIV 190, we examine how inequality is created and enforced by individuals, institutions, and governments through race, class, gender, and national identity. Using sociological theory and novels like We Cast a Shadow, The Wall, and The Handmaid’s Tale, we uncover how real societies determine who is protected and who is marginalized.

This communication-intensive course builds your skills through writing, discussion, and creative projects. By the end, you’ll be able to recognize systems of power in fiction and in everyday life and better understand your own place within them.

Ethical Decision-Making: Past, Present and Future

Professor Holly Sypniewski

Section 25: Tues & Thurs 11am-12:15pm

Everything we do is a choice. But what drives us to make decisions in a certain way? In this class, you will study three key moments in history–from Greco-Roman history to the AI revolution–and explore the principles and historical realities that shape decision-making. We will use role-playing activities to develop critical thinking, reading, research, writing, and oral presentation skills. 

Folklore in Everyday Life

Professor Trevor Blank

Section 10: Tues & Thurs 8-9:15am | Section 28: Tues & Thurs 3:30-4:45pm

This course’s theme will explore how folklore—informal, traditional culture—appears and shapes our everyday lives, from the stories and legends we learn and share with family and friends, to the clever memes we find in our regular interactions online and via social media, to the games, rituals, and superstitions that influence our personal routines and core beliefs. In the process, we will learn how to identify, observe, document, and analyze folklore and the various, expressive ways that we make meaning in our lives through discussions, reading reflections, and participant-observation.

The Sacred and Profane in American Literature

Professor Michael Garcia

Section 6: Tues & Thurs 2-3:15pm | Section 22: Tues & Thurs 11am-12:15pm

This course explores the sacred and the profane in American literature. We will begin our readings in the 19^th-century—when literary allusions to The Bible were common—but we will focus primarily on 20^th-century short stories and the “profane.” Authors we will read include: Hawthorne, Melville, Douglass, Hemingway, and Octavia Butler.

This course is designed to make you a better thinker, reader, writer, and communicator. The course will develop your “writing as thinking” skills, and your communication skills. Portable skills that are highly valued in any career-track, skills that will make it hard for you to be replaced by a robot (AI) that can write content, but can’t do your thinking for you. More specifically, you will learn essential skills such as: how to evaluate information critically; analyze texts, language, and ideas; clearly communicate those ideas in writing and through oral presentations; and improve your interpretative, imaginative, and problem-solving skills by using writing as a tool for thinking.  

Historical Narrative through an Indigenous Lens

Professor Phillip White-Cree

Section 12: Mon, Wed & Fri 10-10:50am | Section 19: Mon, Wed & Fri 9-9:50am

Historical Narrative shapes our current perception and can guide us toward a better future. This section will focus on Historical Narrative, using the Indigenous experience in North America (Hockey and Education) as an example. Students are exposed to the academic expectations for writing in historical narrative and related academic styles, with a focus on citations and on backing one’s work with critical sources and relevant references. 

Critical thinking will be created by reading and analyzing current and past historical narratives. A novel and autobiography narrative of an Indigenous NHL player will be the focus in the Fall 2026. Students will partake in weekly discussions and activities of critical thinking and perspectives. By the end students will be knowledgeable in historical thinking and Indigenous perspectives, while being able to read and write academically rigorous materials.

Challenge the Narrative!