Critical and Creative Thinking (CACT)

CACT 8000  INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING (3 credits)

This course is the foundational introductory course for the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking program (MA CCT). It focuses on the development of students' skills as critical thinkers and creative problem solvers as well as the cultivation of students' capacity to recognize and leverage tools, resources, and ideas towards finding innovative solutions to everyday problems.

Prerequisite(s): Graduate status and acceptance into MA CACT program or permission of instructor.CACT8000

CACT 8060  TOPICS IN CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING (3 credits)

This is a course on selected topics offered on a one-time or occasional basis. The course may be repeated as long as the topic is different each time. May be cross listed with other departments when topics are appropriate to other departments. A complete topics syllabus will be available on file in the Office of the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking program.

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

CACT 8080  INDEPENDENT STUDY (1-3 credits)

This course is designed for those students who are independently pursuing an area of study that is not covered under the existing curriculum. The student will be supervised by a member of the faculty of the MA in Critical and Creative Thinking program. All course assignments, readings, requirements, and expectations will be clearly communicated to the student in advance. May be repeated for credit for a total of six credit hours.

Prerequisite(s): Admission into the MA CCT program, successful completion of 6 hours of CACT coursework, including CACT 8000, and permission of faculty member. Not open to non-degree graduate students.

CACT 8090  CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING GRADUATE PROJECT (3 credits)

The Graduate Project is an applied student project under the direction of a faculty advisor. In the project, the student will apply interdisciplinary knowledge and skills gained within the program to address a problem or to expand knowledge within or across disciplines. The product or artifact produced by the student may take a variety of forms.

Prerequisite(s): Permission of faculty advisor and Graduate Program Committee Leadership (or its designee). Not open to non-degree graduate students.

CACT 8100  GLOBAL CINEMA (3 credits)

A critical and analytic study of foreign films focusing on overlapping global issues. This course supports the Cultural and Global Analysis concentration in the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking.

CACT 8106  CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY (3 credits)

This course will provide an overview of the cultural, community and ecological factors that play a role in how people perceive their environments. The goal is to investigate the ways in which culture affects individual behaviors, attitudes and cognitions. It may be easy to tell that two cultures are different, but identifying exactly what is meant - and all that is encompassed - when speaking about "culture" can be much more difficult. Culture can include everything from gender constructs and race/ethnicity to the effects of new technologies. All of these aspects of culture affect individuals' psychological make-up and behavior. Although psychology has largely developed from a Western tradition, attention to research from non-Western perspectives will also be emphasized. This course supports the Cultural and Global Analysis concentration in the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking. (Cross-listed with PSYC 4530, PSYC 8536).

Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in MA in Critical & Creative Thinking program or by permission of the instructor.

CACT 8110  GLOBAL SOCIAL ISSUES: CREATIVE AND CRITICAL ANALYSES (3 credits)

This course focuses on global cultural and social forces and how they interact to form nexuses of both opportunity and obstacle to constructive human engagement on a wide array of social issues. An overview of topics covered in the Cultural and Global Analysis concentration in the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking. This course will provide students with the analytical tools, collaborative engagement skills, and applied problem-solving techniques that will help students succeed in this concentration and program. (Cross-listed with BLST 8110)

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

CACT 8116  GEOGRAPHY OF ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION (3 credits)

A study of the geography of economic globalization and the geography of the world economy. The major topics include the historical development of the world economy and globalization from the geographical perspective, trends in geography of global production, trade and investment, the most important factors and actors in the globalization processes and its geographic effects, geography of transnational corporations, case studies of economic geography of selected industries and service activities, effects of globalization on the developed and developing countries. This course also supports the Cultural and Global Analysis concentration in the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking. (Cross-listed with GEOG 4550, GEOG 8556)

Prerequisite(s): Graduate status.

CACT 8186  URBAN LATIN AMERICA (3 credits)

This course examines the experience of Latin American urbanization, attending to its contributions to urban sociology, social movements, and policymaking. Topics include urban transitions (e.g. pre-Hispanic to colonial, post-colonial to industrial, and the neoliberal turn), socio-spatial configurations (e.g. plazas, squatter settlements), urban marginality debates, urban politics, and planning as well as governance innovations (e.g. bus rapid transit systems, participatory budgeting). Students will compare city case studies across the region and to urban life in the United States. (Cross-listed with SOC 8786, SOC 4780, LLS 8786, LLS 4780).

CACT 8200  SEMINAR IN POLITICAL THEORY (3 credits)

This course introduces students to the history of political theory, from its origins in ancient Greece to its manifestations in contemporary thought. (Cross-listed with PSCI 8300)

Prerequisite(s): Permission of graduate advisor. Not open to non-degree graduate students.

CACT 8206  COMPARATIVE RELIGIOUS ETHICS (3 credits)

An introduction to historical and contemporary approaches to comparative religious ethics, with special focus on specific case studies as encountered in societies and religious communities across the globe. In addition to reading authors from a variety of perspectives (Aristotelians, natural law theorists, philosophers of law, pragmatists, theologians, and historians of religion), students will be introduced to special topics in the field, e.g., religion and public life, religion and law, syncretism, the secular/non-secular divide, etc. This course supports the Ethics and Values concentration in the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking. (Cross-listed with RELI 4200, RELI 8206)

CACT 8215  VALUES AND VIRTUES (3 credits)

This course explores advanced topics in ethics with particular emphasis on value theory and virtue ethics. Topics to be considered include the meaning and status of value claims, sources of value, intrinsic goods, agent-relative goods, practical reason, moral development, happiness, moral ambiguity, moral luck, the identification of virtues, and relationships of care, trust, and responsibility. This course supports the Ethics and Values concentration in the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking. (Cross-listed with PHIL 3060)

CACT 8216  PUBLIC HEALTH, RELIGION, AND HUMAN RIGHTS (3 credits)

This course examines the intersections among public health, religion, and human rights. It considers how human rights impact public health and vice versa; how human rights and religious thought impact each other; how religious communities approach issues of public health; and how religious thought and practice affects people's health. Topics include infectious diseases such as HIV and COVID-19; issues of stigma and discrimination in public health; social determinants of health such as poverty and environmental quality; and women's and LGBTQ+ health. Students will gain skills of textual analysis, dialogue, and argumentative reasoning in both written and verbal form. (Cross-listed with RELI 8216, RELI 4210)

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

CACT 8226  VIOLENT CONFLICTS, PEACEBUILDING, AND THE ETHICS OF INTERVENTION (3 credits)

This course is designed to familiarize the student with the nature of violent conflict, including terrorism, and a variety of the mechanisms for peacebuilding. The course will also explore human rights and the ethics of intervention. This course supports the Ethics and Values concentration in the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking. (Cross-listed with RELI 4220, RELI 8226)

CACT 8306  INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT & SUSTAINABILITY (3 credits)

This course introduces students to different concepts of international development through the lens of sustainability. The course explores a broad range of activities related to international development, including international aid, trade, philanthropy, interventions in conflict, peacebuilding, public health, human rights, social justice, and the environment. (Cross-listed with PSCI 4290, PSCI 8296)

Prerequisite(s): PSCI 2210 or equivalent is recommended.

CACT 8310  ECOLOGICAL WRITING AND ANALYSIS (3 credits)

This course provides students with the opportunity to develop expertise in a wide range of foundational works and key techniques of ecological writing and theory in English. By engaging mindfully with these works and techniques, students will develop advanced skills in ecologically oriented critical analysis and creative thinking. This course supports the Writing and Critical Reflection and the Health and the Environment concentrations in the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking. (Cross-listed with ENGL 8310)

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

CACT 8316  OUR ENERGY FUTURE: SOCIETY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY (3 credits)

In this course, students will analyze our energy options including the environmental, economic, and ethical connections with a particular emphasis on electrical energy. The course doesn't prescribe a particular energy future but rather emphasizes development of the knowledge and skills to more effectively contribute to the conversation. To understand our future, the course begins with the present energy landscape and its historical underpinnings, then focuses on developing a student's ability to critically assess energy options by examining the associated implications, consequences, intent, origins, and bias. Students' own work, life, and academic experience are used in the course to underscore the individual relevance of these energy choices. The course includes the necessary science, but the greater emphasis is on the associated critical and creative thinking so that ultimately students can make informed, creative, sustainable energy choices. (Cross-listed with ENVN 4310, ENVN 8316)

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

CACT 8326  ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY AND HUMAN HEALTH (3 credits)

The course will explore and develop the complex context of the systemic links among ecosystems and human health (and more broadly human well-being) using case studies including climate change, water quality, infectious diseases and agricultural production. Students will develop skills in critical thinking and applied research by studying biological connections between humans and ecosystems and how social, economic and cultural processes and practices mediate these connections. This course supports the Health and the Environment concentration in the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking. (Cross-listed with ENVN 4320)

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

CACT 8400  A HISTORY OF AMERICAN IMMIGRATION POLICIES AND LAWS (3 credits)

This seminar will examine the evolution of American immigration policies and laws from the colonial period to the present day. Where appropriate, the course will examine American immigration laws in a comparative context. It will pay particular attention to how state policies create and/or sustain inclusionary or exclusionary practices for members of different racial, ethnic, religious, or gender groups in American society.

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

CACT 8410  IMMIGRATION, MIGRATION, AND DIASPORA: CRITICAL APPROACHES AND THEORIES OF MOVEMENT IN LITERATURE (3 credits)

This seminar in literature and some film analyzes the depictions in non-fiction and fiction of displacement as a result of immigration, migration, refugee status, or any other considered movement, intentional or imposed. It will focus largely on the U.S. experiences of those displaced from all locales. (Cross-listed with ENGL 8410)

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

CACT 8416  LITERATURE/CULTURE: CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 1898-2000 (3 credits)

"Literature/ Culture: Central America and the Caribbean 1898- 2000" studies major historical and socio-cultural events in Latin American history in the 20th century, through their articulation in literary texts, film, and other cultural expressions from Central America and the Hispanic Caribbean. (Cross-listed with SPAN 4150, SPAN 8156)

CACT 8420  MEXICO AND THE U.S. BORDERLANDS: TWO HISTORIES, ONE DESTINY (3 credits)

Exploration of U.S.-Mexico Borderlands history and its pathways to current developments. It reviews borderland encounters, miscegenation, and wars between Indigenous groups, Europeans, North Americans, and Mexicans. It looks at the history of the drafting of the imaginary U.S.-Mexico borderline and follows its development until the construction of a wall to separate an undividable socio-cultural space. The course integrates a comparative conceptual approach to empires, nation-building, territorial expansion, identity formation, code-mixed English-Spanish uses, and state sovereignty.

CACT 8436  INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, DEVELOPMENT AND CITIZENSHIP (3 credits)

The course examines the forces driving contemporary global migration, the impact of migration in both sending and receiving nations' development, as well as the politics and practices of migration policy development. The course also discusses the current debates on immigrant incorporation and citizenship in the receiving countries. (Cross-listed with LLS 4430, LLS 8436).

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing

CACT 8500  COMPLEX ORGANIZATIONS (3 credits)

This graduate seminar provides an overview focused on the understanding and analysis of intricate internal and external organizational forces such as organizational bureaucracy, organizational culture, autonomy and control systems, which affect performance of organizational members as well as influence organizational survival. (Cross-listed with SOC 8500)

Prerequisite(s): Graduate enrollment or permission of class instructor.

CACT 8506  CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IN ORGANIZATIONS (3 credits)

To provide a discussion of the antecedents of individual and organizational creativity, including measurement, models, characteristics of the individual and the environment that facilitate creativity and innovation in an organizational setting. Students in this course will be able to understand the research literature related to creativity and innovation and apply the findings to improve critical and creative thinking, implementation of creative ideas, and development of creative teams and organizations. This course supports the Organizational Science and Leadership concentration in the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking. (Cross-listed with PSYC 4650, PSYC 8656)

CACT 8510  SEMINAR IN LEADERSHIP (3 credits)

This course introduces students to classical and contemporary scholarship on leadership theory, research, and application. Students gain a foundation in models of leadership, assess their own leadership styles, and learn to integrate what they learn in corporate, governmental, non-profit, or community organizations. (Cross-listed with PSCI 8120)

Prerequisite(s): Permission of graduate adviser. Not open to non-degree graduate students.

CACT 8520  POSITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND LEADERSHIP (3 credits)

This course is a graduate seminar on organizational psychology and leadership that focuses on the understanding and critical analysis of theory and practice pertaining to individual functioning at work. Positive organizational psychology theories and practices will provide the overarching framework in understanding potential solutions to challenges and problems facing leaders and their employees. (Cross-listed with PSYC 9421).

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or permission of instructor.

CACT 8530  PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY AND LEADERSHIP (3 credits)

This course provides an overview of personnel psychology from a leadership perspective. Topics include methodology, employee selection, performance appraisal, organizational attitudes and behavior, motivation, and leadership style.

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or permission of instructor

CACT 8540  SEMINAR ON INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND STRATEGY (3 credits)

This course introduces students to international leadership and strategy theory, research, and application. (Cross-listed with PSCI 8220).

Prerequisite(s): Not open to non-degree graduate students.

CACT 8610  PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL WRITING (3 credits)

This course will introduce students to the theory, research, and practices of professional and technical writing. Through readings, discussions, and assignments, students will gain an understanding of the types and circumstances of communication challenges encountered in the workplace. The course will also consider the roles of persuasion and ethics in written communication. (Cross-listed with ENGL 8610)

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

CACT 8630  DIGITAL RHETORIC (3 credits)

This course provides students with the opportunity to develop expertise in the theory and practice of digital rhetoric by considering technology's deep impact on how we define and engage in writing. Students examine contemporary writing practices as part of a rich rhetorical tradition while they design and create effective multimodal compositions and analyze foundational works in digital rhetoric. This course supports the Writing and Critical Reflection concentration in the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking. (Cross-listed with ENGL 8630)

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

CACT 8640  CREATIVE NONFICTION IN DIGITAL ENVIRONMENTS (3 credits)

Students in this course will study creative nonfiction in digital environments, analyze rhetorical situations created in digital environments, which might include, in addition to other modalities, sounds, animations, and hypertext, and create multimodal essays. The course will also focus on the study and analysis of craft-elements of creative nonfiction: narrative persona, tone, rhythm and style, scenic construction, among others. Students taking this course will learn to read with interpretative and analytical proficiency a broad range of creative nonfiction in digital environments. (Cross-listed with ENGL 8640).

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing

CACT 8650  WRITING ACROSS DIFFERENCES: RHETORICAL THEORY FOR PERSUASION AND PUBLIC ADVOCACY (3 credits)

This course provides students a theoretical foundation for understanding how language is used in various types of discourses and texts as a means of convincing others of a given viewpoint or idea. Students will apply this theory to real-world writing scenarios in their scholarly areas of interest, to advocacy and social issues movements, or to address workplace needs and goals. This course supports the Writing and Critical Reflection concentration in the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking. (Cross-listed with ENGL 8650)

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.