COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
GNST 3150 — 3 UNITS
RESEARCH ON TOPICS OF DESIGN HISTORY
An in-depth exploration into the major design movements of the 20th and 21st centuries, focusing on the importance of research and writing on topics of art and design. Emphasis is on contextualizing design movements and designers within their his-torical framework and the changes in society they have inspired. Conversations consider the effects of form and function, technology, identity, corporate branding, globalization, and visual communication on the development of design and our environment.
GNST 3200 — 3 UNITS CONSUMER SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
GNST 3500 — 3 UNITS PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATION
Students examine the process of creating consumer demand through case studies and focus groups, with emphasis on sociological and psychological factors affecting consumer behavior. The course incorporates analyses of emerging technologies, including social media and neuromarketing, and their use in advertising.
GNST 3350 — 3 UNITS BOTANY
GNST 3600 — 3 UNITS FUTURE TRENDS IN SOCIETY
Students explore the importance of plants in the ecosystem, the origins of plants and plant prod-ucts and their role in everyday life. By studying plant structure, function, reproduction, and life cycles, students gain an understanding for how plants contribute to the ecological community and the social, economic, and environmental impor-tance of plants in our lives.
GNST 3350L — 1 UNIT
BOTANY LAB
GNST 3700 — 3 UNITS
Hands-on lab observations and experiments illus-trating basic principles of plant biology.
GNST 3400 — 3 UNITS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
GNST 3750 — 3 UNITS
MAPPING YOUR WORLD: INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL PRODUCTION
A course that examines social psychology and how the behaviors, thoughts, and emotions of individuals are created and modified by the social and cultural conditions in which they live. Issues of social influence, cooperation and conflict, conformity, perception, change, and leadership are explored.
GNST 3410 — 3 UNITS
HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT FOR FILM & TV
GNST 3800 — 3 UNITS
ICONS OF CULTURE: THE CONTEXT OF MEANING
GNST 3450 — 3 UNITS APPLIED MATHEMATICS
A survey course that examines television and film in America as an art form and charts its historical and technical development. Students study classic and contemporary mediums and filmmakers, explore the social implications of film and television, analyze film technique, as well as set decoration.
Students gather, interpret, and evaluate data that has been used as the basis of factual claims sup-porting legislation, business, and policy decisions
in issues such as healthcare reform, environmental regulation, the criminal justice system, and other critical issues in society. Research centers upon quantitative analysis employing mathematical and statistical methodology.
A course in effective organizational communication, with emphasis on advanced oral communication skills, including interviewing. Students examine the dynamics of individual and group communication as preparation for full-scaled, business-specific informative and persuasive speeches, in which they use computer technology, visual aids, and statisti-cal data to enhance the impact and clarity of their presentations.
Students explore the demographic trends, shifts in technology, and varied communication avenues of the current socioeconomic landscape as a means of anticipating the cultural expectations, values, and practices that give rise to new products, methods of marketing/communication, and business trends.
MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVES THROUGH THE SHORT STORY Through the literary vehicle of the short story, stu-dents examine issues of coexistence, integration, and assimilation in the international arena. In con-sidering diversities such as race, ethnicity, class, family, gender, and language, they gain the tools for evaluating, with new awareness, their own identity and value system within a multicultural context.
An introduction to cultural geography, this course examines the global impact of physical environ-ment, natural resources, and population distribu-tion upon economic systems, manufacturing, and trade, with a focus on current geopolitical issues.
Students explore universal design concepts under-lying the applied arts, the decorative arts, and ar-chitecture/architectural form. Using the language of aesthetic analysis, they relate formal elements of color and structure, pattern and motif, and icon and symbol to the origins, development, and diffusion of a wide range of designed objects from many cultures and historical periods. In the process, they gain insight into the durability, adaptability, and res-onance of concepts and images that have achieved iconic status in the world of design.