Spring 2026 Courses

Course description: Scotland: Society & Globalization is a wide-ranging course that explores different aspects of contemporary Scottish society. Locating Scotland in its historical and global contexts, the course focuses on many of the key social, economic, cultural and political issues that face Scotland today. It considers many of the ways that globalization can be said to be impacting on Scottish economy and society and takes a multi- and inter- disciplinary approach. The course draws on sociology, social policy, social history and human geography. The course emphasizes the importance & usefulness of comparative and transnational comparisons for the understanding of developments in a particular national context. Comparisons between different aspects of Scottish and US societies will occupy centre stage; students will be required to reflect on points of similarity & convergence between US & Scottish/UK society.

Required textbook(s): Textbook provided in Scotland; no purchase required

Course equivalents:

• Lake Superior State University: POLI 377, 3 cr.
• Murray State University: SOC 465: Globalization; HIS 390: Special Topics
• Normandale Community College: HIST Elective, 3 cr. (5, 8)
• PLNU: POL 3091 (for Political Science and International Studies majors), or HIS 4015 (for History majors), 3 cr.
• UW-Oshkosh: SS Elective 008U (SS)
• UW-River Falls: WIS 305, Scotland: Society & Globalization, 3 cr. (GP)
• UW-Superior: SOCI 201, Social Problems in Global Perspectives, 3 cr. (Social Inquiry)
• UW-Whitewater: LSINDP 999, L&S Interdisciplinary Elective, 3 cr. (GI)

Faculty: Mike Wartman, Normandale Community College (retired)

Course description: This course is designed to raise awareness of cultural values, beliefs and norms, and specifically addresses how culture affects communication choices on the interpersonal, group, cross-cultural, and global levels. Issues of race, ethnicity, class, gender, religion, etc. will be addressed. The objectives of the course will focus on and be adapted to the unique experience of living and learning in a different culture. An emphasis on the culture and subcultures of Scotland, the United Kingdom and Europe will be the focus of this unique classroom opportunity.

Required textbook(s): TBD

Course equivalents:

• Murray State University: COM 340, Intercultural Communication, 3 cr.
• Normandale Community College: COMM 1131, Intercultural Communication, 3 cr.
• UW-River Falls: COMS 213, Intercultural Communication, 3 cr. (ACD)

Faculty: 

Course description: This course will study the intersection of theatre arts and culture, with an analytical consideration of the various elements of drama, the elements of physical contemporary theatre, and a brief historical survey to give perspective and understanding to today's theatre-goer.

Required textbook(s): TBD

Course equivalents:

• Murray State University: THD 104, The Theatrical Experience, 3 cr.
• UW-River Falls: SASA 105, Introduction to Theatre and Drama, 3 cr. (H/F)

Faculty: Mike Wartman, Normandale Community College (retired)

Course description: This course is designed to provide instruction, practice and delivery of effectively written speeches in a variety of speaking contexts. You will:

1. learn and demonstrate appropriate topic selection, audience analysis, organization and research techniques in a speaker audience setting;
2. practice and exhibit effective delivery techniques in prepared and impromptu speeches;
3. apply communication strategies for different audiences and contexts, including personal, emotional and logical arguments;
4. understand and demonstrate proper and constructive feedback, listening, critical thinking and analytical skills from the perspective of both speaker and audiences;
5. and perform in a variety of public speaking situations and for different audiences.

Required textbook(s): TBD

Course equivalents:

• Murray State University: COM 161, Introduction to Public Speaking, 3 cr.
• Normandale Community College: COMM 1101, Fundamentals of Public Speaking, 3 cr.
• UW-River Falls: COMS 101, Fundamentals of Oral Communication, 3 cr. (CS)

Faculty: Rebecca Laird, Point Loma Nazarene University

Course description: This course introduces students to the convictions, writings, and practices of people in the Abrahamic (Christian, Jewish, Islamic) and Asian (Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian) traditions.

Required textbook(s): TBD

Course equivalents:

• Murray State University: HIS/RGS 209, World Religions, 3 cr.
• Point Loma Nazarene University: THE 3020, The World's Faith Traditions, 3 cr.
• UW-River Falls: PHIL 245, Asian Religions and Islam, 3 cr. (GP)

Faculty: Brienna Schuette, UW-River Falls

Course description: This course provides an overview of the major American mass media industries (books, magazines, newspapers, movies, radio, television, recorded music, and the internet), and examines different processes, roles, and effects of mass communication and the political, economic, and social factors that shape and reinforce the mass media system. In particular, we will consider how the media contribute to perceptions of the world we live in and their effects on our society. In addition, we will discuss the role of ethics in the production and consumption of media content. We will also look at the likely future development of mass media, mainly because of the rapid technological changes that have had a significant impact on the media and their place in society.

Whether or not you are aiming for a media career, this course will help you as a consumer of mass media to evaluate their performance in the context of a capitalistic society and the First Amendment.

Required textbook(s): TBD

Course equivalents:

• Murray State University: JMC 168, Media Literacy and Society, 3 cr.
• UW-River Falls: JOUR 101, Introduction to Mass Communication, 3 cr. (EC)
• UW-Superior: COMM 170, Media and Society, 3 cr.

Faculty: Rebecca Laird, Point Loma Nazarene University

Course description: Reading George MacDonald's Phantastes led author, C.S. Lewis, author of the Chronicles of Narnia across a "great frontier" in awakening his imagination. Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time, called MacDonald the "grandfather...to all who struggle to come to truth through the imagination." Reading short works by MacDonald and other imaginative writers is to call forth the writing of fantasy from fairy tales to time travel for those who read and engage in creative writing. George MacDonald and all of his writing "friends" were practicing Christians and their works are interwoven with an understanding of human beings as "image-bearers" capable of imagination due to a relationship with the Creator. 

This course is an immersive one. Scotland offers the moors and open spaces for the imagination to thrive! MacDonald was born in Huntly in Aberdeenshire, The Journal of Inkling Studies, a premier academic journal on the Oxford Inklings, several of whom consider MacDonald, a muse, is located at the University of Aberdeen.

The course will use a reader response methodology and culminate in students producing a short work of fiction or series of illustrations that tell an imaginative story.

Required textbook(s): TBD

Course equivalents:

• Murray State University: ENG 330, Special Topics, 3 cr.
• Point Loma Nazarene University: THE 4090/ENG 4090, The Fantastic Imagination, 3 cr.
• UW-River Falls: ENGL 105, Literature and Human Experience, 3 cr. (HF)

Faculty: Rex Hanger, UW-Whitewater

Course description: A study of geological phenomena from the perspective of the environment. This includes analysis of past, present and future conditions. Human interactions with geological products, particularly the extraction of rock and mineral resources through mining and the development of fossil fuels receive special attention. The environmental geologic history of Scotland (especially with regards to mining and energy resources) will be incorporated throughout the materials during the module.

Required textbook(s): TBD

Course equivalents:

• Murray State University: EES 388, International Experience in Earth and Environmental Science, 3 cr.
• UW-River Falls: GEOL 269, Environmental Geology, 3 cr. (EC)
• UW-Superior: BIOL 189, 3 cr. (Environmental Science USP)
• UW-Whitewater: Geology 301, Environmental Geology, 3 cr. 

Faculty: Tammy Ladwig, UW-Oshkosh (retired)

Course description: This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Women's Studies through the humanities discipline. This means we'll be exploring issues of gender and represetation through literature, art, feminist criticism, cultural studies and film. The course will explore short stories, novels and poems that represent women. Using feminist analysis as our primary tool for exploration, we'll consider how these various artifacts reproduce, challenge and/or complicate systems of privilege and oppression.

Required textbook(s): TBD

Course equivalents:

• Murray State University: GDS 351, Topics in Gender and Diversity, 3 cr.
• UW-Oshkosh: GSW 102, Women's Voices, 3 cr.
• UW-River Falls: WGSS 200, Introduction to Women's, Gender and Sexualities Studies, 3 cr. (ACD)
• UW-Superior: GST 150, Intro to Gender Studies, 3 cr. (Social Sciences USP)