Courses

• MET IS 401: Communication Skills I
  This undergraduate communication course incorporates writing skills with academic research. Both business and academic writing expectations are covered. This skills- oriented course focuses on the development of oral and written communication techniques, small and large group dynamics, presentations, and negotiations.
• MET IS 402: Communication Skills II
  This undergraduate communication course incorporates presentation skills with academic research. It reviews the writing standards of IS 401 Ex and covers interpersonal and management communications for professionals. Course writing and presentation assignments will be posted in student ePortfolios. This course is set in the context of communications skills for professionals.
• MET IS 403: Natural Science in Contemporary Society
  This course will focus on controversial and critical social, environmental, business, and political issues in the various disciplines of science. The natural sciences will be explored in the context of public policy.
• MET IS 419: American Traditional Music
  Traditional American music is a dynamic cultural medium that defines identity and community. It is transmitted by long-practiced modes of observation and imitation, and it engages talented musicians who are part of a long-lived cultural continuum. It is based upon a collective understanding of what tradition is, but it is necessarily altered in each generation as new musicians bring their training, insights, talents, and instruments to the process. The result- never entirely harmonious, always uneasy- holds a continuing power to speak to adherents and new listeners alike. It is not merely the tune that us transmitted in the traditional process, but also a portion of the social fabric that bound the tune as it was played in the past. How traditional music has evolved into the current popular American musical forms, and the history of the creation of a hybrid, but distinctively national, music will be explored in lectures, musical examples, and readings from some of the leading scholars of American traditional music.
• MET IS 420: The Moral Self: Psychological, Religious, and Spiritual Perspectives
  This course will examine morality through three related yet different lenses: psychology, religion and spirituality. With war, terrorism, global climate change, geological disruptions, and other threats, humans tend to feel more vulnerable, more insecure, and to seek deeper understandings of themselves and their world. Accordingly, issues such as abortion, capital punishment, and stem-cell research take on new meanings as morality evolves with culture. How do we develop a moral understanding of what is appropriate behavior for ourselves and others around us? Is morality carved in stone or is it subject to change, depending upon life experience, religion, secular and social orientation, and other factors? The goal of this course is not to definitively answer questions but to generate them; not to agree on moral issues, but to facilitate understanding of others views; not to criticize, but to comprehend the strengths and limitations of each paradigm.
• MET IS 421: The Art of Rhetoric in Life and Work
  The art of rhetoric is one of the original liberal arts and is a part of the trivium that includes grammar and logic. Rhetoric is as old as human communication and as diverse as the human imagination. In the twenty-first century, rhetoric has new forms and meanings but retains some of the dynamics of the classical age of Greece and Rome. This course is a study of the art of rhetoric in everyday life and work from both theoretical and practical perspectives with an emphasis on writing and interpretation.
• MET IS 423: The Experience of Forgiveness: Psychological, Sociological and Spiritual Perspectives
  This seminar explores the psycho/social/spiritual dimensions of the individual's experience of forgiveness. The forgiveness process is investigated through the theoretical work of psychologists such as Carl Jung and Robert Enright and spiritual/political leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Individual narratives by forgivers are considered and analyzed in relation to the frames provided by these researchers and political activists. Through readings, journals and group presentations, students will explore both the beneficial and problematic aspects of forgiving. Students will develop a warranted, personal position on forgiveness and its limitations in personal and social life.
• MET IS 450: Botany without Borders
  Online offering. Introduces students to practical problems in botany with a dual emphasis on plant evolution and plants in human affairs. The course crosses borders in time and geography as we examine the broad sweep of plants and their role on Earth over the past 300 million years. Plant form and function, evolution of seed plants, plant ecology, ethnobotany (human uses of plants), endangered plant communities, and prospects for conserving plant biodiversity are highlighted in this interdisciplinary course designed for undergraduates. While its focus is rigorously scientific, the course incorporates topics in the humanities (for example visual arts), and social sciences (anthropology) to illustrate the close relationship between humans and plants. Fur further information, call the Office of Distance Education at 617-358-1960.
• MET IS 460: Romanticism and Its Off-Shoots: Countering the Enlightenment in Philosophical Literature and the Visual Arts
  This course explores various currents, paradoxes, and extensions of Romanticism, especially as this movement took shape in Europe and America, with a special focus on philosophical literature and the visual arts. We will begin with some central ideas and themes of German Romantic thinkers, exploring how these ideas and themes are also evoked by British and American writers as well as by European and American painters. We will identify and analyze Romantic themes and styles in early German expressionist films, in British gothic fantasy movies, and in American motion pictures about western frontier heroes. In the concluding part of the course, we will study twentieth-century extension or offshoots of Romanticism, such as existentialism, depth-psychology, and the philosophy of nature. (4 cr.)
• MET IS 470: Mysteries of Archaeology
  This course is designed to examine important archaeological discoveries relating to the Bible. It will focus on two significant cultural settings: the rise of Judah and Israel 3000 years ago, and questions about the historical Jesus. The course will cover the geography and topography of Palestine and the ancient Near East, and archaeological field methods used in Israel and Palestine. The history of writing and significant manuscript discoveries, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, will also be examined. Throughout the course, students will examine how archaeologists, looters, forgers, journalists, and theologians fight each other for the opportunity to discover, interpret, and sensationalize artifacts for the religious and irreligious alike. As we examine the archaeological artifacts, students will situate them in terms of their interpretation in documentary films, recent book publications, and other modern media.
• MET IS 480: Physics of Motion: Something in the Way it Moves
  Mechanics is the study of the motion of objects and the forces acting on objects. It is hoped that the student will share some of the excitement felt by great scientists such as Galileo and Newton when they discovered many of the principles on which the physics of motion are based. The course assumes that the student has a working knowledge of algebra, but the emphasis will be on a conceptual understanding of physics rather than on advanced mathematics. Many demonstrations and animations will be presented in the course, and the student will become familiar with the physics of many everyday situations.
• MET IS 491: Directed Study
  Independent study under faculty guidance. Prior approval of program director required.
• MET IS 492: Directed Study
  Independent study under faculty guidance. Prior approval of program director required.
• MET LD 621: Web and Information Technologies for Leaders
  This course examines the role of information technology for providing effective leadership in a networked word. It provides an overview of the key technical concepts of information systems, networks, and databases, relates them to organizational structure and function, and demonstrates how they can be used and leveraged for successful leadership. The course also provides knowledge of and skills in using web technologies, traditional and Web2 tools, for presentation and distribution of information, building efficient communications and collaborations between individuals, working groups, as well as for disseminating knowledge to large population groups.
• MET LD 630: Leadership: Historic and Social Perspectives
  This course will examine the underlying values of organizations and guides students through the evolutionary development of successful leadership models. Students will be exposed to multiple profiles and strategies of renowned leaders with a diverse set of challenges reflecting innovative and evolving methodologies. 4 cr.
• MET LD 705: Leadership in a Dynamic Environment
  This course will analyze the values, behaviors, and processes that lead people and organizations to become effective leaders in their chosen field and as a consequence to build sustainable and lasting competitive advantages. 4 cr.
• MET LD 740: Group and Organizational Dynamics
  The concept of a team is the unit of an organization where leaders develop influencing skills. The team is defined as a group of individuals that one directly works with or within. The practice of leading teams involves the practice of organizing diverse personalities, cultures, and with varying skill sets. The students will be exposed to principles of team characteristics, process, team faces, and the actual product of the team. There will be a pragmatic approach of structured lectures, case evaluation, group evaluation, and individual evaluation for growth.
• MET LF 111: First-Semester French
  For students who have never studied French. Main patterns of grammar, conversation practice, written exercises, and directed compositions. Four hours weekly. Lab required.
• MET LF 112: Second-Semester French
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: MET LF 111; or placement by examination.
  Be a fast, fun, and flexible Beginning Intermediate French course, LF211 is a continuing French course for recent beginners and for those who have been away from the language for a while. Classes focus attention on grammar, vocabulary, and structure of French, emphasizing the basic communication skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The course features a hands-on, task-based approach, and includes an extensive online component.
• MET LS 110: Spanish for Medical Professionals
  This course provides the practical vocabulary, phrases and grammar structures that you need to communicate with Spanish speaking patients and their family. In order to master these new language skills you will practice them in everyday situations such as answering the phone, greeting patients and family, establishing rapport, conducting a clinical interview, referring a patient to a specialist, giving a diagnosis, giving recommendations on diet, exercise, medications, etcetera. The course will include a variety of interactive situations including role play, audio or video recordings, telephone or video conference, or conversation with invited guests. Segments dedicated to cultural aspects will provide valuable information on Hispanic customs and will help you to better understand your patient?s needs and perceptions. After completing this course you will still need to rely on medical interpreters for more complex interactions and for legal purposes; however, you will be able to ask for and, using a variety of strategies, understand and communicate essential information. You will also have a solid base on which to continue developing your Spanish either formally through classes or informally in continued conversation with your clients and patients.