Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • CAS WR 151: Writing, Research, and Inquiry with Oral and/or Signed Expression
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 120) or CASWR 13TR or CASWR 16TR transfer credit. - Topic-based seminar in critical reading, research, writing, and oral communication. Practice in sustained inquiry, including scholarly research and communication of findings to different audiences. Attention to argumentation, public speaking, prose style, and revision, informed by reflection and feedback, including conferences. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing, Research, and Inquiry, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing, Research, and Inquiry
  • CAS WR 152: Writing, Research, and Inquiry with Digital/Multimedia Expression
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 120) or CASWR 13TR or CASWR 16TR transfer credit. - Topic-based seminar in critical reading, research, writing, and digital/multimedia communication. Practice in sustained inquiry, including scholarly research and communication of findings to different audiences. Attention to argumentation, prose style, digital/multimedia communication, and revision, informed by reflection and feedback, including conferences. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression; Writing, Research, and Inquiry; Research and Information Literacy.
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing, Research, and Inquiry
  • CAS WR 153: Writing, Research, and Inquiry with Creativity/Innovation
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 120) or CASWR 13TR or CASWR 16TR transfer credit. - Topic-based seminar in critical reading, research, writing, creativity, and innovation. Practice in sustained inquiry, including scholarly research and communication of findings to different audiences. Attention to argumentation, prose style, creative process, and revision, informed by reflection and feedback, including conferences. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Creativity/Innovation, Writing, Research, and Inquiry, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing, Research, and Inquiry
  • CAS WR 212: Translingual Writing
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 120) or CASWR 13TR or CASWR 16TR transfer credit. - Students analyze and produce writing that crosses, mixes, and plays with different languages, e.g. essays, poems; practice inclusive approaches to teaming; and apply translingual theory to help address social issues. Open to all, regardless of languages spoken, major, background. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Creativity/Innovation, Teamwork/Collaboration, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS WR 250: AI Literacy for Writing
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 120); Writing, Research, and Inquiry (e.g., CASWR 151, WR 152, or WR 153). This course provides a foundational understanding of generative AI and its impact on the writing landscape and society. Students explore generative AI tools, addressing ethical considerations and real-world applications, and create projects blending traditional writing with multimodal approaches. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Creativity/Innovation, Ethical Reasoning, Writing Intensive.
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS WR 318: Public Speaking
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 120); Writing, Research, and Inquiry (e.g., CASWR 151, WR 152, or WR 153). - How can public speakers engage different communities at different times and in different places? This course explores theories concerning how to construct narratives and arguments that resonate with specific audiences and invites students to put such theories into performative practice. Students may not receive credit for both CASCC 318 and CASWR 318. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS WR 320: Community Writing
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 120) or CASWR 13TR or CASWR 16TR transfer credit. - Students analyze and produce writing that crosses, mixes, and plays with different languages, e.g. essays, poems; practice inclusive approaches to teaming; and apply translingual theory to help address social issues. Open to all, regardless of languages spoken, major, background. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Creativity/Innovation, Teamwork/Collaboration, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • The Individual in Community
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS WR 415: Public Writing
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 120); Writing, Research, and Inquiry (e.g., CASWR 151, WR 152, or WR 153); and junior or senior standing. - Students learn about the growing call for scholars to communicate their research to the public, study and practice several public genres, and learn to "translate" academic knowledge for public audiences. Occasional evening events required. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Writing-Intensive Course, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS WR 597: Tutoring Writing in the Disciplines
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 120); Writing, Research, and Inquiry (e.g., CASWR 151, WR 152, or WR 153); and consent of instructor. - Provides instruction and support for department-based writing tutors. Students learn about discipline-specific writing practices, genres, and conventions, explore features of writing, and develop practical tutoring methods that transcend disciplinary boundaries to help peers become more independent writers.
  • CAS WR 599: Tutoring in the Global University
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 120); Writing, Research, and Inquiry (e.g., CASWR 151, WR 152, or WR 153); and consent of instructor. - Provides instruction and support for CAS writing tutors. Students learn strategies for leading writing consultations, meeting the needs of ELL students, and navigating multimodal assignments. They also explore how their identities and experiences shape their roles as peer mentors. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
    • The Individual in Community
  • CAS WS 101: Gender and Sexuality: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
    This course is the introduction to women's, gender, and sexuality studies, that considers the origins, diversity, and expression of sex and gender. Topics include the evolutionary origin of sexes; evolution, development, and social construction of sex, gender, and sexuality; sexual difference, similarities and diversity in gendered bodies, brains, and behavior. This interdisciplinary introduction is the foundation for the minor in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Scientific Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Scientific Inquiry I
  • CAS WS 179: Introduction to Trans Literature
    Is there such a thing as trans literature? While "Trans Studies" as a field of study in academia is relatively new, trans literature is not. In this course we engage with a wide-ranging trans literary tradition that spans time, genre, and language. We ask questions about authorship, community, and the social and political conditions which allow and bar the flourishing of trans culture. We will ask: What can the word 'trans' mean, and how does its multiple meanings open space to imagine new ways of becoming? How can literature expand how the world might be, rather than what it is? Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS WS 200: Thinking Queerly: An Introduction to LGBTQ Studies
    Explores historical and contemporary debates regarding LGBTQ identity, community, and politics through the relevant interdisciplinary (and often, competing) theories and research. Students gain skills in digital/multimedia expression through the development of a collaborative LGBTQ online magazine. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Digital/Multimedia Expression.
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • The Individual in Community
  • CAS WS 201: Introduction to Trans Studies
    This course introduces students to the field of trans studies alongside the increasing precarity and hypervisibility of trans bodies in public life. Students become familiar with intersectional issues of trans representation, healthcare, cissexism, bathroom legislation, book bans, and more. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Creativity/Innovation, Digital/Multimedia Expression, The Individual in Community.
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • The Individual in Community
  • CAS WS 213: Resistance, Protest, and Empowerment: Global Women's Movements
    Explores how global expressions of sexism shape all of our lives, experiences, and life chances, with particular attention to how race, class, and sexuality intersect with gender to shape social inequalities. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. Effective Spring 2026, this course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Teamwork/Collaboration, The Individual in Community.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • The Individual in Community
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS WS 233: The Evolutionary Biology of Human Variation
    Addresses human biological variation. An introduction to the fundamentals of comparative biology, evolutionary theory, and genetics and considers how research in these fields informs some of our most culturally-engaged identities: race, sex, gender, sexuality, and body type. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. Effective Spring 2026, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Digital/Multimedia Expression, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS WS 240: Sexuality and Social Life
    Introduction to sociological perspectives on sexuality. Historical and comparative analysis of sexuality, with a focus on the social and cultural institutions that shape sexuality in the contemporary U.S. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking, Digital/Multimedia Expression.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS WS 241: Sociology of Gender
    An introduction to the social construction of sex and gender with a focus on the economic, political, social, and cultural forces that shape gender relations. Examines gender as a social structure that patterns institutional inequalities and everyday interactions on society. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry 2, The Individual in Community, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS WS 263: The Behavioral Biology of Women
    An exploration of female behavioral biology focusing on evolutionary, physiological, and biosocial aspects of women's lives from puberty through pregnancy, birth, lactation, menopause, and aging. Examples are drawn from traditional and industrialized societies, and data from nonhuman primates are considered. Effective Spring 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Scientific Inquiry I
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS WS 270: Race, Sex and Science Fiction
    Science Fiction has always been engaged in complex conversations about culture and the fate of the human species. This course takes seriously the presence of issues such as race, sex and gender, which have become increasingly foregrounded in the genre. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Social Inquiry II