This spring students have several opportunities to dive deeper into the academic theme of Race & Social Justice through interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary lenses. These courses are flexible and are open to all students and meet elective requirements in any program. They might also work as substitutes for a specific requirement (just ask!).
For more information, please contact Sarah Hentges at sarah.hentges@maine.edu.
INT/HON 188: The Interdisciplinary Colloquium
Race & Social Justice, 1 credit, real-time Zoom or asynchronous
Spring 2022: Offered Thursdays from 4 to 5 pm (and online “delayed viewing” section)
This year’s academic theme is Race & Social Justice. In this 1-credit spring course, students will learn about race and social justice from a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. Each week a different faculty member will present/lead discussion based upon an assigned reading, film, or other text. We will consider, for instance: literature/art/poetry, science, and social science approaches as well as health inequities, state violence, the prison industrial complex, identity and representation, embodiment, power and empowerment, and proactive and productive ways to work toward social justice. Students who are interested in earning 3 credits on the theme of race and social justice may choose to enroll in INT 389 in addition to INT/HON 188.
In short: each week for this class students will have a short reading or video to watch each week, a class meeting to attend (or recording to watch), and a post/reply or journal option or one-hour conversation group. A short final reflection will conclude the work for this course.
INT 389: Topics in Interdisciplinary Studies: Race & Social Justice
2 Credits, directed/independent work, taken in tandem with INT 188
Students who enroll in INT/HON 188 may opt to enroll in this 2-credit course, giving them 3 credits total. Students in this 2-credit course will be asked to engage in online discussion and to complete a paper/project on the theme of race and social justice to be presented at the UMA Student Research Conference on April 22, 2022. Offered asynchronous online.
Some highlights of the 188/389 Interdisciplinary Studies courses include:
Flexibility:
- The coursework can be one credit or three credits for any major or for the UMA Honors Program
- The coursework includes directed and independent work that works into your schedule
- The coursework can be entirely asynchronous or can include a real-time Zoom one hour a week
Diversity:
- Interdisciplinary/Transdisciplinary curriculum engages students through a variety of different approaches and subjects
- Topic of Race & Social Justice enables students to explore the academic theme and build their knowledge and skills related to race and social justice
- Professors from across UMA programs provide a variety of approaches and voices
Theory and Practice (Praxis):
- Opportunity to pursue research and/or activist projects through directed and independent work
Honors Students: Students in the Honors program can use these courses in several different ways:
- The HON 188 course can count as an H credit for your requirements
- The HON 188 + INT 389 can count as an H credit or as a sub for HON 308 or as credit for your capstone
AME/INT/WGS 430E: Embodied Social Justice: Racialized Trauma and Individual, Cultural, and Collective Healing/Transformation
3 credits, an advanced but accessible course that provides the opportunity to consider and practice embodied approaches to the topic.
What does it feel like to be centered, grounded, and in your body? How does this state allow us to heal and hold space for others to heal? Embodied Social Justice is an interdisciplinary field/focus of study that combines and expands critical educational theories, critical race theories, and intersectional feminist theory along with trauma studies, transformative justice, Somatics, neuroscience, and so much more. In this course, we will explore theoretical foundations as well as embodied practices as we develop a deeper understanding of individual and structural transformation and empowerment. We will consider the role of the body in social and cultural movements, intergenerational and racialized trauma, compound and collective trauma, cultural appropriation, critical consciousness, and mind/body healing practices like yoga and meditation. 3 CR. Prereqs: any AME, INT, or WGS course OR permission of instructor.