English (Major)
ENG 203 Introduction to Writing Poetry
Practice in the writing of poetry, with attention paid to various techniques, approaches (free verse and formal verse), and the reading of contemporary poets. The course is workshop-based: peer critiques constitute the basis for each class.
ENG 220 Literary Analysis
Designed for majors. Emphasizes theoretical approaches and critical strategies for the written analysis of poetry, fiction, and drama and/or film. Writing intensive. Required for the major. Students who major in English should complete 220 by the end of the sophomore year. Those who do not meet this deadline must make special arrangements with the Chair.
ENG 280 American Literature through the 20th Century
Designed for majors and prospective majors. Historical survey treating the development of American letters from the beginnings through the twentieth century. Students who major in English should complete 280 by the end of the junior year. Those who cannot meet this deadline must make special arrangements with the Chair.
ENG 290 World Literature
Designed for majors and prospective majors. A historical survey of selected texts outside the British and American literary traditions.
ENG 303 Advanced Poetry with Professor Marshall
A “laboratory” course focusing upon advanced work in writing poetry, with various experimental techniques explored, to consider what a poem is and/or does. The course is workshop-based: peer critiques constitute the basis for each class. A collection of poems is required as a final project.
ENG 303 Advanced Poetry with Professor Parker
A “laboratory” course focusing upon advanced work in writing poetry, with various experimental techniques explored, to consider what a poem is and/or does. The course is workshop-based: peer critiques constitute the basis for each class. A collection of poems is required as a final project.
ENG 370 Cambridge Program Summer 2015
A survey focused on the long 18th century in Great Britain. Course taken at Cambridge University with lectures and discussion groups run by Cambridge Professors.
ENG 393 Word Art
You live in a highly visual culture. To be literate, you need to read and interpret words, images & the interplay between them, both in print and online. This course examines print & digital texts that combine words & images, but it is not a course in mass communications. Instead, we’ll study some of the most complex and subtle word/image interactions, including ekphrasis (poems about pictures), illuminated books, graphic memoir, and digital poetry. ENG 393: Word-Art is a double hybrid: a study of words & images via critical & creative writing. The course inhabits both print and digital realms: meet in a classroom & blog on this website; draw in notebooks & write for web publication; hack print books & design a Davidson Domain.
ENG401 Reported Creative Nonfiction
This creative writing seminar combines the essential elements of creative nonfiction with the fruits of academic research and reportage — in both the library and the field (as through intervieiwing). Students will define appropriate projects almost immediately and set about researching them under the guidance of the instructor and other professionals. The research will culminate in a piece of reported creative nonfiction, prepared for publication, ranging from 6000 to 7000 words. Weekly meetings will be devoted to discussing a wide array of reading in the genre, presenting research to the class, and revisiting drafts in a workshop setting. Readings will include works by such writers as John McPhee, Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Orlean, Thomas Mallon, Atul Gawande, Francine Prose, and many others. Ideally, students who enroll will have taken a creative writing course at the 200 level or higher.
ENG 495 Cleopatra
Cleopatra has endured as an icon from her own lifetime to the present. Was she among the first feminists or as poisonous as the asp that took her life? This interdisciplinary seminar will explore the fascination with and manipulation of Cleopatra’s image over the centuries. Beginning with Stacy Schiff’s recent biography of her, we’ll explore her appropriation by such authors as Plutarch, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dryden, and Shaw, as well as by visual artists and in films like Joseph Mankiewicz’s Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor.
ENG 498 & 499 Honors Thesis Research and Writing
Writing of the honors thesis begun in English 498, supervised by the student’s thesis director and supported by instruction of the departmental program coordinator. Ordinarily, taken in the spring of the senior year.
Psychology (Major)
PSY 101 Introduction to Psychology
Survey of the current psychology of learning, perception, motivation, intelligence, thinking, and social and abnormal behaviors, with emphasis on the application of scientific methods to psychological investigation and on the biological bases of behavior and experience. Students may be required to participate in experiments or in alternative research experiences.
PSY 231 Abnormal Psychology
Characteristics, etiology, and treatment of major patterns of maladaptive behavior (anxiety disorders, depression, antisocial behavior, schizophrenia, etc.). Theoretical and empirical evidence for understanding causality and treatment.
PSY 232 Social Psychology
An overview of how thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors are shaped by social and situational factors. Topics include: the social self, attitude formation and change, person perception, cultural influences, conformity, communication processes and persuasion, group processes, prejudice, aggression, cooperation-competition, and real-world applications of social psychology.
PSY 276 Cognitive Psychology
Introduction to cognitive psychology. Structure and processes underlying cognition including perception, memory, attention, language, problem solving, imagery, etc. Emphasis on theories and empirical evidence for understanding cognition.
PSY 290 Practicum in Abnormal Psych (Broughton Summer Program)
Spent the summer at Broughton Mental Hospital in North Carolina. Took class and worked with patients while shadowing the staff at the hospital.
PSY 304 Research: Memory
Research methods, concepts, and empirical findings in the field of memory are explored in lecture and extensive laboratory experience. Emphasis is on human memory. Participation in research as subjects and experimenters is required. Recommended completion by Fall of senior year for majors.
PSY 310 Research:Design & Analysis
Introduction to psychological research. Descriptive, correlational, and experimental methods of research will be examined. Primary focus on data analysis including descriptive statistics and inferential statistics with emphasis on analysis of variance. Mandatory weekly computer lab. Recommended in the sophomore/junior year for majors.
PSY 318 Research: Social
Research methods and statistical techniques used in social psychology are examined through lecture, laboratory, and field research. Students will gain knowledge in designing multiple types of research studies, as well as implementing a variety of data collection strategies. Scientific writing and ability to understand and critique empirical articles will be emphasized. Course requirements include participation in research as investigators. Recommended completion by Fall of senior year for majors.
PSY 351 Clinical Seminar: Gender and Psychopathology
This advanced seminar course will address research and theory in a specific area of clinical psychology. The course will provide an in-depth overview of literature in a specific research area through lecture, discussion, and readings. A major emphasis of the course will be the evaluation and interpretation of the empirical literature. Major assignments include regular written response papers, leading discussion related to a set of related readings, and a literature review presented as both a manuscript and oral presentation. Prerequisite: PSY 231 or PSY 234 or permission of the instructor.
PSY 401 Issues in Psychology
Central issues in psychology that cut across previous course boundaries. Specific topics vary year by year. The course begins with a review of major approaches to psychology (e.g., Behaviorist, Biological, Cognitive, Evolutionary, Humanist, Psychoanalytic) and ethical principles that apply to a variety of situations that psychologists face.
Spanish (significant coursework)
SPA 201 Intermediate Spanish
Extensive reading and discussion in Spanish of texts of moderate difficulty in the cultures and literatures of Spain, Latin America and US Latino; grammar study; extensive conversation practice. Requires attendance at Assistant Teacher sessions once a week and online work through the Language Resource Center. Service learning may be required. Meets the degree requirement for proficiency in foreign language. Conducted in Spanish.
SPA 260 Spanish Conversation & Composition
Writing-intensive course in Spanish. Training and practice to develop fluency, accuracy, and expressiveness in oral and written communication. Requires conversation session with an Assistant Teacher once a week. Strongly recommended for students planning to study abroad. This course should be taken before 270. Conducted in Spanish.
SPA 270 Textual Analysis
Reading and discussion of works by Spanish, Latino, and Latin American writers. Introduction to cultural, historical, and textual analysis of Hispanic literatures and cultures. Research papers in the target language. Conducted in Spanish.
SPA 311 Teaching Spanish in Elementary School
In this course, students will read theoretical material about language learning and language pedagogy as specifically related to children learning Spanish as a foreign language and put the readings into practice through participation in the Davidson FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) program. Students will learn how to plan a curriculum, develop lesson plans, implement lessons, and assess their students’ learning. Teaching in the Davidson FLES is required. Conducted in Spanish with readings in English and Spanish; counts toward the Major and Minor in Hispanic Studies.
SPA 393 Advanced Language Seminar (Cadiz Summer Program)
Took an intensive Spanish course in Cadiz, Spain in grammar and vocabulary.
SPA 394 Advanced Seminar in Spanish Cultures (Cadiz Summer Program)
Took an intensive Spanish course in Cadiz, on the art, culture and history in Spain.
LAS 342 The Latin American City
This course analyzes the Latin American city through historical and cultural perspectives. In addition to cities such as Mexico City and Buenos Aires, the course will address Latino presence in US cities. Course to be conducted in Spanish.
Music
MUS 013 Chorale 2013-214, 2014-2015
Davidson College Chorale is the premier choral ensemble at Davidson. A highly select, auditioned choir comprised of students from various academic disciplines, they perform the standard choral repertoire as well as newly composed and commissioned choral literature. The Chorale tours annually and represents Davidson College on the campus, regionally, and nationally.
MUS 050 Applied Lessons Vocal 2014-2015
One 30-minute private lesson per week, non-credit, pass-fail grade.
MUS 055 Vocal & Instr Study Flute 2013-2014
One 60-minute private lesson per week, non-credit, pass-fail grade.
MUS 155 Applied Music Flute 2014-2015
One 60-minute private lesson per week, one credit for two consecutive semesters. First Level. Prerequisite: By audition or permission of instructor
MUS 255 Applied Lessons Flute 2015-2016
One 60-minute private lesson per week, one credit for two consecutive semesters. Intermediate. Prerequisite: MUS 155
MUS 356 Applied Lessons Flute 2016-2017
One 60-minute private lesson per week, one credit for two consecutive semesters. Intermediate. Prerequisite: MUS 155 & 255
Other Courses
WRI 101 The Art of Prose
WRI 101 is taught by faculty from across the college who invite students to write about issues related to a given professor’s interests and expertise. In one course, a student might argue for a particular interpretation of a play by Sophocles; in another, a student might analyze the public reception of claims about global warming; in still another, a student might assess the quality of media representations of poverty in America.
MAT 108 Math, Magic & Mystery
Survey of abstract mathematical ideas that deepen understanding of patterns from mathematics, art, and the physical world. Topics may include the nature of number, infinity, dimension, symmetries, alternate geometries, topology, chaos, fractals, probability and social choice. While techniques and concepts have much in common with advanced theoretical mathematics, little background is assumed and the course is not practical preparation for later courses in mathematics. The course title is occasionally changed to reflect a special emphasis.
BIO 113 Integrated Concepts in Bio I
Introduction to biology’s core concepts from molecules through cells including information, evolution, cells, emergent properties, and homeostasis. The weekly laboratory emphasizes core competencies of the process of science, the interdisciplinary nature of modern biology, data interpretation, quantitative skills, communication in multiple formats, and experience with large databases. Students may take BIO 113 with either BIO 112 or BIO 114 to complete biology introductory course requirements.
POL 140 Comparative Politics
Introduction to the comparative study of political institutions, selected public policy challenges, and political trends in selected countries and regions around the world. Students are introduced to aspects of critical analysis and comparative methods as part of exploration of topics such as comparative electoral systems, executive-legislative relations, health care policies, gun control, immigration, taxation, and democratization.
HIS 355 American Legal History
Law in American history from English settlement to the present. Topics include the origins and evolution of the U.S. legal system; law and economic development; race, sex, and the law; the legal profession; industrialization and the regulatory state; and individual liberties and civil rights.
