Descriptions for Integrations 300-Fall 2023

INTG 300-01A: Leading a Life that Matters

dos Santos, Pedro

In this section of INTG 300, we will explore the connection between a responsible life, the common good, and your college experience in the context of vocation, education, and the labor market.

INTG 300-02A, 04A: Life on the Page

South, Yvette

What happens when you put your life on the page? This class explores how our stories intersect with the stories of others and bring us together on the path toward the common good. We will develop our ability to tell stories in personal essays and give a TED-style talk based on one of these essays. Expect to read great personal essays, a novel or some short stories, and watch a rom com or two.

INTG 300-03A, 06A: Creating a Record

Kendall, John

When a musical artist makes an album, what music is included? What binds all the tracks together to make that album unique? By looking for individual and unique threads from their Integrated Portfolio (aka "Their Record"), students will create their own album of academic success from the work they have collected during their time at CSB/SJU. During this time of "album creation," students will 1) explore how their time here is connected to their time before they got here and the time after they leave; and 2) how they will incorporate their work here into a future responsible and good life.  

INTG 300-05A: Creating a Record

Harkins, Matt

When a musical artist makes an album, what music is included? What binds all the tracks together to make that album unique? By looking for individual and unique threads from their Integrated Portfolio (aka "Their Record"), students will create their own album of academic success from the work they have collected during their time at CSB/SJU. During this time of "album creation," students will 1) explore how their time here is connected to their time before they got here and the time after they leave; and 2) how they will incorporate their work here into a future responsible and good life.

INTG 300-07A: Law and the Common Good

Haeg, Claire

This course will examine how the political and legal thought addresses the notion of the common good. The class will focus on works of fiction and non-fiction and examine how political and legal thought is articulated within those works.

INTG 300-08A: Cyber-Wisdom and the Common Good

Kachelski, Robert

In this course, we will examine a recent framework describing cyber-wisdom, including how it can be developed individually and in the service of the common good. Digital technologies present both risks and opportunities, and the cyber-wisdom framework is designed to help users learn to use these technologies wisely, in keeping with the broader goal of promoting human flourishing. Through class discussions and writing assignments, we will critically evaluate this proposed framework and the authors’ suggestions for the cultivation of cyber-wisdom. Students will reflect on their own experiences with digital technologies, the challenges inherent in their ubiquitous use in the modern world, and the risks they may pose to the well-being of individuals, communities, and societies. We will also discuss the potential for using digital technologies in ways that promote the common good.

INTG 300-09A: Cross-Cultural Encounters and the Common Good

Larkin, Brian

Adroit global citizens must constantly negotiate cross-cultural encounters in our multi-cultural world.  How has your liberal-arts education prepared you to ponder your own identities and to navigate difference?   How might you conceive of the common good in a multi-cultural world and how might you contribute to it?  We will explore these questions as we read two in-depth examples of cross-cultural encounters (one fictional and one real) and as you reflect on your own college education and experiences.

INTG 300-10A: The Liberal Arts and You

Nash, Jonathan

Are you wondering how your liberal arts education will help you in your future career and personal life? In this class, you'll reflect on how your liberal arts experiences have prepared you for your professional career and personal life and learn how to explain the value of your education to others. You'll hear from successful alumni/ae and experts from our campus community about how they've used their liberal arts skills in the real world. Plus, you'll have the chance to envision your own future, so you'll leave CSB & SJU feeling confident and excited about the possibilities that await you.  

INTG 300-11A: Character Study

Tourino, Christina

This course considers various versions of the Common Good as they are brought to life through works in the literary and performing arts.  Students will also undertake an advanced study of writing and speaking, which will culminate in a substantive paper in which they describe their own views about what constitutes a responsible life. 

INTG 300-12A, 13A: Courageous Connections in Personal and Professional Communication

Lynch, Julie

Examine the allure and fun of prioritizing friendships in personal and professional life. Study the science of looking at authentic connection amidst a chaotic world of social media and pandemic confusion. The courage to be real in relationship developments is catalyst to ignite support in personal profession lives. Further, learn to give and receive to create friendships and learn to do the work of commitment. Finally, learn to build friendships with diverse individuals who experience backgrounds with differing levels of acceptance and belonging. Celebrate healthy relationships and robust conversations.

INTG 300-14A, 15A: Islam and the Common Good

Armajani, Jon

After providing an introduction to the beliefs, practices, and history of Islam, this course analyzes the relationships among Islam, politics, and ideas of the common good among Muslims primarily in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In this context, the course will examine contrasting perspectives of the common good among Islamists, liberal Muslims, and Muslim traditionalists. The course will provide discussions of the religious, theological, and political foundations of these groups while analyzing their work in education, literacy, social service, religious and political instruction, and community-building. The course will explore the perspectives of members of these groups and movements toward peace and violence as well as their religiously- and politically-based conceptions of the common good.

INTG 300-16A: Life Can be Hard

Cunningham, Tony

Putting together a good, meaningful life that pays sufficient attention to others and the common good may sound easy enough, but life can be full of surprises and adversities.  For instance, it’s hard to be good at things.  And it can be hard to make relationships work.  Often enough, we must choose between different good things with no guarantees.  Sometimes it’s terribly difficult to fix our mistakes.  And somewhere along the line, we’ll fail, be wronged by somebody, and struggle to maintain our integrity.  We’ll consider a fascinating collection of human adversities by way of films, stories, and short essays, all in the service of mapping out a future worth living.  

INTG 300-17A: The Liberal Art of Leadership

Schlude, Jason

Vision and decision, across 5000 years of human history: this is the subject of The Liberal Art of Leadership. In this course, we will consider an array of case studies, starting from the depths of ancient history and moving into the present moment. We will witness spectacular successes and failures of some of the most famous leaders of all time. We will ask questions enabling us to understand past human behavior and to prepare ourselves for how to face our own challenges, political and personal (and broadly defined). What resources did leaders have? How did they use them? To what effect? How should we explain success or failure? How should we apply the past to the present? Is there a reliable recipe for success? As we grapple with such questions, students will have opportunities to apply what we learn in a modern context. In particular, they will consider how they can lead a good life in the context of their communities. If you want big history, big questions, and (possibly) big answers, join us.

INTG 300-18A: Life Can be Hard

Cunningham, Tony

Putting together a good, meaningful life that pays sufficient attention to others and the common good may sound easy enough, but life can be full of surprises and adversities.  For instance, it’s hard to be good at things.  And it can be hard to make relationships work.  Often enough, we must choose between different good things with no guarantees.  Sometimes it’s terribly difficult to fix our mistakes.  And somewhere along the line, we’ll fail, be wronged by somebody, and struggle to maintain our integrity.  We’ll consider a fascinating collection of human adversities by way of films, stories, and short essays, all in the service of mapping out a future worth living.  

INTG 300-19A:

Dana Drazenovich

INTG 300-20A: Case Day: The Case for Liberal Arts

Elisheva Perelman

What are the liberal arts and are they worth defending? Does it matter if and how we integrate our coursework? What is this framework intended to teach us, how does it succeed in doing so, and how has it failed? As soon-to-be alums, our job in this course is to sum up the college experience and provide ways to improve on it for the administration, faculty, staff, and peers.