Catalog description of the minor:

Values, Ethics and Social Action
Minor coordinator: Professor Schindler

An interdisciplinary minor which draws on courses in social sciences and philosophy or religion to offer students an intellectual framework for understanding social action and its ethics. INTDS 160, Intro to Values, Ethics andSocial Action, and INTDS 560, Capstone Seminar in Values, Ethics and Social Action, are required, as well as a service leadership position. Requires 24 credits.

Requirements for the minor:

1. INTDS 160: Intro to Values, Ethics & Social Action (interdisciplinary foundation course; taken before the senior year)
2. PHIL 140: Ethics and Community OR RELST 200: Christian Ethics

3. ECON 100 (Goldstein's section only, formerly ECON 112): Wealth, Poverty and Power in America; OR POLSCI 348 & 349: Community Activism I & II; OR PSYCH 162: Human Social Behavior; OR PSYCH 174: Motivation and Emotion

4. INTDS 201 & 202: Service-Learning: Theory & Practice; OR ENGL 208: Technical and Professional Writing; OR PSYC 300: Qualitative Methods
5. INTDS 560: Capstone Seminar. Topics to vary according to who teaches it; to be taken in the third or fourth year.
6. One elective approved by the VESA Steering Committee**
7. One service leadership position (e.g., Bonner, Peer Project Leader, Service-Learning Challenge) for at least one term
No courses for the minor may be taken on a credit/no credit basis.


Currently approved electives for the VESA minor:

Electives for the VESA program (last updated 4-05)


Applied Ethics and Theology
PHIL 210: Oppression and Liberation
PHIL 375: The Body in Western Culture
PHIL 395: Case Studies in Medical Ethics
RELST 200: Christian Ethics (if not taken for Core Course Requirement)
RELST 225: Feminist Theology
RELST 320: American Christianity and Social Justice

Humanities and Social Action
ART 156: Art and the Environment
ART 341: Art in Rebellion
COM ART 355: Rhetoric and Community
COM ART 360: Public Advocacy
COM ART 375: Documentary Tradition
COM ART 455: Communication Technology and Social Change
CRI LANG: American Sign Language
ENGL 204: Alternative Traditions in American Literature
ENGL 208: Technical and Professional Writing (if not taken for Methods Course Requirement)
ENGL 322: Topics in African American Literature
ENGL 391: Politics and Literature (also listed as POLSC 391)

Social Applications of Science
BIO 335: Conservation Biology (also listed as ES 335)
ES 350: Ecological Economics
ES 356: Social and Political Systems of Costa Rica
ES 415: Environmental Health
ES 420: Understanding Third World Environmental Problems
Processes in Public Life
ECON 421: Strategic Environmental Management
HIST 320: History of Political Crime and Political Justice
HIST 332: Problems in Contemporary America
HIST 336: History of American Women
HIST 364: Problems in the History of Love and Sex
POLSC 215: The Politics of Mass Culture
POLSC 230: Women, Suffrage and Political Participation
POLSC 231: Women and Public Policy
POLSC 233: Ecofeminism
POLSC 261: U.S.-Latin American Relations
POLSC 317: Political Parties and Elections
POLSC 318: Politics and the Media
POLSC 335: Urban Government and Politics
POLSC 343: Environmental Politics in the United States
POLSC 345: Civil Rights and Liberties
POLSC 347: Environmental Regulation and the State
POLSC 431: Global Environmental Politics (also listed as ES 431)
POLSC 490: Gender Power, Leadership and Governance
PSYCH 421: Social-Cultural Nature of Child Development
PSYCH 433: Justice
PSYCH 434: Attitude Formation and Change
PSYCH 435: Psychology and Law
PSYCH 440: Language and Social Cognition
PSYCH 450: Contemporary Social Issues
PSYCH 475: Psychology & Religion (cross-listed as RELST 475)
PSYCH 480: Food and Hunger in Society
WS 200: Feminist Theory and Methods

Note: Any elective not on this list must be cleared by the program steering committee.

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