University of Kentucky Undergraduate Bulletin

2003-2004

The College of Arts and Sciences offers students the opportunity to pursue studies in programs that are administered jointly by several departments within the College.  Students may choose from several majors and/or minors or create a self-designed program that fulfills their individual educational requirements.

African American Studies

The African American Studies program seeks to promote the interest and knowledge of the African diaspora experience through quality teaching and research. Multidisciplinary in scope, African American Studies offers a selection of courses in English, history, geography, political science, sociology, philosophy, religion, and language. Courses affiliated with the Program are listed each fall and spring semester in the University Schedule of Classes under the AAS prefix.

African American Studies Minor

By completing 21 hours of course work students can earn a minor in African American Studies. This minor offers a cultural, historical, and literary base that can strengthen any major in the Humanities or the Social Sciences. For additional information on the minor, see the African American Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.

Visit the African American Studies Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/AASRP/.

American Culture

American studies draws together diverse disciplines to examine the historical and contemporary forms and issues of our national life. The program in American Culture takes as its field of study any peoples, cultural expressions and social institutions, however or whenever identified as “American.” Program curricula link faculty, courses, and students across a range of humanities and social science departments. 

American Culture Minor

The minor centers on two team-taught, interdisciplinary seminars on selected topics in American studies. Students electing the minor are also encouraged to take a range of elective courses to complement their major. The minor in American Culture prepares students for further graduate or professional training, or for work in education, government, or business. For additional information on the minor, see the American Culture listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.

Visit the American Culture Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/AmericanCulture/welcome.html.

Appalachian Studies

The Appalachian Studies minor offers students with serious interests in Appalachian regional studies an opportunity to pursue a minor concentration to complement a major in one of the University's professional or liberal arts programs. This interdisciplinary program enables students to comprehend more fully the history, social structure, and culture of the region – its people, its problems, and its future. The Appalachian Studies Program Director serves as faculty advisor to undergraduate minors and as faculty sponsor of the Appalachian Student Council, an organization for students with an interest in or ties to the Appalachian region.

Faculty and students interested in Appalachian Studies work in cooperation with the Appalachian Center, which was created in 1977, to fulfill the University's research and service missions in this region. For additional information on the minor, see the Appalachian Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.

For more information, contact Dr. Shaunna L. Scott, 1557 Patterson Office Tower, (859) 257-6882; or e-mail: soc247@uky.edu. Visit the Appalachian Studies Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/AppalStudies/welcome.html.

Committee on Social Theory

Social theory considers the full range of our social practices, not only the taken-for-grantedness of our social institutions and cultural conditions but also the hidden aspects of our daily lives. Social theory is, as sociologist Charles Lemert puts it, a basic survival skill. It embraces substantive questions about the composition, structure and development of social phenomena, as well as the epistemological conditions that inform our ability to comprehend them. Today, it is one of the most significant and fastest-growing concerns in the humanities and the social sciences. It brings together scholars from a multitude of disciplines in investigations of such topics as the social construction of individuals in contemporary and historical contexts, the nature of the political, the structure of agency, the cultural and economic processes associated with globalization, and the constitution of public space and civil society.

Because many social theoretical issues refuse containment within extant disciplinary demarcations, they are best studied within a multidisciplinary framework. The Committee on Social Theory formed in 1989 to facilitate such theoretical teaching and research projects across disciplinary and college boundaries at the University of Kentucky. The program fosters practical communication through a range of pedagogical and research projects between the humanities and social sciences. The Committee on Social Theory's events assist faculty and students in testing their own disciplinary understandings and enhancing their own empirical and archival research by building transdisciplinary dialogues. Today, the Committee includes some 50 faculty associates, spanning fourteen departments and five schools, and offers students and faculty an innovative opportunity to pursue social thought in a bracingly interdisciplinary dialogue. Its activities form a unique and exciting environment where students and faculty study the expanding and increasingly important field of social theory and cultural studies.

Visit the Committee on Social Theory Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/SocTheo/.

Environmental Studies

Environmental considerations permeate almost every facet of modern life, and concern for “the environment” is practically universal as we approach the twenty-first century. The minor in Environmental Studies is designed to provide students with the opportunity to become conversant in a range of environmental topics, whether as private citizens in their daily lives or as professional members of corporate, government, legal, medical, and educational circles.

Environmental Studies Minor

The minor draws on topics and perspectives from the natural and physical sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities to underscore the interdisciplinary nature of environmental issues and problems. Students taking the minor are encouraged to integrate the program with their major study focus in order to gain a competitive advantage in grappling with environmental topics. For additional information on the minor, see the Environmental Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.

Visit the Environmental Studies Web site at: http://sweb.uky.edu/%7Ecalevi00/environmental/index2.htm.

Indian Culture

The minor in Indian Culture is designed to allow students to develop a more profound understanding of Indian culture. The curriculum is strongly interdisciplinary, encompassing courses in linguistics, anthropology, English, geography, mathematics, philosophy, political science, and sociology.

Students completing the minor will possess (1) an ability to read Sanskrit (vital for comprehending Indian culture); (2) a well-rounded, multidisciplinary understanding of the culture and geography of India and of contemporary Indian society and politics; and (3) a high degree of preparedness to pursue careers in business or teaching that require knowledge of Indian society and its traditions. For additional information on the minor, see the Indian Culture listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.

For further information, contact Professor Gregory Stump (English and Linguistics), 1253 Patterson Office Tower, (859) 257-1184; Professor Paul Karan (Geography), 1439 Patterson Office Tower, (859) 257-6953; or Professor Avinash Sathaye (Mathematics), 703 Patterson Office Tower, (859) 257-8832.

Islamic Studies

The interdisciplinary minor in Islamic Studies will provide the opportunity to study the culture, language, literature, religion, history and philosophy of Muslim peoples throughout the world from antiquity to the present. Students will acquire a rounded understanding of Islamic culture, the ability to interpret information and news from the Middle East and elsewhere in an independent way, with understanding of the issues from the perspective of the Muslim countries, and will be prepared to pursue careers that require a knowledge of Islamic civilization. For additional information on the minor, see the Islamic Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.

Japan Studies

The Japan Studies program supports a community of Japan area specialists who teach and pursue research in the University's various departments (geography, history, English, political science, Russian and Eastern studies, sociology) and professional schools (architecture and communications). In addition to teaching and research responsibilities, the faculty lecture to outside groups, write extensively for both scholarly journals and popular media, author books on Japan, and participate in national professional associations. The program responds to and fosters growing American interest (particularly in Kentucky) in Japan.

The emphasis of the program is on social sciences and humanities, including Japanese cultural geography, history, languages and literature, films, society, and environment. In this sense the Japanese Studies program at the University of Kentucky is unique and has been well received nationally as well as by our students as reflected in growing enrollment figures.

Japan Studies Minor

The Japan Studies minor complements existing majors and prepares students with the skills that are required to work with Japan given its integral place in international business. Students will also become well-versed in the culture and geography of Japan, its history, arts, and environment. This background will prepare students for Japan-related careers in the United States and abroad. For additional information on the minor, see the Japan Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.

Joint Major in Foreign Language and International Economics

The University of Kentucky offers a joint major that combines foreign language proficiency with training in economics to prepare students for employment in enterprises doing business internationally. The program prepares students to succeed after graduation by combining high-quality classroom instruction with practical in-country learning opportunities. The program provides preparation for participation in internships and exchange programs and builds foundation for a future career in international business, or degrees in international law, an MBA in international business, or the Patterson School of International Diplomacy. For additional information on the major, see the listing under the College of Arts and Sciences on page 95.

Topical Major in Japan Studies

The topical major was created for students whose interests cut across traditional departmental and college lines and who want to be on the “cutting edge” of today's job market. It allows students to satisfy a niche that could not be fulfilled in any of the college's traditional departments. For additional information, see the listing on topical majors under the College of Arts and Sciences on page 89.

Visit the Japan Studies Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/RAE/Japan/jpnstudy.html.

Judaic Studies

The interdisciplinary minor in Judaic Studies at the University of Kentucky provides students with the opportunity to become acquainted with the culture, language, literature, religion, history, and philosophy of the Jewish people from antiquity to the present. For additional information on the minor, see the Judaic Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.

Visit the Judaic Studies Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/JudaicStudies/.

 

Latin American Studies

The Latin American Studies program provides an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the study of a geographic and cultural region. The core course (LAS 201), the senior course in directed research, and careful faculty supervision are essential components of the degree program. Students choose, however, from a variety of courses in anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, the Spanish language and Spanish American literature. For additional information on Latin American Studies, see the listing under the College of Arts and Sciences on page 106.

Visit the Latin American Studies Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/LAS/.

Linguistics

Linguistics is an interdisciplinary program combining resources from English, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, computer science, and the foreign languages, to develop an understanding of the nature and implications of human language. The Linguistics program provides solid foundations in phonological and grammatical analysis, as well as opportunities to investigate the social, cultural, psychological, and physical aspects of language use.

Linguistics Major

The Linguistics program offers an undergraduate major that includes courses in linguistics and related courses cross-listed with a variety of departments. Linguistics students frequently graduate with a double major in linguistics and one of the related departments, such as the foreign languages. For additional information on the major, see the Linguistics listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.

Linguistics Minor

The Linguistics program also offers an undergraduate minor that includes 18 hours of course work in linguistics and related courses in a variety of departments. As part of the linguistics major or minor, students may elect to complete the sequence of courses focusing on Teaching English as a Second language; this track within linguistics can open up a variety of avenues for English teaching positions in the U.S. and abroad. For additional information on the minor, see the listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.

Visit the Linguistics Program Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/Linguistics.

Women's Studies

The Women's Studies program at the University of Kentucky investigates the cultures and contributions of women worldwide from feminist/womanist perspectives. The purpose of the program is to develop and coordinate an interdisciplinary curriculum in Women's Studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels; support critical research, teaching and public programming in Women's Studies that take into account various beliefs about gender, race, class, and sexuality; and foster interdisciplinary collaboration. The Women's Studies Program aims to serve the University and the Commonwealth through promotion of equity and commitment to excellence.

Women's Studies Minor

The Women's Studies program offers an undergraduate minor that includes courses in Women's Studies and related courses in a variety of departments. For additional information on the minor, see the Women's Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.

Topical Major in Women's Studies

The Women's Studies program assists students who wish to develop undergraduate majors in Women's Studies under the Topical Major Program. For additional information, see the listing on topical majors under the College of Arts and Sciences on page 124.

Women's Studies Graduate Certificate

The Women's Studies program offers a 13-hour graduate certificate. For information, please see the Women's Studies Web site or the Graduate School Bulletin.

Visit the Women's Studies program on their Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/WomenStudies/welcome.html.