May 25, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
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2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course Listings

SUNY Oneonta offers students more than 1,400 courses—from Accounting to Zoology—from over 25 separate departments. Requirements for majors and minors and course descriptions are listed under the departments that offer them, and these departments are arranged in alphabetical order.

Please note that requirements, courses, and course descriptions are subject to change after publication of this catalog. Contact the appropriate departments for updated information. Also note that some course listings have been edited for clarity and consistency. Complete listings are available from the instructors or the departments concerned.

Key to Course Listings

Abbreviation   Meaning
(PACT)   Activity course in Health & Fitness
(LA)   Liberal Arts (course is a Liberal Arts offering)
OCS   Oral Communication Skills
SUSF   Sustainability Focused Courses
s.h.   Semester Hour(s)
SoS   Sophomore standing
JrS   Junior standing
SrS   Senior standing

Course Numbering System

001 - 099   No credit; usually developmental in nature.
100 - 199   Lower-division undergraduate-level courses.
200 - 299   Upper-division intermediate undergraduate-level courses.
300 - 399   Upper-division advanced courses.
500 - 699   Graduate-level courses.
 

World Literature
  

  • WLIT 200 - World Literature – Ancient to Medieval 3 s.h.

    A study of selected world literary texts from the ancient to the medieval period. Pass/Fail Option. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 .
  

  • WLIT 201 - World Literature – Renaissance to 18th Century 3 s.h.

    A study of selected world literary texts from the Renaissance through the 18th century. Pass/Fail Option. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    OW3
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 .
  

  • WLIT 202 - World Literature – 18th Century to the Present 3 s.h.

    A study of selected world literary texts from the 18th century to the present. Pass/Fail Option. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    OW3
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 .
  

  • WLIT 212 - Survey of Greek Literature 3 s.h.

    This course offers an introduction to the various genres of Greek literature, including epic, lyric poetry, tragedy, comedy, philosophy, history, oratory, and the novel. A-E Only. Offered every 2 years.
    LA
    WC3
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 .
  

  • WLIT 213 - Roman Literature 3 s.h.

    Readings in translation of Latin history, criticism, epic, satire, drama, lyrics; specific emphasis on tracing themes, analogues and sources in subsequent writings to develop an interest in ancient literature as it influences modern literature and culture. A-E Only. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 .
  

  • WLIT 225 - The Greek Dramatists 3 s.h.

    A close study of selected plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. There will be some examination of the background of the plays and of problems in translation. Primary emphasis will be on critical discussion of the works. Pass/Fail Option. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    H3
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 ; LITR 100  or LITR 150 .
  

  • WLIT 227 - Sex and Gender in Greek Literature 3 s.h.

    This course explores gender in ancient Greek literature by examining the roles of men and women in Greek society, how the Greeks defined the categories of male and female, and how concepts of masculinity and femininity shaped Greek literature, mythology, and daily life. A-E Only. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    H3
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 ; LITR 100  or LITR 150 .
  

  • WLIT 231 - Mythology 3 s.h.

    Reading and discussion of selected myths, legends, epics, plays, and other materials basic to an understanding of Western literature. Pass/Fail Option. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 .
  

  • WLIT 241 - Literatures of The Middle East 3 s.h.

    This course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the emergence and development of modern literature of the Middle East through translated works. Selected texts representing the Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Hebrew literary traditions will be contextualized socially, politically, and historically. Attention will be paid to the process of socio-political and cultural change and to their effects on theme, form, and language in literature. A-E Only. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    OW3
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100  and LITR 100  or LITR 150 .
  

  • WLIT 242 - Muslim Women Writers 3 s.h.

    This class provides an introduction to Islamic teachings on the rights and roles of women and then examines memoirs, fiction, and poetry written by Muslim women. This course focuses on modern writing and will cover a variety of genres, geographic regions, and ideological perspectives. Examples of writers to be studied include Leila Ahmed, Amina Wadud, Fatima Mernissi, Shirin Ebadi, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Nawal el Saadawi, Hanan Al-Sheikh, Fadwa Tuqan, and Leila Aboulela. A-E Only. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    OW3
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 .
  

  • WLIT 250 - European Literature and Culture 3 s.h.

    This course surveys literary texts that illustrate main currents of European cultural and intellectual history in the modern period. Such a foundational course is central to study of European cul tures and Western civilization more generally. The class introduces students to a set of ideas and arguments that have played a formative role in European cultural history, and it acquaints then with some exemplars of critical thought. Topics to be considered in the survey of the Western Tradition may include the critique of religion; the promise of independence; the advance of individualism and capitalism; the encounter with Marxism; the origins of totalitarianism; the promise, solace, and failure of art that seeks to change the world; and the promises, delusions, and prospects of rationalism. In addition to literary texts, we will also discuss the visual arts, music, and film. Pass/Fail Option. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    WC3
    Prerequisite(s): SoS.
  

  • WLIT 257 - Modern Black Literature 3 s.h.

    A study of Black Literature written since 1950, using fiction, essays, poetry, and biography (or autobiography) to illustrate the development and influence of contemporary Black writers. Pass/Fail Option. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    OW3
    Cross-listed as ALS 257 .
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 , SoS or ALS 100 .
  

  • WLIT 260 - The Bible as Literature 3 s.h.

    This course introduces the Bible in English translation and focuses on literary form, significance in culture, and context in Jewish and Christian thought, as it develops the ability to interpret the Bible critically within world literature, history, religion, and the arts. Pass/Fail Option. Offered irregularly.
    LA
    H3
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 .
  

  • WLIT 270 - Postcolonial Literature and Culture: Africa 3 s.h.

    This course examines postcolonial literature culturally, thematically, and theoretically.  Students read writers who have responded to the impact of colonialism in such geographies as North, West, and Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. The cultural legacies of British and French imperialism and expressions of resistance to it are explored. A-E Only. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    OW3
    Cross-listed as ALS 270 .
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 , SoS or ALS 100 .
  

  • WLIT 271 - Postcolonial Literature and Culture: The Americas 3 s.h.

    This course examines postcolonial literature thematically and theoretically to analyze the literary response to the British and Spanish colonizations of the Americas. A-E Only. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    OW3
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 ; LITR 100  or LITR 150 ; or permission of instructor.
  

  • WLIT 281 - The Chinese Novel 3 s.h.

    The premier narrative of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) is the Honglou meng (translated as Dream of the Red Chamber or Story of the Stone), which, in the words of one scholar, provides “a summation of the three-thousand year span of Chinese literary history.” As a consequence, Honglou meng belongs to a unique genre known as the encyclopedic narrative (a work of fiction that is also a rich compendium of the core beliefs and knowledge of a national culture). During the semester, students will explore East Asian culture, history, and philosophy through the prism of this unique encyclopedic narrative. Thus, the course is not about “one novel”—however long—but about the Chinese narrative tradition and Chinese culture in general. A-E Only. Course will be offered every two years.
    LA
    OW3
    Prerequisite(s): LITR 100  or LITR 150 .
  

  • WLIT 283 - Homer 3 s.h.

    A study and close reading of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Topics to be discussed include the warrior ethic, heroic friendship, oral versus literate poetry, the social function of epic and its historicity, myth and epic, and the changing nature of heroism. We will also consider the importance of the Homeric tradition in the ancient and the modern world. A-E Only. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 ; LITR 100  or LITR 150 .
  

  • WLIT 294 - Special Topics in World Literature 3 s.h.

    Pass/Fail Option. Offered according to interest of instructor, requests by students, and availability of instructor.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 ; LITR 100  or LITR 150 .
  

  • WLIT 299 - Independent Study in World Literature 1 s.h. - 6 s.h.

    Special studies under department supervision for students who have shown unusual ability in English and other areas. May be continued in successive semesters. Admission by consent of department chair and instructor involved. A-E Only. Offered irregularly.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 , and LITR 100  or LITR 150 .
  

  • WLIT 315 - Ancient Religious Writings 3 s.h.

    This course explores the religious writings of the ancient world in a global context. The literary traditions surveyed include Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoisn, Judeo-Christianity, and Islam, which means that we will be reading from the Mahabharata, Writings of the Patriachs, Analects, Bible, and Koran. Emphasis will be on the historical and cultural contexts from which these religious writings emerge, as well as on interpreting, comparing, and contrasting them. A-E Only. Offered every three years.
    LA
    OW3
    Prerequisite(s): LITR 100  or LITR 150 ; and 6 s.h. 200-level courses in ALIT, ELIT, LITR or WLIT.
  

  • WLIT 380 - Writing and Violence 3 s.h.

    This course examines the relationships between writing / textuality and oppressive or violent behavior. Texts that deal with national or institutional aggression, individual acts of violence, or the intensity of problematic family relationships will come under con sideration. World Literatures will be presented along with American narratives and films so that the thematic possibilities of the subject can be universally explored yet locally contextualized. A-E Only. Offered every 2-3 years.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 200  or COMP 290 ; LITR 150 ; LITR 250 ; 6 s.h. 200-level courses in ALIT, ELIT, LITR or WLIT; or permission of instructor.
  

  • WLIT 394 - Special Topics in World Literature 3 s.h.

    Pass/Fail Option. Offered according to interest of instructor, requests by students, and availability of instructor.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 ; LITR 100  or LITR 150 .
  

  • WLIT 399 - Independent Study in World Literature 1 s.h. - 6 s.h.

    Special studies under department supervision for students who have shown unusual ability in English and other areas. May be continued in successive semesters. Admission by consent of department chair and instructor involved. Pass/Fail Option.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): COMP 100 ; LITR 100  or LITR 150 .