Interdisciplinary Opportunities at UNF

Education in the 21st century is changing. It is evolving by virtue of both new discoveries and entirely new fields of knowledge that require the capacity to solve complex problems by drawing on concepts, methods, and information from multiple disciplines. This increasingly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary knowledge is widely recognized as essential to the new employment opportunities in the knowledge economy that is expanding worldwide. To help prepare students for these opportunities, the College of Arts and Sciences offers the following interdisciplinary options for majors and minors:

Majors

B.A in Interdisciplinary Studies
B.A. in International Studies
B.A. in Religious Studies

Minors

African Diaspora/African-American Studies
Asian Studies
Ancient Studies
Digital Humanities
Environmental Studies
Film Studies
Gender Studies
Interdisciplinary Studies
International Studies
Religious Studies
Urban & Metropolitan Studies

Interdisciplinary Majors

B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies

Program Director: TBA

For more information, contact IDS Advisor Mrs. Von Nell Baggett at v.baggett@unf.edu, your current advisor or College of Arts and Sciences Advising: ASADV@unf.edu, 904-620-2797.

Admissions to the program is selective and requires prospective students to go through a proposal submission process in which they must outline in detail the purpose, scope, and theme of the major or minor they wish to construct. Proposal acceptance is contingent upon formal review and approval by the Program Director and/or additional faculty members and administrators as needed.

How to Apply: Contact IDS advisor Mrs. Von Nell Baggett (v.baggett@unf.edu) to begin the application process.

Visit our website for more information: www.unf.edu/coas/ids/

Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Charles Closmann, cclosman@unf.edu

The IDS major themes in Film are designed for students interested in the analysis of film, the history of film, and the production of film. It is designed for students who want to write about film, think about film, make film and media, write screenplays, or make documentaries. The three curated paths for majors-Film, Film and Production, Film and Screenwriting-are crafted from the film program, creative writing, philosophy, history, photography, communications, digital humanities, and more.

Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Jillian Smith, jlsmith@unf.edu

B.A. in International Studies

Program Director: Dr. Alison Bruey, Professor of History, alison.bruey@unf.edu

International Studies at UNF is an academic program and the center of an interdisciplinary community of faculty, students and staff from across the campus. Together we examine the economic, environmental, cultural, political and technological forces that shape today's world. The program offers a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, designed to provide students with the disciplinary knowledge and practical skills to engage with contemporary issues and compete in today's global workplace. Students interact with other cultures through foreign language study and academic experiences abroad, and gain hands-on experience through internships, both within the US and abroad. Students in International Studies tend to be open-minded, creative problem solvers, who are united by their interest in language, culture and global affairs. They are diverse, however, in their backgrounds and the academic and professional directions they follow upon completion. For more information, see the website of the International Studies Program.

B.A. in Religious Studies

Program Director: Dr. Brandi Denison, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, b.denison@unf.edu

College of Arts and Sciences Advising: Alex Lackard, a.lackard@unf.edu

Religious Studies is the multidisciplinary hub at UNF for discovering the roles and functions of religions in human life and culture. Religious Studies students enjoy a low student/faculty ratio allowing them one-on-one attention from their professors. They investigate religion in ways that foster intellectual, civic, and global engagement; gain cross-cultural awareness by describing and analyzing religious systems as they exist in historical and social contexts in an impartial and academic manner; develop clear thinking and writing skills; and learn to see the world through the eyes of others.

The Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies requires a total of 120 semester hours. Religious Studies majors take a total of 30 credit hours of coursework with 24 Religious Studies designated credit hours, from a variety of disciplines across the university, and chosen by the student to reflect his/her interests, culminating in Theory and Methods and a Senior Seminar Capstone course (3 credit hours each). Religious Studies majors are encouraged to participate in a study abroad experience.

B.A. in Africana Studies

Program Director: Dr. Tru Leverette, Professor of English and Africana Studies, t.leverette@unf.edu

College of Arts and Sciences Advising: ASADV@unf.edu, 904-620-2797

The Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies promotes the academic study of peoples and cultures throughout the African Diaspora. Multidisciplinary methods of inquiry and research give students broad theoretical approaches to the central questions and concerns of Diaspora studies, including race, culture, identity, diversity, history, and society. Students examine these central concerns through regional, national, and global perspectives.

Interdisciplinary Minors

African Diaspora/African American Studies (15 Hours). This cross-disciplinary program is designed to promote the academic study of, as well as a broad appreciation for, the diversity and richness of peoples and cultures throughout the African Diaspora. Multidisciplinary methods of inquiry and research give students a range of theoretical approaches to the central questions and concerns of Diaspora studies-including race, culture, identity, diversity, history, and society. Students examine these central concerns through regional, national, and global perspectives. Additionally, students have the opportunity to participate in community-based transformational learning in order to bridge theory and praxis.

Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Tru Leverette, Associate Professor of English, tleveret@unf.edu

Asian Studies (15 Hours). The Minor in Asian Studies at UNF is an interdisciplinary program that introduces students to the histories, cultures, and societies of Asia, broadly construed. In addition to the required course Introduction to Asia, students may take courses from across diverse methodological perspectives including history, film, philosophy, anthropology, religious studies, sociology, political science, Chinese language, literature, public health, psychology, and business. Students are encouraged to concentrate their courses either thematically or geographically, and should consult with their advisor or the International Center about relevant study abroad opportunities, as relevant courses taken on study abroad or exchange programs may, with approval from the Asian Studies program coordinator, be counted toward the minor.

Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Chau Kelly, Associate Professor of History, chau.kelly@unf.edu

Ancient Studies (15 Hours). The Ancient Studies minor is a interdisciplinary program administered by the Department of History. The minor enables students to fashion a course of study imparting a broad yet coherent understanding of the ancient world. Courses for this program come from a variety of Arts and Sciences departments.

Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Phil Kaplan, Department of History, pkaplan@unf.edu

Digital Humanities (15 Hours). In the broader scholarly community, digital humanities refers to the field that popped up when scholars began using new digital tools to answer old humanities questions, or to use digital media to bring humanistic materials to broader public audiences. The interdisciplinary minor in Digital Humanities provides students at UNF with a foundation in technologies and methodologies used in digital scholarship, as well as in a variety of professional fields. Students in this minor will acquire knowledge and skills that will prepare them for graduate coursework in traditional Humanities, Social Science and Fine Arts fields, as well as in specialized Digital Humanities or Information Science programs. The minor consists of four electives and one studio course, for a total of fifteen credit hours. It includes courses from Languages, Literatures & Cultures, Computer Science, Communications, Geography, and Software Engineering, as well as several courses in English and Film.

Faculty Coordinator: Dr. James Beasley, Associate Professor of English, james.beasley@unf.edu

Environmental Studies (15 Hours). This program focuses on understanding the nature and complexity of environmental issues in relation to a range of issues, including the carrying capacity of our planet, the idea of sustainability, the challenges of managing resources wisely, the meaning of environmental stewardship, and the urgency of promoting environmental literacy. Students will choose courses from two menus of courses: physical and natural Sciences and health, social sciences, and human services. Course options are offered from all five colleges.

Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Erin Largo-Wight, Environmental Center, largo.wight@unf.edu

Advising: BCH and Mr. James Taylor, Environmental Center, j.taylor@unf.edu

Film Studies (15 Hours). Learn the history, craft, and analysis of film, as well as the production skills that come with documentary film production. The 21st Century has witnessed the explosion of moving images into nearly every sphere of contemporary life, and advances in technology have made film/video/audio technology widely and easily available. Film functions as a unique art form, a social barometer, a cultural artifact, an historical record, a political argument, and an agent of change. It is complex in construction and function, and yet directly powerful in its effect. It is international and interdisciplinary. Film Studies thrives as a community where students come from varied perspectives and fields of study. The Film Studies Minor requires a film survey course and a course in either film analysis or critical reading, and includes electives in both film studies and production. Film studies courses are also available to students outside of the minor.

Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Jillian Smith, Associate Professor of English, jlsmith@unf.edu

Gender Studies (15 Hours).The purpose of the Gender Studies minor is to provide interested students with an opportunity to focus a portion of their college studies on issues related to women's lives, culture and history; men's studies; and to the impact of gender on human experience and behavior across a variety of disciplines. In particular, the minor explores gender issues and experience and fosters educational equity. It provides an opportunity for faculty and students alike to explore women's changing social roles, experiences, problems, and contributions to society, which have often been omitted in the traditional academic disciplines. Also included in the gender studies minor is the growing new area of men's studies, which focus on men as a sex and how gender impacts men's lives. Courses in the Gender Studies minor investigate the full diversity of women's and men's experience and gender issues. The minor provides opportunities for true interdisciplinary learning, since the program requires students to take courses from across college and university offerings.

Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Jenni Lieberman, Assistant Professor of English, j.lieberman@unf.edu

Interdisciplinary Studies (15 Hours). In consultation with COAS advising and Program Director Dr. Mattice, students develop a 15-18 credit program of study organized around either a self-designed interdisciplinary theme or a faculty curated interdisciplinary theme.

There are currently three faculty-designed curated paths: Pre-Med in Liberal Arts, Peace Corps Academic Preparation, and Critical Thinking in the Humanities.

The IDS Minor "Pre-Med in Liberal Arts" is designed for students intending to pursue a career in the biomedical field. This 16 credit minor aims to complement students' study in the natural sciences with coursework in ethics, arts and humanities, and social science.

The IDS Minor "Peace Corps Academic Preparation" is designed for students pursuing the Peace Corps Preparation Program. This 18 credit minor brings together the academic portion of the program into a coherent minor, with coursework in intercultural competence and specific work sector areas.

The IDS Minor "Critical Thinking in the Humanities" is designed for students interested in intentionally focusing their minor on critical thinking skills from across the humanities, whether to gain depth for a major in the humanities or to complement a science, arts, or other major. This 15 credit minor pulls together coursework from across humanities disciplines at UNF including philosophy, history, religious studies, literature, cultural studies, and the arts.

Faculty Coordinator: TBA

International Studies (15 Hours). This interdisciplinary minor enables undergraduate students to pursue a comparative study of foreign cultures, languages, and societies. Courses come from a wide range of Departments (including, but not limited to, Economics and Geography; History; Languages, Literatures and Cultures; Political Science and Public Administration; and Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work) and involve a range of research methods. Together these courses and their methodologies provide the framework for a better understanding of global affairs. For more information, see the website of the International Studies Program.

Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Alison Bruey, Professor of History, alison.bruey@unf.edu

Religious Studies (15 Hours). This interdisciplinary minor helps students explore religion from a variety of perspectives and disciplines; it offer students opportunities to explore a range of meaning-making systems-including the beliefs, practices, texts, history, and social-cultural functions that constitute these systems. In learning how seemingly foreign systems of meaning make sense to those who hold them, students are asked to make explicit their own assumptions about their religious beliefs, to look at their assumptions from the point of view of someone who does not share them, and thus to deepen their understanding of how their beliefs compare with the beliefs of others in relation to the course of human civilization. Students minoring in Religious Studies must take REL 2300 Comparative Religion, REL 3102 Religion as Culture, and any three upper level Religious Studies (REL) courses and/or courses offered by other departments and approved for this minor.

Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Brandi Denison, b.denison@unf.edu

Urban and Metropolitan Studies (15 Hours). The world is becoming increasingly urban, and most human beings now make their lives in cities. The Urban and Metropolitan Studies Minor allows students to study cities and urban life from a variety of perspectives, examining where and how cities form, the distinct kinds of problems faced by cities and urban residents, and how scholars are pursuing these types of questions. Courses are drawn from anthropology, history, political science, sociology, and other fields.

Faculty Coordinator: Dr. David Jaffee, Professor of Sociology, djaffee@unf.edu