This course explores perceptions of sport and how sport has changed, with a focus on race, gender, class and ethnicity. We will examine the history of sport in the United States from the colonial period to the present. We will consider how sports reflected and often shaped ideas about race, gender, ethnicity, class, amateurism, professionalization, international politics and governmental policies and laws. The class will focus on the ways that Christians perceived and embraced certain forms of sport and the ways that Christians influenced sport and were influenced by sport. In addition, the course traces the development of sports, investigate the ways in which spontaneous games played by Americans in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries evolved into highly formalized and popular activities that now comprise a multi-billion dollar industry. Prerequisite: completed bachelor's degree in education. (3 credits)

[The Wolfsthurn Handbook] ?recommends taking the leaves of a particular plant as a remedy for "fever of all sorts"; this in itself would count as science, or as folk medicine, rather than magic. Before using these leaves, one is supposed to write certain Latin words on them to invoke the power of the Holy Trinity...; this in itself would count as religion. There is no scientific or religious reason, however, for repeating this procedure before sunrise on three consecutive mornings. By adding this requirement, the [medieval] author enhances the power of science and religion with that of magic." This course explores two interconnected historical problems: (1) the nature of magic as a theoretical and practical world view that was dominant in the pre-modern Mediterranean world and Europe, and (2) the origin and development of science from ancient and medieval natural philosophy. Both the history of magic and the history of science must be understood in tandem. A historical treatment of the origin of modern science at the end of the Middle Ages that does not discuss medieval magic would be incomplete; similarly, it would be impossible to discuss medieval magic without also discussing medieval natural philosophy (i.e. what we would call today science). Further, both of these phenomena are inseparable from religion, and consequently the course also attends carefully to how the Christian church responded to both magic and science. Prerequisite: completed bachelor's degree in education. (3 credits)

Despite some recent progress toward disarmament, we still exist in a world in which two nations, each possessing thousands of nuclear warheads, have the capacity to destroy all of the planet's major cities, not to mention much of the territory in between, many times over. At least seven other nations have control of sufficient nuclear explosives to utterly destroy their immediate neighbors.1 This course explores how this situation came about and how perceptions of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy have changed. The course focuses on scientific culture, American culture during the Cold War, religious responses to the bomb, and the broader implications of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. We will examine how atomic energy was first conceived and how it was eventually harnessed. This new source of destructive power decisively changed the socio-political role of the physicist, altered the nature of war, and introduced global suicide as strategic policy. The focus of the class will be to think about the network and recourses necessary to produce a technical object like the atom bomb, as well as the socio-cultural impact of the introduction of a new technology. Prerequisite: completed bachelor's degree in education. (3 credits)

This course concentrates on the most popular forms of historical narrative outside the classroom: novels, movies, and comic books. How do artists recall, organize, and perhaps most importantly, make relevant to us today, various pasts stories? For teachers as well as students, movies, novels and comic books make big impressions. Through carefully selected examples of each students will learn how historical narrative works, about distinctive genres of historical narrative (the Western, combat, dystopian stories) make a particular past seem relevant, and how to think historically about such stories. We'll conclude the class by considering conspiracy theories as particular and fascinating forms of historical storytelling. Overall, we will work on thinking carefully and well about popular culture's various takes on the past, and finding some ways to help our students do so. Prerequisite: completed bachelor's degree in education. (3 credits)

This course examines major political issues in Europe since 1945. Topics covered include the emergence of a politically divided Europe, ideological debates in post-war European politics, the project of European integration, the breakup of the communist bloc and its aftermath, religion and European politics, and current issues in Europe. Prerequisite: completed bachelor's degree in education. (3 credits)

This course provides an introduction to some of the key Constitutional issues swirling around the first sixteen words of the First Amendment: the religion clause (or in the estimation of some the two religion clauses). Consequently, to begin the semester we will spend a fair amount of time reading about the founding fathers and their view(s) of religious liberty as well as read some of what these framers wrote themselves about this cherished freedom. We will also consider how this historical background and context informs various church-state stances today as well as briefly review the basic procedures and principles of the Supreme Court. Having set the broad boundaries of our examination, we will then look more closely at the key Supreme Court cases that have largely defined our current understanding of both the Free Exercise and Establishment clauses. Prerequisite: completed bachelor's degree in education. (3 credits)