Courses - Abroad – Syracuse University

Discovery Florence

The offerings listed below are representative of courses typically open to first-year students. This program fulfills the same curricular requirements as those pursued by freshmen studying on Syracuse University’s main campus, while providing a course schedule unique to the Florence experience.

Required Courses:

CAS 101 First Year Forum (1 credit)

This seminar welcomes new students to Syracuse University. The course helps one develop closer relationships with peers and a professor, and eases the entrance into University life. Special topics will introduce and orient students to Florence and Italy, and discuss adjusting to a new culture.

WRT 105 – Studio 1: Practices of Academic Writing (3 credits)

In WRT 105 you will focus on critical analysis and argument, practices that are central to the academic work at university, as well as in professional careers. The course will involve you in a shared topic of inquiry—an urgent issue that requires multiple points of view and kinds of knowledge— with which you will engage through readings, a range of informal and formal writing assignments, a modest amount of database and web research, and a lot of conversation with your classmates. You will compose for different audiences and experiment with a range of rhetorical approaches. You will learn to revise and refine your ideas with the feedback and suggestions of peers and the instructor. You will deepen your reading practices as you read both popular and academic essays. The course is structured on a studio model so that each and every day in class you and your peers will collaborate on, discuss, and share texts and ideas, and you will invent, compose and revise in class as well as outside of class. This course satisfies a Liberals Arts Core requirement for writing, except for students who receive AP credit toward writing. Students eligible to receive AP credits toward writing will be offered an alternate course.

ITA 101 Italian I (6 credits)

Introductory proficiency-based course which prepares students to understand, speak, read, and write in culturally authentic contexts. Activities are conducted in Italian. This course meets daily, Monday through Thursday. Other Italian language courses are available for students who are prepared for a higher level of study, based on an online placement exam.

Optional Courses:

You will round out your schedule by selecting two of the following optional courses:

CLA/LIT/REL 421 Classical Mythology (3 credits)

The study of classical mythology allows for an understanding and appreciation of the iconography of Greek, Roman and all later western painting, sculpture and literature. You will learn to interpret the many examples of mythological themes that occur in Italian art and literature. Emphasis given to those themes that are especially relevant for your experience in Italy. The course begins with an introduction to the Greek myths of creation and the twelve Olympian gods. The course also covers Theban, Mycenean and Trojan sagas, and focuses on the myths of individual heroes such as Heracles, Theseus, Perseus and Jason. This course satisfies a Core Curriculum requirement for humanities.

HOA 203 Italian Arts from Antiquity to Michelangelo (3 credits)

Explore centuries of Italian art and culture amidst the joyous living museum that is Florence. This course provides an introduction to the art and architecture of the Italian peninsula from the Ancient Greeks to the Renaissance. You’ll participate in classroom lectures, discussions, small group assignments, site visits, and field study trips (a course fee will be billed from Syracuse to cover field study). This course satisfies a Core Curriculum requirement for humanities.

PSC 141 Liberty and Power from the Ancient World to Modernity (3 credits)

What forces have shaped your personal perspectives on justice, equality, and authority? With the cradle of the Italian Renaissance as a fitting backdrop, you’ll engage the juggernauts of social theory including Florence’s own Machiavelli, plus More, Kant, Locke, Wollstonecraft, and other foundational thinkers. Through their eyes – and via your own interactive projects – you’ll explore the historical relationships between morality and politics, politics and religion, the foundations of legitimacy through democratic consensus, and the birth of feminism. This course satisfies a core curriculum requirement for Social Science.

EAR 100 Introduction to Geology (3 credits)

Introduction to the basics of geology, focusing primarily on physical geology through an examination of the basic structure and composition of the materials that comprise the Earth, and the processes that underlie major geologic phenomena. Studying geology in Florence will let us get in touch with the history of geology, observing the major geological phenomena in the field, and walking through an ancient historical city in which geological materials have been used in architecture and relative arts. Includes a four-day “Volcano Excursion” (a course fee will be billed from Syracuse to cover field study). This course satisfies a Core Curriculum requirement for Natural Sciences.

LIT 423 Italian Cinema: 1945-Present (3 credits)

A survey of Italian Cinema from the mid-Forties to the present, through some celebrated classics such as Bicycle Thievesby De Sica and La dolce vita by Fellini, but also through less-known works representative of crucial changes in the depiction of gender relations, the Mafia, migration, and the modernization of the country. The readings will complement required screenings and help you debate questions of socio-cultural context, storytelling, realism, humor, social satire, Hollywood-style and independent filmmaking, etc. A course fee will be billed from Syracuse to cover attendance at a film festival. This course satisfies a Core Curriculum requirement for humanities.

Discovery Madrid

The Discovery Madrid program fulfills the same curricular requirements as those pursued by freshmen studying on Syracuse University’s main campus, while providing a course schedule unique to the Madrid experience.

Required Courses:

Mapping Madrid

This four-day seminar prior to orientation will help you become familiar with Madrid and provide the foundation for living and thriving in another country.

CAS 101: First Year Forum (1 credit)

This seminar welcomes new students to Syracuse University. The course helps you develop closer relationships with peers and an instructor and eases the entrance into University life. Special topics will introduce and orient you to Madrid and Spain and discuss adjusting to a new culture.

HST 300.1: Clash of Titans, Meeting of Minds: When Early Islam Met Early Christianity In The Mediterranean (3 credits)

This course explores the 700 years covered by the Islamic conquest and the Christian reconquest of Spain—centuries of rivalry but also of unprecedented coexistence between communities of various ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. Furthermore, we will investigate how out of that unexpected cauldron arose modern Spain, ready to conquer the American continent. The course will include two mini-tours of diverse cultural and religious interest. This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core divisional requirement in the Social Sciences.

WRT 105 – Studio 1: Practices of Academic Writing (3 credits)

In WRT 105, you will focus on critical analysis and argument, practices that are central to the academic work in universities and in professional careers. The course will involve you in a shared topic of inquiry—an urgent issue that requires multiple points of view and kinds of knowledge— that you will engage with through readings, a range of informal and formal writing assignments, a modest amount of database and web research, and a lot of conversation with your classmates. You will compose for different audiences and experiment with a range of rhetorical approaches. You will learn to revise and refine your ideas with the feedback and suggestions of peers and the instructor. You will deepen your reading practices as you read both popular and academic essays. The course is structured on a studio model so that each and every day in class you and your peers will collaborate on, discuss, and share texts and ideas, and you will invent, compose, and revise in and outside of class. This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core requirement for writing. Students eligible to receive AP credits toward writing will be offered an alternate course.

SPA 101 or higher (3-4 credits, depending on level)

Introductory proficiency-based course that prepares you to understand, speak, read, and write in culturally authentic contexts. Activities are conducted in Spanish. Other levels of Spanish language instruction are available for students with some degree of proficiency. Your placement in a Spanish class will be determined by an online placement exam.

Optional Courses:

You will round out your Madrid schedule with one to two of the courses below.

ANT 381: Ancient Rituals and Beliefs in Modern Spain (3 credits)

Modern Spain is a complex mixture of traditions and cultures, many of them ancient. It is not an easy culture to understand, and it is the aim of this course to introduce you to the field of physical, archaeological, and cultural anthropology by using Spain as a laboratory. The course has a chronological historic structure and aims to detect the ancestral origins of actual Spanish beliefs and traditions. It starts by explaining the first appearance of humans on the Iberian Peninsula and ends with considerations on modern Spain. However, rather than a strictly historical approach, we are interested in syncretism, the complex layering of ancient belief systems inside a modern country. The course includes local site visits, an optional study tour (day trip) to a site of archaeological interest, and a workshop at the forensic laboratory of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM). This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core divisional requirement in the Social Sciences.

CHE 180.1 & CHE 180.2: General Chemistry and Laboratory I (4 credits)

Offered in partnership with ICAI School of Engineering, these corequisite courses are equivalent to Syracuse’s CHE 106 and 107. They cover fundamental principles and laws underlying chemical action, states of matter, atomic and molecular structure, chemical bonding, stoichiometry, properties of solutions, chemical equilibria, and introductory thermochemistry. Laboratory work concerns experimental study of basic principles and techniques of chemistry: states of matter, determination of formulas and molecular weights, simple volumetric and gravimetric analysis, heats of reaction. Equilibrium, rates of reactions, and qualitative analysis. This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core divisional requirement in the Natural Sciences.

EAR 104 & EAR 105: Earth Sciences Laboratory and Lecture (1 + 3 credits)

In these courses, you’ll learn about the processes that shape Earth and affect humans: Earth’s structure; plate tectonics; volcanoes; geologic time; and surficial processes. Laboratory (EAR 104) includes a three-day trip to explore coastal processes and effects of mining, plus visits to museums and geological society of Murcia, as well as a day trip to La Pedriza in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park. This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core divisional requirement in the Natural Sciences.

MAT 295: Calculus I (4 credits)

Designed for science majors, this course covers Analytic geometry, limits, derivatives, maxima-minima, related rates, graphs, differentials, exponential and logarithmic functions, mean-value theorem, L’Hospital’s rule, and integration.

HOA 209: Arts of Spain (3 credits)

Introduction to the art of Spain, through the analysis of the history of Spanish painting from the late Gothic (15th century) to Goya (19th century), and its relation to other European schools including the Flemish and Venetian Schools (Raphael, Titian, Rubens, etc). Concentration on El Greco painting in Toledo, the Spanish Baroque and the importance of Velazquez, and the modernity of Goya. Illustrated lectures given in class and at the Prado and other museums. This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core divisional requirement in the Humanities.

HST 412/PSC 422: Understanding 20th Century Spain (3 credits)

The course begins with an overview of the history of Spain, focusing later on the 19th and 20th centuries. It also concentrates on how the country was transformed from an Absolute Monarchy to a modern Parliamentary Monarchy, covering the Civil War and the 40-year-long dictatorship of Franco. It also analyzes the historical and present role of Spain in the world, as a member of the EU, NATO and UN. This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core divisional requirement in the Social Sciences.

REL/HUM/JSP/MES 321: Christians, Jews, and Muslims: Historic Encounters in the Mediterranean (3 credits)

In its more than two-thousand-year history, Spain has been the home of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, who over centuries met, loved, shared and fought within its borders with consequences that affected not just the entire Mediterranean basin, but also the rest of the world. This course intends to examine key “historic encounters” between the three versions of monotheism, with constant reference to the richness of past cultural and religious legacy rooted in the Mediterranean region, from the end of the Roman Empire to the birth of the modern era. This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core divisional requirement in the Humanities.

SOC/WGS 300.1: Gender, Race, Migration and Family in Spain (3 credits)

This course examines how all people’s lives are shaped by the concept of gender and how it interacts with other identity variables like class, race or religion. You will explore the links between gender roles and family relations, and reflect on the consequences of these interactions in the labor market. Persisting gender inequalities like the feminization of poverty and gender-based violence will be analyzed. The course explains the social structure of the Spanish family system and the relevance of family networks for social cohesion and stability, and examines the Spanish labor market from a gender perspective. The course also explores the migration model in terms of migrants’ population composition and gender-related issues. This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core divisional requirement in the Social Sciences.

Discovery: Engineering and Computer Science (Madrid)

This specialized Discovery program fulfills the same curricular requirements for first-year students focusing on Engineering and Computer Science on Syracuse University’s main campus, while providing a course schedule unique to the Madrid experience.

Required Courses:

ECS 101: Introduction to Engineering and Computer Science (3 credits)

This gateway course includes discussion of disciplines within the college, technical communication, presentation of technical results, professional behavior, ethics, problem solving, modeling, and data analysis. Laboratory topics include computers, computer language, and software packages.

CHE 180.1 & CHE 180.2: General Chemistry and Laboratory I (4 credits)

Offered in partnership with ICAI School of Engineering, these corequisite courses are equivalent to Syracuse’s CHE 106 and 107. They cover fundamental principles and laws underlying chemical action, states of matter, atomic and molecular structure, chemical bonding, stoichiometry, properties of solutions, chemical equilibria, and introductory thermochemistry. Laboratory work concerns the experimental study of basic principles and techniques of chemistry: states of matter, determination of formulas and molecular weights, simple volumetric and gravimetric analysis, heats of reaction. Equilibrium, rates of reactions, and qualitative analysis.

MAT 295: Calculus I (4 credits)

SPA 101 or higher (3-4 credits, depending on level)

WRT 105: Studio 1: Practices of Academic Writing (3 credits)

Optional Courses:

If you have met any of the above requirements through Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or other college-level credit, you may round out your schedule with one or two of these optional courses:

ANT 356: Ancient Rituals and Beliefs in Modern Spain (3 credits)

EAR 104 & EAR 105: Earth Sciences Laboratory and Lecture (1 + 3 credits)

HOA 209: Arts of Spain (3 credits)

HST 412/PSC 422: Understanding 20th Century Spain (3 credits)

REL/HUM/JSP/MES 321: Christians, Jews, and Muslims: Historic Encounters in the Mediterranean (3 credits)

SOC/WGS 300.1: Gender, Race, Migration and Family in Spain (3 credits)

Discovery Strasbourg

Students participating in the Discovery Strasbourg program will enjoy a rich and varied introduction to France through a semester-long curriculum. The program fulfills the same curricular requirements as those pursued by freshmen studying on Syracuse University’s main campus, while providing a course schedule unique to the Strasbourg experience.

Required Courses:

CAS 101 – First Year Forum (1 credit)

This seminar welcomes new students to Syracuse University. The course helps you develop closer relationships with peers and an instructor and eases the entrance into University life. Special topics will introduce and orient you to Strasbourg and France and discuss adjusting to a new culture.

FRE 101 – French I (4 credits)

Introductory proficiency-based course that prepares you to understand, speak, read, and write in culturally authentic contexts. Meets four days per week. Activities are conducted in French. Other levels of French language instruction are available for students with some degree of proficiency. Your placement in a French class will be determined with an online placement exam.

WRT 105 – Studio 1: Practices of Academic Writing (3 credits)

Plus either

PHI 191 - Ethics and Contemporary Issues (3 credits)

Introduction to the questions, theories and arguments of moral philosophy. The approach is to raise both perennial and topical questions of right and wrong — What is justice? Are there objective moral facts? Should war refugees be detained? Are genetically modified foods safe? — and to apply moral thought in going about answering them. Socrates may exaggerate in saying the unexamined life is not worth living, but examining it through an ethical lens may lead to life being lived more fully. This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core Critical Reflections requirement. This course is required for students who have satisfied the Writing Skills requirement with AP, IB, or other college-level credit.

HST 200.1 - Hostile Friends? France and the U.S., 1916 to Present (3 credits)

Examine the cultural ties between France and the United States and how they have evolved in the last hundred years. Major themes discussed will include cross-border cultural exchanges (together with the notion of ‘borders’ in general), “Americanization,” and Old World v. New World. Through film screenings and readings by authors as diverse as Alexis de Tocqueville and Julia Child, you will come to see how the cultural differences between our two nations have shaped the way we see and understand each other today. This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core requirement for social sciences. This course is required for students who have satisfied the Writing Skills requirement with AP, IB, or other college-level credit.

Optional Courses:

You will round out your schedule by selecting one of the following optional courses:

REL 356/PSC 456 – Religion and Conflicts in Contemporary Europe (3 credits)

With the collapse of Communism, many people believed that conflict in Europe between differing worldviews was a thing of the past. Unfortunately, intolerance, discrimination, and renewed conflicts based on religion have shown this judgment to be premature. In this course we will examine the continent’s long history of religious conflict, and especially the ways in which local and global religious tensions have developed in recent years. We will also look at the ways in which contemporary religious leaders and communities of all faiths are profoundly involved in attempts to find solutions to these problems, together with such institutions as the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and will include discussions with representatives of various religious groups in Strasbourg. This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core requirement for humanities (REL 356) or social sciences (PSC 456).

HOA 458 - Art of Romanticism (3 credits)

May not be taken with LIT 301. Introduction to French art of the period between 1750 and 1860. These years saw the emergence of three important artistic currents: Neo-Classicism, Romanticism and Realism. Detailed pictorial analysis of works by Boucher, Fragonard, Chardin, David and his school, Gericault, Ingres, Delacroix, Corot, Millet and Courbet, will be supplemented by discussions on the changing role of the artist in the society of this period. The course includes a visit to the museum of Strasbourg and a three-day study tour to Paris (a course-related fee will be billed from Syracuse). This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core requirement for humanities.

LIT 301 – French Cinema versus Hollywood (3 credits)

May not be taken with HOA 458. The French often speak of l’Exception Culturelle – their tradition of cultural difference and autonomy – and this term is most often invoked in discussions about French cinema. What makes French cinema distinctive? Why does this industry often insist on its uniqueness and its difference from Hollywood? To what extent do movies reveal different cultural values and different ways of seeing the world? Are there forms of censorship that apply in one country but not in the other? The course compares the ways in which France and Hollywood treat common themes or genres through lectures, discussions, readings, and film screenings. French films shown with English subtitles. This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core requirement for humanities.

PSC 350/HST 415 – Europe, Russia and the Eastern Borderlands (3 credits)

The importance of Europe’s eastern borderlands is linked to the current expansion of the European Union eastward, resulting in a new status for a host of countries situated between the Baltic and the Black Sea. In this new configuration, Russia will play an important, though different, role than hitherto, especially when it comes to forging a new relationship with the EU. The first part of the course focuses on the historical question of borders and territorial change, the construction of nations, and the emergence and collapse of empires. The second part examines general problems common to all of these post-communist countries and specific questions of geopolitical character. This course satisfies a Liberal Arts Core requirement for social sciences.