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QUEST II

After completing Quest I students are required to take a Quest II course in their next semester. These courses are capped at fifty students, focus on Ethical Reasoning, carry one of three Signature Questions, and are co-requisite with Comm 111 or WBIS/WRT 188, whichever course the student did not take in the first semester.

To extend the first-year experience from Quest I to Quest II, students are provided opportunities to plan their future in college, work, & life. This is achieved through the following Quest II components:

  • Exposure to student and academic organizations
  • Opportunities in undergraduate research/creative activity
  • Alumni class visits
  • Career & Professional Development
  • University engagement opportunities; e.g. Taste of UW Oshkosh, Student Leadership & Involvement Ceter (SLIC), Volunteer Fair, Study/Intern Abroad Fair, etc.

In addition to furthering the aims of a Liberal Education (like all courses in the USP), the Quest II course also begins to address the responsibility of “Ethical Reasoning” (with the “Ethical Action” component of the Essential Learning Outcome addressed more specifically in Quest III). Students gain awareness of central ethical issues experienced by practitioners in that discipline. Ethical reasoning can be broadly construed—from the deliberation of issues and claims to engagement with the driving or pressing questions within each academic field. The Quest II course exposes students to the process of reasoning within the stated focus of the course.

Signature Questions (SQ)

Civic Learning (CL): How do people understand and engage in community life?
Intercultural Knowledge (ICK): How do people understand and bridge cultural differences?
Sustainability (SUS): How do people understand and create a more sustainable world?

Quest II Catalog of Courses

(last updated 9/19/23)

Please see TitanWeb @ https://uwosh.edu/registrar/titanweb/ for most up-to-date course information.

Course Number & DescriptionSignature
Question
African American Studies 101Q2: Introduction to African American Studies (ES) (XC)
A survey of ideas, issues and traditions related over time to the experiences of people of black American ancestry in the United States.
ICK
Anthropology 201Q2: Archaeology in Pop Culture (ES) (XC) (GC) We will explore how Archaeology and the past are depicted in popular culture. The course will trace the use of archaeology in movies, video games, books, social media, newspapers, and more. Since our understanding of past people greatly influences how we create modern identity and treat those we view as different, the control and depiction of the past also impacts the lives of those in the present and future.
ICK
Anthropology 204Q2: What is Human Nature (XS)
"That's just human nature." How many times have you heard people use this statement to explain the human behaviors we see around us: war, adultery, expectations about sex and gender, racism, environmental destruction, and (sometimes) compassion and altruism? Deep assumptions are wrapped up in this statement: first, the assumption that people do things the same way everywhere around the world; and second, assumptions about how much of human nature is fixed and biologically determined ("nature") vs. how much is learned and shaped by our cultural and social context ("nurture").
ICK
Art 120Q2: Arts & Leadership (XC)
This course focuses on the interconnection of arts and leadership by examining artistic creations from diverse cultures and creating artistic expression for personal strengths and leadership qualities. In this course, students will increase positive attitudes and ethical reasoning toward cultural diversity through learning in the arts, build knowledge about the connection between cultures and leadership, and develop artistic and conceptual skills that can be applied to their actions in their campus life and early careers. The goal of this course is to expand students' diverse ideas about world cultures and transform these understanding into effective leadership qualities through art.
ICK
Business 198Q2: Introduction to Business (XS)
The course is designed as an introductory course for all students interested in learning more about business and sustainability. Students will be exposed to many different aspects of the world of business. A primary objective of the course is to broaden both the interests and horizons of early level university students toward understanding the dynamics of business and business careers with the supplemental context of sustainability. Lectures, readings, presentations by guest speakers, videos, etc. will be utilized to facilitate student's learning.
SUS
Business 259Q2: Nudging the marketplace: Using Behavioral Economics to Improve Communities (XS)
This course explores the ways individuals systematically deviate from rational economic behavior and why it causes suboptimal outcomes in our communities. We will ask questions about how this irrational behavior shapes business, consumer behavior, government, philanthropy, the environment, and our personal lives. Our focus will be on studying various public policies while also considering the ethical implications of these policies. Special fees may apply.
CL
Business 260Q2: The Business of Climate Change (XS)
Climate change is one of the
biggest global problems we face today. It affects how we live, what we eat, how we shop, and how we do business.
This three-credit course will look at climate change from an economic and business point of view. As a Quest II
Sustainability course (S) in the University Studies Program (Explore Society), we will focus on the ethical
implications of personal and business choices we make that impact our environment and climate.
SUS
Chemistry 103Q2: Environmental Chemistry (XL)
This laboratory course will cover the chemistry of environmental topics such as: air pollution, ozone depletion, water pollution, acid rain, waste disposal and energy production. Occasionally tangentially related topics such as drug design and nutrition may be discussed. This course may be combined with Chemistry 104, to form a two semester sequence for the Bachelor of Science degree. NOTE: Chemistry 103 is not a prerequisite for higher level chemistry courses. Special fees may apply.
SUS
Chemistry 104Q2: Environmental Chemistry (XL)
This laboratory course will teach the chemistry behind materials that society depends on: metals, ceramics, and polymers. Historic and economic impacts of their manufacture and use will be considered. Applications of advanced materials in fields such as electronics, aviation or art will be discussed. This course may be combined with Chemistry 103 to form a two-semester sequence for the Bachelor of Science degree. Note: Chemistry 104 is not a prerequisite for higher level chemistry courses.
SUS
English 206Q2: Rhetoric or the Art of Moving Souls (XC)
Living in the Information Age and an era of information overload, what effectively captures our attention and imagination? Course participants will engage in the study of how messages "move souls" (as Aristotle defined rhetoric) through not only what is said but also how it is said. Messages in literature, images, tweets, and more lay the foundations of society and community. Prerequisites: WBIS 188, English 110, or Comm 111.
ICK
English 210Q2: Classical and Medieval Literature (XC)
A study of the literature from antiquity to the Renaissance, which may include classical works of Greece, Rome, Britain, and continental Europe. Prerequisite: Any Writing-Based Inquiry Seminar (WBIS 188), or English 101, or English 110. Writing assignments will be required.
CL
English 211: British Literature I (XC)
A study of English literature from its beginnings to 1800. Prerequisite: Any Writing-Based Inquiry Seminar (WBIS 188), or English 101, or English 110. Writing assignments will be required.
SUS
English 212Q2: British Literature II (XC)
A study of English literature from 1800 to present. Prerequisite: Any Writing-Based Inquiry Seminar (WBIS 188), or English 101, or English 110. Writing assignments will be required.
ICK
English 226Q2: Modern American Literature (XC)
A study of works by post-19th century American writers. Primarily for non-majors. Prerequisite: Any Writing-Based Inquiry Seminar (WBIS 188) or English 101 or English 110. Writing assignments will be required.
ICK/SUS
English 227Q2: Modern World Literature (XC)
A study of works by modern world authors, in English or English translation, with a global emphasis. This course may be offered with different content. With a different subtitle, it may be taken twice with the signature of the department chair. Recommended for non-majors. Prerequisite: Any Writing-Based Inquiry Seminar (WBIS 188) or English 101 or English 110. Writing assignments will be required.
SUS
English 236:Foundational Texts of Western Literature (XC)
A study of the foundational myths and archetypes of Western literature, with a primary emphasis of Biblical and Greco-Roman mythology, but which may also include texts from Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Norse mythology. The aim is to provide students an introduction to the recurring stories, myths, and characters that populate Western literature, drama, and art from ancient times until the present day. Prerequisite: Any Writing-Based Inquiry Seminar (WBIS 188) or English 101 or English 110.
CL
English 247Q2: Introduction to Shakespeare (XC)
Introduction to Shakespeare is a course for non-English majors. It will cover several of the best-known plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Taming of the Shrew, and Henry IV. Prerequisite: Any Writing-Based Inquiry Seminar (WBIS 188), or English 101, or English 110. Writing assignments will be required.
SUS
Environmental Studies 101Q2: Introduction to Environmental Studies (XS)(GC)
The goal of this class is to provide an introduction to the field of environmental studies by using an interdisciplinary perspective to explore the complex relationships between humans and the natural world, in the U.S. and around the globe. Prerequisite: Course is limited to students with less than 60 credits or Environmental Studies majors and minors or those with department consent.
SUS
Geology 104Q2: The Sustainable Earth (XL)
In-depth examination of the ways that humans can live sustainably with Earth. Includes inquiry activities that examine the social, ethical, environmental and economic impacts of humans living with: plate tectonic processes; national hazards/disasters; Earth and mineral resources; climate change; the rock, water/hydrologic, and carbon cycles, among other topics. Activities in the classroom, field, and laboratory focus on ways that humans can live harmoniously with Earth, protect Earth from damage and destruction, and work within the Earth system to attain social, environmental and economic justice and well-being. Course includes exploration of ethical responsibilities associated with sustainably living on the Earth. Students may receive credit for only one of the following courses: Geology 102, 104Q2, 110 or 150. Special Fees may apply.
SUS
Geology 200Q2: Earth's Changing Climate (XN)
This course will examine contemporary scientific thought on understanding climate in Earth history, past climate change events, evolution of the atmosphere through time, and will compare past events to today's changing climate. Close emphasis will be placed on geological evidence for climate change in deep time, its causes and effects, and evidence for environmental changes. Past periods of radical climate shifts, such as during the Permian Extinction, will be analyzed in order to understand how life was affected by extreme changes during those events to better understand scientific thought for the current climate emergency as well as future climate trends. There are no prerequisites, but at least one previous Geology or Geography course is encouraged.
SUS
Global Languages & Culture & Lit 220Q2: Encounter, Marvel and the Dark Side of Colonization in Latin-American Texts (XC) (GC)
This course examines the interpretation and re-articulation of what was conceived as a "New World" in texts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by Europeans and indigenous writers from Mesoamerica and the Andes. For our analysis, we examine the medieval notion of "Wonder" as used in texts such as John de Mandeville and Marco Polo. Our study of how explorers, Conquistadors, friars, and indigenous writers understood and wrote about the New World and its peoples provides a context to appreciate diverse cultures and their traditions and investigate forms of and sources of interaction, interdependence, and inequity in Latin American societies.
ICK
Global Religions 102Q2: World Religions (XC)
A historical survey of the basic experiential, mythical, doctrinal, ethical, ritual, and social dimensions in the world's major traditions: tribal religion, Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese and Japanese religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Students may not receive credit for both Religious Studies 102 and Religious Studies 110.
ICK
Global Religions 106Q2: Bible and Current Events (XC)
This course introduces the Bible and biblical interpretation by focusing on the role of the Bible in shaping culture and public discourse on key issues in public and foreign policy, general interest, and popular culture, such as church/state relations, abortion, domestic violence, 'family values', welfare reform, same-sex marriage, and recent conflicts in the Middle East.
ICK
Global Religions 263Q2: Women, Sustainability, and Religion (XS)
We all live in bodies, and we all live on the planet Earth. This class explores how women from diverse religious traditions have approached the question of how to live sustainability on this planet, as well as how religious approaches to sustainability affect women's lives. We will assess this through units on four themes: 1) Wonder and Nature, 2) Food, 3) People and Bodies, and 4) Myth and Ritual. Cross-listed: Religious Studies 263/Women's and Gender Studies 263, students may receive credit for only one-cross listed course.
SUS
History 101Q2: Early Civilization (XS)
Survey of development of civilizations, including beginnings in Mesopotamia and Egypt, through Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance.
CL
History 105Q2: Topics in the History of Early Civilization (XS)
Selected topics in the History of Early Civilizations. It may be offered with different content.
The Conquest-Latin American
Ethnics and History in Asian Civilizations,
ICK
History 110Q2: Topics in the History of Modern Civilization (XS)
Selected topics in the History of Modern Civilizations. It may be offered with different content.
Resistance and Conformity in Nazi Germany
Alexander Hamilton's World
CL
History 202Q2: U.S. History Since 1877 (XS)
Survey of United States history from 1877; emergence of a modern industrial state, expansion abroad, First and Second World Wars, and role as a great power.
CL
History 210Q2: Topics in the Modern History of the United States (XC)
It may be offered with different content.
CL
Honors 275Q: Culture Connection (XC)
This course is intended to assist students with 1) cultivating strategies for engaging deeply with cultural experiences and events, and 2) furthering their development as writers. To that end, students will read a selection of essays on cultural criticism as well as cultural critiques of theatrical performances, music recitals and concerts, art exhibits, etc. In addition, students will be expected to attend cultural events on campus or in the community and to write their own critiques of those events. Prerequisites: Enrolled in good standing with The Honors College; prior or concurrent enrollment in HNRS 175.
CL/ICK
Journalism 206Q2: Exploring Ethics in the Digital Age (XS)
Ever wonder how individuals determine right versus wrong? What drives one's moral and ethical choices? This course explores these questions and more through the lens of social media usage. This is a 3-credit, Quest II, Explore Society course that carries the Signature Question "How do people understand and engage in community life?" This course explores how the unique landscape of social media intersects with ethical implications. This intersectionality will be explored from multiple ethical perspectives. Questions concerning the role of ethics in today's business social media environment will also be examined. Critical approaches and theoretical foundations will be introduced and used to apply ethical frames to different aspects of social media.
CL
Journalism 238Q2: Media, Celebrity and Sustainability (XS)
Analysis of how images are used in journalistic and documentary storytelling as a means to communicate ideas. Students will be introduced to important images because images often serve as people's references to culture, politics, and other social elements. Discussions will include the nature of truth and perception, news values, and the production of new images, in contrast to the manufacturing of propaganda.
SUS
Journalism 241Q2: Images as Truth and Propaganda (XS)
This course examines processes of media and celebrity representations related to sustainability to explore issues ad influences on the attitudes and behaviors of society. Toward the signature question, students will gai an understanding of sustainability and how in intersects with media and celebrity related to everyday choices humans make in fashion, food, politics, social issues and other topics. This is important because everyday choices impact many dimensions of sustainability, especially when considered across a community, state or nation. Opinion leadership with celebrities, as well as influencers and peer on social media, will be explored with implications for the future, ethical considerations and self-reflection.
CL
Journalism 259Q2: Body Image in the Media (XC)
This course explores how the media construct, shape, and reinforce the culture of ideal body image. The stereotypes and ideologies regarding gender, race, and class embedded in body image will be explored. This course also examines the impacts of ideal body image on individuals and societies. Critical approaches and theoretical foundations will be introduced and used to examine the representations and impacts of body images. Areas of study may include, but are not limited to, television, film, animation, magazines, video games, and news.
ICK
Math 189Q2: Problem Based Inquiry Seminar: Statistics & Citizenship (XM)
Descriptive statistics/elementary probability/basic problems of statistical inference: estimation, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, regression and correlation. Prerequisite: Mathematics 103, with grade of C or better or placement.
CL
Music 110Q2: Music, Ethics & Community (XC)
This course explores the ethical issues related to listening, appreciating, sharing, practicing, teaching, and thinking about music. How music is connected to identity and community will be researched. In this course, music is the instrument that is used to evaluate ethical theories and core beliefs while addressing concerns as they relate to self, community, culture, equality, personal values, the public good, civic traditions, and personal expression.
SUS
Music 240Q2: Music and the Natural World (XC)
This is a Quest II Explore Culture (SC) course in the University Studies Program. The course will examine the relationship between music and nature from several overarching perspectives, and will be aligned with the USP Signature Question: "How do people understand and create a more sustainable world?" Focusing on principles of active listening, critical thinking and ethical reasoning, this course will be organized around the following broad topics: Sustainability and the Environmental and Cultural Impacts of Music; Artists' Relationships to Nature, and Musical Intersections with Nature; Ecomusicology, and the Music of Advocacy and Protest; Music, Physics, and Natural Law. This course will help students develop analytical listening skills that may be applied to any style of music. Students will learn to demonstrate and apply a functional understanding of basic terminology, but no prior musical knowledge is assumed and the ability to read music is not required.
CL
Philosophy 105Q2: Ethics (XC)
Analysis of the principal theories of ethics and their practical application to problems concerning the individual and society. Proposed methods of justifying moral principles will be examined. Ethics 105 is the Non-Western Culture version of Ethics 104. Students cannot receive credit for both Philosophy 104 and 105.
CL
Philosophy 109Q2: Introduction to Philosophy (XC)
A survey of some of the perennial problems of the human enterprise; the nature of reality, of truth, of knowledge, of beauty, of ideal political and social relationships, and of the good life; solutions to these problems offered by the best known Greek, medieval, and modern philosophers.
SUS
Phy Ed 217Q2: Social Aspects of Sport (XS) (ES)
A course focusing on sport institutions as social organizations and how they function within a culture. Emphasis is placed on group structure and membership, group pressure, socialization, stratification, and deviance as they apply to the sports' setting. Selected interdisciplinary topics demonstrating the connections between sport and: media, business/economy, gender, race/ethnicity, social class, politics, and religion. An interdisciplinary focus on sport within the American culture. Emphasis is placed on the history and evolution of sports and the resulting effects on the social institutions of education, politics, economy, health, and religion. Within these institutions we will look at stratification of gender, social class, and race/ethnicity using multiple sociological theories. Practical exercises
in research will enhance student knowledge of course topics. Learners will also have the opportunity to explore related areas of their own interest.
ICK
Political Science 101Q2: Introduction to Comparative Politics (XS)
This course provides an introduction to key concepts and issues in comparative politics in the context of case studies from Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East. It explores political participation and institutions, political ideology and culture, the role of government, political parties, democratization, economic development and inequality, nationalism, and ethnic and religious conflict in a variety of national and regional contexts around the globe.
ICK
Political Science 105Q2: Intro to American Government and Politics (XS)
Organization, principles and actual working of the American National Government in all its branches.
CL
Political Science 115Q2: International Politics (XS)
Development of the nation-state system; role of the great powers; the struggle for power; settlement of disputes; diplomacy, the quest for law, nationalism, contemporary problems.
SUS
Sociology 153Q2: Intercultural Exploration of Families (XS) (ES)
This course examines the family system in the U.S. and across cultures, including the ways family structures both reinforce and challenge gender roles. Sociological and gender-based theories of the family are explored as well as the complex relationships among marriage, parenting, work, and family. Students will use ethical reasoning to navigate these relationships. Varieties of family experience are considered, with special attention given to issues concerning competing definitions of the family.
ICK
Theatre 152Q2: Non-Western Theatre (XC)
A study of theatre outside the Euro-centric or Western tradition (to include African, Asian, and Indian, ritual, libation, dance, puppetry, masks, storytelling, etc.) which explores cultural differences and similarities in theatrical performance..
ICK
Women Studies 263: Women Studies 263 (XS)
We all live in bodies, and we all live on the planet Earth. This class explores how women from diverse religious traditions have approached the question of how to live sustainably on this planet, as well as how religious approaches to sustainability affect women's lives. We will assess this through units on four themes: 1) Wonder and Nature, 2) Food, 3) People and Bodies, and 4) Myth and Ritual. Cross-listed: Religious Studies 263/Women's and Gender Studies 263, students may receive credit for only one-cross listed course.
SUS