Credo Department Courses


The following are some of the recent Credo course offerings.
CRDO Inquiry Seminars – Credo students are to enroll in Inquiry Seminar sections specifically structured for Credo students. The topics vary from year to year and are paired with oral or written communication courses that connect Credo students into the larger Credo student community.
CRDO 131 H – Germany, Third Reich, Holocaust, 4 credits. This course provides an investigation into the cultural and political conditions during the Third Reich and their impact upon everyday life. Particular emphasis is placed on the historical, philosophical and intellectual foundations of the Reich, the impact of Hitler and the Nazi policies on everyday life, the degree to which Nazi ideology informed artistic expression, Nazi propaganda, anti-Semitism and the Holocaust.
CRDO 222 N – Life in the Universe, 4 credits. E1. This course will begin with an introduction to the nature of science and what distinguishes it from other modes of thinking. Then we will discuss the current state of the knowledge about life on Earth. Using this foundation, we will then begin exploring the possibilities of life existing elsewhere. In this section, we will focus on the recent discoveries of extrasolar planets and their composition, the habitable zone, the search for finding earth-sized planets in that one and finally ways we are searching for signatures of life and, in particular, extraterrestrial intelligence among the stars.
CRDO 224 S – American Exceptionalism, 4 credits. E1. This course addresses the history, the development, and the current status of the idea of American exceptionalism, the idea that there is something unique and even preeminent about the United States. We consider the economic, cultural, political and moral implications of this idea.
CRDO 226 S – Cell Phones and Cyberspace, 4 credits. This course explores the use of technologies in shaping and responsible behavior and communication in today’s global society. Students will explore a variety of topics including use of technology, economics and access to technology, conflict and Internet dangers, legal considerations and social networking. Special emphasis will be given to ethical implications for technology in the world.
CRDO 231 R – The Renaissance Lecture, 4 credits. E1. This course explores the art and literature of Renaissance Italy and includes an Exploration Seminar component, a trip to Italy, during midsemester break.
CRDO 233 – Fantasy: Literature and Religion. 4 credits. E1 or E2 (starting in 2012-2013). This course explores the religious dimensions of fantasy (i.e., fantasy and science fiction) literature and film and the human instinct to create myths that give purpose to life as proposed by fantasy authors, such as C.S. Lewis and Tolkien.
CRDO 236 H – Existentialism and World Cinema, 4 credits. The meaning of our existence became an especially acute problem in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Science seemed to be undermining the authority of religion. Psychology, especially the discovery of the unconscious, seemed to undermine our self-knowledge. And the industrial revolution seemed to undermine our status as human beings, since it seemed to convert human beings into mere extensions of machines. The great existential questions are: What does it mean to be a human being? Is there a God? Is there free will? How does one live authentically and free oneself from “bad faith”? We will be considering these questions as they are addressed in the great existentialist works of philosophy, literature and film.
CRDO 480 – Independent Study designation given upon completing an excellent project, 4 credits.