University Honors College - The Honorable mention
Friday
12/09/22

EAS 360 STEM Communications in Italy-Summer 2023

Posted by Tim on December 9, 2022 in Academics, General Education Requirements, Honors Experiences, Study Abroad

Take EAS 360 STEM Communications in Florence, Italy! This is a required course for Engineering and Computer Science majors, although this abroad section only will be open to any major and does cover the Communication Literacy 2 requirement.

Students will learn at LdM University in Florence, take walking tours of this historic city, visit an olive oil production facility in the Tuscan Hills and explore ancient cities such as Venice and Pisa.

For more information, visit:

https://buffalo-sa.terradotta.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgramAngular&id=11251

Friday
10/28/22

Spring 2023 Undergraduate School of Social Work Courses

Posted by Tim on October 28, 2022 in Academics, General Education Requirements, Online Courses

Community Organizing and Development Minor & Electives available to ALL MAJORS

For questions about whether these courses will count toward your university requirements, please speak to your academic advisor.

SW130LEC Black Lives Matter: Building Racial Justice and Solidarity
T/R 3:00-4:20PM | Seated
Instructor: C. Brockington
This foundational course examines historic and contemporary anti-Black racism and white supremacy in the United States. Students will analyze policies and strategies to identify, challenge, and transform the values, structures, and behaviors that perpetuate systemic racism, white supremacy and anti-blackness. Students will also engage in self-reflection, develop self-awareness, and participate in critical analysis of systems of privilege and oppression, as well develop personal strategies for becoming antiracist and facilitating change in communities and society. *Course with a racial justice focus.*

SW140LEC Power to the People: Intro to Organizing & Advocacy Strategies 
T/R 10:00-11:20AM | Hybrid
Instructor: L. Merriman
This course focuses on the nuts and bolts of organizing and the strategies that inform advocacy with an emphasis on the roles social capital has on networking effectively across groups and systems. Because the skills and tasks of organizing and advocacy are predominately to catalyze and agitate for change, students will examine relevant policies and learn how to identify and map the distribution of power they promote particularly as they influence access to service and support in neighborhoods and communities.

SW150LEC Social Media in Social Change
T/R 6:00-7:20PM | Remote
Instructor: M. Schwartz
This course will familiarize students with social media and social networking as they influence community change. Specifically, students will be introduced to the fundamental terms and concepts of social media and networking, including various interfaces, tools, and platforms that may be leveraged to promote community change and development. Students will also explore existing scholarship and best practices, as well as issues of social justice, trauma and adversity, social disadvantage, and human rights as they apply to the democratization of technology.

SW230LEC Theories & Policies of Community Organizing
M/W 10:00-11:20AM | Seated
Instructor: L. Lewis
This course will build upon the Introduction to Community Organizing and Development course to provide students with an understanding of the ways in which the history of community organizing and development informs community theory and policy across urban and rural settings. With an emphasis on group development theory, students will be introduced to the major theories and policies that impact neighborhood/community capacity, including theories of poverty and development, inequality, human rights, urban and rural community development, neighborhood organizing, restorative practice, social movements, community transformation, social capital. A particular focus is the intersection of these theories and policies within this framework that can create social capital, and foster entrepreneurship, social innovation, and cross-sector collaboration.

SW309LEC Developing Leadership in Communities
M/W 6:00-7:20PM | Hybrid
Instructor: J. Bieron
This course focuses on development of leadership skills and strategies that foster community engagement and strengthen the natural leadership of residents within communities. Students will examine theories of leadership and the ways in which they influence organizational structures that promote community well-being. This course will explore the mechanisms that support opportunities for collaboration across social, political, legal, and financial systems and the communication patterns that influence success.

SW401LEC Black Men: A Historical and Contemporary Discourse 1619-Present
W 9:00-11:50AM | Seated
Instructor: C. St. Vil

Tuesday
04/19/22

Fall 2022 Undergraduate Community and Organizing Development Minor & Electives for ALL Majors

Posted by Tim on April 19, 2022 in Academics, General Education Requirements

For questions about whether these courses will count toward your university requirements, please speak to your academic advisor.

SW130LEC Dismantling Anti-Blackness: On Becoming Antiracist

T/R 2:00-3:20 PM        SEATED           Instructor J. Diebold

This foundational course examines historic and contemporary anti-Black racism and white supremacy in the United States. Students will analyze policies and strategies to identify, challenge, and transform the values, structures, and behaviors that perpetuate systemic racism, white supremacy, and anti-blackness. Students will also engage in self-reflection, develop self-awareness, and participate in critical analysis of systems of privilege and oppression, as well as develop personal strategies for becoming antiracist and facilitating change in communities and society.

SW150LEC Social Media in Social Change

T/R 6:00-7:20 PM        SEATED           Instructor M. Schwartz

This course will familiarize students with social media and social networking as they influence community change. Specifically, students will be introduced to the fundamental terms and concepts of social media and networking, including various interfaces, tools, and platforms that may be leveraged to promote community change and development. Students will also explore existing scholarship and best practices, as well as issues of social justice, trauma and adversity, social disadvantage, and human rights as they apply to the democratization of technology.

SW220LEC Intro to Community Organizing and Development

T/R 10:00-11:20 AM       HYBRID                      Instructor M. Lewis                      

This course provides a general introduction to the history, organizations, strategies, and practice issues related to community organizing and development. Specifically, this course examines different types of community organizing and development approaches including, but not limited to workforce development, neighborhood revitalization, and arts and culture. Current trends and strategies for organizing residents and collaborating with community-based organizations on development initiatives are explored. This course also introduces empowerment, strengths-based, human rights, and trauma-informed perspectives as frameworks for developing, exploring, and analyzing community organizing and development efforts in urban and rural settings.

SW225LEC Perspectives on Child Maltreatment and Advocacy

M/W 9:10-10:30 AM     SEATED           Instructor P. Logan-Greene

This course provides the foundational knowledge to understand and recognize child maltreatment in diverse settings. The course covers the historical and comparative perspectives, including a trauma-informed and human rights perspective, on child maltreatment, with an emphasis on improving outcomes for children and families. This course is designed for, but not limited to, students who are interested in public health, social work, human services, nursing and other health professions, sociology, psychology, law, and education.

SW245LEC Global Child Advocacy Issues

T/R 11:00 AM-12:20 PM                       SEATED           Instructor S. Richards-Desai

This course is designed to increase student understanding of the adverse experiences of children growing up in various countries. The purpose of this course is to expose students to considerations of socioeconomics, health, culture, religion, and politics and how these affect the welfare and well-being of children across the world. This course examines advocacy efforts using a trauma-informed, human rights framework.

SW380LEC Mediating Conflict through Negotiation

T/R 6:00-7:20 PM        REMOTE          Instructor K. Heim

This course is designed to provide students with practical and theoretical knowledge and skills for addressing and resolving conflict through the use of mediation and negotiation strategies and tactics. Students will explore the ways in which power operates in a variety of approaches, theories, and perspectives, including conflict theories and styles, strategies for empowering relevant parties in managing conflict through negotiation, and techniques and frameworks for third party intervention.

Wednesday
01/26/22

END 300 and END 319 Pathway Courses with Open Seats Spring 2022

Posted by Tim on January 26, 2022 in Academics, General Education Requirements, Pathways

There are seats left available in the courses below for Spring 2022, which may be especially appealing to students who still need to take a list 3 thematic pathway course! In addition, both courses can also be used towards the Environmental Design Minor.

END 300LEC Environment and Landscapes
Monday 6:30-9:10 PM, Cooke 121
Pathway Topics: Environments, Technologies and Policy; Health, Sexuality and Society

Focuses on the complex relationships between people, the natural and constructed environments, and landscapes. Introduces new ways of seeing, understanding, and communicating landscape design. Considers problems in the landscaped environment including greenspace, complex urban centers, post-industrial wastelands, physical infrastructure, and entire watersheds. Reviews how the planning and development of our landscaped settings affects quality of life in physical environments within the context of environmental design.

END 319LEC The City Through Film: Built Environment in Mass Media
Tuesday 6:30-9:10PM, NSC 210 **Hybrid Course
Pathway Topics: Communities, Populations and Spaces; Cultures, Art and Imagination

Through weekly film and multi-media screenings, discussions, readings, and critiques, explores themes of architectural design, urban imagery, inner cities, suburbia, environmental design, physical development, community planning, politics, and their futures in mass media. The built environment serves as a medium that transmits, reinforces and reproduces social values, attitudes and behaviors. Examines how institutions attempt to shape public perspectives using images of the built environment through mass media.

Monday
12/13/21

Spring Open Course: Living Well in the Digital Age

Posted by Tim on December 13, 2021 in Academics, General Education Requirements

“Living Well in the Digital Age”

Spring 2022, T-Th, 11:00 a.m. – 12:20 p.m., 114 Hochstetter

The course takes up the long-standing question of what it means to live a thriving life and examines it the new context of our modern, digitally-connected world.

The rapid development of digital media technologies has presented new challenges and opportunities for the pursuit of eudaimonia, or happiness, a foundational concern of Western philosophy and one enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. This course investigates this problematic through cultural, rhetorical, and media theory as well as concepts of design and usability. Students will encounter and discuss these issues, conducting experiments that encourage them to rethink how they interact with digital media and considering how design practices—from product design to the organization of online communities and the development of individual habits—might help them to “live well.”

This will be an exciting new offering for students from all backgrounds, featuring a dynamic collaboration among four faculty members from the departments of Classics, English, and Media Study, all focused on the question of what it means to live well and flourish in the contemporary world.

Interested students can register under the following course designations:

CL 125LR-COF LEC (23956)

DMS 125LR-REI LEC (23758)

ENG 125LR-KM1 LEC (23749)

Monday
11/08/21

Indigenous Studies Winter Session Courses

Posted by Tim on November 8, 2021 in Academics, General Education Requirements, Pathways

AMS 100: Indian Image on Film (Pathway/Diversity)

Course Description: This course discusses the fabricated image of Native Americans in American film history, the media process that perpetuates such images, and the resulting stereotypes; also covers the relationship to social movements and alternatives for overcoming stereotypes. We will be viewing and critically analyzing the depiction of Indigenous North Americans and other Indigenous peoples in film and video. By engaging theories of representation, we will explore how cinematic presentations about Native peoples have informed prevalent ideas about race, gender, and history, as well as their influence on nation-building, memory, and popular culture. Issues of misrepresentation, stereotyping, racism and their resulting impact upon mainstream perceptions of Indigenous peoples will also be examined in depth. Questions to be raised will include: Why have Native Americans endured as a popular subject for filmmakers for so long? Where does fact/reality end and fiction/myth begin? We will also spend time exploring how Native artists are refashioning Indian images on film. We will study the work of contemporary Indigenous filmmakers in order to demonstrate how Indigenous peoples are defining and reclaiming identity through film and other media.

Tuesday/Thursday 10:00am-1:00pm

Remote

Jason Corwin (Seneca, Deer Clan)

Class # 017383

AMS 114: American Lives and Environments: Haudenosaunee Thought

Course Description: This course will explore Haudenosaunee thought and philosophy.  Through traditional teachings, narratives, and contemporary scholarship, this course will create discussion on the culture, language, and structure of Haudenosaunee society as well as contemporary issues.  With particular focus on traditional knowledge such as the Creation narrative, the Kayanerenhko:wa/Great Law of Peace, Gaiwiio/Code of Handsome Lake, and Longhouse ways, students will gain a better understanding of Haudenosaunee life and thought. 

Tuesdays/Thursdays 1:00pm-4:00pm

Remote

Laticia McNaughton (Mohawk, Wolf Clan)

Class #008532

Friday
10/16/20

Spring 2021 Open Course AMS 325: Afro Caribbean Religions with Honors Faculty Fellow Craig Centrie

Posted by Tim on October 16, 2020 in Academics, General Education Requirements

Contemporary Afro Caribbean Religions. AMS 325

Registration no. 24335

Time: 2:20 to 3:40

Course Description:  Contemporary Afro-Caribbean Religions is a multi-disciplinary course drawing on the paradigms of social sciences and humanities to explore the function of religion in society.  The course familiarizes students with the syncretic religions of the Caribbean and Latin America, the role they play in society, and how religion provides a world-view and understanding of the universe.  We will explore how historical experiences form complex belief systems to help participants live and understand their daily lives.  We further examine why traditions continue to play an important role in people’s cultural lives even when the original historical conditions for their creation no longer exist. Finally, this course also examines traditional societies versus contemporary modern and technologically advanced societies, their philosophical and social underpinnings, and the extent to which social values contribute to a culture, functioning for or against its members. 

Friday
09/18/20

Student Engagement New Certificate Program: UB SELECT

Posted by Tim on September 18, 2020 in Academics, General Education Requirements, Honors Experiences, New Programs

About UB SELECT

UB SELECT stands for “Student Engagement and Leadership Education Credential Training”.

This program is designed to help students get resume-worthy experience to build skills and competencies that students can apply in their courses and future careers. Through this program, students will work with a Student Engagement Ambassador to choose from a variety of opportunities, classes, and other programs. 

A More Inclusive CertificateThis new program updates the TORCH, PEAK and UBXL Certificates and introduces two new certificates: Community and Civic Engagement and SOUL [Student Organizations Understanding Leadership] for a broader extra-curricular experience. Students previously enrolled in these certificates will still be able to complete them with their original requirements.
Additional Information and Sign Up
Monday
08/24/20

MUS 220 Break on Through

Posted by Tim on August 24, 2020 in Academics, General Education Requirements

Break on Through (MUS 220) a new course offering this Fall!

Tuesday and Thursday 3:10-5:10pm, 250 Baird

Prof. Dr. Tiffany Du Mouchelle

Unlock the doors to creativity and artistry.  In this safe environment, students use sound work, body work, visualization practices, and other creative experimentation, students learn to break through inhibitions and fears, and develop a stronger sense of their personal artistic identity. Exercises strengthen self awareness, focus, and intention, helping students feel more at ease on and off the stage. In addition to group exercises, students will have the opportunity to share, develop, and present their own creative work. This class is designed to support performance artists of all genres.  

In this course you will:

Develop awareness of your physical and mental habits, releasing restrictive patterns in exchange for practices that strengthen and nurture your creativity, self-esteem, and artistic identity. 

Develop artistic and professional materials that align with your creative and personal goals. 

Become more confident to create and present creative work. 

Friday
06/12/20

New Media Study Course: Participatory Media Art

Posted by Tim on June 12, 2020 in Academics, General Education Requirements

“Participatory Media Art” 

DMS 417 – Special Topics Course 

Fall 2020 

Course Overview

What is participation and media in our digital age? 

In “Participatory Media Art” students will focus on the history, theories, ethics, and aesthetics of participatory media art. Drawing from terms such as “social practice” or “community based art,” students will learn about participatory practices across media platforms. With a special emphasis on community engagement and design, students learn from a broad range of disciplines including sociology, history, critical theory, public health, media studies, and theatre. In doing so, we’ll explore how media can be participatory and interactive for social change. Through rigorous reading, writing, and discussion of academic articles and case studies, students will pose critical questions on participatory media art together. Topics explored include media representation, HIV/AIDS, incarceration, institutional critique, gender justice, and others. In addition, the course employs a practice-based component through workshops and in the creation of final participatory media projects, including a collective “syllabus take-over” in the last quarter of the course. Through multiple dimensions, students in “Participatory Media Art” learn about the possibilities of participation, community, and media critical for our digital age.

About the Professor 

Margaret Rhee is a poet, scholar,and new media artist. Her participatory media projects includes The Kimchi Poetry Machine (Electronic Literature Collection) and From the Center, a decade long project of feminist digital storytelling and HIV/AIDS education in the San Francisco Jail. For this project, she was awarded the Chancellor’s Award for Public Service and a Honorable Mention for the Yamashita Prize for Social Change. As a poet and scholar, she has published widely. She received her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in ethnic studies with a designated emphasis in new media studies. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Study at SUNY Buffalo where she co-leads Palah Light Lab, a creative space that fosters poetry, participation, and pedagogy through technology and equity.​