Exploring Special Topics at Alvernia University
Each year, a number of Alvernia University professors offer unique “special topic” courses delving deeply into topics of distinct interest. The courses — covering topics such as “The Holocaust” and “Ethics and the Brain” often reflect years of focused research. This spring, students can choose from fifteen special topic courses.
A selection of Alvernia’s Spring 2018 special courses includes two exploring different World War II topics. Students in Dr. Donna Yarri’s theology course on The Holocaust will examine questions about how the Holocaust happened, and how to prevent its recurrence, and Derrick Rowe’s “Stalingrad” will focus on the military history and leadership of the Eastern Front of the war.
Dr. Bongrae Seok’s “Ethics and the Brain” philosophy course will explore what is happening in the brains of people who are making moral decisions. Students will discuss how moral philosophy (the conceptual and normative effort to set the standard for right and good) can be enriched by empirical studies of the mind and the brain.
Honors students will focus on the turbulent history of Africa’s European colonization and struggle for independence (1865 to 1965) with political science professor Victoria Williams, Ph.D.
And working with communication professor Caroline Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., online students will investigate ways that technologies are transforming communication, research and preservation. Discover more academic choices at Alvernia.edu.
