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2016-2017 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
General Education: Connections Curriculum
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Connections Curricula
For Northland College students, the foundation of their academic studies is established through one of the College’s Connections curricula—Superior Connections , Growing Connections , or Natural Connections . Students elect to complete one of these curricula when they enter the College, and the courses required for their chosen Connections curriculum account for approximately one-third of the courses they will complete at the College. Academic major requirements and elective courses typically account for the other two-thirds.
All of the Connections curricula—Superior, Growing, and Natural—are designed to assure that students develop:
- foundational skills in communication, quantitative reasoning, and personal wellness;
- a breadth of disciplinary learning characteristic of a liberally educated individual;
- an understanding of human and cultural diversity; and
- an appreciation for the relationship between humans and the natural world that prepares graduates to live lives that are sensitive to the needs of an ecologically sustainable future.
The teaching of writing and speaking skills is integrated into the Connections blocks that are required in all of the Connections curricula; students are also required to complete two courses designated as writing intensive. Writing intensive courses at Northland provide (a) explicit attention to the writing process and to the form of written documents; (b) opportunities for students to receive feedback on drafts or completed writing assignments; and (c) opportunities for students to revise or incorporate feedback in future writing assignments. In writing intensive courses, writing assignments account for approximately sixty percent of the final course grade.
The Connections curricula are structured to demonstrate the value of integrated, multidisciplinary approaches to understanding the world. After completing a Connections curriculum, students understand the strengths and limitations of specific academic disciplines and are prepared to think systemically and creatively about complex questions.
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Superior Connections
Superior Connections is a curriculum integrated thematically by a focus on the Lake Superior watershed. Students who enroll in Superior Connections develop expertise in the natural and human histories of the watershed, then use this expertise to study and engage a variety of complexly interconnected environmental and cultural issues. The program incorporates a number of field trips in its courses, including a one-month journey around Lake Superior. Students emerge from Superior Connections empowered by experiences of connectedness to make meaningful contributions to the watersheds and communities in which they will live.
Students must apply to participate in Superior Connections; they complete the program as a cohort of approximately twenty students. Superior Connections Curriculum Requirements
XNN 115 Natural Setting of Lake Superior
XHH 115 Lake Superior Lives & Stories
Prior to Graduation
- Two courses from different disciplines that emphasize ways for knowing characteristic of the social sciences 6-8 credits
- One course that focuses on human or cultural diversity, OR one non-NAS course that emphasizes ways of knowing characteristic of the Humanities 3-4 credits
- One Quantitative Reasoning Course 3-4 Credits
Courses that satisfy ways of knowing (Humanities, Social Science, Natural Science) or quantitative reasoning requirements for the Connections program are identified in individual course descriptions found in the College catalog or through the Course Search function on My Northland.
Courses that focus on human or cultural diversity are identified in a list provided below.
Students who complete the Superior Connections curriculum are eligible to declare an environmental studies minor.
Total Superior Connections: 36-40 Credits
Growing Connections
Growing Connections is a curriculum that focuses on the history, theories, and practices of sustainable agriculture. Participants in Growing Connections work closely with faculty mentors and regional farmers in classrooms, labs, and fields to develop an interdisciplinary understanding of food systems and of the role that agriculture plays in human culture and ecological health.
Students complete the Growing Connections program as a cohort of approximately twenty students.
Growing Connections Curriculum Requirements
XHN 112 Growing Connections Fall
XNS 115 Animals and Minerals in Agriculture
Prior to Graduation
- Two courses from different disciplines that emphasize ways of knowing characteristic of the Humanities, OR one course focused on the needs of an ecologically sustainable future and one non-ENG course that emphasizes the ways of knowing characteristic of the Humanities 6-8 credits
- Two courses from different disciplines that emphasize ways of knowing characteristic of the Social Sciences, OR one course focused on human or cultural diversity and one non-OED course that emphasizes ways of knowing characteristic of the social sciences 6-8 credits
- One Quantitative Reasoning Course 3-4 Credits
Courses that satisfy ways of knowing (Humanities, Social Science, Natural Science) or quantitative reasoning requirements for the Connections program are identified in individual course descriptions found in the College catalog or through the Course Search function on My Northland.
Courses that focus on human and cultural diversity or on the needs of an ecologically sustainable future are identified in a list provided below.
Students who complete the Growing Connections curriculum are eligible to declare an environmental studies minor.
Total Growing Connections: 34-39 Credits
Natural Connections
Natural Connections is a curriculum that allows students to explore a variety of themes or questions. Students completing Natural Connections may select blocks of courses that focus on different themes or questions each semester, or they may select blocks of courses that explore the same question or theme across two semesters. Faculty teams dedicated to Natural Connections curriculum provide multi-disciplinary perspectives on the themes or questions of the different blocks, and students develop sophisticated understandings of the complexities inherent in each.
Curriculum Requirements
1) Students pursuing Natural Connections must complete …
- two courses from different disciplines that emphasize ways of knowing characteristic of the Humanities 6-8 Credits
- two courses from different disciplines that emphasize ways of knowing characteristic of the Natural Sciences 6-8 Credits
- two courses from different disciplines that emphasize ways of knowing characteristic of the Social Sciences 6-8 Credits
- one course that focuses on the needs of an ecologically sustainable future 3-4 credits
- one course that focuses on human or cultural diversity 3-4 credits
- one quantitative reasoning course 3-4 Credits
- one experiential course or a three/four credit internship 3-4 Credits
- two writing intensive courses, which may be fulfilled through courses required above or by taking additional courses 0-8 credits
Courses that satisfy ways of knowing (Humanities, Social Science, Natural Science) or quantitative reasoning requirements for the Connections program are identified in individual course descriptions found in the College catalog or through the Course Search function on My Northland.
Courses that focus on the needs of an ecologically sustainable future or on human and cultural diversity as well as writing intensive courses are identified in lists provided below.
2) In addition, Natural Connections students must complete one Connections blocks in their first year and a second Connections block prior to graduation.
Connections blocks are identified in course schedules by course codes that begin with X. For a current listing of Connections blocks, use the Course Search function on My Northland to view schedules for a specific semester or term.
Typically, Natural Connections students fulfill some of their ways of knowing requirements (Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, see #1 above) through their Connections blocks (#2 above), but they may also take individual courses to fulfill disciplinary requirements if desired.
Students who complete the Natural Connection program by taking at least two courses at the 300-level and who take an additional course focused on the needs of an ecologically sustainable future may declare an Environmental Studies minor.
Total Natural Connections: 30-48 Credits
Human & Cultural Diversity Courses
- BUS 415 Multicultural Aspects of Organizational Development
- EDU 376 Strategies for Teaching Diverse Learners
- ENG 217 Contemporary Third World Literature
- ENG 228 Literature of the Arab World
- ENG 233 Women of the Third World
- ENG 372 Nature in Latin American Literature
- GSC 262 World Regional Geography
- GWS 265 Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies
- GWS 266 Ecofeminism
- GWS 331 Feminist Theory
- GWS 343 Queer Ecologies
- HIS 101 United States History to 1865
- HIS 102 United States History since 1865
- HIS 111 History of World Civilizations to 1500
- HIS 112 History of World Civilizations since 1500
- HIS 209 Gender in the United States Landscape
- HIS 260 Gender in Modern Europe
- HIS 263 History of the Middle East
- HIS 264 Middle East History and Politics
- HIS 266 American Material Culture
- HIS 270 The Holocaust
- HIS 315 American Foodways
- HIS 357 Gender in Total War
- HUM 220 Soviet Art and Music
- IDS 276 Middle East Sustainability
- IDS 284 Central American Culture, History, and Language
- MLG 205 Intermediate Spanish I
- MLG 206 Intermediate Spanish II
- MUS 205 Story of Jazz
- MUS 206 History of Rock and Roll
- MUS 217 Music in World Culture
- NAS—ALL COURSES
- OED 210 Inclusive Outdoor Education
- OED 221 Group Process and Leadership
- OED 222 Exploring the Human-Animal Connection
- OED 279 Access and Diversity
- PSY 233 Social Psychology
- PSY 236 Political Psychology
- PSY 331 Ecopsychology
- REL 230 Asian Religions and Philosophies
- REL 231 Buddhism
- REL 234 Japanese Religious History
- REL 330 Islam
- REL 331 Zen Buddhism
- SCD 110 Introduction of Sustainable Community Development
- SCD 230 The Political Process
- SCD 235 Forces of Change
- SCD 320 History of Planning and Development
- SCD 335 Organizing Communities
- SCD 422 Capitalism, Justice & Sustainability
- SCD 350 Gender and Economic Development
- SOC—ALL COURSES
Needs of an Ecologically Sustainable Future Courses
- ART 306 Art Collaborations with Nature
- BIO 128 Natural History and Conservation in the Lake Superior Watershed
- BIO 234 Ecology
- BIO 245 Mammalogy
- BIO 328 Vegetative Communities of Northern Wisconsin
- BIO 370 Applied Conservation Biology
- BIO 374 Tropical Ecology and Conservation
- BIO 410 Conservation Biology
- CHM 103 General Chemistry: The Chemistry of Food
- CHM 105 General Chemistry: Chemistry in Social Context
- CHM 108: General Chemistry: Responding to Climate Change
- CHM 110 General Chemistry
- CHM 210 Chemistry of Natural Waters
- CHM 220 Organic Chemistry I
- CHM 221 Organic Chemistry II
- CHM 225 Ecological Quantitative Analysis
- CHM 240 Inorganic Chemistry
- CHM 245 Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate
- CHM 326 Atmospheric Chemistry
- CHM 449 Kinetics and Transport
- CHM 462 Advanced Experimental Chemistry Capstone
- ECN 310 Environmental Economics
- ECN 460 Economics of Sustainability
- ENG 126 Confluences: Reading and Writing in the Lake Superior Watershed
- ENG 140 Food for Thought: Reflecting upon Agrarian Life in America
- ENG 160 Natural Disasters in Literature and Film
- ENG 211 Humanity and Nature in Literature
- ENG 234 Science Fiction and Societal Collapse
- ENG 240 Pens & Paddles in the North Woods
- ENG 318 Nature Writers
- ENG 372 Nature in Latin American Literature
- ENG 377 Green Romanticism
- GSC 107 Geology and Agriculture
- GSC 112 Geoscience Issues of Lake Superior
- GSC 140 Natural Hazards
- GSC 222 Sediments and Soils
- GSC 233 Earth Resources
- GWS 266 EcoFeminism
- GWS 343 Queer Ecologies
- HIS 209 Gender in the United States Landscape
- HIS 241 American Environmental History
- HIS 242 European Environmental History
- HIS 315 American Foodways
- HIS 325 Nature and Nation: Environment, Art, Ideology
- IDS 276 Middle East Sustainability
- IDS 278 Applied Peace and Sustainability
- IDS 373 Humans and the Environment
- MET 300 Climate and Climate Change
- MTH 106 Environmental Mathematics
- MTH 207 Biometry
- MTH 230 Mathematical Modeling
- MUS 263 Music and Nature
- NAS 315 American Indian Environmental Perspectives
- NRS 215 Natural Resources Policy
- NRS 225 Fisheries and Wildlife Techniques
- NRS 325 Stream and Watershed Ecology
- NRS 345 Ecological Restoration
- NRS 346 Applied Restoration Ecology
- NRS 347 Sustainable Forest Management
- NRS 348 Wildlife Ecology and Management
- NRS 349 Fisheries Science and Management
- NRS 358 Wetlands
- NRS 361 Forest Mensuration
- NRS 363 Fire Ecology and Management
- NRS 365 Conservation of Large Carnivores
- NRS 370 Living with Wildlife: Wildlife Conservation Policy in Africa
- NRS 425 Silviculture and Harvest
- NRS 464 Wolf Ecology, Management, & Research
- NRS 480 Integrate Ecosystem Management
- OED 105 Introduction to Outdoor Education
- OED 222 Exploring the Human Animal Connection
- OED 224 North Woods Pathways
- OED 261 Environmental Education Curriculum Review
- OED 279 Access & Diversity
- OED 328 Wilderness Writers and Philosophers
- PHL 226 Environmental Ethics
- PHL 262 Environmental Philosophy
- PHL 266 Environmental Aesthetics
- PHL 360 Concepts of Nature
- PSY 331 Ecopsychology
- PSY 345 Cognition in the Wild
- PSY 431 Ecopsychology II: Applied
- REL 258 Religion and Nature
- SCD—ALL COURSES
- SOC 341 Sociology of the Environment
- WRI 273 Writing the Environmental Essay
Writing Intensive Courses
- BIO 128 Natural History and Conservation in the Lake Superior Watershed
- BIO 480 Biology Senior Seminar
- EDU 337 Fall Practicum
- EDU 338 Winter Practicum
- ENG—ALL COURSES except ENG 180 Public Speaking
- GSC 107 Geology and Agriculture
- GSC 112 Geoscience Issues of Lake Superior
- GWS—ALL COURSES
- HIS 101 United States History to 1865
- HIS 102 United States History since 1865
- HIS 209 Gender in the United States Landscape
- HIS 221 History of Medieval Europe
- HIS 234 Ideology in the 20th Century
- HIS 241 American Environmental History
- HIS 242 European Environmental History
- HIS 260 Gender in Modern Europe
- HIS 266 American Material Culture/Objects in Everyday Life and History
- HIS 315 American Foodways
- HIS 320 The Enlightenment
- HIS 321 The French Revolution
- HIS 325 Nature and Nation: Environment, Art, Ideology
- HIS 357 Gender in Total War
- IDS 180 Lake Superior Circumnavigation
- IDS 480 Senior Seminar
- NAS 215 Native American Women’s History
- NAS 333 Native American World Views
- MET 125 Introduction to Meteorology
- MET 364 Synoptic Meteorology
- MTH 496 Mathematics Senior Capstone Seminar
- NRS 348 Wildlife Ecology and Management
- NRS 363 Fire Ecology & Management
- NRS 480 Integrated Ecosystem Management
- PHL 266 Environmental Aesthetics
- PHL 270 Philosophy of Science
- PHL 282 Contemporary Western Philosophy
- PHL 330 Philosophy of Language
- PSY 110 General Psychology
- PSY 203 Life Span Developmental Psychology
- PSY 231 Ecopsychology
- PSY 233 Social Psychology
- PSY 234 Theories of Personality
- PSY 236 Political Psychology
- REL 231 Buddhism
- REL 241 Religion in America
- REL 258 Religion and Nature
- SCD 110 Introduction to Sustainable Community Development
- SCD 215 Collapse and Sustainability
- SCD 220 Sustainable Community Planning
- SCD 225 Sustainable Development in the Lake Superior Watershed
- SCD 230 The Political Process
- SCD 235 Forces of Change
- SCD 320 The History of Planning and Development
- SCD 332 Rethinking Economic Development
- SCD 335 Organizing Communities
- SCD 355 The Just City in Practice
- SCD 422 Capitalism, Justice, and Sustainability
- SCD 430 Sustainable Development Theory
- SCD 481 Applied Research Practicum
- SCD 497 Capstone
- SOC 226 Social Movements
- SOC 301 Mass Media & Popular Culture
- SOC 302 Sociology of Culture
- SOC 336 Social Inequality
- SOC 370 Social Science Research Methods
- SOC 374 Human Rights & Social Justice
- SOC 381 Undoing Racism
- SOC 448 Sociological Theory
- SOC 488 Sociology/Social Justice Capstone
- WRI—ALL COURSES
Connections Curriculum Equivalencies
Students who enroll at Northland with college credits earned at other institutions may fulfill some or all of the Connections curricula requirements through transfer equivalencies. This includes both first-time freshmen who earned college credit while in high school and transfer students. Individual transfer evaluations will indicate which requirements, if any, have been met through these equivalencies.
AP and CLEP tests can be utilized to fulfill the Natural Connections course requirements; however, they do not fulfill the block requirements.
Students who fulfill some or all of their Connections requirements through equivalencies may not be eligible to declare an environmental studies minor.
Repeating Connections Blocks & Courses
A Connections block consists of a title, or X, course and two academic classes, which are the content courses. Students must successfully complete both content courses to receive credit for the block. If students withdraw from one or both of the two content courses during the term, they will automatically be withdrawn from the title, or X, course, which will appear as a “W” on the transcript. If students fail one or both of the two content courses, they will receive a grade of unsatisfactory in the title, or X, course, which will appear as a “U” on the transcript.
If students wish to earn credit for a block from which they have withdrawn or in which they have received an unsatisfactory grade, they must repeat the entire block—the title course and both content courses. Students are not required to do this, and may instead choose to complete a different block to fulfill the requirements of the Connections curriculum. If students wish to repeat only a content course that they failed or withdrew from, they may do so only if that course is offered independent of a block format in a future semester. Repeating a single-content course will not result in credit for the block as a whole, and the grade on the original title course will not be changed.
Students with concerns regarding the completion of thier Connections curriculum should contact the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for assistance.
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