Southern New Hampshire University
Philosophy PHL 210 Introduction to Philosophy (3 credits) This course provides a general introduction to the big questions of philosophy, including questions of existence, knowledge, freedom and meaning. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to great thinkers and theories while engaging them in the exploration of the same beginning questions applied to contemporary issues. PHL 212 Introduction to Ethics (3 credits) This course introduces students to ethical theory, or the study of how people make decisions about how to treat one another. It emphasizes the historical and theoretical development of answers to such questions as: “What kind of a person do I want to be?” and “How do we figure out what the right thing to do is?” PHL 214 Formal Logic (3 credits) This course is a study of the fundamental principles of deductive logic, and introduces students to proofs of the validity and invalidity of arguments. PHL 216 Business Ethics (3 credits) This course is a philosophical study of moral issues in business. Topics include corporate responsibility, conflicts of interest, morality in advertising, preferential hiring (e.g., minorities and women), personal morality versus employer loyalty, and cultural theoretical issues and their impact on business decisions. PHL 230 Religions of the World (3 credits) This course reviews the emergence of various belief systems and their differences and similarities. Students explore the role of religious belief in the course of human history. Whenever possible, speakers representing various religions are invited to the class. Special emphasis is given to five major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Global Marker. PHL 246 Understanding Non-Western Philosophy (3 credits) This course, which focuses on classics from non-Western traditions, is meant to enrich students’ understanding of philosophical works that have shaped entire cultures. Selections are drawn from the literary, religious and philosophical works of Africa and western, southern and eastern Asia, giving students a greater appreciation of the contemporary world and basic philosophical issues. Global Marker.
180
PHL 314 Political Theory (3 credits) This courses explores the diversity of conceptions of the individual, the state, politics, and “the good life” that animate contemporary societies and their critics, with an emphasis on the contributions of Western political theorists of both ancient and modern times to contemporary currents of political thought. This course places special emphasis on the social and cultural contexts in which these theorists lived and worked as factors that helped to shape their political ideas. The theorists covered may vary from semester to semester. Prerequisite: ENG 121, and POL 210 or PHL 210. This course is cross-listed with POL 314.
PHL 350 G.R.E.E.D. (3 credits) This course explores the scientific, social and ethical aspects of environmental degradation and evaluates practices and attitudes that will lead to sustainable practices. Part 1 Greed is explored as a threat to sustainable development. Part 2 - G.R.E.E.D., Globally Responsible Environmental and Economic Decisions, is explored through team-based research as a sustainable alternative. This course is crosslisted as SOC 350. PHL 363 Environmental Ethics (3 credits) This course analyzes the application of ethical theory to moral questions about the environment. A number of different traditions in environmental ethics will be discussed and their strengths and weaknesses evaluated by applying them to practical moral problems. Prerequisite: A previous philosophy course, ENV 219, or permission of the instructor. PHL 480 Independent Study (3 credits) This course allows the student to investigate any philosophy subject not incorporated into the curriculum. Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor, the program coordinator or department chair and the school dean.
Physics PHY 101 Principles of Physics (3 credits) Principles of Physics explores the major topics of physics: thermodynamics and energy, forces and motion, electromagnetism, the nature of the solar system, relativity, and gravity. PHY 103 Earth Science (3 credits) Earth Science presents the basic dynamics of cycles and processes of the Earth, including an overview of the origin of the planet, its physical and chemical composition, and geological and chemical interactions. The course culminates in a discussion of the current health of the planet, and examines related environmental issue and evidence.
Politics POL 203 Wealth and Poverty (3 credits) This course asks why wealth and poverty continue to exist side by side throughout the world. Students explore how standards of living differ both within and between industrialized countries and the Third World, and seek the causes of these differences in the story of economic development as it has unfolded over the past 500 years. Global Marker. POL 210 American Politics (3 credits) This course offers a broad introduction to the structure and function of the American political system at the national level, including the roles played by the president, Congress, the courts, the bureaucracy, political parties, interest groups and the mass media in the policy-making and electoral processes. This course places special emphasis on how the efforts of the framers of the Constitution to solve what they saw as the political problems of their day continue to shape American national politics in ours.