Interdisciplinary Studies

Four Credit Course Offerings for Freshman

Students

IDST 110: Ethics and Images in the Global Marketplace

This course examines the controversies in social responsibility, domestically and globally. Issues for discussion include; employment practices, workers’ rights, accountability, infringement, environmental stewardship, supply chain conflicts, culture and business practices, and the business and politics of “green.”

Ms. Shelley Freyn, Ms. Amy Weaver-Kaulis, Dr. Anne Zaphiris

IDST 110: Enduring Questions

This course is organized around three central questions: 1) What does it mean to be human? 2) Why should humans be good? 3) What is justice? These questions allow faculty and students to interface with classic texts in a creative classroom setting. Students will read and write essays on five books in their entirety: Cicero’s On Duties; Machiavelli’s The Prince; John S. Mill’s On Liberty; Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin; and Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead.

Dr. Ludlow Brown, Dr. Michael Federici and Dr. Daniel McFee,

IDST 110: Urbanology

It is the best of times and the worst of times in America’s big cities. On the one hand, urban America is filled with bright lights, tremendous wealth, political innovation, and the latest cultural trends. On the other hand, cities are the site of rampant crime, racial tension, troubled schools, enduring poverty and hard knuckle machine politics. In this course we examine the prospects and the problems of urban America, with special attention to urban schools where so much of the drama of city life is played out. In addition to engaging readings, lectures, and discussions, this course will feature expert guest speakers, and first- hand experience doing service and research in Erie.

Dr. Ruth Auld,, Dr. Laura Lewis, Dr. Brian Ripley

IDST 110: Exploring Law: Ideas with Teeth

We will explore fundamental questions about the nature and functions of law. Topics will include legal reasoning, discretion, wealth and power, law enforcement, prisons and punishment, the profession of law, law school, juries, conflict resolution, conflicting images of law relative to freedom and obedience, psychology and neuroscience and the law, and (possibly) cyberspace. Law is pervasive and it speaks with the authority of the state. As David W. Neubauer put it "...the law has teeth to it."

Dr. Randy Clemons, Dr. Thomas Gamble, Atty. Meredith Schultz

The Courses

IDST 110: Understanding Disaster

Natural disasters are seemingly ubiquitous in the news. News reports, however, provide only small snapshots of the disaster and cannot always portray all the processes and events leading up to, and the crises that undoubtedly result from, the event. In this course, we will take a three-dimensional perspective on various natural phenomena (i.e., earthquakes, hurricanes, and volcanic eruptions) by addressing the science behind them, long and short-term environmental effects of these phenomena, and how various cultures deal with these events as well as how their history may influence the severity of the resulting disasters. In addition to engaging readings, lectures, discussions, and exercises, this course will feature expert guest speakers, and firsthand experience with service learning.

Dr. Mike Campbell, Dr. Douglas Boudreau, Dr. Nicholas Lang

IDST 110: Computer-Generated Art

The general term "Computer Art" can be used to describe artwork when computer technology plays some significant role in its production. In this course, we will be experimenting primarily with "algorithmic art", where programming is an important part of the process, "generative art", where randomness is employed, and "mathematical art", where mathematical themes such as geometry and symmetry are stressed (e.g. M.C. Escher). We will work with two programming environments, Context Free Art (for 2-D) and POV-ray (for 3-D), and use them to produce our own artwork (much of which will be wildly complex and fantastic!), which we will then post to our own online galleries. Along the way, we will try to learn a bit about art, programming , and mathematics

Dr. Chad Redmond, and Visiting Art Faculty

IDST 110: Irish Identity.

About 100 years ago, a time of great civic, literary, and religious excitement was festering in and around Dublin. Irish political movements were gathering strength and debating strategies, James Joyce saw his controversial short story cycle Dubliners published in his homeland as W.B. Yeats and others were plotting the Celtic Revival, and by the late 1930s a free Ireland gave the Catholic Church a “special position” in the newly drafted constitution. These important events will provide the touchstone for our course on Irish culture and history. Some topics the class will explore include Ireland’s political history, the long-standing “troubles” in Northern Ireland, the Irish role in contemporary European politics, Celtic Christianity, Irish religious history, the Sisters of Mercy, the literary heritage of the emerald isle including the works of James Joyce and W. B. Yeats, as well as Mercyhurst’s Irish heritage.

Dr. David Livingston, Dr. Brian Ripley, Dr. Brian Reed

The Courses

IDST 110: American Life in the 1930’s

The 1930s represent one of the most fascinating and controversial periods in modern U.S. History. A decade of economic hardship permanently altered the American landscape politically, economically, socially, and culturally. The economic catastrophe also produced what many refer to as “The Greatest Generation.” The purpose of American Life in the 1930s is to explore the era of the Great Depression from the vantage point of ordinary citizens. During the term students will examine such topics as politics, class race, gender, pop culture, literature and arts to name a few.

Dr. John Olszowka, Mr. Brian Sheridan, Dr. Marnie Sullivan

IDST 110: The Sacred and the Beautiful

The purpose of this class is to provide students with an opportunity to engage in the study of the Humanities across disciplines. Almost every human culture on the planet possesses notions of the sacred and the beautiful. Sometimes these are two ways to say the same thing. Sometimes they are viewed as distinct (even opposing) forces. This class engages the study of the sacred and the beautiful through religion, dance, and music.

Dr. Robert vonThaden, Ms. Noelle Partusch, Mr. Brent Weber

DR. RUTH GABIG AULD is the Director of the Graduate Program in Special Education. She teaches courses in classroom management and behavioral approaches to enhancing teaching and learning. She received her doctorate from Duquesne University. Some of her recent scholarly work has appeared in The Journal of Proven Practices and the Journal of Behavioral Education. Dr. Auld also serves as a consultant with several Erie urban schools including East High, Wayne, and Jefferson Elementary Schools.

DR. DOUGLAS L. BOUDREAU is Associate Professor of French in the Department of World Languages and Cultures and Director of the Mercyhurst College Honors Program. He presents regularly at conferences and has published articles on both French Renaissance literature and 20th century Francophone literatures. He earned his doctorate from the Ohio State University.

The Faculty

The Courses

DR. LUDLOW BROWN, has taught at Mercyhurst for over 30 years. Dr. Brown received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from SUNY Buffalo, and his BA in Philosophy from Cornell University. Dr. Brown was the recipient of the 1998 “Teaching Excellence Award” at Mercyhurst. He has served as The Chair of the Division of Humanities, Director of the Mercyhurst College Honors Program, Department Director of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Department Chair of Philosophy and President of College Senate. Dr. Brown has authored articles in various areas of philosophy and has

presented papers to both professional and general audiences on topics of philosophical and pedagogical interest. He has done work in contemporary ontology, evolutionary epistemology and ethics, levels theory and applied ethics. Dr. Brown’s current interest is in the ethics of human/robot interactions

DR. MIKE CAMPBELL is Professor of Biology and Associate Dean of the Zurn School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics. He was trained in wildlife and fisheries sciences at Texas A&M University before joining the Mercyhurst faculty in 1984. Dr. Campbell recently helped guide the student effort to complete a campus greenhouse gas emissions inventory, and is currently working to advance development of a college garden and renewable energy research at the college’s farm in Girard. Dr. Campbell is committed to utilizing his talents to advance public education on issues related to climate change

and hopes to engage students in taking responsibility for their part in this global problem.

DR. RANDY S. CLEMONS is Professor of Political Science, and Dean of the School of Social Sciences. He is co-author of a public policy textbook that has been widely adopted at schools such as Duke, UCLA, Syracuse, George Mason, and Davidson. He regularly presents papers at conferences, primarily in the area of national security; and his teaching areas include both international relations and courses in public policy and Legal Process. He earned his doctorate from Idaho State University. He was the recipient of the 2007 “Teaching Excellence Award” at Mercyhurst.

DR. MICHAEL FEDERICI, Professor of Political Science, is in his 21st year of college teaching. Dr. Federici received his Ph.D. in Politics from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, an MA from CUA and a BS in Economics from Elizabethtown College. He has published two books, several articles and book reviews and is currently writing The Political Philosophy of Alexander Hamilton for John Hopkins University Press. Dr. Federici was the recipient of the 2004 “Teaching Excellence

Award” at Mercyhurst. Dr. Federici is former president of Mercyhurst College Faculty Senate. In August 2002, he was one of a select group of American scholars invited to deliver a paper during the Chinese Comparative Literature Association’s Conference in Nanjing, China. Dr. Federici has been interviewed for local and national media including WJET TV, WSEE TV, C-SPAN, WQLN Public Radio, The Erie Times News, The Philadelphia Inquirer and CQ Weekly.

The Faculty

MS. SHELLY FREYN is an assistant professor for the Walker School of Business and the Department of Intelligence Studies. She has worked for Fortune 100 food companies and has a track record of many new products with top industry brands. She holds an MBA from St. Bonaventure and has been working on a D.B.A. in marketing at Cleveland State University; her research includes papers on new marketing techniques for the retail industry, the food industry’s impact on society and the effect of imports on food safety. She holds a patent

that sparked a new market category in the industry and is on the executive board for Cooperstown Cookie Company. She teaches marketing research, international marketing, management and competitive intelligence courses. 

DR. NICK LANG is an Assistant Professor of Geology. He earned his B.A. from Whitman College, his M.S. from Vanderbilt, and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. His teaching and research interests include structural geology and cataclysmic geology, i.e. the study of volcanic activity, landslides, and tsunamis. He has conducted research in planetary-scale geologic processes, performing regional-scale studies of planetary surfaces.

DR. LAURA LEWIS, Associate Professor of Sociology and Social Work, earned her Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research and community efforts have largely focused on issues related to poverty. Currently she is engaged in an initiative that aims to foster involvement from all sectors of the community in addressing poverty in the Erie Region. She has written several reports on policy issues, and a case study she authored is featured in a public policy textbook. She was the recipient of the 2001 Social Worker of the Year Award for Northwest

Pennsylvania and of the Mercy Center for Women, 2006, Women Making History Award and is the 2010 recipient of the Teaching Excellence Award.

DR. DAVID LIVINGSTON is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Vice President of Advancement. He has authored a book and many chapters and articles for publication. His area of research is 19th and 20th century theology with a special emphasis on family, gender, and sexuality. He has traveled to Ireland and other areas in Europe with students and alumni several times. He earned his Doctorate from Vanderbilt University.

The Faculty

DR. DANIEL MCFEE is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Co-Director of the Evelyn Lincoln Institute of Ethics and Society at Mercyhurst College. Dr. McFee earned his

PhD studying Religion and Ethics from Marquette University and completed postgraduate work at Durham University (United Kingdom). He earned an MDiv from Duke University and a BA in History and Classics from Bowling Green State University. Dr. McFee has published articles and reviews on environmental ethics and the relationship of religion and ethics in top journals such as The Ecumenical Review, Journal of Religion, Religious Studies Review, Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses,

Theological Studies, and Worldviews: Environment, Culture, Religion. His teaching and research focuses on issues of ethics and justice, particularly in the areas of environmental ethics, technology, and the role of religious institutions in modern society. He also teaches and writes on issues in the science-religion dialogue.

DR. JOHN S OLSZOWKA is Assistant Professor of History. His area of expertise is American history, 1850-1950. He is particularly interested in issues of class, race and ethnicity during America’s interwar years, 1919-1939. He has written several scholarly articles in these areas, the most recent of which explores the Anti-German movement in Buffalo, New York during World War I. He is currently working on a study exploring the rise of the labor movement in the aircraft industry, 1914-1945. Dr. Olszowka earned his doctorate from Binghamton University (SUNY), and was

former research fellow at the Smithsonian Institution. At Mercyhurst he teaches courses on the Civil War, Progressive Era, and Civil Rights Movement.

NOELLE PARTUSCH is Assistant Professor of Dance at Mercyhurst College and specializes in Labanotation and Liturgical Dance. She earned her B.F.A. from the State University of

New York, an M.F.A. from The Ohio State University, and a Labanotation Teachers Certificate from the Dance Notation Bureau in New York City. Ms. Partusch teaches ballet, pointe, conditioning, dance appreciation, Kinesiology, and Labanotation. She choreographs for concert dance, opera, and dance in worship. She served as Associate Artistic Director of Alaska Dance Theatre for 11 years and danced professionally with Atlanta

Ballet II, Alaska Dance Theatre and the Anchorage Opera among others. In addition she taught for the University of Alaska Anchorage Department of Theatre and Dance and Alaska Regional Director of the Sacred Dance Guild. She is a member of the Sacred Dance Guild, International Council of Kinetography Laban (ICKL), and CORPS de Ballet, International. Ms. Partusch acts as advisor to the Mercyhurst College Liturgical Dance Ensemble where she mentors the next generation of leaders in Liturgical dance.

The Faculty

DR. CHARLES REDMOND is Professor of Mathematics and Computer Systems. He received his PhD in mathematics, with a specialty in probability theory, from Lehigh University in 1993 and has been a member of the Mercyhurst faculty since then. He has published articles and results in the Annals of Applied Probability, the Journal of Stochastic Processes and Their Applications, Mathematics Magazine, Mathematics Teacher, and the College Mathematics Journal. His current interests are in computing,

especially web development, computing education, and algorithmic and generative art. He is a regular contributor to the Context Free Art gallery at

http://www.contextfreeart.org/.

DR. BRIAN D REED is an Associate Professor of English and Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence. His interests include eighteenth-century British literature, African -American literature, modern Irish writers, travel writing, and pedagogy. He is n advocate for study abroad, and has taken students to Ireland, England, Italy, Germany, France, and Switzerland. He has published on Richard Wright, George Eliot, and teaching writing. He earned his doctorate from Case Western Reserve University.

MR BRIAN R SHERIDAN is a faculty member in the Communication Department. A 1987 graduate of Mercyhurst, Sheridan is the faculty advisor to Laker TV, the College’s student-run cable station along with his teaching responsibilities that include courses in new media, journalism and film. He continues to contribute as a journalist and writer as well as reporting for WJET-TV/WFPX-TV. Mr. Sheridan’s breadth of experience includes interviewing a variety of people from singer Tony Bennett, to

Senator Hillary Clinton and the Dalai Lama. Mr. Sheridan was the only journalist to witness the mysterious death of pizza delivery man, Brian Wells the so-called pizza bomber’s victim, on August 28, 2003. He has been interviewed by a variety of news programs from TLC, the BBC and Fuji TV in Japan. He is author of “Erie Flashback”, video history segments that won him Erie County Historical Society’s Media Award as well as researcher/editor of “A Picture Palace Transformed,” a history book about Erie’s Warner Theater.

The Faculty

DR. MARNIE SULLIVAN is an Assistant Professor of English. Her interdisciplinary interests include the creative expressions of traditionally underrepresented groups, literature of the environment, and science writing. In addition to her scholarship in literary analysis, Dr. Sullivan is a seasoned student advocate who has conducted research and presented papers on feminist pedagogy and teaching practices, service learning, and learning communities. In the classroom she encourages social justice through critical thinking, creativity, and civic engagement.

Dr. Sullivan earned a Ph.D. in literature from Bowling Green State University in 2004 with a dissertation that examined both the scientific and literary aspects of Rachel Carson’s three sea books.

DR. ROBERT VON THADEN is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies who specializes in biblical and other sacred texts. He earned a B.A. from Muhlenberg College, an M.A. from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. from Emory University. His current research

and writing involve the cognitive science of religion, especially embodied theories of culture. The recipient of a 2008 Society of Biblical Literature Regional Scholar award, Dr. von Thaden is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Catholic Biblical Association of America, the Eastern Great Lakes Biblical Society, and the American Academy of Religion. The manuscript of his book, The Wisdom of Fleeing Porneia:

Conceptual Blending in 1 Corinthians 6:12 -7:7, is currently under review for publication.

MS. AMY WEAVER-KAULIS is an Instructor in the Fashion Merchandising Department and a specialist on the subject of social responsibility of apparel and textile firms, as well as the international trade of fashion-related products. Ms. Weaver-Kaulis earned a B.S. in Fashion Merchandising at Mercyhurst College as well as an M.S. in Industrial/Technical

Merchandising and Fabric Analytics at the University of North Texas.

The Faculty

MR. BRENT WEBER earned his Bachelor of Music Education from Kansas State University. He obtained his first Master of Music from University of Missouri in Kansas City. While studying at UMKC, Mr. Weber was selected as leading tenor in the opera L’Amico Fritz and the world premiere opera Duse and D’Annunzio. Mr. Weber was selected as a young artist apprentice for the Pittsburgh Opera for three years and Chautauqua Opera for two. He just completed his sixth year, (SP10) as assistant professor of Voice and Choral Education at Mercyhurst. He has

produced and stage directed student operas at Mercyhurst and has acted as supervising producer for the Mercyhurst student run musicals Grease, Bye Bye Birdie and others. Active in the community, he has also been the stage director for several Erie Opera Theater’s productions and has been a featured soloist with the Erie Chamber Orchestra. Along with Mr. Weber's extensive regional performance resume, he is now adding many professional operatic productions that he has directed, including Suor Angelica, Il Tabarro, and Rigoletto in Fort Lauderdale and several with the Erie Opera Theater.

DR. ANNE ZAPHIRIS is chair of the Mercyhurst College Communication Department. Whether she’s researching environmental initiatives or putting theory into practice by

engaging students in community issues, Dr. Zaphiris immerses herself in communication. Beyond the classroom, her involvement extends from advising the communication honor society, Lambda Pi Eta, to serving as an advisory board member for the Evelyn Lincoln Institute for Ethics and Society and teaching graduate courses in the Organizational Leadership master’s program. Currently, she is monitoring changes in corporations’

values statements related to globalization and cultural convergence along with analyzing media coverage of Erie Renewable Energy’s proposal to build a tire plant in Erie, PA. Her research interests include organizational identity, image and reputation, corporate social responsibility initiatives, communication and social change and environmental issues

The Faculty

THOMAS J. GAMBLE, PH.D., is the 11th president of Mercyhurst College. He earned the doctorate in social psychology from the Maxwell School for Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and completed postdoctoral studies in child psychology at Yale University. His research and publications are primarily in the area of the application of biological and psychological perspectives to the development of delinquency in the context of broader social forces. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Mercyhurst College, the Chair of the Research Committee for the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania, and a member of the American Psychological

Association, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the American Society of Criminology.

DR. BRIAN RIPLEY is Dean of Faculty in the Office of Academic Affairs. He joined the Mercyhurst community in 1996, which led to his tenure as professor in the Political Science department. His teaching has focused on political institutions in the United States, Asia, and Europe. In 2008 he was asked to serve as Senior Academic Advisor for the Office for Academic Affairs a natural segue to his current position. Dr. Ripley received his B.A. from Macalester College and his PhD from The Ohio State University and was a Pew Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Prior to coming

to Mercyhurst, Dr. Ripley taught at the University of Pittsburgh where he received the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

MEREDITH SCHULTZ, J.D. serves as the Assistant Dean of the Walker School of Business and Compliance Advisor for The Office of Academic Affairs at the College. She received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh in 2005. Meredith practiced law in the areas of insurance defense, worker’s compensation, and family law before coming to Mercyhurst College in 2006. She teaches “Law for Leaders” for the Organizational Leadership Graduate program in addition to her teaching responsibilities for the Walker School of Business Ms. Schultz also serves as an advisor to the

Pre-Law Society at Mercyhurst College

The Faculty