Lower-Division

Teaches foundational concepts for intellectual exploration and personal development within an academic community: analysis, critical thinking, metacognition, engagement with others across difference, and self-efficacy. Examines the roots of modern society using diverse religious texts and major classical and modern philosophical works.

Orientation to and an exploration of the nature of the liberal arts, and of learning at research universities. Topics include: academic planning for upper-division coursework; enrollment processes; and understanding pathways to degree completion; UCSC resources that support health and well-being; strategies for academic success; the cultivation of just communities; the prevention of sexual harassment and violence; campus conduct policies; awareness of risks associated with drug and/or alcohol use; and an introduction to traditions of community-engaged learning, ground-breaking research, and interdisciplinary thinking that define a UC Santa Cruz degree. This course can be taken for Pass/No Pass grading only.

As an outdoor, walking support class for students concurrently enrolled in Stevenson's College 1 Core Course, this "Core Walks" course provides an opportunity for students to discuss the week's reading while exploring UCSC's extraordinary campus on foot. As our walks will be an hour and a half in length and will take place on trails with uneven, unpaved surfaces with some steep uphill portions, students should have appropriate walking shoes and be ready to hike, explore, and experience nature. Students prepare for each walk having read the assigned reading and prepared questions to generate conversations about the reading while walking. Students are expected to bring the week's reading, a composition book, and water for each walk.

Winter quarter of Stevenson's core course continues development of analytical writing, critical reading, and effective speaking in exploring conflicts inherent in modern society. Investigates themes of colonization, race, gender, class, and cultural conflict. (Formerly course 81A.)

Applications of practical skills for effective, meaningful study in the context of a full, busy life. Topics include learning styles, time management, test preparation, and life balance. Specific techniques for efficient reading comprehension, note-taking, memorization, and self-assessment are introduced. Enrollment restricted to college members and by permission of instructor.

Hands-on course in ecological horticulture at the Stevenson garden. Students grow the Stevenson community through gardening and projects focused on building a healthy and regenerative local-foods culture. Enrollment by interview only. Enrollment restricted to Stevenson College members.

A reading seminar focusing on a set of key texts. Examines how the political and industrial revolutions of the 19th century fundamentally transformed the relationships between individuals and their respective societies.

Reading seminar focusing on a set of key texts from classical social theory. Explores the transition from traditional to modern societies. Authors addressed may include Locke, Rousseau, de Tocqueville, Marx, Weber, and Durkheim.

Explores critical engagement in education in the context of a research university. Introduces first-year issues and success strategies and ways to participate in the institution's academic life. Investigates strategies for clarifying education goals and devising a plan for success. Students cannot receive credit for this course and PRTR 26 or KRSG 26.

This online course frames and supports the service-learning experiences of students engaged in field placements both here in Santa Cruz and in their home communities. Students approach social challenges thematically (e.g., homelessness, environmentalism, domestic violence, etc.) and consider how different disciplines might engage these issues. They consider how our community partners conceptualize and address social issues and how these conceptions connect, or fail to connect, with academic approaches,

Identifies and examines the assumptions, expectations, and formats of writing in students' fields, with the goal of beginning—or continuing—academic research. Prerequisite(s): satisfaction of the Composition requirement. Enrollment restricted to junior and senior college members and by permission of instructor.

Examines ethical dilemmas in contemporary topics, such as the status of moral principles during warfare; animal rights and the ethics of eating meat; privacy in the age of the Internet; imprisonment and rehabilitation; legal and illegal immigration; same-sex marriage; and health care.

Exploration of and reflection on everyday values and virtues such as integrity, open-mindedness, honesty, and community. Objectives include learning how to think about moral dilemmas and how to begin drafting one's own code of ethics.

Focuses on the acquisition of critical thinking skills and their application to issues that affect today’s students. Topics include rationality, fallacies, cognitive biases, bullshit, propaganda, the internet, and artificial intelligence.

Investigates scientific and pragmatic perspectives on spirituality from William James to Fritjof Capra. Explores spirituality in Western and Eastern traditions from Martin Buber to Pema Chodron. Students analyze, support, and articulate their spiritual positions in a culminating paper.

From the white nationalist demonstrations in the USA to Brexit and the resurgence of populist movements in India and Europe, nationalism is resurgent worldwide. In this course, students conduct research into a current nationalist movement of their choice.

Introduces students to different forms of literary research through the works of William Shakespeare. Together, students read five plays, along with articles that represent a range of methodological approaches to literary scholarship and research. In addition to a final paper, four research exercises are assigned throughout the quarter, of which students must complete two of their choosing. Each exercise requires a different methodology: a review of scholarship, historical research, history of theatrical production, and literary allusion.

Considers the trajectory of creation, from the birth of humankind to the advent of the posthuman. Beginning with depictions of God's creation of humans in the Garden of Eden, course also examines Frankenstein's creation of the "human" at the advent of modern science, and technology's creation of the posthuman in the modern age. Broad and varied selection of readings consider the following questions: What does it mean to be human? How do we define the human and draw the boundary between it and the nonhuman? How does the nonhuman help us to understand ourselves? What is the relationship between creator and created? What obligations does the creator have to that which they create?

Connecting Stevenson students with alumni who provide practical advice for careers in law. Topics covered include the variety of career possibilities in law, preparing for law school, internships, networking, applying for jobs, and interviewing. This class does not accept new students after Week 2.

Connecting Stevenson students with alumni who provide practical advice for careers in science and technology. Topics covered include internships, graduate school, networking, applying for jobs, interviewing, and adapting to a rapidly changing job market. This class does not accept new students after week 2.

Provides support for reading, understanding, and engaging with difficult Core texts; models and facilitates college-level discussion; provides instruction in collaborative processes; encourages community-building with the college; and helps acclimate students to university culture. Enrollment is restricted to first-year Stevenson students who have been placed in the Multilingual Curriculum.

Uses feature films and documentaries to address and discuss perspectives of self and society. Films include Star Wars, The Hunger Games, and The Matrix.

Condensed version of Stevenson's core course for transfer students. Develops analytical writing, critical reading, and effective speaking by considering influential philosophical works while exploring cultural conflicts in modern society. Themes include imperialism, racism, and class conflict.

Provides first-time tutors and supplemental-instruction learning assistants with the theoretical background and practical interactive teaching and learning strategies essential for planning, implementing, and evaluating effective peer-guided learning.

Tutorial