skip to Main Content
Home About UH Academic Calendar Courses Undergraduate Education Graduate Education Degrees, Minors, & Certificates Colleges, Schools, & Academic Units

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

SAMPLE COURSE DESCRIPTION

COURSE NUMBERING SYSTEM

GENERAL EDUCATION DESIGNATION

DEPARTMENTS OFFERING DIVERSIFICATION COURSES

Courses

Interdisciplinary Studies (IS)

Office of Undergraduate Education

IS 099 Mânoa International Exchange (V) Designed for students accepted for participation in an international exchange program while enrolled at UH Mânoa. Repeatable unlimited times, credit for 12 credits only. CR/NC only. Pre: admittance to an international exchange program.

IS 100 Marine Option Program Seminar (1) Overview of ocean issues and organizations involved with marine activities, management, education, research, and business. Exploration of internships, research, and career opportunities. Preparation of resumes, proposals, and professional presentations. Not a BIOL major elective. (Cross-listed as BIOL 104)

IS 250 Personal Development for Effective Teams (3) Exploration and application of basic leadership theories and processes which foster personal and interpersonal development via cognitive experiential classroom methods and mentoring relationships with experienced peer leaders. (Cross-listed as ENGR 250)

IS 291 Community Service Practicum (V) Supervised fieldwork in community agency, arranged by student. Repeatable one time. Pre: written proposal approved by Honors director and appropriate faculty advisor.
IS 300 Field Study (V) Pre-arranged systematic field investigation of selected topics. Pre: written proposal approved by Honors director and appropriate faculty member. Repeatable up to 16 credits.

IS 311 Independent Study Tutorial (V) Independent study tutorial. A-F only.

IS 321 Native Americans and Native Hawaiians (3) Comparative-contrastive examination of similarities and differences between Native Americans and Native Hawaiians as the only indigenous peoples of the U.S. with special attention to sociohistorical parallels and mutual contacts since contact with Europeans. Perspective is explicitly interdisciplinary by drawing not only on sociology and history, but also on archaeology, ethnology, linguistics and still other disciplines. A-F only. Pre: HIST 152 and an introductory course in cultural anthropology, political science or sociology; or consent. (Alt. years) DS

IS 322 Ethnohistory (3) Review of ethnohistory, i.e. the interdisciplinary, holistic and inclusive investigation of the histories of native peoples drawing not only on documented sources, but also on ethnography, linguistics, archaeology, ecology and other disciplines as an alternative to conventional Eurocolonial history. A-F only. Pre: HIST 152, or consent. (Alt. years) (Cross-listed as ANTH 327) DS

IS 330 Information Technology and Culture (3) Investigation of the impact of information technologies on contemporary culture from a variety of perspectives. A-F only. Pre: upper division or consent.

IS 331 Science and Culture (3) Cultural studies of science from historical, philosophical, sociological and literary perspectives. Examination of intersections of science, race, gender and environment. A-F only. Pre: upper division or consent.

IS 340 Human Values and the Environment (3) Examination of nature-culture dynamic over a range of contexts–literary ecology, systems ecology, political ecology, eco-feminism, environmental ethics–in order to articulate new possibilities for interdisciplinary understanding of the human place in nature. A-F only. Pre: any ENG DL or PHIL or GEOG course, or consent. (Once a year) (Cross-listed as SUST 340)

IS 347 Pidgin and Creole Languages (3) Nature, history, structure, and geographic distribution of pidgins and creoles. Pre: LING 102 or consent. (Alt. years) (Cross-listed as LING 347)

IS 361 People, the Ocean and the Environment (3) People’s impact on quality of coastal and ocean environments, especially Hawaiian; scientific, legal, socioeconomic aspects. Ocean pollution, ocean technology. Pre: OCN 201, ORE 202, or ZOOL 200; or consent.

IS 369 British Life and Culture (3) For Study Abroad Program students participating in the UH Mânoa Semester in London. Emphasis is placed on understanding within historical contexts important issues for contemporary British society—particularly those of class, power, gender, and race. A-F only. Pre: participation in London Semester Program.

IS 399 Directed Reading and Research (V) Directed reading and research. Repeatable two times.

IS 400 Ocean Internships and Research (V) Students carry out marine-related internships, practica, research projects or field experience on-or off-campus with faculty guidance. Repeatable one time. A-F only. Pre: minimum cum GPA of 2.5, junior or senior standing in any field of study and IS 100/BIOL 104 or consent, project proposal. (Cross-listed as BIOL 400)

IS 410 The Humboldt Brothers’ Legacy (3) Life and thought of the two Humboldt brothers. Alexander (1769-1859) helped to lay the foundations of modern science, including geology, geography, botany, zoology, physiology and anthropology. Older, less well-known Wilhelm (1767–1835) was an influential statesman, classical scholar, man of letters, humanist, political philosopher, anthropologist and linguist, and founded the University of Berlin. Review of the two polymaths’ impact on modern science in the Americas, the Pacific and Asia. A-F only. Pre: upper-division or consent. DH

IS 414 Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (3) Introduction to the ethnographic study of speech and language. Pre: ANTH 152. (Once a year) (Cross-listed as ANTH 414 and LING 414) DS

IS 489 Environmental Practicum (3) Field experience in study and abatement of environmental problems under faculty direction. Project proposal, narrative activity log, and documentary report are required. Pre: upper division standing, courses in appropriate discipline, and consent.

IS 499 Directed Reading and Research (V) Directed reading and research. Repeatable one time.

IS 610 Field Study in Gerontology (V) Individually designed field experience for advanced certificate in gerontology students. Placements arranged at community programs, research sites, and special projects at the Center on Aging. Repeatable one time. A-F only.

IS 611 Integrative Seminar in Gerontology (V) Integrative seminar. A-F only. Pre: graduate standing or consent.

IS 650 Principles of Applied Evolutionary Ecology: Biodiversity Loss, Biological Invasions and Emerging Disease (3) Combined lecture-discussion on the ecological and evolutionary underpinnings of the coupled process of biological invasion, disease emergence and biodiversity loss. A-F only. Pre: consent. (Once a year)

IS 651L Laboratory A in Applied Evolutionary Ecology: Biodiversity Loss, Biological Invasions and Emerging Disease (2) Combined lecture-laboratory on the ecological and evolutionary underpinnings of the coupled process of biological invasion, disease emergence and biodiversity loss. A-F only. Pre: consent. (Once a year)

IS 652L Laboratory B in Applied Evolutionary Ecology: Biodiversity Loss, Biological Invasions and Emerging Disease (3) Practical laboratory/field rotation on the ecological and evolutionary underpinnings of the coupled process of biological invasion, disease emergence and biodiversity loss. Continuation of 650 and 651L. A-F only. Pre: 650 and 651L, or consent. (Once a year)

IS 750 Topics in Biocultural Diversity and Conservation (3) Biological, cultural, and linguistic conservation are intimately linked, but rarely studied simultaneously. Adopts a trans-disciplinary view of diversity and conservation of nature, cultures, and languages, along with issues in anthropology, law, and ethics. (Fall only)