NPIC - New Programs and Innovations Committee March 5, 2009

Meeting held electronically

I. Old Business
A. MOTION: NPIC moves that UCF accept and approve the new minor program in Forensic Science.  Motion was approved unanimously in NPIC.  Please see the proposal attached to the minutes and/or posted on the UCF website.

II. New Business
A. Notification of 12 Special Topic courses were presented and logged.

Course Number  Course Title Semester Times taught
COM 298 Experimental Video Production Fall 2009 1
GEO 298 Social Science Inquiry using GIS Fall 2009 1
HON 298 Culture and Agriculture Fall 2009 2
ITA 398 La Storia dell'Italia di oggi Fall 2009 0
JRN 398 Courts & Crime Fall 2009 1
JRN 398 Online Journalism Fall 2009 1
LIT 398 20th Century Portuguese & Brazilian Lit Fall 2009 0
MAR 298 * Coastal Processes and Environments Fall 2009 1
PHI 398 Ethics of Globalization & Human Rights Fall 2009 0
PHI 398 Virtue Ethics and its Challenges Fall 2009 0
PSC 398 Courts & Judicial Policy Spring 2010 0
SOC 298 Economic Sociology Fall 2009 0

* Logged pending revision/ further clarification/ etc.

Description of logged courses

COM 298 - Experimental Video
The course explores video as an experimental art form.  Students will study the history of the medium through in-class screenings and will work on individual production projects.

GEO 298 - Social Science Inquiry using Geographic Information Systems
Basic considerations in planning and executing GIS analysis in the social sciences.  Integrates GIS into qualitative and quantitative research and demonstrates the capabilities of an approaches to GIS.  Includes underlying theory and application of GIS software; selective topics for GIS analysis; research design; and, data collection, input, display, output, analysis, and interpretation.

HON 298 - Culture and Agriculture
This course will examine the relationship between agriculture and American society from colonial times to the present.  Among other issues, we will explore the changing nature of farming and the environment, the rise of agribusiness, and the "organic" food movement.

ITA 398 - La Storia dell'Italia di oggi
This course focuses on the major historical and cultural trends of 20th century Italy.  Students examine Italian political and social history from the birth of Fascism to the present, giving special consideration to issues of regional culture, gender and emigration/ immigration.

JRN 398 - Courts & Crime
Introduction to the knowledge and techniques for covering state and federal courts.

JRN 398 - Online Journalism
Intensive practice in online journalism where students will learn to create online multimedia news packages for an online audience.

LIT 398 - 20th Century Portuguese and Brazilian Literature
The course will offer students a comprehensive introduction to major literary trends, figures, and movements produced in Portugal and Brazil during the 20th century.

MAR 298 - Coastal Processes and Environments
Examines various coastal environments and the processes that shape them.

PHI 398 - Ethics of Globalization and Human Rights
An investigation of the conceptual and moral foundations of human rights and of state sovereignty.  How should conflicts between these two bodies of norms be resolved?  What are their implications for issues such as the global distribution of wealth, the self-determination of national groups, the international private and criminal law, immigration rights and the democratic control of global institutions?  We will seek practical answers to these questions, with a focus on the challenges of institutional design and reform in an era of globalization.

PHI 398 - Virtue Ethics and its Challenges
This course introduces students to virtue ethics which had been neglected in modern moral philosophy and has made a come-back in recent 30 years.  We will discuss issues concerning the nature of virtues, the relation between moral virtues and intellectual virtues, virtue and action, and moral education.  In discussing these issues two ancient virtue ethics traditions: the Aristotelian and Confucian virtue ethics, will be introduced.  We will also discuss some challenges to virtue ethics.

PSC 398 - Courts & Judicial Policy
Analysis of the role of the federal and state courts in shaping legal precedents and public policy.

SOC 298 - Economic Sociology
Examination of developments, issues, and empirical research in the field of economic sociology.

B. NPIC was presented with two new program proposals from the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, however, both need further information.

Respectfully submitted by:
Greg Cochenet