USF Undergraduate Council - Minutes of October 25, 2004

Present: William Armitage, Glen Besterfield (chair), Terry Engle, Pamela Fleege, Celina Jozsi (substitute for Terry Engle), J. Brian Moorhead, Carla Nye, Chris Ponticelli, Nancy Tyson

Absent:

Guests: Tony Embry, Terri Flateby, Sil Gaggi, Sharon Geiger, Ed Kellner, Janet Moore

The meeting was called to order at 3:03 p.m.

1. The minutes of October 11, 2004 were approved with minor changes.

2. Announcements/Discussions

   • Declaration of Major
     The Undergraduate Council reviewed the revised Declaration of Major policy and following a discussion the updated policy was approved.

   • New General Education
     The following motion was placed before the Undergraduate Council regarding the New General Education Curriculum.

     "The UG Council endorses the establishment of a new general education curriculum as outlined in the Quality Enhancement Plan General Education and Exit Courses Proposal. Note that this motion does not approve every word, phrase and sentence in the document."

     The new General Education Council would be a separate council that would be responsible for the general education courses. The Chair from each council (General Education and Undergraduate) would act as an Ex-Officio on the other council. The GEC will also report to the UGC on the status of the general education courses and follow the UGC course approval guidelines when handling a new course, substantive change or curriculum required course. The Undergraduate Council approved the motion for the General Education curriculum and council procedures.

3. New course/curriculum proposals

   • CAP 4410 Computer Vision
     This course is the introductory course to topics such as image formation, segmentation, feature extraction, matching, shape recovery, texture analysis, object recognition, and dynamic scene analysis. Non-majors may take the course by special permission and demonstration of required skills. Following discussion, this course was approved.

   • CAP 4460 AI Robotics
     This course involves A.I. methods for mobile robots (ground/aerial/underwater). Students will be able to understand:(1)3 paradigms of AI robotics;(2)major ways to organize and combine behaviors in behavior-based systems;(3)major path planning; and (4)simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms. Following discussion, this course was approved.

   • Humanities Curriculum Revision
     The Department of Humanities and American Studies is in the process of revising its undergraduate curriculum for Humanities majors. The major part of the revisions involves the creation of new 3000-leval courses which will mediate between the 2000-level and the more focused 4000-level Humanities courses. 3000-level courses will bridge the gap between the 2000 and 4000 course levels and will become the "core" of the Humanities undergraduate majors' curriculum. The department is also expanding and reorganizing the Latin American course offerings. Following discussion, this curriculum revision was approved.

   • HUM 3231 The Renaissance
     This course is an examination of the arts of the Renaissance, focusing on primary texts and images. Themes include humanism, the revival of antiquity, the concept of the individual, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, and the impact of New World explorations. Following discussion, this course was approved.

   • HUM 3232 The Seventeenth Century
     This course is an examination of the development of the art and culture of the Baroque Period, roughly the 17th Century, focusing on primary texts and images. Themes will include mysticism, sensuality, rationalism, science, absolutism, and liberty. Following discussion, this course was approved.

   • HUM 3242 The Enlightenment
     This course involves the study of the late seventeenth and eighteenth century literature, music, visual art, and philosophy, this course examines phenomena such as rationalism, classification systems, the influence of science, utilitarianism, reform, and secularism. Following discussion, this course was approved.

   • HUM 3244 Nineteenth-Century Arts and Letters
     This course examines phenomena such as the rise of capitalism, colonial expansion, nationalism, urbanism, and the redefinition of public and political life during this period of extreme change by studying 19th century literature, music, and visual art. Following discussion, this course was approved.

   • HUM 3435 The Early Middle Ages
     This course examines the diverse cultures of Europe from the fourth to eleventh centuries. Major issues include the formation of religious cultures, modes of cultural contact, relationships between texts and images, and uses of earlier traditions. Following discussion, this course was approved.

   • HUM 3436 Central Medieval and Gothic Europe
     This course examines the diverse cultures of Europe from the eleventh to fourteenth centuries by studying texts and artifacts. A central issue covered will be the efforts of the church to create an all-encompassing Christian culture. Following discussion, this course was approved.

   • HUM 3452 Nineteenth Century American Culture
     This course explores American art, literature, and cultural life from the early republic through the Gilded Age. Works are studied in their historical context in order to understand how they transmitted important information about American identity. Following discussion, this course was approved.

   • HUM 3455 Twentieth-Century American Culture
     This course is an historical survey of American culture since 1900. Literature, music, visual art, film, and intellectual movements are analyzed, to understand how they have reflected and shaped cultural values and responded to changing conditions of American society. Following discussion, this course was approved.

   • HUM 3462 Latin American Civilization I: Pre-Columbian and Colonial
     This course is an overview of Pre-Columbian and Colonial Latin American Culture through 1700. Topics include literature, music, and art; ethnic diversity; political and religious tension; "high" versus "low" culture; and the clash of European and American cultures. Following discussion, this course was approved.

   • HUM 3464 Latin American Civilization II: Modern Latin America
     This course is an overview of the cultural heritage of Latin America since the time of independence. Verbal and visual texts will be used to study the difficult struggle to create a cultural identity that incorporates African, indigenous, and European traditions. Following discussion, this course was approved.

   • SPW 4130 Survey of Spanish American Literature I
     This course is an introduction to the study of Spanish American literature from the Discovery to the Romantic period. Emphasis will be on foundational writers of history, descriptive and lyric poetry, theater, fiction and essay. Following discussion and the removal of values and ethics and gender skills and dimensions, this course was approved as a new course meeting ALAMEA certification.

4. Assignment of Course Proposals

   • EIN 4352 Engineering Cost Analysis - New course - Besterfield
   • LIN 2000 Language and a Movie - New course/ALAMEA - Nye
   • REL 3117 Religion and Contemporary American Sports - New course/HP/SS - Ponticelli
   • BS Music Education - Degree Revision - Ponticelli

The next meeting will be Monday, November 8, 2004. The meeting was adjourned at 4:42 p.m.

Please send any suggestions or comments to:
Margaret Martinroe - webcat@ugs.usf.edu