Interdisciplinary Studies

Offerings under this designation will include both academic and activity courses for students interested in understanding health care systems and in preparing for future careers in the professions. These courses will be graded on a credit/no credit basis, and cannot be used to satisfy distribution requirements in any area. See course schedule for any current offerings.

The Intercollegiate Debate & Forensics course is designed to provide students with competence and confidence in a variety of speech situations beyond the classroom setting. Students will learn critical thinking, media literacy, and public speaking skills through intercollegiate competition in interpretation, limited preparation, platform speaking, and debate events. Students enrolled in this course will be expected to: (1) Attend debate and forensics tournaments throughout the semester (2) Present/practice events in class for intercollegiate competition which will include creating weekly topic briefs, reading various types of literature to produce original cuttings and critical positions for competition, provide written and oral feedback to fellow classmates, and produce speeches that utilize and perfect various oral presentation formats. (3) Actively participating in service opportunities within the college and local community related to public discourse such as Toastmasters, Portland Urban Debate League, and the Washington Debate Coalition. Credits in this course are classified as Activity credits, which are excluded from the enrollment limit of 18 Academic credits per semester; however, other limits on Activity credits may apply. Graded credit/no credit.  May be repeated for a maximum of eight credits.

This one-credit academic course, approved by the major advisor, and supervised by a member of the Career and Community Engagement Center, connects formal off-campus student experiences in applied settings (e.g., internships) with their academic major. Learning Objectives of the course must allow for enhanced student learning within a student’s major at Whitman College in terms of major-specific knowledge, skills, ethics, problems, or organizational systems or cultures. Assignments may include reflective writing, readings, research, report writing, and presentations. Students are required to meet with the Career and Community Engagement Center regularly, to demonstrate progress and to work to connect the experience to their major. This course is graded by the major advisor on a credit/no credit basis, and cannot be used to satisfy distribution requirements in any area. Students must have declared a major in order to enroll in this course. May be repeated for a maximum of two credits. Please see the International Student and Scholar Services web page. Graded credit/no credit.

See course schedule for any current offerings.

Offerings under this designation will be short-term classes and/or seminars of an interdisciplinary nature. These courses will be graded on a credit/no credit basis, and cannot be used to satisfy distribution requirements in any area. May be repeated for a maximum of four credits. See course schedule for any current offerings.

This course is designed for students returning from Whitman Off-Campus Study programs outside the United States, or after other extended international study. It provides students with the tools, perspectives, and a set of targeted assignments to make sense of and communicate with others about their transformative experiences abroad. When students return from study abroad, too often their time away becomes adjunct or ancillary to the rest of their studies. When this happens, opportunities to situate their international experiences within a larger, critical liberal arts framework are diminished or lost altogether. This course offers students an opportunity to return to their global experiences through critical interrogation and reflection on what it means to live in another culture. Students will analyze their off-campus study through the lens of other forms of global encounter, including colonialism, othering, and cosmopolitanism. Students will also assess different ways study abroad has transformed them, including psychologically and politically. In addition to readings and discussions, students will carry out a group project addressing how global issues in the media are framed and presented differently depending on international location. Graded credit/no credit.  

This team-taught course will begin by providing a basic understanding of Canadian geography, history, politics and culture. Building on that broad foundation, we will study an array of current issues (across disciplinary boundaries) that help to shape Canadian identity today.  These may include environmental issues, such as the tar sands; economic issues, such as Canada's apparent insulation from the 2007-2009 global financial crisis; border issues, such as fishing rights and terrorism; and national issues, such as Quebec sovereignty. This rich survey of a range of sociopolitical issues will end with an in-depth study of one specific issue that is crucial to Canadian identity, cultural plurality. We will explore the angst surrounding Canada’s multicultural policy and explore a variety of cultural responses ranging from literature to religion and sports. Two meetings per week. Assignments will include a range of quizzes, short written assignments, and a poster presentation.

See course schedule for any current offerings.

See course schedule for any current offerings.

A course which examines a specific topic within the area of international studies. See course schedule for any current offerings.

The Ashton and Virginia O’Donnell Endowment exists to bring to campus individuals who are expert practitioners in global affairs. O’Donnell Visiting Educators will have expertise in international business, diplomacy, social movements, environmental regulation, immigration, engineering, medicine, development, the arts or other areas involving international study. Offerings under this designation will be short-term classes and/or seminars led by the O’Donnell Visiting Educator. Graded credit/no credit. May be repeated for a maximum of four credits. Distribution area: none. See course schedule for any current offerings.

Interdisciplinary project, reading or research undertaken as part of an approved individually planned major or combined major.

Designed to further independent research projects leading to the preparation of an undergraduate thesis or a project report in an approved individually planned major or combined major. Required of and limited to senior honors candidates.