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Northwestern University

2003-2004 Courses for Distribution Credit

This list is valid for 2003-2004 ONLY

Note: Letters in parentheses indicate the quarter in which departments intend to offer courses. Actual offerings will appear in the Class Schedule available before advance registration for each quarter. The availability and/or schedules for courses marked (TBA) had not yet been set as of August 2003.

Jump to a distribution area:

  1. Natural Sciences
  2. Formal Studies
  3. Social and Behavioral Sciences
  4. Historical Studies
  5. Values
  6. Literature and Fine Arts

Area I Natural Sciences

Anthropology (ANTHRO)
 213 Human Origins (S)  
Astronomy (ASTRON) 
 101 Modern Cosmology (S)
 103 Solar System (F)
 120 Highlights of Astronomy (W) 
Biological Sciences (BIOL SCI)
Note: any quarter of Biological Sciences 210-1,2,3 can be counted as one credit of the Area I requirement.
 101 Biology in the Information Age (F) 
 103 Diversity of Life (FW)
 164 Genetics and Evolution (S) 
Chemistry (CHEM)
Note: any quarter of Chemistry 210-1,2,3 or 212-1,2,3 can be counted as one credit of the Area I requirement.    
 101 General Chemistry (F)
 102 General Inorganic Chemistry (W)
 171 Accelerated General Inorganic Chemistry (F)
 172 Accelerated General Physical Chemistry (W)
 201 Chemistry of Nature and Culture (W)
Civil Engineering (CIV ENG)
 206 Environmental Literacy (S) 
Cognitive Science (COG SCI)
 210 Language and the Brain (S)
Communication Sciences and Disorders (COMM SCI)
 202 Biological Foundations of Communication (WS) 
Geological Sciences (GEOL SCI) 
 101 Earth Processes and Products (S) 
 106 The Ocean, the Atmosphere and Our Climate (S)
 107 Plate Tectonics (FW) 
 110 Exploration of the Solar System (FW)
 111 Human Dimensions of Global Change (F)
 114 Uniformity, Catastrophe, and the Meaning of Evolution (F)
 201 Surface Processes (F)  
Linguistics (LING)  
 250 Sound Patterns in Human Language (FS)
Materials Science (MAT SCI)
 101 Modern Materials and Society (S) 
Physics (PHYSICS) 
Note: any quarter of Physics 125-1,2,3 can be counted as one credit of the Area I requirement.  
 103 Ideas of Physics (S) 
 130-1 Introductory College Physics (F)  
 130-2 Introductory College Physics (W) 
 135-1 General Physics (FS)  
 135-2 General Physics (FW)  
Psychology (PSYCH) 
 212 Introduction to Neuroscience (F)

Area II Formal Studies

Computer Science (COMP SCI)
 110 Introduction to Computer Programming (FWS) 
 111 Fundamentals of Computer Programming (FW) 
Linguistics (LING)  
 260 Formal Analysis of Words and Sentences (FW) 
 270 Meaning (F) 
Mathematics (MATH)  
Note: A student who has passed a course in mathematics above 214-2 with a grade of C- or better will be considered as having satisfied the Area II requirement.
 104 Games and Fallacies (W) 
 110 Survey of Modern Mathematics I (F) 
 111 Survey of Modern Mathematics II (W)  
 210 Math for the Behavioral Sciences (F)  
 211 Short Course in Calculus (W)
 214-1 Calculus (FW)
 214-2 Calculus (FWS)
General Music (GEN MUS)  
 252 Harmony (F)
Philosophy (PHIL)
 150 Elementary Logic I (F) 
 250 Elementary Logic II (W) 
Statistics (STAT)  
 202 Introduction to Statistics (FWS) 
 210 Introduction to Statistics for Social Sciences (FWS)

Area III Social and Behavioral Sciences

African American Studies (AF AM ST)
 236-1 Introduction to African American Studies (F)
 236-2 Introduction to African American Studies (W)
 245 The Black Diaspora and Transnationality (S)
Anthropology (ANTHRO) 
 105 Fundamentals of Anthropology (F)  
 211 Culture and Society (F)  
 215 Study of Culture Through Language (W)  
Economics (ECON)
 201 Introduction to Macroeconomics (FWS)  
 202 Introduction to Microeconomics (FWS)  
Gender Studies (GNDR ST)  
 210 Gender, Power and Culture in America (W) 
International Studies (INTL ST)
 201-3 Introduction to the World System (S) 
Linguistics (LING)  
 220 Language and Society (FS)
 240 Languages of the World (F)
Political Science (POLI SCI)
 204 Politics and Nature (S)  
 220 American Government and Politics (FW) 
 230 Introduction to Law in the Political Arena (FS) 
 240 Introduction to International Relations (FS) 
 250 Introduction to Comparative Politics (FW) 
Psychology (PSYCH)         
 110 Introduction to Psychology (FWS)  
 204 Social Psychology (FW)
 218 Developmental Psychology (FW)  
Sociology (SOCIOL)  
 110 Introduction to Sociology (FWS) 
 201 Social Inequality: Race, Class, Power (FW) 
 202 Social Problems: Norms and Deviance (WS) 
 203 Revolutions and Social Change (S) 
 204 Social Interaction: Individual and Society (S)
 205 American Society (FS) 
 206 Law and Society (W)
 207 Problems of Cities (FS) 
 215 Economy and Society (W)  
 216 Gender and Society (W)

Area IV Historical Studies

African American Studies (AF AM ST)
 212-1 Introduction to African American History (F)
 212-2 Introduction to African American History (W)
 220 The Civil Rights Movement (S)
Anthropology (ANTHRO)  
 214 Cultural Origins (W)  
Classics (CLASSICS)  
 210 Early Western Civilization (F)  *
 211 Classical Greece (W)  *
 212 Roman Civilization (S)  *
Gender Studies (GNDR ST)  
 230 Roots of Feminism (F)
German (GERMAN)  
 241-1 Jews and Germans—in English (W)  *
 241-2 Jews and Germans—in English (S)  *
History (HISTORY)
 201-1 European Civilization (W)  
 201-2 European Civilization (S)  
 203 Modern Jewish History, 1600-1939 (W)
 210-1 History of the United States (F) 
 210-2 History of the United States (S)  
 214 Asian American History (W)  
 215 Western Hemisphere Environments (S) 
 255-2 Background to African Civilization and Culture (S)
 260-1 History of England to 1688 (F)
 260-2 Britain, 1688 to Present (W)
 270 Middle Eastern/Islamic Civilization (F)
 275-2 History of Western Science and Medicine (W) 
International Studies (INTL ST)
 201-1 Introduction to the World System (F)  
 201-2 Introduction to the World System (W)  
Italian (ITALIAN)  
 265 Body and Soul from Rome to the Renaissance (W)
Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LATIN AM)
 251 Introduction to Latino Studies (WS)
Political Science (POLI SCI)
 201-1 History of Political Thought (W)
 201-2 History of Political Thought (S)
Slavic Languages and Literatures (SLAVIC)
 257 Introduction to the Soviet Union and Successor States (S) 
 261 Polish Culture in the 20th Century (S)   

Area V Values

Anthropology (ANTHRO)
 220 Evolution of Moral Systems (S)  
 232 Myth and Symbolism (S)  
 255 Contemporary African Worlds (F)  
Classics (CLASSICS)  
 210 Early Western Civilization (F)  *
 211 Classical Greece (W)  *
 212 Roman Civilization (S)  *
German (GERMAN)  
 240 The Theme of Faust through the Ages (W)
 241-1 Jews and Germans—in English (W)  *
 241-2 Jews and Germans—in English (S)  *
International Studies (INTL ST)
 202 International Ethics (S)
Linguistics (LING)  
 221 Language and Prejudice (FWS)
 222 Language, Politics and Identity (W)
Philosophy (PHIL) 
 110 Introduction to Philosophy (F) 
 111 Introduction to Contemporary Philosophy (W)
 210-1 The History of Philosophy (F) 
 210-2 The History of Philosophy (W) 
 210-3 The History of Philosophy (S) 
 216 Introduction to Pragmatism (W)    
 219 Introduction to Existentialism (F)
 260 Introduction to Moral Philosophy (F)
 261 Introduction to Political Philosophy (W)
 262 Ethical Problems and Public Issues (S)
 266 Philosophy of Religion (F)
 269 Bioethics (F)
Religion (RELIGION) 
 110 Religion in Human Experience (S) 
 211 New Testament Origins (W) 
 220 Introduction to Hinduism (W)  
 222 Introduction to Buddhism (FS) 
 224 Introduction to Judaism (S)
 228 Introduction to Islam (F)  
Writing Arts (WRITING)
 115-5,6 Modes of Writing (WS)

Area VI Literature and Fine Arts

African American Studies (AF AM ST)
 210-1 Survey of African American Literature (F)
 210-2 Survey of African American Literature (W)
 225 African American Culture (F)
Art History (ART HIST) 
 220 Introduction to African Art (F)
 228 Introduction to Pre-Colombian Art (W)
 240 Introduction to Asian Art (S)
 250 Introduction to European Art (W)
Art Theory and Practice (ART)
 270 Introduction to the Understanding of Art (FW)  
Asian American Studies (ASIAN AM)
 201 Topics in Asian American Studies (WS)
Classics (CLASSICS)  
 210 Early Western Civilization (F)  *
 211 Classical Greece (W)  *
 212 Roman Civilization (S)  *
 240-1 Homer and Hellenism (F) 
 260 Classical Mythology (F) 
Comparative Literary Studies (COMP LIT) 
 205 Diaspora/Transnational Literatures and Cultures (S)
 210 The Bible as Literature (S)
 271-2 Japanese Literature in Translation (W)
 271-3 Japanese Literature in Translation (F)
 271-4 Japanese Literature in Translation (W)
 274-1 Chinese Literature in Translation (F)
 274-2 Chinese Literature in Translation (W)
 276 African Literature in Translation (W)
 279 Modern Jewish Literature (F)
English (ENGLISH) 
 210-1 English Literary Traditions  (W)
 210-2 English Literary Traditions  (S) 
 211 Introduction to Poetry (W)
 212 Introduction to Drama (W)
 213 Introduction to Fiction (F)  
 234 Introduction to Shakespeare (FS) 
 260 Introduction to 20th-Century British Literature (F) 
 270-1 American Literary Traditions (F) 
 270-2 American Literary Traditions (W) 
 273 Introduction to 20th-Century American Literature (S) 
 275 Introduction to Asian American Literature (F)
French (FRENCH)  
 210 Introduction to French Literature—in French (FWS) 
 271 Introduction to the French Novel—in French (FS)
 272 Introduction to French Theater—in French (W) 
Gender Studies (GNDR ST)
 231 Gender: Voices and Visions (W)
German (GERMAN)  
 201-1 Introduction to German Literature—in German (F)
 201-3 Introduction to German Literature—in German (S)
 201-4 Introduction to German Literature—in German (W)
 206 Existential Fiction—in English (W)
 210-1 German Literature in Translation (F)
 241-1 Jews and Germans—in English (W)  *
 241-2 Jews and Germans—in English (S)  *
Italian (ITALIAN)  
 275 Dante’s Divine Comedy (F)  
General Music (GEN MUS) 
 170 Introduction to Music (FWS)
 220 History of the Symphony (TBA)
 230 Masterpieces of Opera (TBA)
Slavic Languages and Literatures (SLAVIC) 
 210-1 Introduction to Russian Literature—in English (S)
 210-2 Introduction to Russian Literature—in English (F)
 210-3 Introduction to Russian Literature—in English (W)
 211-1 Introduction to 20th Century Russian Literature (W)
Spanish (SPANISH)  
 210 Icons, Legends, and Myths in Spain (WS)
 211 Icons, Legends, and Myths in Latin America (F)
 231 The “New” Latin American Narrative (F)
 250 Literature in Spain Before 1700—in Spanish (W)
 251 Literature in Spain Since 1700—in Spanish (FS)
 260 Literature in Latin America Before 1888—in Spanish (W)
 261 Literature in Latin America Since 1888—in Spanish (FS) 
General Communication and Introductory Courses (GEN CMN)
 103 Analysis and Performance of Literature (FWS)


*  These interdisciplinary courses may be counted toward one of the three distribution areas—IV (Historical Studies), V (Values), or VI (Literature and Fine Arts)—as determined by the student. The student’s second distribution course in that selected area cannot be another Interdisciplinary Studies course. For example, if a student elects to count GERMAN 214-1 in Area IV, the second Area IV distribution course must be selected from the courses listed under Area IV above. Back to top