This is an archived copy of the 2017-2018 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://coursecatalog.bucknell.edu.

Residential College (RESC)

This program seeks to enrich students’ learning experience by integrating academic life into the residence halls. There are eight residential colleges:

  • Arts
  • Discovery
  • Environmental
  • Global
  • Humanities
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Social Justice
  • Society and Technology

Each college is organized around a common theme. All students enrolled in a residential college take a common course, called a foundation seminar, in the fall semester. They also live on the same residence hall floor for both fall and spring semesters of their first year. Students organize a variety of extracurricular programs related to the college themes. Upperclass students who wish to continue their affiliation with a college may continue to live together and may take additional courses.

All of the courses offered in the Residential Colleges fulfill the Foundation Seminar and W1 requirement for Arts and Sciences students, and fulfill a general education course and the W1 requirement for engineering students. Residential College Foundation Seminars that have been taught recently include:

Arts College: Pop & Protest; Making Something From Nothing; Masks and Meaning

Discovery College: The Universal Machine; World-Changing Discoveries; Extreme Discoveries

Environmental College: Discovering Nature; Christianity & Sustainability

Global College: The Globalization Debate; Contentious Waters; Revolution! A Global History

Humanities College: Myth, Reason, Faith; The Posthuman Humanities; Love and Sex on the Silk Road

Languages and Cultures College: How We Do Things With Words; Travel Culture: Art, Food and Politics; Place, Identity, and Culture

Social Justice College: Change the World; Gandhi: Man, Myth, Legacy

Society and Technology College: The Future is Now; Say it with Statistics; The Grand Challenges

More information at bucknell.edu/ResColleges.

Courses

RESC 098. Foundation Seminar in Residential Colleges. 1 Credit.

Offered Fall Semester Only; Lecture hours:3
Foundation seminar offered only through the individual Residential Colleges. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.

RESC 115. Community Service for Social Justice. .5 Credits.

Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:1.5; Repeatable
Students will be actively involved in service or advocacy work at community-based sites working for change and social justice. The course will meet once a week to examine history, concepts, and theory about the role of individuals and groups seeking justice. This will provide a focused opportunity to explore social movements and resource mobilization. Priority given to first- and second-year students from the social justice residential college. Permission of the instructor required.

RESC 120. Be The Change. .5 Credits.

Offered Alternating Spring Semester; Lecture hours:1,Other:1; Repeatable
Students attend a weekly class to discuss topics in social, global and environmental justice that are explored in campus events, lectures, and films. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Open to first-year students only. May be repeated by permission of the instructor.

RESC 220. Residential College Sophomore Program. .25 Credits.

Offered Fall Semester Only; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:1.5
Students will build on capacities achieved during the first year by constructing and then engaging in a set of learning experiences in a group.

RESC 221. Residential College Sophomore Program. .25 Credits.

Offered Spring Semester Only; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:1.5
Students will complete the set of learning experiences constructed in the fall and will present their work to first-year students in the same Residential College. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.

Faculty

Academic Co-coordinators: Stephen D. Jordan, Janet T. Knoedler