AQTS 111. Introduction to Urban Leadership. (2 Credits)
This course introduces students to the particularities and possibilities of urban life, situating cities in the earliest writing on human social and political ideals. While the history of human civilization has largely been one of increasing urbanization, the relatively recent intensification of such movement brings historically urban questions to the forefront of ethical and economic thought. In this course students situate contemporary concerns and theorizing of cities within the integrated history of building and knowing cities and imagining a just and good society. What role do locally specific configurations of social, political and economic institutions play in our pursuits of a just social order? What is a good city? (Open to Aequitas Fellowship Program in Urban Leadership students only)
AQTS 112. Aequitas Urban Leadership Summer Experience. (0 Credits)
This course consists in a 0-credit record-keeping course to mark the completion of Aequitas Urban Leadership Fellows’ summer experience. Students fulfill this requirement by completing one of the summer experience programs in an urban location organized by Ministry Trips in the Office of Missions and Evangelism, in a domestic or international site. Fellows participate in the training and service work for the summer experience program prior to departure, along with the other students participating in this experience. This experience challenges students to identify and navigate challenges and opportunities in an urban context, which will enable them to perceive continuities and contrasts with their Wheaton in Chicago experience, as well as cities studied in their academic coursework. This course will be graded P/F.
AQTS 121. Public Humanities and Arts Studio 1. (2 Credits)
This course introduces students to the theory, theology, principles, debates and best practices of Public Humanities and Arts. It views the Public Humanities and Arts in light of God’s eschatological purpose for creation and human participation in that purpose. As it is a studio, special focus in the course will be on practicing methods for public humanities and arts projects from design through assessment, including community partnership. It allows students to profile PHA projects, host and interview PHA practitioners, and develop proposals for projects in the public humanities and arts. The course culminates in an all-cohort PHA project within the Wheaton community that is collaboratively developed from design to production through assessment. (Open to Aequitas Fellowship Program in Public Humanities and Arts students only)
AQTS 122. Public Humanities and Arts Studio 2. (2 Credits)
This course builds on skills in AQTS 121 - Public Humanities and Arts Studio 1, working toward increased student familiarity and facility with Public Humanities and Arts theory, principles, and best practices from design through assessment. It allows for further exploration into the theological opportunities presented by public humanities and arts. Because it is a studio, practice of techniques associated with public humanities and arts is a continued focus here, and students choose practice foci among collection, documenting, oral history, public writing; and ethnography. The major work of the course is a collaborative, extended Public Philosophy project outside the Wheaton campus community, methods of which will be supported by students’ fellowship program work in Philosophy. The course culminates in student exploratory work toward PHA capstone projects. Prerequisite: AQTS 121.
AQTS 131. Introduction to Aequitas Sustainability. (2 Credits)
This course welcomes students to the Aequitas Fellowship Program in Sustainability by providing an introduction to program themes and asking students to begin developing a personal ethic of creation care. In this first course, students will examine the choices that they personally control and the potential impact if individuals make choices with sustainability in mind. Students will examine their personal habits and consumption before working to implement a change guided by the pillars of sustainability. Class discussions will focus on the theological and practical motivations for embracing a personal ethic of creation care and students will begin the work of articulating a personal ethic of creation care that will extend throughout the Aequitas Sustainability program. This class will meet for two hours, once per week in student’s first semester at Wheaton. (Open to Aequitas Fellowship Program in Sustainability students only)
AQTS 141. What is Good Health?. (2 Credits)
This course will examine the definitions of health, wholeness, and the concept of “shalom.” We will explore the measurement and quantifications of health, along with a qualitative understanding of what it means to be healthy. By analyzing longevity, beauty and body image, hunger, food security, and the global burden of disease, we will become conversant in different ways of identifying health and its absence. We will observe historical and existing systems for preventing and treating disease and promoting health and examine community and individual-level factors that influence health. Students will identify health needs in their home communities and understand available and needed resources to produce healthy individuals and communities.
AQTS 151. Issues in Political Economy. (2 Credits)
This class serves as the introductory course for the Aequitas Fellowship Program in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE). The cohort program offers students the opportunity to explore the ways in which the interaction of the three disciplines helps illuminate the meaning, causes, and at least partial solutions to some of our society’s most pressing social, political, and economic issues: economic growth, inequality, poverty, environmental challenges, democratic legitimacy, and so on. This course introduces students to a set of core historical and contemporary readings in political economy in order to give students a sense of the range of thinking about these issues. (Open to Wheaton College Aequitas Fellowship Program in PPE students only)
AQTS 152. Readings in PPE. (1 Credit)
This class serves as the Aequitas Fellowship Program in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) reading group in the spring of students’ first year. The reading group will focus on a combination of classic and contemporary readings in PPE.
AQTS 211. Aequitas Urban Leadership Reading Group. (1 Credit)
The second year of Aequitas Urban Leadership, students take a two-semester course sequence for 2 credits total (1 credit per semester). The Aequitas Urban Leadership theme coordinator facilitates the reading group through engagement with readings from invited lecturers on topics relating to the social, political and economic life of cities. The reading group also provides resources on leadership development, which the theme coordinator and students work through together. Discussion group participants are additionally invited to participate in round table discussions with the invited lecturers, prior to the public lecture.
AQTS 212. Aequitas Urban Leadership Reading Group Semester 2. (1 Credit)
The second year of Aequitas Urban Leadership, students take a two-semester course sequence for 2 credits total (1 credit per semester). The Aequitas Urban Leadership theme coordinator facilitates the reading group through engagement with readings from invited lecturers on topics relating to the social, political and economic life of cities. The reading group also provides resources on leadership development, which the theme coordinator and students work through together. Discussion group participants are additionally invited to participate in round table discussions with the invited lecturers, prior to the public lecture.
AQTS 221. Public Humanities and Arts Summer Experience. (0 Credits)
This course is a 0-credit record-keeping course marking students’ completion of the international summer experience requirement for the Aequitas Fellowship Program in Public Humanities and Arts (PHA). In it, students will build on analytic and creative knowledge they’ve developed in AQTS 121 and AQTS 122 through significant time in global contexts of public humanities and arts. They will experience, engage with, and analyze the work of humanists and artists from countries other than the United States. Students may choose from any of a list of PHA approved summer programs to fulfill this requirement, both those organized by Aequitas Public Humanities and Arts, (e.g. any funded May summer experience developed by Aequitas PHA in a given year) and those approved PHA-adjacent programs which demonstrate engagement in the themes and analytic approaches of public humanities and arts (e.g. Wheaton in Korea, which explicitly engages issues of public memory of the Korean War in HIST 205 Historical Tour of Modern Korea). Completing the experience during the summer following the second year, students will register for this course in the semester following the experience. This course will be graded P/F. Prerequisite: AQTS 121 and AQTS 122.
AQTS 231. Aequitas Reading Group in Sustainability. (1 Credit)
This class serves as a reading group for the Aequitas Fellowship Program in Sustainability. Students will take this course twice – once in the fall and once in the spring. Each semester students will read and discuss three different books with themes related to sustainability, environmental justice and activism, and Christian environmental ethics. Students will also be given the opportunity to participate in a field trip or event that relates to one of the readings each semester. This class will meet for one hour, once per week each semester.
AQTS 241. Aequitas Cohort in Global Public Health Reading Group. (1 Credit)
This class serves as the Aequitas Cohort Certificate in Global Public Health (GPH). reading group in the fall (AQTS 241) and spring (AQTS 242) of students’ first year. The reading group will focus on a combination of classic and contemporary readings in public health, internationally and in the United States. The course is a 1-hour course that will (tentatively) meet every other week for two hours at a time.
AQTS 242. Aequitas Cohort in Global Public Health Reading Group. (1 Credit)
This class serves as the Aequitas Cohort Certificate in Global Public Health (GPH) reading group in the fall (AQTS 241) and spring (AQTS 242) of students’ first year. The reading group will focus on a combination of classic and contemporary readings in public health, internationally and in the United States. The course is a 1-hour course that will (tentatively) meet every other week for two hours at a time.
AQTS 251. Advanced Readings in PPE. (1 Credit)
This class serves as the Aequitas Fellowship Program in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) advanced reading group in the fall of students’ second year. The reading group will focus on a combination of classic and contemporary readings in PPE. Prerequisite: AQTS 152.
AQTS 252. Advanced Readings in PPE II. (1 Credit)
This class serves as the Aequitas Fellowship Program in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) advanced reading group in the spring of students’ second year. The reading group will focus on a combination of classic and contemporary readings in PPE.
AQTS 311. Community-Based Research. (2 or 4 Credits)
This course is only open to students in the Aequitas Fellowship Program in Urban Leadership. Students can enroll for 2 or 4 credits. In this course, students learn the principles and methods of community-based research by conducting small-scale projects in collaboration with local community organizations during their Wheaton in Chicago semester. Through these activities, students will learn about the broader context of community-based organizations, their programming aimed at sustaining flourishing urban communities, and how research can be leveraged to support it. Prerequisite: Participation in the Aequitas Fellowship Program in Urban Leadership.
AQTS 331. Aequitas Cohort Project in Sustainability. (1 Credit)
This course prepares students to identify systems, infrastructure, or community practices that fail to meet the definition of sustainability and propose viable, alternative solutions. Students will work in groups to identify opportunities for sustainable growth at Wheaton College or with a community partner. In the fall semester, student groups will prepare and present competing proposals highlighting potential solutions that align with the three pillars of sustainability and quantifying the potential costs and impacts. In the spring, the cohort will work cooperatively to forward the winning proposal toward implementation. This implementation effort may require students to install an infrastructure change, write a grant, lead a student education campaign, work with student government or student groups, or require other creative forms of engagement. This class will meet for one hour, once per week each semester.
AQTS 332. Service Learning in Sustainability. (2 Credits)
This service learning experience prepares students to identify systems, infrastructure, or community practices that fail to meet the definition of sustainability and propose viable, alternative solutions. Students undertake service learning hours as a volunteer with a Wheaton College student organization relating to sustainability or work with a sustainability-related non-profit organization approved by the theme director. Students must work on a sustainability proposal and implementation of a sustainability-related project with the chosen organization and document their hours worked.
AQTS 375. Christian Ethics and the City. (2 Credits)
This course examines the task of Christian ethics as it pertains to the urban context. It treats the relation between Scripture and ethics as well as specific topics of importance for cities. This course is designed for students in the Aequitas Fellows Program in Urban Leadership. It builds upon their earlier coursework for the Aequitas program and develops biblical and theological skills toward their Aequitas Final Project.
AQTS 396. Aequitas Public Humanities and Arts Internship. (0 Credits)
This course is a 0-credit record-keeping course marking students’ completion of the internship requirement for the Aequitas Fellowship Program in Public Humanities and Arts. Fulfilling this requirement any time after the second year, students will build on PHA skills developed in AQTS 121 and AQTS 122 and in methods courses in various humanities and arts areas as well as their major areas of interest and/or extra-curricular interests and skills. Students will complete a minimum of 160-hours of intern work in either a PHA-based organization or in any organization if the internship involves particular PHA projects. This requirement may be met by any number of Wheaton program-based internships, including, but not limited to those offered in Wheaton in Chicago and HNGR. This requirement may be met by PHA-focused internships in any academic department at Wheaton. It may also be met by approved PHA-focused, non-credit-bearing internships. Students must receive approval for their internship before beginning work and will receive advising and liaison support from the Aequitas PHA Theme Coordinator or designee to ensure that the experience has a defined beginning and end; includes a job description; gives formal opportunities for reflection; articulates clearly defined learning objectives and goals; involves oversight by a representative of the College and receives regular feedback from an experienced supervisor. This course is graded P/F. Prerequisite: AQTS 121 and AQTS 122.
AQTS 411. Aequitas Urban Leadership Final Project 1. (2 Credits)
Aequitas Urban Leadership fellows will complete an independent project that relates to the urban context and synthesizes their college learning and experiences. Fellows register for the project through a two-course sequence: AQTS 411 and AQTS 412. AQTS 411 counts for two credits and is normally taken in the fall. AQTS 412 is a zero-credit requirement marking completion of the final project. It is normally taken in the spring. Prerequisite: Wheaton in Chicago.
AQTS 412. Aequitas Urban Leadership Final Project 2. (0 Credits)
Aequitas Urban Leadership fellows will complete an independent project that relates to the urban context and synthesizes their college learning and experiences. Fellows register for the project through a two-course sequence: AQTS 411 and AQTS 412. AQTS 411 counts for two credits and is normally taken in the fall. AQTS 412 is a zero-credit requirement marking completion of the final project. It is normally taken in the spring. Prerequisite: Wheaton in Chicago.
AQTS 421. Public Humanities and Arts Project. (0 Credits)
This course is a 0-credit record-keeping course marking students’ completion of the project requirement Aequitas Fellowship Program in Public Humanities and Arts. Fulfilling this requirement in the junior or senior year, students will deepen their PHA skills (developed in AQTS 121 and 122 , in methods courses in various humanities and arts areas, as well as their major/minor field of study and/or extra curricular interests and internship) in specific areas of interest. They will do so through approved projects that may include but are not limited to honors theses in a field, peer-reviewed articles, community art projects, theater/directing projects (or dramaturgy for particular theater projects), HNGR independent study projects, exhibitions, digital humanities projects, documentaries, recitals, compositions, public writing projects, oral history projects, humanities/arts educational projects in various contexts, etc. Students will get approval for their project through an application process that requires demonstration of methodological training appropriate to the project. They will demonstrate completion of the project and engagement in the experience through participation in a colloquium. Students register for this course in the spring semester of the year they complete the project. This course is graded P/F. This course is open only to juniors and seniors. Prerequisite: AQTS 121, 122, and 221.
AQTS 431. Aequitas Leadership in Sustainability. (0 Credits)
This class serves as a 0-credit record-keeping course to mark the completion of Aequitas Sustainability fellows’ independent projects. Students may fulfill this experience requirement by: (a) doing research work with a faculty member or other scholar focused on sustainability themes; (b) holding a major sustainability leadership position at Wheaton, such as being EVP of Sustainability or President of the Garden Prairie Project; (c) completing an extension of a project from an elective, sustainability-related course; (d) installation of a community art project, presentation of a senior recital or senior art show, or performance of a theatrical production with sustainability themes; (e) completion of a HNGR independent project with sustainability themes; (f) providing leadership for the cohort project of the next class of Aequitas Sustainability Fellows; or (g) other experiences with the approval of the cohort coordinator. The purpose of the experiential requirement is to help students connect their major program of study with the themes of sustainability and to demonstrate leadership in the implementation of sustainable solutions or education of others surrounding sustainable themes. Graded Pass/Fail.
AQTS 441. Aequitas Global Public Health Summer Experience Requirement. (0 Credits)
This class serves as a 0-credit record-keeping course to mark the completion of Aequitas-Global Public Health (GPH) fellows’ summer experience. Students may fulfill this experience requirement by: (a) completing a 160-hour internship associated with the themes of the GPH cohort; (b) doing research work with a faculty member or other scholar focused on GPH themes; (c) participating in the Uganda Studies Program or other comparable study abroad experience; or (d) other experiences with the approval of the cohort coordinator. The purpose of the experiential requirement is to help students see the connection between concepts and theories on the one hand and practices and outcomes on the other.
AQTS 451. Aequitas PPE Summer Experience. (0 Credits)
This class serves as a 0-credit record-keeping course to mark the completion of Aequitas-PPE fellows’ summer experience. Students may fulfill this experience requirement by: (a) completing a 160-hour internship associated with the themes of the PPE fellowship program; (b) doing research work with a faculty member or other scholar focused on PPE themes; (c) participating in the Wheaton Center for Faith, Politics, and Economics International Study Program; or (d) other experiences with the approval of the program coordinator. The purpose of the experiential requirement is to help students see the connection between concepts and theories on the one hand and practices and outcomes on the other. Graded Pass/Fail.
AQTS 496. Aequitas Urban Leadership Internship. (4 to 8 Credits)
The internship plays an integral role in shaping a student’s experience during Wheaton in Chicago, as well as contributing to the collective experience of the entire cohort. All students will be expected to fulfill several common requirements that support a professional and reflexive learning community amongst the cohort. Beyond those common requirements, students registered for AQTS 496 will be expected to complete several additional academic requirements that enhance and deepen the learning experience during their Wheaton in Chicago internship.
AQTS 497. Aequitas Public Humanities and Arts Internship. (0 Credits)
This course is a 0-credit record-keeping course marking students’ completion of the internship requirement for the Aequitas Fellowship Program in Public Humanities and Arts. Fulfilling this requirement any time after the second year, students will build on PHA skills developed in AQTS 121 and AQTS 122 and in methods courses in various humanities and arts areas as well as their major areas of interest and/or extra-curricular interests and skills. Students will complete a minimum of 160-hours of intern work in either a PHA-based organization or in any organization if the internship involves particular PHA projects. This requirement may be met by any number of Wheaton program-based internships, including, but not limited to those offered in Wheaton in Chicago and HNGR. This requirement may be met by PHA-focused internships in any academic department at Wheaton. It may also be met by approved PHA-focused, non-credit-bearing internships. Students must receive approval for their internship before beginning work and will receive advising and liaison support from the Aequitas PHA Theme Coordinator or designee to ensure that the experience has a defined beginning and end; includes a job description; gives formal opportunities for reflection; articulates clearly defined learning objectives and goals; involves oversight by a representative of the College and receives regular feedback from an experienced supervisor. This course is graded P/F. Prerequisite: AQTS 121 and AQTS 122.