For more information on when the courses are offered, please check the schedule of classes in the course catalog.
TEK Course Listings courses that utilize transdisciplinary approaches to study a 21st century problem
TEK Courses
Spring 2025
Community, Culture, and Citizenship in the USA
TEK 209 (section 002) DISCOVER Community, Culture and Citizenship in the USA: Misinformation & Society
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 10:00-10:50 am
Instructors: Dr. Troy Cooper and Dr. Christopher Huggins
This course seeks to promote an understanding of misinformation in American society by considering them in the context of communication, information science, and sociology. Misinformation may come from a lack of information, conflicting information, biased information, or deliberately false information. Topics may include the role of media, education, and politics in the creation and dissemination of misinformation, as well as the health, crime, and cultural consequences of misinformation.
TEK 300 (section 002) ENGAGE: Screens and Teens: Imagining a Positive Relationship with Technology
Monday/Wednesday 9:30-11 am
Instructors: Dr. Ryan Hargrove and Dr. John Nash
This course explores the complex relationship between teenagers and digital technology, addressing the critical challenge of fostering healthy screen time habits. Students will engage with cutting-edge research on the impacts of screen time, digital literacy, and technological innovation while collaborating with local partners to develop creative solutions.
Students will apply a design thinking framework to tackle real-world challenges, such as digital equity, screen addiction, and the role of technology in socialization. By partnering with Kentucky schools, rural and urban community organizations, and local health initiatives, students will explore issues unique to the region, including access to technology and its effects on mental health. The course invites students from any discipline—communication, psychology, education, public health, and beyond—to bring diverse perspectives to the challenge. Leveraging insights gained, students will design and test tools that promote self-regulation and digital wellness, focusing on solutions tailored to Kentucky's communities.
Through hands-on projects, regular reflections, and public demonstrations of learning, students will develop critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration skills highly valued in the workforce. By the end of the course, students will have gained a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in shaping positive relationships between teens and technology, while acquiring valuable problem-solving and project management abilities applicable to various fields.
Spring 2024
Community, Culture, and Citizenship in the USA
UKC 180 (section 001) 10 Ways of Looking at Climate Change in Kentucky
Tuesday 9:30-12:15pm
Instructors: Dr. Lauren Cagle and Dr. Alice Turkington
The climate crisis continues to unfold at a rapid pace, resulting in a range of impacts that are already apparent in Kentucky. In this course, we will examine 10 impacts of climate change locally, and will discuss the potential solutions to each, including adaptation and mitigation practices. Impacts may include, but are not limited to, changes in hydrology, health, housing, agriculture, weather extremes, and the biosphere. Perspectives from researchers, stakeholders and policymakers will be presented, and students will participate in proposing solutions to climate change issues.
UKC 185 (section 001) Misinformation & Society
Mon/Wed/Fri 9:00-9:50am
Instructors: Dr. Troy Cooper and Dr. Chris Huggins
This course seeks to promote an understanding of misinformation in American society by considering them in the context of communication, information science, and sociology. Misinformation may come from a lack of information, conflicting information, biased information, or deliberately false information. Topics may include the role of media, education, and politics in the creation and dissemination of misinformation, as well as the health, crime, and cultural consequences of misinformation.
Arts and Creativity
UKC 100 (section 001) Teamwork and Creativity for Impact on Wellbeing
Tuesday/Thursday 1:00-2:30pm
Instructors: Dr. Ryan Hargrove and Dr. John Nash
This course focuses on a transdisciplinary approach to challenges in wellbeing. The course provides you with the skills, tools, and mindsets to enable you to discover solutions to society's challenges. The techniques and skills learned during the course apply equally well to the business and social sectors as they do to the education sector.
UKC 105 (section 001) Re-Imagining Creative Spaces Across the Commonwealth
Tuesday/Thursday 9:30-10:45am
Instructors: Dr. Patrick Lee Lucas, Dr. Rose Winter Phong and Dr. Rachel Shane
Arts and cultural organizations of varying sizes have the same goal to attract audiences and participants to wide-ranging spaces and locations, often in older cultural facilities or in old buildings adapted for creative purposes. In Kentucky’s small towns, particularly, these organizations provide significant community spaces for sharing, sometimes serving as the only spaces in the community where citizens connect. The rejuvenation of these important creative spaces brings vitality to Kentucky with significant economic, cultural, and social impact. Through TEK200, we address this critical issue – how arts and cultural organizations provide quality spaces for encountering and understanding others – that remains at the forefront of the healthy and livable communities we all seek to advance Kentucky in the twenty-first century.