Habib University

Dhanani School of Science and Engineering Arts Humanities and Social Sciences

Electrical Engineering Computer Science

Communication and Design Social Development Policy

Required Courses (12 – 15 Credit /Hr) Required Courses Required Courses

Required Courses (12 – 15 Credit /Hr)
1. Rhetoric and Communication (4) 1. Rhetoric and Communication (4) 1. Rhetoric and Communication (4)
1. Rhetoric and Communication (4)
2. Programming Fundamentals + Lab (2+1) 2. Programming Fundamentals + Lab (2+1) 2. Development and Social Change (4)
2. Communication and Culture (4)
3. Calculus I (3) 3. Calculus I (3) 3. Two Electives (3 or 4)
3. Two Electives (3 or 4)
4. Introduction to Electrical Engineering + Lab (2+2) 4. CS Freshman Seminar (1)
5. One Natural Science Elective (3 to 4) 5. One Natural Science Elective (3 to 4)
Un-Decided

Required Courses (12 – 15 Credit /Hr) Courses Options Available

Un-Decided
1. Rhetoric and Communication (4) 1. Communication and Culture (4)
2. Electives (3 to 4) 2. Development and Social Change (4)
Required Courses (12 – 15 Credit /Hr)
1. Rhetoric and Communication (4)
2. Programming Fundamentals + Lab (2+1)
3. Introduction to Electrical Engineering + Lab (2+2)
4. Calculus I (3)

Electives Offered in the First Semester

 Cultural Production in Contemporary Urdu (3)  Introduction to Film Production** (3)

 Amozgare Farsi I (3)  Cell Biology and Public Health (3)  Introduction to Political Science (3)
 Voices from the Margins: History of the Subcontinent  Climate Change and Us (3)  Amozgare Farsi II (3)
 Female Friendship in World Literature (3)
through (3)  Music and Mathematics (3)
  Braver Newer Worlds: Citizenship in the
Logical Problem Solving (4)  Introduction to Sustainability (3)
 Digital Age (3)
Introduction to Buddhism* (3)  Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3)
  Development and Environmentalism (3)
Urban Experience (3)  Food! Food Security, Urban Farming and Appropriate
 Introduction to Photography* (3) Technology (I)*** (1)
 Introduction to Illustration (3)  Principles of Macroeconomics (3)

* means Elective is being offered only to the students Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
** means Elective is being offered only to the students majoring in Communication and Design
*** means Elective is being offered only to the students majoring in Social Development Policy
 Core Courses Description
1. Rhetoric and Communication – 4 Credit Hour Course
This examines the use of rhetoric through the ages in order to develop critical thinking and effective academic writing skills in students.
According to Aristotle, ‘Rhetoric may be defined as the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion’. Since
Aristotle's time, the understanding of rhetoric has expanded. The study of rhetoric is no longer only the study of intentional acts of
strategic persuasion, but also includes the study of how humans' symbolic action creates, maintains, and alters social reality. Rhetoric is
more than the study of great speeches. It examines a wide range of symbolic forms, including photographs, memes, bodies, images,
television shows, monuments, and even single words. Thus, rhetoric is never just "empty words" or "hollow." It matters how people
understand themselves and each other; in fact, it is through rhetorical naming that some people distinguish themselves from others, and it
is through rhetoric that discourses develop and by understanding it, we can bridge these distinctions and create identification with each
other. However, rhetoric is not merely oratory and the ability to express one’s argument through writing is also a necessary life skill that
this course hopes to develop. This course aims at instilling intellectual curiosity and systematic unlearning of traditional narratives by
questioning language/rhetoric and developing the ability to write clearly and effectively.

2. Programming Fundamentals + Lab – 2 +1 Credit Hours Course

Introduces the basic components of computer programming: variables, data types, iteration, conditionals, functions, file and console i/o,
and recursion.

3. Calculus I – 3 Credit Hour Course

Topics include: An overview of functions and their behavior in terms of rates of change, average vs. instantaneous rates of change, the
derivative and shortcuts to differentiation, optimization (finding relative extrema / critical points), related rates, area under a curve,
Riemann sums and the definite integral, the general antiderivative, approximation of definite integrals, techniques of integration and
improper integrals.

4. Introduction to Electrical Engineering + Lab – 2+2 Credit Hour Course

Through a series of projects in circuit design and other areas, this course aims to expose the students to the fascinating world of electrical
engineering. The course will allow the students to gain an appreciation for the history and possible futures of various branches of
electrical engineering. Students will spend most of their time in the lab working on these projects with classroom instruction for support

5. CS Freshman Seminar - 1 Credit Hour Course

Provides a broad overview of the theory and practice of Computer Science though a series of weekly seminars by researchers and
practitioners.

6. Communication and Culture – 4 Credit Hour Course

This course aims to introduce students to important concepts and theories in communication and cultural studies. It will examine various
traditions of communication theory and look closely at its multidisciplinary nature. We will be exploring how culture determines
communication patterns and language and how language in turn constructs meaning and cultural practices. By doing so we seek to
understand the impact of communication in forming our ideas of culture and society. We will study a variety of media, modes and
methods of communication - and how they impact the formation of our communicative practices. Focused themes are the politics of
representation, discourse analysis, visual culture and new media.

7. Development and Social Change – 4 Credit Hour Course

Development is one of the principal ideas of our time. The stated purpose of national and international development programs is to
improve the wellbeing of people, whether through training, construction of roads and water supply schemes, or the improvement of health
services. At the same time, the distribution of the benefits of development policies and projects are becoming more skewed and the
harmful effects of large-scale development projects are becoming more prominent. This situation leads us to ask what counts as
development and for whom? How have modern societies sought to realize their visions of progress? The purpose of this foundational
course is to get you as students to think about these questions by introducing you to the history, theory, and the contemporary practice of
development. First, we will explore the concept of ‘development’ within the broader field of social sciences and see how it works as a
social category, institutional practice, and political technology. This will be followed by an analysis of the assumptions and effects of
development programs and policies in specific areas of concern such as poverty, gender, health, education, and disaster preparedness.
 Elective Courses Description
 Cultural Production in Contemporary Urdu – 3 Credit Hours Course
This is an introductory course is intended for students who want to improve their reading and writing skills in Urdu, especially those
students who will be taking more detailed course work in Urdu later on. This is a basic level course aimed at enabling students to acquire
and strengthen major skills related to language, with specific focus on Urdu writing system, grammar, colloquial conversation and to
enable them to develop intermediate level proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students entering the Habib University
come with varying proficiency in Urdu language. Nearly all of them speak Urdu at home or with each other. They are more familiar with
conversational and spoken Urdu but lag behind in writing. Many of them have studied Urdu in schools but have either not developed or
have lagged behind in writing skills. This course is aimed at developing these skills.

 Amozgare Farsi I – 3 Credit Hours Course

Farsi is the language of Iran but was also the official and cultural language of South Asia for a long time. As a result, the Farsi language
is the repository of cultural, social and religious sources and familiarity with the language is essential for gaining access to such sources.
This introductory course is aimed at a basic working knowledge of the Farsi language through conversation, written exercises and
reading. This class will meet twice a week for two hours.

 Voices from the Margins: History of the Subcontinent through – 3 Credit Hours Course
An elective for all students, this course provides glimpses into the history of the Subcontinent through films in Urdu/Hindi, English and
Bengali languages. Each of the selected films focuses on an important historical event in India, Pakistan and/or Bangladesh. Starting
from the fall of Oudh in 1856 and covering a number of politically significant events such as War of Independence, Partition of India,
formation of Bangladesh, Bhopal tragedy (1984), etc, the course ends on a film about Gujrat massacres (2002); these films explore the
complex and problematic predicaments of the politically marginalized and socially victimized groups and thus enable the viewers to
probe the contexts that allow such marginalization on one hand and analyze the stories using various theoretical frameworks on the other.
Additionally, students can also investigate the aesthetics of the film genre and their pertinence and significance in developing the
discourse of the politics of the center and the margins.

 Logical Problem Solving – 4 Credit Hours Course

This course is designed to introduce students to logic and dialectics.

 Introduction to Buddhism - 3 Credit Hour Course

This course is an introduction to Buddhism providing the students with the opportunity to explore this rich tradition focusing on the
Mahayana and Vajrayana denominations as well as the Gandhara period, Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. Special attention will
be placed on the role Buddhism has played in the arts.

 Urban Experience – 3 Credit Hour Course

This course aims to make the connection between politics of environmental conservation; food security; the market and the social
determinants of health through a hands on practice based pedagogical approach. This course will be taught in workshop format over
working Saturdays during fall and spring semester and will include field visits; designing appropriate technology solutions; composting;
making organic pesticides; and sustaining demo plots for urban farming.

 Introduction to Photography – 3 Credit Hour Course

In a time when camera-made imagery is both inescapable and hugely desired, here is an introduction to using photography skillfully,
expressively and responsibly. At this primary level, particular emphasis will be given to observation, light, framing and composition—
key components of documentation and communication. We will be working with available, preferably natural, light, and also covering
the basics of photo-editing. History, theory, analysis and practice will be integrated throughout the course, which includes both group and
solo submissions. Students enrolled in this course must purchase their own DSLRs.

 Introduction to Illustration – 3 Credit Hours Course

Illustration will be a series of lectures, discussions, and class activities; most of which will take place simultaneously, in synergy and with
each other. Students will be putting pencil to paper at the same time as the teacher will be briefing and the teacher will be doing that same
on the white board at the same time as the students might be engaged in a dialogue with the teacher. The assignments are designed as
such to allow the interaction between the students and teacher to both touch upon the illustrative skills required for any given subject
matter of the assignment, and its theoretical context both in the historical and the social. These will not be approached as separate
components. The topic/themes (thou not the principles) of each assignment as stated will change according to the interests of the
students.

 Introduction to Film Production – 3 Credit Hours Course

The course will introduce students to learn the fundamentals of cinematic language including various techniques and
processes of film production in preparation for more advanced film courses. The course is organized through a series
of exercises which will help students explore a variety of cinematic methods through hands on practice with film
equipment including the camera, lights, sound, and editing software.

 Cell Biology and Public Health – 3 Credit Hours Course

Provides an introduction to cellular and molecular biology and builds its connection with human biological processes, and public health
concerns; will also focus on communication surrounding complex biological concepts and how best to present them to a non-scientific
 audience. Topics include: Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, structure and function of cellular organelles, cells tissues and organ systems,
cellular respiration, movement across cell membranes, enzyme mechanism and inhibition, cellular reproduction, DNA replication,
transcription and translation, Mendelian genetics, blood groups, introduction to the immune system and vaccines, dengue viral infection,
cancer development, case studies in public health, and the role of communication in science.

 Climate Change and Us – 3 Credit Hours Course

We live in a world where climate change has become an inescapable reality. It’s like the dice has been rolled and we can now only wait
and see what consequences it brings. Climate change is starting to influence all areas of our lives from food production, melting icecaps
to frequent natural disasters. However, not all hope is lost as we see people and businesses starting to take steps to minimize the impacts
of climate change. This course will develop a conceptual understanding of all the issues and impacts related to climate change and
provide an opportunity to innovate and implement sustainable solutions.

 Music and Mathematics – 3 Credit Hours Course

This course will introduce the rudiments of Western and South Asian musical theory, with a focus on the mathematics incorporated in
their development and overall structure. The course will explore the properties of the twelve-tone scale, the historical evolution of tuning
and temperament, the idea of combinational tones and consonance, and the physics behind the construction of musical instruments.
Looking primarily at South Asian and Western musical genres, students will also analyze the mathematics involved in music
composition, for both melody and rhythm.

 Introduction to Sustainability – 3 Credit Hours Course

This course is designed to introduce the essential concepts of sustainability. This subject is of vital importance as it seeks to uncover the
principles of the long-term survival and welfare of all the inhabitants of our planet. The course is intended to be useful for both a broad-
based introductory class on sustainability and as a useful supplement to specialist courses which wish to review the sustainability
dimensions of their areas of study. By covering a wide range of topics, review questions, case studies, and links to further resources,
students will become conversant in the language and concepts of sustainability, and will be equipped for further study in sustainable
management, planning, policy, economics, climate, ecology, infrastructure, and more.

 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology – 3 Credit Hours Course

The course introduces students to the intricacies of human cultures and highlights the interlacing of cultural patterns with the forces of
modernity. For instance, how do gift-exchange practices of local communities help us understand the politics of international aid? How
do rituals of magic explain the commodity fetishism of capitalism? Does understanding cultural theories of identity help us rethink
notions of the modern developmental subject? Does tribal social organization undergird or conflict with the modern nation-state?
Addressing questions like these will provoke students to think critically of culture as an important tool for making sense of patterns of
contemporary social development.

 Food! Food Security, Urban Farming and Appropriate Technology (I) – 1 Credit Hours Course
This course aims to make the connection between politics of environmental conservation; food security; the market and the social
determinants of health through a hands on practice based pedagogical approach. This course will be taught in workshop format over
working Saturdays during fall and spring semester and will include field visits; designing appropriate technology solutions; composting;
making organic pesticides; and sustaining demo plots for urban farming.

 Principles of Macroeconomics – 3 Credit Hours Course

Macroeconomics is the attempt, throughout history, to understand phenomena such as unemployment, inflation, the business cycle and
economic growth; and how governments, through fiscal and monetary policies, have addressed these issues. In this course, we study the
issues and ideas of macroeconomics in a variety of perspectives: through theoretical models, the history of economic thought, economic
history, philosophy, economic data, and politics. Each perspective has its own contribution to make to our understanding of the economy.
An introductory course such as Econ 121 is intended to expose you to the variety of ideas and approaches under the heading of
“Principles of Macroeconomics”.

 Introduction to Political Science – 3 Credit Hours Course

This course aims to provide an introduction to the study of politics. It will address first the main concern of the discipline, i.e. the analysis
of the nature and features of social power. The fundamental question in the study of politics is: how does political change come about?
Or, conversely, how do regimes persist in the way they are? Then, the course will introduce the main subfields of the discipline, namely
comparative politics, international relations, normative political theory, and methods. These divisions will be addressed from a
historically conscious perspective, always cognizant of their contingency and socially constructed nature. The focus of the remainder of
the course will be on comparative politics, where key concepts such as political outcomes, political behavior, institutions, political
culture, governance and social actors will be analyzed. Last, the course shall address specific themes such as regime types, political
transitions and revolutions, democratization, security, nationalism and economic performance.

 Amozgare Farsi II – 3 Credit Hours Course

This course is for students interested in learning Farsi, to expose them to its linguistic history and literature for the first time. The course
outlines historical and linguistic challenges that need to be confronted to strengthen the contribution to the future development of the
language. There is a great deal of focus on the introduction of Farsi into the language curricula at various universities in Pakistan and
South Asia. This course attempts to outline the linguistic challenges facing Farsi at the turn of the 21st Century and therefore reconstructs
the history of Farsi and identifies opportunities for the further developments of the language to meet the need of a global and a
 globalizing community.

 Female Friendship in World Literature – 3 Credit Hours Course

Female friendships can be rich wells of emotional complexity as well as crucibles where fraught interactions of class, race and ethnicity
are played out. In this course, we will consider the ways in which fictional representations of women’s relationships with one another are
historically and socio-culturally inflected, and assess the ways in which literary depictions of female friendship can provide insight into
women’s lives as well as articulations of domesticity, intimacy and feminist solidarity. We will be reading authors such as Jane Austen,
Ismat Chughtai, Megan Abbott, Elene Ferrante, Quratulain Hyder and Jean Rhys.

 Braver Newer Worlds: Citizenship in the Digital Age – 3 Credit Hours Course
This course will introduce students to key topics and themes in digital media and networked technologies and examine how technology
intersects with cultural, social and political values. We will investigate digital media production in a cultural, historical, economic and
technological context. By doing so we will be able to situate ourselves in this particular moment in history and take a critical look at the
ubiquitous content that we are consuming as well as producing. Along with reading key texts and acquainting ourselves with key thinkers
in the areas of cultural production, critical theory and digital politics, we will be watching a lot of videos and spending a good amount of
time on the internet.

 Development and Environmentalism – 3 Credit Hours Course

This is an introductory course and it will provide an introduction to ideas, and theoretical debates about environmentalism and how it is
variously perceived and understood. The course critically examines the development of environmentalism as a global issue, and its
implications for economic and social development in the ‘South’. Global environmentalism became a political force in the 1960s, and
since then, governments, NGOs and other organisations have tried to reach agreements to deal with the pressing environmental issues.
But, calling a problem ‘global’ implies common ownership and responsibility, and the implication that any solution to a ‘global’ issue
will benefit everyone. The course will help the students develop an understanding of the discourses and debates about how environmental
issues are perceived and understood, and the contestation between the developed and the developing world on environmentalism and
development. This course will not look at environmental problems from the lens of physical environmental science. Instead, it will be a
political analysis of environmental problems and the implications on social and economic development in the South.