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Fall 2008 Seminars |
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ANTH 199 Crossing International Borders Marcela Mendoza Immigration is an important topic in the United States today. It scores high in national opinion pools and is keenly debated in the political campaigns of presidential candidates. In this course, you will learn about the people who cross international borders to work, escape dangerous situations, and improve their lives. We will examine how countries in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia manage international migration, and we will consider the economic and cultural impacts of immigration. Through reading, writing, speakers, and documentaries, you will be encouraged to critically explore the topics from your own point of view.
ARH 199 Buddhism through Art What can you learn by looking closely at visual art? In this course you will explore Buddhism, particularly Himalayan Buddhism, by studying and discussing paintings, prints, sculpture, murals, textile arts, illuminated manuscripts, and ritual objects. You will see how this study allows discussion of important issues in the study of religion, and learn how to adapt the visual method to analytical writing. Reading material will include art history, religious studies, and Buddhist history and philosophy. The class will include a trip to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on campus.
ARTC 199 Art and Eating Food and the social (and solitary) activity of eating occupy a significant place in historical and contemporary culture, specifically as they relate to art and ceramic practice. We will look at some contemporary artists who use foodstuffs as art material. We will also look at an extensive array of traditional and contemporary ceramic ware designed with wit and elegance for a wide variety of functions. Using this as a basis and a forum for beginning discussions, we will embark upon the design and creation of food serving vessels and utensils. Students will be asked to design and implement two place settings. The course will culminate in a formal dinner using the ware that has been created.
CH 199 What about ESP? What about UFOs? How can we distinguish what is probably true from what is probably not? This course will investigate weird science by examining how the most powerful and successful tool for this purpose tackles difficult problems. Through studies of perception, intuition and belief, along with an emphasis on critical writing, we will learn that science must always contain a degree of uncertainty yet remain a reliable source of knowledge.
ENG 199 Science fiction and mythology question the nature of reality and what might happen at the end of the world. This course will examine how the wonder of science fiction is increased when a new story is based on an older myth. We will read about the creation of monsters and gods, postapocalypse worlds, and human interaction with Otherness. ENG 199 Grow Up Already: Teenage Life in Literature and Film Miriam Gershow The trials and tribulations of adolescence have long served as the central focus for authors and filmmakers. In this course, we will closely analyze contemporary literature and film made for adults but concerned primarily with the teenage experience. We will look at several types of literature—the short story, novella, and the novel—as well as watch two feature films. We will examine why the teenage years serve as such a preoccupation for so many authors and auteurs, and also look at what these depictions tell us about not only our culture’s view of adolescence but also of itself, as a whole. HC 199 You Be the Judge: Presidential Debates 2008 David Frank Are speeches just words? This course will feature the careful study of three presidential debates scheduled by the Commission on Presidential Debates. You will learn well-tested principles of reason and effective oral advocacy, and use your new knowledge to judge arguments made by presidential and vice presidential candidates. You will also learn how to utilize streaming video, text transcripts, and nonpartisan public policy websites to analyze oral arguments. In the second half of the course, you will participate in two debates in which you will be required to effectively argue both sides of an important issue. HIST 199 Soccer and Society in Modern Latin America In most countries of Latin America, soccer is the national pastime. Since its introduction in the late nineteenth century, it has played an important role in the shaping of class, gender, racial, regional, and national identities, including those of Latin Americans living abroad. This seminar will offer students the opportunity to explore the complexities of modern Latin American societies using soccer as a cultural and sociological window. Historical and literary texts, films, and news clips will be used to complement lectures and ignite class discussions. INTL 199 Childhood: Theories, Stories, and Movies Who and what do we believe children “really” are? What do we believe is the relationship between childhood experiences and the adults that children ultimately become? Although we were all children once, even memoirs of childhood are always filtered through (and. indeed, often distorted by) adults’ beliefs about children. In this course, we will read novels and watch films about children, along with scholarly accounts of influential Western theories of childhood. Our discussions will explore the connection between academic research on children and how scholarly models are both permeated by, and permeate, popular culture portrayals of children and childhood. PHYS 199 Search for Life in the Universe The question of whether we are alone in our universe has fascinated humanity since the earliest of times. This course starts with the Big Bang and continues through the formation of sun-like stars and Earth-like planets. We explore how life might have started on Earth, was molded by cosmic events, and how it has adapted to survive. We then move on to explore places in our solar system where life might be found, before heading out into space to examine the possibilities for life beyond the solar system. We conclude with the search for extraterrestrial life and why we have not been contacted. This course is for nonscientists and is free of mathematics and technical jargon. PPPM 199 Confronting Consumerism: Beyond Recycling Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. While many have jumped on the recycling bandwagon, this well-worn mantra of the environmental movement has failed to generate a serious and widespread discussion of the first two "R" imperatives. This course explores the origins, characteristics, and critiques of consumerism. Students will investigate messages and tactics of the advertising industry, analyze corporate practices, look at proactive citizen responses to consumerism, and apply their knowledge to investigate consumption patterns and alternatives for energy, food, and automobiles.
TA 199 Better than the Book? Sarah Freeman What happens when stories migrate from one form to another? What propels different adaptations at different times? This course investigates these questions, resisting the deep urge in Western culture to categorize adaptations as “inferior” or “secondary” to original works. Instead, we will consider the many multiple movements of inspiration and adaptation of movies into theatre, or poems to plays, stories to opera, movies to video games, and comic books to movies. The course will culminate with an assignment where you will be asked to create your own short adaptation.
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