Ithaca Seminars for Fall 2008 ICSM 10117-01 (CRN 22738) Youth Culture, Rhetoric and the Purpose of a College Education (LA HU 1) 4 credits (Honors Seminar): Elizabeth Bleicher
Class 4:00 pm - 5:15 pm TR Friends Hall 209 Elizabeth Bleicher (P)
Class 12:00 - 12:50 pm W Friends Hall 205
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
What does it mean to be educated? Are you here to get a job or to get a life? To answer these questions, we will explore competing rationales behind collegiate study and engage in advanced literary and cultural analyses. We will study historical precedents, scholarly and journalistic articles, social critiques, and fictional collegians. We will conduct primary research into youth culture and attitudes toward education, develop rhetorical skills by sharing our findings, and write extensively across a variety of genres. Individually, you will articulate your personal philosophy of education and develop your own personal goals. Collaboratively, we will analyze the extent to which our readings and writings fit with our evolving understanding of the goals for collegiate study.
ICSM 10121-01 (CRN 22741) Music of Latin America (LA 3b G,H) 3 credits: Pablo Cohen Class
12:00 - 12:50 pm MWF James J. Whalen Center 3320 Pablo M. Cohen (P)
Aug 27 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This course surveys the most significant music from Central and South America, with emphasis on the four most important Latin American styles: Mexican, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and Argentinean music. Aspects of each country’s musical tradition and its most significant stylistic features will be analyzed and illustrated in class.
ICSM 10124-01 (CRN 23634) Living in Two Worlds: Writing about the Native American Experience (LA HU 3a) 4 credits: Ron Denson
Class 1:10 - 2:25 pm TR Smiddy Hall 109 Ron B. Denson (P)
Class 12:00 - 12:50 pm W Smiddy Hall 115
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This seminar considers the lives of American Indians today as revealed in stories they tell about their history in North America, their ongoing relations with mainstream culture, and the cultural traditions and values that have sustained them since the arrival of Columbus over 500 years ago. We will focus on the American Indian future such as, how do Native Americans respond to the challenge of "living in two worlds"? How do they resist both stereotyping and mythologizing by a mainstream culture? What relation to the natural world are they committed to, and how do they envision our common environmental future? This course will be writing-intensive and will satisfy departmental and school requirements for a 100-level writing course equivalent to WRTG-10600 or WRTG-10800.
ICSM 10125-01 (CRN 22745) Rights and Wrongs: The Philosophy and Practice of Human Rights (LA HU 1G) 4 credits: Craig Duncan
Class 11:00 am - 11:50 am MWF Friends Hall 307 Craig M. Duncan (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm F Friends Hall 307
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
Are there some acts so cruel, harmful, or disrespectful that they are wrong anywhere, anytime, for any reason? This course is an introduction to philosophical issues connected with the idea of universal human rights. We will examine several philosophical readings about human rights that claim to supply rights with objective foundations. We will test these accounts by examining real-life case studies. Additionally, we will confront challenges to the idea of universal human rights. These challenges include the claim that moral truth is always relative to one's own culture, and the claim that universal human rights must be broadened to encompass the rights of non-human animals.
ICSM 10111-01 (CRN 22565) Sex, Death, and Migration (LA SS 1) 3 credits: Mary Ann Erickson
Class 10:50 am – 11:40 am TR Friends Hall 307 Mary Ann Erickson (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm F Friends Hall 205
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
In this course global social change and diversity will be explored in terms of age, gender, class, race, and ethnicity. We will apply knowledge of demographic processes such as mortality, fertility and migration to examine current issues such as population aging, immigration, health disparities and environmental sustainability.
ICSM 10108-01 (CRN 23633) The Art of Politics: Language and power in Classical Athens (LA HU 3A H,G) (Honors Seminar) 4 credits: David Flanagan
Class 11:00 am - 11:50 am MWF Smiddy Hall 109 David T. Flanagan (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm W Smiddy Hall 111
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This honors seminar will combine the study of history, political philosophy, and rhetorical theory and practice. It will explore canonical texts, such as Sophocles’ Antigone and Plato’s Apology, that have generated Western traditions of literature and political philosophy and secondary sources such as Irving F. Stone’s The Trial of Socrates. This course will be writing-intensive and will satisfy departmental and school requirements for a 100-level writing course equivalent to WRTG-10600 or WRTG-10800.
ICSM 10107-01 (CRN 20841) Exploring a Global Challenge (LA SS 1) 4 credits: Nancy Jacobson
Class 1:10 pm - 2:25 pm TR Friends Hall 301 Nancy L. Jacobson (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm F Friends Hall 308
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
In this seminar we will explore threats to the biosphere that threaten life on earth for humans and other living species. Drawing insights from the fields of psychology, sociology, business, and biology, this course will ask the following questions. What is sustainability? What are the long-term solutions to some of the big environmental problems we face today? What do we need to know about ourselves, society, business and the natural world to understand how sustainability is achieved? Students in this course will explore sustainability through in-class discussion, readings, films, research, games and simulations.
ICSM 10107-02 CRN 23757 Exploring a Global Challenge (LA SS 1) 4 credits: Warren Schlesinger
Class 2:35 pm - 3:50 pm TR Business School 202 Warren Schlesinger (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm F Business School 111
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
In this seminar we will explore threats to the biosphere that threaten life on earth for humans and other living species. Drawing insights from the fields of psychology, sociology, business, and biology, this course will ask the following questions. What is sustainability? What are the long-term solutions to some of the big environmental problems we face today? What do we need to know about ourselves, society, business and the natural world to understand how sustainability is achieved? Students in this course will explore sustainability through in class discussion, readings, films, research, games and simulations.
ICSM 10107-03 (CRN 23758) Exploring a Global Challenge (LA SS 1) 4 credits: Keri A. Lee
Class 1:10 pm - 2:25 pm TR Center for Natural Sciences 112 Keri A. Lee (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm F Center for Natural Sciences 115
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
In this seminar we will explore threats to the biosphere that threaten life on earth for humans and other living species. Drawing insights from the fields of psychology, sociology, business, and biology, this course will ask the following questions. What is sustainability? What are the long-term solutions to some of the big environmental problems we face today? What do we need to know about ourselves, society, business and the natural world to understand how sustainability is achieved? Students in this course will explore sustainability through in-class discussion, readings, films, research, games and simulations.
ICSM 10127-01 (CRN 22748) Girlstories (LA HU 3a) 4 credits: Katharine Kittredge
Class 10:50 am - 12:05 pm TR Friends Hall 308 Katharine O. Kittredge (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm W Williams Hall 221
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
In this course we will be examining how girlhoods are constructed in our society. We will first see the images we get of "appropriate girls"--in fairytales, young adult literature, and romantic comedies. As the course progresses, we will look at some theories about how our culture shapes girls, and we will read real-life stories about some less conventional girlhoods. Authors will include: Toni Morrison, June Jordan, Dorothy Allison, Francesca Lia Block and Eve Ensler.
ICSM 10100-01 (CRN 20838) Experiencing College Athletics: The Myths and Realities of Playing (LA HU 3a) 4 credits: Katharine Kittredge
Class 9:25 am - 10:40 am TR Center for Natural Sciences 115 Katharine O. Kittredge (P)
Class 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm W Williams Hall 221
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This course is aimed at first-semester athletes who are coping with the transition to college-level athletic competition in addition to the usual issues confronted by first-semester students. The focus will be on what our culture tells us about sports and how we come to define ourselves as athletes. We will be exploring a wide range of material, including film, poetry, and fiction, as well as nonfiction writing about sports. Topics may include children’s sports, player/coach relationships, team dynamics, trash-talking, sports injuries, and gender roles.
ICSM 10100-02 (CRN 20839) Experiencing College Athletics: The Myths and Realities of Playing (LA HU 3a) 4 credits: Stephen Mosher
Class 9:25 am - 10:40 am TR Textor 103 Stephen D. Mosher (P)
Class 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm W Williams Hall 222
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This course is aimed at first-semester athletes who are coping with the transition to college-level athletic competition in addition to the usual issues confronted by first-semester students. The focus will be on what our culture tells us about sports and how we come to define ourselves as athletes. We will be exploring a wide range of material, including film, poetry, and fiction, as well as nonfiction writing about sports. Topics may include children’s sports, player/coach relationships, team dynamics, trash-talking, sports injuries, and gender roles.
ICSM 10128-01 (CRN 23635) Writing about Nature and the American Experience (LA HU 3a H) 4 credits Marlene Kobre
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm M Smiddy Hall 115 Marlene Kobre (P)
Class 2:35 pm - 3:50 pm TR Smiddy Hall 109
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
In this seminar we consider our human relationship with the natural world. Discussion focuses on the complex, often contradictory, ways Americans have addressed questions about nature from the days of exploration and colonization to the present. Students read works by American writers who have struggled to articulate the meaning of nature and its relation to the human experience. This course will be writing-intensive and will satisfy departmental and school requirements for a 100-level writing course equivalent to WRTG-10600 or WRTG-10800.
ICSM 10129-01 (23636) Writing Critically in Response to Film and Theatre (LA HU 3a) 4 credits Jerry Mirskin
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm M Smiddy Hall 111 Jerry Mirskin (P)
Class 2:35 pm - 3:50 pm TR Smiddy Hall 111
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This class is designed to develop the academic writing and analytical skills that are fundamental to college coursework. Students in this seminar will view contemporary films and attend local productions of dramatic works that are chosen for their relevance to significant social issues of our time. Students will write critical film and theater analyses drawing on the popular and cultural knowledge they bring to school. This course will be writing-intensive and will satisfy departmental and school requirements for a 100-level writing course equivalent to WRTG-10600 or WRTG-10800
ICSM 10136-01 (CRN 22756) Math as Art of the Soul (LA NS 2b) 4 credits: Dani Novak
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm M Friends Hall 209 Dani A. Novak (P)
Class 10:50 am - 12:05 pm TR Friends Hall 209
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
Have you ever asked questions like "Why are we here?" or "What is the meaning of life?" This seminar focuses on artistic expression and touches the universal spirit of mankind. Taught by a faculty member in the math department, this seminar will use the computer language, SeeLogo, developed here at Ithaca, to create mathematical art that expresses answers to questions that cannot be expressed in words.
ICSM 10130-01 (23637) Writing about Seeing Things Queerly (LA HU 3a) 4 credits: Mary Beth O’ Connor
Class 9:00 am - 9:50 am MWF Smiddy Hall 109 Mary Beth O'Connor (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm M Smiddy Hall 112
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
In this seminar “seeing” is a critical practice both in observation and analysis. Students will be challenged to see the world with new eyes and to view photographs, films, and advertisements in terms of both what is there and what is not. The ”queerly“ part includes queer in the sense of ”skewed“ or ”unusual“ and queer in the sense of non-mainstream sexualities. For a long time, queerness in this latter sense could not be overtly included in texts, whether written or visual, hence the need for covert placement of content and the need for subversive reading. We’ll look at the history of Hollywood movies as a case study, especially during the repressive era of ”The Code." The assignments in this seminar focus on the play of ideas rather than on theoretical readings. Open-mindedness and curiosity is essential. This course will be writing-intensive and will satisfy departmental and school requirements for a 100-level writing course equivalent to WRTG-10600 or WRTG-10800
ICSM 10131-01 (CRN 22752) At Home and Work: Gender, Race, and Economic Power (LA SS 1) 4 credits: Shaianne Osterreich
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm M Friends Hall 208 Shaianne T. Osterreich (P)
Class 1:10 pm - 2:25 pm TR Friends Hall 308
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
The primary goal of this class will be to challenge students to critically think about society. To be specific, we will start by investigating what it means to have economic power in a market system - what is it and how do we get it? We will proceed to explore how economic bargaining power in households, the workplace, and consumer environments reflects and affects racial, ethnic and gender identities and hierarchies.
ICSM 10133-01 (22753) The Golden City: The Rhetorical Construction of Classical Athens (LA HU 3a,h) (Honors Seminar) 4 credits: Robert Sullivan
Class 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm MWF Friends Hall 209 Robert G. Sullivan (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm W Friends Hall 301
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This seminar will consist of a multidisciplinary investigation of the myths and realities of Classical Athens. We will inquire critically into the city’s political and social structures, its aesthetic monuments, its intellectual milieu and its everyday life. The seminar will not, however, be a conventional historical accounting of who did what when in ancient Greece. We will examine Athens as an instance of rhetorical self-creation and examine the material of Athenian history as rhetorical artifacts. Rhetoric, first conceptualized and codified in Athens, is more than the art of political speechifying that it is often conceived to be. Rhetoric is the strategic use of language to accomplish things in the world. A rhetorical approach to Classical artifacts foregrounds the rich political, social, and cultural contexts that underlie historical and aesthetic self-portraiture. Accordingly, we will re-engage the disputes that vitalized Athenian life - and in doing so may well come to see the contemporary American experience through a radically different lens.
ICSM 10104-01, CRN 20840, Math and Nature: Exploring the Outer Worlds (LA NS 2b) 4 credits: Jack VanDerzee
Class 10:50 am - 12:05 pm TR Smiddy Hall 112 Jack VanDerzee (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm W Smiddy Hall 112
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This course will combine mathematical problem solving skills with nature-related activities, including both hands-on projects done outside the classroom and talks on the environment by guest speakers both from campus and from the Ithaca community. The course will include a writing component. You will spend more than half of the class times in the woods.
ICSM 10137-01 (CRN 23176) Power in the Ancient World: Monarchs, Priests, and Families (LA HU 1 H,G) 4 credits: Jonathan Ablard
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm M Friends Hall 307 Jonathan Ablard (P)
Class 1:10 pm - 2:25 pm TR Friends Hall 307
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
How did civilizations develop systems of political and religious authority? How and when did men (and fathers especially) come to exercise power over women? How did certain rulers come to enjoy authority over their subjects? Why did people submit to these systems of authority and control? Why and when did common people rebel against authority? In this course, we will examine, across various cultures relationships of power: kings and their subjects, priests and the laypeople, women and men, parents and children. Although our readings will focus on the ancient past, we will consider the relationship of these very old notions of authority and sovereignty to our present world.
ICSM 10139-01 (CRN 23574) Group Interaction and Individual Choice (LA 1 SS) 4 credits: Laurie Arliss
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm M Friends Hall 301 Laurie Arliss (P)
Class 9:25 am - 10:40 am TR Friends Hall 308
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This seminar explores how to work effectively in small groups. Students not only study small group theories, but also participate in groups both in and out of class. Students analyze the group experience and explore their own role within the group. Students cannot get credit for this course and SPCM 14000 (Small Group Communication)
ICSM 10140-01 (CRN 23571) Pirates, Rebels and Slaves: British Sovereignty in the Atlantic World (LA HU 1 H,G) 4 credits: Vivian Bruce B. Conger, Jason Freitag
Class 9:25 am - 10:40 am TR Friends Hall 303 Vivian Bruce B. Conger (P), Jason Freitag
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm W Williams Hall 313
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This course will explore the place of the Atlantic world, and America in particular, in the early period of the British Empire. The course will demonstrate how the empire saw the Atlantic as a key component in its early consolidation. The Atlantic, however, was also the site of the greatest of the early challenges to British sovereignty. From the piracy against the empire’s ships, to the American Revolution, to the abolition of the slave trade, the Atlantic world was always both crucial and contested. The course will examine the shift in sovereignty from Britain to America, and explore the meaning of the American and Atlantic experience for the growth and consolidation of the British Empire in Asia.
ICSM 10142-01 (CRN 23645) Clips and Strips of Culture and Health (LA SS 3b) 3 credits Judith S Gonyea
Class 2:35 pm - 3:25 pm TR Friends Hall 308 Judith S. Gonyea (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm W Center for Health Sciences 202
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This course will explore how culture is reflected in popular media and how this reflection may influence views of self or others. Students will examine themes expressed in popular media that may promote bias or antipathy toward other cultures, or cultural practices, and to evaluate their potential influence on social engagement and health. Students will critically explore and present topics or themes from weekly comic strips while working in groups to view, analyze, and present cultural themes found in popular films. Throughout the course, students will maintain a reflective portfolio that will form the foundation for their final reflective review of course topics.
ICSM 10143-01 (CRN 23667) War, Law, and Sport: Understanding the Rules of the Game (LA SS 1) 3 credits Jim T Gray, Leon C Smigiel
Class 9:25 am - 10:40 am TR Friends Hall 209 Jim T. Gray (P), Leon C. Smigiel
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm W Smiddy Hall 325
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This course will examine how law influences behavior in war, how law determines the balance between domestic security and civil liberties, and how law affects sport. In particular the course will focus on some of the legal issues raised through the use of drugs and medical efforts to enhance athletic performance by professional and amateur athletes.
ICSM 10144-01 (CRN 23550) Living with the Land (LA NS 2a) 3 credits John Stephenson Hopple
Class 11:00 am - 11:50 am MWF Smiddy Hall 112 John S. Hopple (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm F Smiddy Hall 112
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
In this seminar we will learn how humans have come to dominate the earth’s ecosystems and the resultant risks to the biosphere. From this starting point we will explore sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions involving individual actions and lifestyle choices. From Thoreau’s Walden to the Nearing’s Forest Farm we will look at different approaches to living with the land instead of just on it. Efforts will be made to investigate local approaches to the land such as Ecovillage at Ithaca, the CSA movement, and green building. Students in this course will explore living with the land through readings, in-class discussions, research projects, field-trips, and films. The course culminates with students designing their own 20 acre homestead.
ICSM 10146-01 (CRN 23622) Numbers and Notes (LA NS 2b) 3 credits Timothy A Johnson
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm MWF James J. Whalen Center 2330 Timothy A. Johnson (P)
August 27, 2008- Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This seminar explores the interesting relationship between mathematics and music. In this course students will seek to understand some special properties that underlie western music ranging from the music of Josquin des Prez to Norah Jones and from the 15th century to 50 Cent. In this way students will obtain a broader context in which to contemplate some basic musical structures such as scales, intervals, and chords. The math used in the course is simple, free of complicated formulas, and no previous mathematical experience (or musical experience) is required. The course will feature musical activities (guest performances by music students, concerts, and use of the piano facilities in the music building) and aspects of artistic design, explored through online images as well as art on campus.
ICSM 10148-01 (CRN 23632) Fairy Tales: The Hero's Journey (LA HU 3a H) 4 credits Katharyn Howd Machan
Class 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm MWF Smiddy Hall 111 Katharyn H. Machan (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm F Smiddy Hall 111
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
Fairy tales are the maps of our psyches, the mirrors of our longings and fears. In them we find the questions and answers we need to continue the shaping of our own lives. This course (while also introducing students to the language and appropriate use of academic writing) will focus on the study of classic and literary fairy tales, with an emphasis on themes of self discovery and transition/transformation. Readings will be drawn from the tales themselves, essays about them, and contemporary reworkings of these stories in fiction and poetry. This course will be writing-intensive and will satisfy departmental and school requirements for a 100-level writing course equivalent to WRTG-10600 or WRTG-10800
ICSM 10149-01 (CRN 23576) Political Communication: The Race for the White House (LA SS 1 H) 4 credits Daniel R Maguire
Class 1:10 pm - 2:25 pm TR Friends Hall 209 Daniel R. Maguire (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm W Roy H. Park Communications 279
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This course will examine 2008 presidential campaign communications which include: political advertising, speech, debate, reporting and cyber politics. We will focus on three actors: the candidates, the media and the electorate. We will study the evolution of candidates and their campaigns. John F. Kennedy’s run for the presidency bears little resemblance to John McCain’s, despite the similarity of the job description. We will look at the role of the media in campaigns: the enabling and constraining roles of certain media, the revolution of new media technologies and their impact on political campaigns, the charge of both conservative and liberal bias on the part of the press, and the media’s agenda-setting function as it relates to shaping public opinion.
ICSM 10151-01 (CRN 23552) Nurturing Nature: Becoming Us (LA SS 2a) 3 credits Nancy de Villiers Rader
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm MWF Business School 202 Nancy d. Rader (P)
August 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
In this seminar we will examine what is known about how our genes influence typical development and ways in which the environment intervenes to affect that development to produce unique humans with their own patterns of strengths and talents. Through analysis of current research that encompasses biology, psychology, and sociology we will explore topics that include musical talent, cognitive skills, athletic ability, personality, and emotional intelligence. Students will critically read, write about, and present their reactions to scholarly articles and related media stories. Community-oriented activities will include opportunities to meet with local professionals involved with youth, visits to area institutions and neighborhoods, and opportunities to volunteer service.
ICSM 10152-01 (CRN 23547) Vampires, Ghosts, and Other Monsters (LA HU 3a H,G) 4 credits Michael D Richardson Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm M Friends Hall 205 Michael D. Richardson (P)
Class 1:10 pm - 2:25 pm TR Smiddy Hall 112
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
Horror and the fantastic have long been central topics in German literature and German film. In this course, we will attempt to interpret the genres of horror and mystery as reflections of basic personal and social questions and as allegories for larger social fears and concerns. Topics to be discussed, among others: the role of the uncanny in Romantic fairly tales, such as those by E.T.A. Hoffmann and Ludwig Tieck; the notions of alienation and despair in Kafka’s short stories; the role of horror and the unconscious in Expressionist films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, and The Golem; and the use of the horror film as an allegory for postwar and post-unification fears and anxieties in more recent films such as Anatomy. We will also investigate the influence of German horror on American representations and compare U.S. horror films to their German predecessors.
ICSM 10153-01 (CRN 23665) Youth: Culture, Cohorts, and Politics (LA SS 1) 3 credits James Rothenberg
Class 9:00 am - 9:50 am WF Friends Hall 209 James Rothenberg (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm M Roy H. Park Communications 279
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
The transition to adulthood in western societies has become protracted, and a clearly defined social category, youth, clearly emerged after World War II. Though a transitional status, youth nonetheless has come to be a quite distinctive social category, often evincing distinctive norms and politics. In this course we focus on the forces that have shaped and are continuing to shape the current generation of youth as well as the different experiences that youth have based on variations in social class, gender, race and ethnicity. We also examine the forces that shape student life in colleges and universities and the political activities of contemporary youth. The role of youth in politics will be emphasized in the course given that this is an election year.
ICSM 10153-02 (CRN 23666) Youth: Culture, Cohorts, and Politics (LA SS 1) 3 credits James Rothenberg
Class 10:00 am - 10:50 am MW Friends Hall 209 James Rothenberg (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm F Friends Hall 208
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
The transition to adulthood in western societies has become protracted, and a clearly defined social category, youth, clearly emerged after World War II. Though a transitional status, youth nonetheless has come to be a quite distinctive social category, often evincing distinctive norms and politics. In this course we focus on the forces that have shaped and are continuing to shape the current generation of youth as well as the different experiences that youth have based on variations in social class, gender, race and ethnicity. We also examine the forces that shape student life in colleges and universities and the political activities of contemporary youth. The role of youth in politics will be emphasized in the course given that this is an election year.
ICSM 10154-01 (CRN 23646) What was in Aristotle's Medicine Cabinet? The Origins of Modern Medicine (LA NS 1 H,G) 4 credits Richard Schissel
Class 11:00 am - 11:50 am MWF Friends Hall 209 Richard Schissel (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm F Friends Hall 209
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
The focus of this seminar is on the development of theories of disease and healing, and the evolution of ideas about the body, health, and disease. The growth of medicine will be studied in the context of the historical, cultural, social, and religious beliefs that affected it. Students’ thinking also will be led into the broader domains of geography and changing religious and cultural beliefs throughout history. The goals of the course include increasing students’ knowledge as well as helping them learn to think critically about the role of time, place, and religion on the development of acceptable ideas about the body, health, disease, and who was qualified to treat it. Reading and writing skills will be stressed. Requirements will include a research project and one essay requiring the student to struggle with and defend a position on an historical medical issue (e.g., what development had the greatest impact on the reduction of disease in the Middle Ages?)
ICSM 10156 – 01 (CRN 23575) Message and Meaning: Creating Our Values (LA SS 3a) 4 credits Scott Thomson
Class 10:50 am - 12:05 pm TR Friends Hall 301 Scott S. Thomson (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm W Center for Health Sciences 201
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This course will examine the nexus of values and communication. In particular, this course will explore the role of communication in the creation, maintenance, and transmission of values in our society. Students will exercise skills associated with the research, analysis, synthesis, and presentation of messages in both informational and persuasive contexts. Students cannot get credit for this course and Public Communication (SPCM 11000).
ICSM 10157 – 01 (CRN 23551) Religious Myths of Good and Evil (LA HU 3a H,G) 4 credits Rachel L. Wagner
Class 11:00 am - 11:50 am MWF Friends Hall 308 Rachel L. Wagner (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm M Friends Hall 308
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
This seminar will be an interdisciplinary introduction to how religious stories of good and evil get transformed over time. We will focus on various forms of myths about good and evil, including (but not limited to) the Mesopotamian myths, The Enuma Elish, and the Epic of Gilgamesh; the Genesis account of the Garden of Eden; the story of the fall of the watchers (in Genesis and in Jewish apocalyptic literature); legends about Lilith, the supposed first wife of Adam; medieval stories about witches and evil creatures; analysis of the historical development of stories about Satan; stories dealing with the difficult integration of technology into human experience, such as Frankenstein; and modern stories questioning the very relevance of the categories of good and evil, such as The Grand Inquisitor, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. As we move through our chronological analysis, we will look at how the same stories are shaped and changed by the social and historical movements that provide their context. We will end by looking at examples of the transformation of these myths in contemporary popular culture, such as film, video games, and television shows. Overall, students will learn to appreciate how deeply context, genre, and medium shape the interpretation of religious myths.
ICSM 10158 – 01 (CRN 23660) Understanding Robotics (LA NS 2b) 4 credits Patricia A Woodworth
Class 10:50 am - 12:05 pm TR Williams Hall 309 Patricia A. Woodworth (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm W Williams Hall 309
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Lab
This course will explore the growing use of robots in the workplace, around the house, even on Mars. A significant portion of the course will involve hands-on work by students building and programming robots using the Lego Mindstorms NXT systems. Using sensors, these robots will be programmed to respond to sound, to changes in light, and to changes in distance. Students will work in teams, engage in problem solving, and make presentations. No previous programming or robotic experience is necessary.
ICSM 10159 – 01 (CRN 23555) Campus Culture: An Anthropological Adventure (LA SS 1) 4 credits Stacia E Zabusky
Class 4:00 pm - 5:15 pm MW Friends Hall 209 Stacia E. Zabusky (P)
Class 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm F Friends Hall 301
Aug 27, 2008 - Dec 19, 2008 Seminar
Cultural anthropologists study diverse societies around the world by immersing themselves in local communities and becoming participant-observers of daily life. In this course, you will have the chance to become anthropologists and investigate the culture of your own college community. You will explore the daily practices, social norms, and cultural values that characterize student life and work in classrooms, dorms, dining halls, and meeting rooms; in the process you will learn key anthropological concepts and gain basic research skills. Our anthropological adventure will include fieldwork, reading, writing, and discussion; the goal is to provide you with the opportunity to see the familiar with new eyes and to think critically about what you want out of your college education.
