DESIGN THINKING:CM ~ This course explores how effective problem-solving can be achieved using a holistic, integrative, and human-centered design process. Design Thinking utilizes non-linear stages (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test) to better understand and then address the real-world needs of individuals, groups, and societies. Students will examine case studies of effective and ineffective problem-solving and analyze the effectiveness of particular strategies and approaches. Students will also utilize creative experimentation, collaboration, and verbal and visual communication skills to work collaboratively to find productive solutions to real-world problems. Students will present, verbally and visually, a final proposal for solving over overcoming such challenges.
Core: Creative Methods
THE NEUROSCIENCE AND POLITICS OF DRUGS:ES ~ Wanna get high? Why? What motivates people to seek and use drugs? What effects do they have on the brain? On judgement, or personality? What makes someone give up a prosperous life to consume, or even be consumed by addiction? And why do governments take such different approaches to addressing issues related to drug trafficking and addiction? This course combines perspectives from the disciplines of Political Science and Neuroscience to help explain and understand drug use and drug abuse. The class will examine basic aspects of brain anatomy and chemistry related to drugs, the effects of drugs on behavior and their movement through the body, as well as the politics of illicit drug markets and the neuroscience of addiction. It will also consider the public policy-making processes that result in very different outcomes in terms of drug containment, interdiction, and regulation. Pre-requisites: None.
Core: Meaning/Ethics/Soc Responsibil
WORKSHOP ~ Workshops may be taken Pass/No Credit only. Students may take no more than nine workshops for credit toward graduation. Workshops can be used as elective credit only.
REPRESENTATIONS OF DISABILITY AND ILLNESS IN US FILMS:ES ~ For many people, film and television are considered to reflect reality. For disability, specifically, media representations fill a gap in knowledge about the disability experience, as the very organization of society makes disability unknowable to many non-disabled people. This interdisciplinary course critically examines the complex ways that film simultaneously reflects and influences how society views and treats disabled and ill people. Students will examine how films and other forms of media represent disability, and learn how to critically evaluate the meaning and values embedded in these representations using disability studies, feminist, and critical theories. Students will also explore how representations of disability intersect with cultural ideologies of race, gender, class, sexuality, and age. Furthermore, students will scrutinize the ethics of dominant representations of disability in film and how these representations have influenced contemporary societal challenges issues such as healthcare, state violence, and public policy. In addition to interpreting films in popular culture, students will consider how disability scholars, activists, and artists have responded to dominant representations of disability and created alternative representations.
Core: Meaning/Ethics/Soc Responsibil
THE ETHOS AND PRACTICE OF FLY FISHING-MEMOIR, NONFICTION, AND NATURAL HISTORY:CM ~ In this course, students will learn the basics of fly fishing; its relationship to literature; the basics of entomology and hydrology; and the difference between natural and wild reproduction in Ohio's and America's fisheries. Students will learn the basics of fly-tying. We will take weekly field trips to such area rivers as the Chagrin, Grand, and Cuyahoga. By reading fiction, nonfiction, and natural history, students will acquire an understanding of the cultural and social importance of fly-fishing. By becoming familiar with local watersheds, students will gain a greater sense of their immediate environment. Students will write essays that focus on memoir, nonfiction, and natural history. Emphasis will be placed on combining genres in the assignments. Each student will also have to purchase an Ohio fishing license, and supply his/her own fly rod and reel. Also, students should have boots.
Core: Creative Methods
INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL STUDIES ~ This course serves as an introduction to globalization. It is designed to provide a foundation of knowledge upon which students can pursue more detailed studies related to international topics. The impact cultural diversity, economics, ecology, military strength and individual personality have on global issues will be examined. It will train students to consider the global influences on all aspects of life and prepare them to take a role in solving the world's problems. Required for the international studies minor.
MUSIC AND THE BRAIN ~ Music is common to both joyous and sad occasions. Why is music so common in the human experience? This course will approach the human response to music from the disciplinary perspectives of music theory and neurobiology. Students taking this course will demonstrate an understanding of human responses to music from these separate disciplines. Topics covered include how sounds move through the environment, are decoded by the ear and brain, as well as rhythm, melody, harmony, and syntax in music. Disorders of musical perception and production, as well as the potential therapeutic role for music, will also be discussed. The final project involves a project proposal to examine one or more musical works using methods that extend beyond these disciplines and enlarge student perspectives on music. The course will involve extensive listening exercises, and basic neurobiological experiments involving brain dissections and measuring human physiological responses to music.
Prerequisite: PSYC 10100 and (PERF 10000 or MUSI 12100)
INTRODUCTION TO ANTI-SEMITISM:ES ~ Since the horrific discoveries made in Poland and Germany at the end of World War II, humanity has become painfully aware of the concept of anti-Semitism. but that systematic annihilation of six-million European Jews by the Nazis was not an isolated event in history. Jews have been suspected, accused, abused, and murdered since the time of the Crusades and before. Why this profound hatred against Jewish people? The student will learn much history as well as religion and ethics by means of this course. Most hatred in the history of humanity is irrational, indefensible, and ignorant. But this particular manifestation of hatred might involve something much more complex. Can those who embrace a Christian world-view do so without needing in the process to negate Jews and Judaism? This is a serious question, and probably the heart of the matter. The student will wrestle with how to be an ethical human being who protects the rights and human dignity of all others. Come, learn, and grow.
Core: Meaning/Ethics/Soc Responsibil
CLASSICAL ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION, C. 600-1500 ~ Islam is more than a religion; it is a culture that informs the lives of approximately one-sixth of the world's population. But, most modern Americans have little or no knowledge of this culture and, therefore, view Muslims as the stereotypes that the popular media present. Studying classical Islamic civilization from historical and religious perspectives will break these stereotypes and will help us to understand the Muslim world and its intersection with the west. This course is equivalent to the former INTD 32300.
FINDING VOICE THROUGH QUILTS ~ No other craft or form of art is more closely identified with our American experience and values than is the art of quilting. Quilting has replaced the melting pot as the quintessential metaphor for American life. Throughout history (mostly) women have made quilts for a variety of reasons: to make something of practical use, to create something of beauty, to express themselves personally, to speak out in support of local and national causes, to raise money, or simply to ensure that she would not be forgotten. Today, quilts are studied as works of art as well as historical documentation. Quilt making has resurged in popularity and many contemporary women and men continue to tell their stories and express themselves through their quilts. In this course, we will consider the question, “Why do people create art?” Through the disciplines of History, Cultural Studies, and Art & Design, students will examine the art of quilting, past and present to discover answers to this complex question. Finally, students will tell their own stories and create a small quilt expressing something they want to say about themselves and/or their world.
DOING GOOD:HOW NONPROFITS CHANGE LIVES ~ This course explores the world of nonprofit organizations in the United States: how they are defined, how they are funded and operate, how they influence everyday lives, how they protect values and culture, and how they advance social change and a civil society. The course will consist of weekly reflections, in-person and online discussion, book reviews, class presentations, written assignments, guest speakers, and visits to nonprofits.
SEMINAR IN ASIAN STUDIES:TT ~ This TT INTD is required for students in the Asian Studies minor program. It is meant to give a broad, interdisciplinary understanding of Asia. Topics will rotate, to introduce students to various Asian themes in religions, cultures, histories, politics, and/or art.
SELLING SHANGHAI:EW ~ The city of Shanghai, in modern times, has always been both a fantastic chimera and a tangible place of unlimited possibilities. As a metropolis, it is recognized as something that virtually all Westerners know as Chinese, but most Chinese recognize it as a location that is an eclectic blend of Chinese and many other cultural influences from abroad. The Shanghai that we will explore in this course is a marketplace of commodities and services as well as ideas. We will discover that Shanghai, more so than most cities in China, is a location where virtually anything is possible, but where all come to terms with the culture of the city itself (and with the Jiangnan region generally) in order to have success there. In the course, we will consider how this became among the first globalized cities, how services diversified, how and why organized crime has had such a prominent presence there. The first two weeks will be spent gaining an understanding of the cultural and historical significance of Shanghai. In the last week, students will have the opportunity to design an entrepreneurial enterprise for the city of Shanghai. Students will research to find a company that has experience negotiating the market in China as a way of planning their own enterprise with Shanghai as the base for entry into the Chinese market. This counts as an ENTR elective, towards the Asian Studies minor and the history major/minor non-western breadth requirement.
Core: Experiencing the World
HUMANS OF OHIO:CREATING PORTRAITS ~ In an age where the recording of experience is ubiquitous, portraits proliferate—intentionally and unintentionally, responsibly and irresponsibly. This course examines the history of portraiture in both photography and writing and considers the role of the portrait in today’s world. Inspired by photographer Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York and Studs Terkel’s Working, Humans of Ohio: Creating Portraits will study our communities through the art of portraiture and consider what it means to create a portrait of another person. Along the way, we’ll discuss street photography, Ohio history, interview skills, selfies, oral storytelling, the craft of photography, the ethics of portraiture, editing recordings, the experience of viewing, the role of the witness, definitions of community, and portraits as constructions. Students will engage in hands-on creation of portraits of community members, as writers, audio editors, and photographers.
LAND USE POLICY ~ How does one evaluate governmental land use policy on a state or regional level? This question is one of organized complexity in which a number of factors are all varying simultaneously in subtly interconnected ways. These include traditional land use design concepts, zoning regulations that reflect the community’s preferences, and efforts to generate the revenue necessary to afford its various programs. These revenue creation efforts necessitate competition between communities to capture limited revenue resources and are further impacted by external factors that affect the ability to afford critical programs such as public education.
TEACHING OHIO HISTORY ~ Students in this course will integrate pedagogy for K-12 students with an overview of the political, economic, and social developments that occurred in Ohio from the era before European settlement to the present. Students will explain and analyze significant developments in Ohio history and will plan and teach this history. The course will prepare prospective middle school teachers for the state-mandated 4th grade social studies curriculum.
PUBLIC LEADERSHIP ~ The purpose of this course is to consider the question, "what is leadership?" The goal is not to offer students a ready-made answer to the question, but rather to prompt them to think about what the answer might be. Such thinking is, in fact, the first step to true leadership. To encourage this thinking, students will be assigned readings from a series of texts which deal with 1) political theory, 2) the sociology of management, and 3) public policy making. Class discussions, in turn, will supplement these readings by examining, among other topics, case studies in public policy. Furthermore, professors from a range of departments—such as Psychology, Communication, Management, Religious Studies, etc.—will be asked to give guest lectures to the class, wherein they will address the meaning of leadership from their own particular perspectives. Finally, in addition to their academic work, students enrolled in this course will be encouraged to participate in mentoring opportunities, as well as in the Garfield seminars (as a Scholar or as an attendee) and in community service. Another version of this course is offered for three (3) credit hours as INTD 24110.
COMPARATIVE ISSUES IN ZAMBIA:EW ~ Health care is a universal need and a current global issue. Demographic health indicators, health-care resources, the climate and terrain, as well as the influence of animal life are important and essential factors in determining quality of life in developing versus developed countries. This course is designed to expose the student to an experiential examination of health issues from social, cultural, ethical, political, policy, educational, and environmental perspectives in the developing country of Zambia. There will be comparison and contrast with these issues affecting health in the U.S. as a developed country. This course is team taught.
Prerequisite: NURS 25010 or PSYC 25010
Core: Experiencing the World
CONTEMPORARY FRENCH CIVILIZATION ~ A study of the people of France, their culture and customs. This course will introduce students to French geography, political and social institutions, education, technology, family traditions and the arts.
Prerequisite: FREN 20200
IDENTITY, EXPRESSION, & REPRESENTATION IN INDIA: EW ~ Identity is a complex and difficult phenomenon to grasp and understand. It entails the mixture of personal, religious, linguistic, gender, and national values. In India, this identity is particularly complex due to over five thousand years of transitory cultural history including migration and “invasion” being on the “Silk Road” between East and West, internal religious and social reformist movements, and its emergence from a century of foreign colonial rule. This course will explore that history and the phenomenon of identity in India from the perspectives of two disciplines—art history and political science. From the former, the course will examine primarily the historical development of traditions in art related to global religions either created within South Asia (Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism) or imported from neighboring regions (Islam and Christianity). From the latter discipline, this course will examine how India’s political institutions have been able to integrate the country’s diverse and multidimensional identities into a collective overarching sense of nationality, and also into a vibrant, inclusive and institutionalized democratic political system. Thus, this course will not only study identity in India from an interdisciplinary perspective, but will also examine its phenomenon’s observable expression and representation in both art and politics. The course will involve travel to India to encounter, experience, and analyze India’s rich diversity first hand.
Core: Experiencing the World
SIKHS AND SIKHISM:IDENTITY IN AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE ~ There are more than 20 million Sikhs in India primarily in the Punjab region, and another nearly 3 million residing in the diaspora including over half a million in the United States. Sikhism emerged in the late 15th-century on the Indian subcontinent, becoming one of the world’s youngest and largest major religions. Yet relatively few people know about Sikhs and Sikhism outside of India. The central research question driving this course is what is “Sikhism” or, more importantly, who is a “Sikh”? In other words, what is the nature and content of “Sikh identity”? This question is not simple to answer. Nonetheless, we will try to do so through an interdisciplinary approach exploring the philosophical basis and content of the Sikh religion, the multiple layers of sociological complexity within the “Sikh” community in Punjab and the expanding diaspora, and the Sikhs’ changing relationships with various political authority structures in contemporary history. By taking this course, students will not only learn about the Sikhs and Sikhism, but will also gain a rich appreciation for the complexity, content, and construction of their own religious, ethnic, and national identities which can only be accurately described and explained through an interdisciplinary analytical perspective. Identities are rarely reified and monolithic but are usually contested and multidimensional.
Core: Experiencing the World
SEMINAR ~
INDEPENDENT STUDY ~
SCIENCE LITERACY: WHAT IS IT AND WHY IS IT DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE? ~ “Education has no higher purpose than preparing people to lead personally fulfilling and responsible lives. For its part, science education – meaning education in science, mathematics, and technology – should help students develop the understandings and habits of mind they need to become compassionate human beings able to think for themselves and to face life head on.” – Science for All Americans (1990). This book provides the framework to transform science education with the goal of achieving a scientifically literate society. Nearly 20 years later, there is no indication that society is more literate now than it was when this document was first published. Why has the transformation been a slow process? What can be done to overcome the literacy gap in science? This course will analyze the issue of science literacy from the different perspectives of science inquiry and classroom practice. Although science inquiry is one approach that is championed by AAAS and NRC to address science literacy, it hasn’t been thoroughly integrated into classrooms at all levels, despite studies that demonstrate inquiry approaches motivate students and improve conceptual understanding. Inquiry is central to science learning. It is also the most effective way to engage and motivate students to learn science and understand science concepts. Engaging in inquiry requires students to describe objects and events, ask questions, construct explanations, design investigations to test explanations, and communicate results to others. Science is an active process and learning science is something that students do, not something that is done to them. The emphasis on science inquiry as a best practice will be balanced with a study of classroom practices and realistic demands on teachers, curriculum and student learning. Current research and trends in science education will be explored, including teaching strategies, learning goals, and the development of science process skills. Experiences in 7-12 classrooms with master science teachers will provide students the opportunity to observe various teaching techniques and student learning outcomes in practice. The target audience for this course is rising second-year and incoming first-year students with an interest in a STEM major. The goal is to immerse them in the nature of science through science inquiry, and to introduce them to science education. The target audience for this course is rising second-year and incoming first-year students with an interest in a STEM major. The goal is to immerse them in the nature of science through science inquiry, and to introduce them to science education.
WHAT IS HUMAN:ES ~ Until recently, we thought we had clear answers to the question, "What is Human?". We knew the genetic makeup of the species; we knew how humans were conceived and born; we knew the maximum life span; we knew a great deal about unique human characteristics that made us different from other animals. This course will examine whether or not current and future science will someday result in a Superhuman race. We will explore a variety of topics related to enhancement technologies such as using performance drugs, extending life, creating better babies, and the blending of machine and human. The scientific, ethical, and cultural issues raised by these new technologies will be examined using the perspectives of different disciplines to help us recognize the complexities and potential effects. We will also focus on if and how we ought to control the development and use of these technologies.
Core: Meaning/Ethics/Soc Responsibil
THE LEGEND AND LORE OF THE KILT ~ Where does our cultural identity come from? Is it handed down to us as tradition—or do we invent it as needed? In 18th century Scotland, people experienced a crisis of identity and searched for new ways to define themselves. Today when we think of Scotland we think of kilts and plaid, bagpipes, whiskey, and stories of magical folk. But where do these traditions come from? Are they really ancient and true symbols of Scotland and its people? The stories in which we cast ourselves as heroes and the costumes we choose for ourselves are two of the most compelling ways we define ourselves. The word “costume” comes from “custom;” the word “dress” comes from the Latin for “to direct” or “to rule;” “apparel” derives from “to prepare” or “to make ready.” Clearly, what we choose to wear holds some powerful meaning. In this hands-on class, students will tell stories and make their own kilt in our quest to answer the big question of how we define who we are.
POLITICS AND ARCHITECTURE ~ In this course we will examine a variety of famous examples of architecture; we will consider the historical circumstances and personages which brought those buildings into being; and we will analyze the political ideas which are reflected in the styles of those structures. More specifically, the purpose of this course is to examine the interconnection between political ideologies and architectural styles. Both architecture and politics are expressions of order on a grand scale: architecture is an ordering of the material realm, while politics is an ordering of the social realm. When architecture is well-ordered, it displays beauty. When politics is well ordered, it displays justice. Often times, the same ideas are used to assess whether a building is beautiful and whether a political system is just. For instance, in a totalitarian state, buildings are considered beautiful if they convey the overwhelming power of the totalitarian ruler, etc. We will therefore examine some of the most prominent buildings on the planet in order to see what political ideas they convey. We will also examine the manner in which the styles of those buildings have been utilized by architects in the United States in order to convey those architects’ own political views. We will do this via the reading of books and articles pertaining to political theories and political history, as well as to architectural history, architectural theory, and specific architectural works.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING ~ Third only to drugs and weapon sales, human trafficking is the largest and fastest growing organized crime activity in the world resulting in a multi-billion dollar industry. Forced factory and agricultural labor, the sex trade, debt bondage, domestic help, children soldiers, and the selling of human organs comprise the many facets of this contemptible trade. How can there be 27 million slaves in the world when slavery is illegal in every country? Why do freed slaves often voluntarily return to work for their former owners? Why does the global economy help determine the amount of slaves in the world? Why would former child slaves grow up and become slave owners? Does a six-year-old child slave, digging tunnels by hand in the Congo River basin, have anything to do with your cell phones and laptops? There are over 100,000 slaves in the United States secretly held captive and forced into manual labor and the sex trade. In this course we will explore the world slavery problem with emphasis on women and children. The economic reasons slavery is so prolific, and the political undertakings currently trying to combat this scourge, will also be investigated. The psychological effects of individuals involved in the slave trade, both victims and perpetrators, and the role they play in their communities is a prime concern. Many of the look-the-other-way cultures regarding human trafficking, especially when human trafficking becomes “normalized,” will be explored in detail. The U.S. State Department’s document, “Trafficking in Persons Report 2010,” now, for the first time, including figures for slavery in the Unites States, was presented by Secretary Clinton on June 14, 2010, and will be part of this curriculum. Where human trafficking exists, how it is supported, the psychological culture it needs to flourish, and what can be done about stopping this practice is the basis for this course.
AGING, SEX AND THE BODY ~ Scholars in the humanities who study aging often argue we are “aged by culture,” in other words, that we “learn to be old” through social and cultural processes, through our own expectations and other’s perceptions of us. Moreover, they assert that these processes, expectations and perceptions are often gender-dependent, and that women face unique challenges as they age. This course will explore the question: “What is aging?” We will find that there are numerous possible answers to this question, depending on who is asking and in what context. To reveal some of the more contested notions of what aging is, we will pair different disciplinary perspectives on various aspects of aging with the way these same aspects are represented in popular culture. We will keep the aging body at the forefront of our inquiries, questioning the relationship between biological changes and cultural ascriptions, between sexual identities and popular representations of the body, between the perceptions of health care workers and the self-images of the aging patients with whom they work. As aging is a process we all experience, this course will also ask you to confront your expectations, hopes and fears for your own aging, and to recognize how those impact your interactions with “older” people. Counts toward gender studies minor. This course counts as one the 3 required medical humanities seminars for the BIMD major and minor.
INVADING OZ:EW ~ Human and interspecies interactions, and the framing of policy responses to those interactions, have been the driving dynamic in Australia’s modern history. The European and Aboriginal worldviews contrast sharply, in part because they were informed by two different traditions. The two human groups’ policy responses to ecological issues and dilemmas, and political matters more broadly, thus diverged decisively – and still diverge sharply. This dichotomy is particularly evident in the perceptions of “invasions” – actual, metaphorical, and perceived – that have characterized Australia’s history. These include: native lands being removed from the Aboriginal people; invasive animal species forever changing the landscape of the continent; environmental and human threats to the Great Barrier Reef and Australia’s natural resources in general; and most recently, changes in political policies and military presence in response to China’s increased influence and probable future dominance in the oceanic region. This course will prepare students to understand Australia by appreciating deeply the effects of contrasting responses of Australians, European and Aboriginal, where environmental and political policies – past, present, and future – are concerned.
Prerequisite: (POLS 30100 or PSYC 30100)
Core: Experiencing the World
Going to the Godzone: EW ~ Survey studies and cultural analyses indicate that in recent years New Zealanders routinely rate as being among the happiest people in the world. In this course, we will conduct an interdisciplinary examination of human happiness at two levels of analysis: individual and societal. We have identified the following key themes, around which the course will revolve: 1) the pivotal role of fairness in determining the effectiveness of the relationship between individual and societal wealth and happiness; 2) the role of social connections in determining the happiness of individuals, as well as that of their country; and 3) the relationship between individual/self-focus, materialism, and happiness. We will witness firsthand how New Zealand differs from the United States in these respects, despite having substantial overlap in key values: both are wealthy, democratic, market-oriented societies that cherish the concept of freedom, yet the two countries have taken very different trajectories since the late 1970s. We will also use some of the venues in New Zealand as opportunities to engage in hands-on practice with the types of activities that research suggests promote happiness, and then consider whether such activities seem more or less “built in” to the cultures of the Maori, the New Zealand majority, or the United States cultures.
Prerequisite: (POLS 30160 or PSYC 30160)
Core: Experiencing the World
INSIDE AND OUTSIDE AUTISM ~ This class will explore autism spectrum disorders from without and within, examining the work of those who study autism and work with those on the spectrum, the representations of autistic individuals in popular culture, and—perhaps most importantly—the voices and stories of those with autism. Students will examine the tension between medical and social models of autism, working to recognize the difference between a conception of autism as an ailment for treatment or cure and a conception of autism a different way of thinking and being that should be accommodated. To this end, students will engage the topic of autism through historical studies, scientific papers, representations of autism in popular culture, and stories told by those on the spectrum. Students will be expected to do all course readings and activities, participate actively in discussion both in online forums and in class, conduct an interview, prepare a presentation, and write several essays. Can count for biomedical humanities students as one of their medical humanities courses. Can count as an elective for the psychology major.
GIMPY GEEZERS: ABLEISM AND AGEISM ~ Disability and older age are social categories that anyone can join. Despite the stakes we all have as current or future “disabled” and “older” adults, people belonging to these categories frequently experience stigma and discrimination, with a double burden faced by those belonging to both. However, quality of life may or may not be compromised with disability and/or age. Personal accounts of pleasure, satisfaction, stigma and discrimination all depend on social policies, cultural perceptions, political power, access to resources and individual appraisals. This course examines both the socially informed and embodied experiences involved in the transitions to (and sometimes from) disability and age status. We will interrogate the assumptions and stereotypes about disability and age that circulate through mainstream culture and how these shape interpersonal and institutional practices. How might we begin to recognize, respond to, and change the place of disability and aging in our culture, and thus our own inevitable experiences?
NARRATIVE BIOETHICS:ES ~ In recent years, medical practitioners have turned to the study of narrative as a means of improving patient care. Although medicine has grown significantly in its ability to diagnose and treat biological disease, medical caregivers often lack the tools necessary to recognize the plights of their patients, to extend empathy toward those who suffer, and to join honestly and courageously with patients in their struggles toward recovery or in facing death. Proponents of the use of narrative in medicine argue that caregivers’ shortcomings lie at least in part in their failure to respond to their patients’ stories of illness. Narrative knowledge will, they contend, increase a caregiver’s capacity to honor these stories. The incorporation of narrative competence into the practice of medicine encourages, then, a reexamination of medicine’s methodologies and the ethics underwriting the relationship between medical practitioners and patients. Practitioners trained in narrative become better readers of their patients’ stories and histories and, as a result, better caretakers of their beleaguered bodies. This course offers a narrative approach to issues in bioethics. It focuses on story (case studies, fiction, biographies) as starting points for moral interpretation in bioethics, with special attention to issues in health care. The course will help students recognize and evaluate conflicting perspectives about how ethical dilemmas should be addressed. This course is also offered in a revised version for 4 hours as INTD 30200.
Core: Meaning/Ethics/Soc Responsibil
THE BLACK DEATH:PLAGUE, MEDICINE, AND SOCIETY ~ This course examines Europe’s most significant encounter with epidemic disease: the Black Death, which may have killed half or more of the population in 1347-50 and remained endemic for centuries thereafter. The class will examine plague from the viewpoints of both history and the biological sciences, dealing with the disease itself, changing medical views of its nature, and treatments and public health measures used to combat it. It will explore the plague’s social, economic, and psychological effects and its impact on literature, art, and religion. The course will focus mainly on the second plague pandemic (c. 1340-1770) but will also address the third (c. 1890-1950, but in fact still ongoing).
CULTURE & ETHICS OF FOOD:ES ~ Food is one of the universal and essential dimensions of human existence: No human being can exist without a relationship to food. Food fashions and food habits reflect both enduring and traditional dimensions of cultures while changing and adapting continuously to tastes and preferences as well as values and goods. These goods are conditioned by and made sense of within communities and cultures that embed values about what is good food, or even what counts as food, but also how we should eat, from etiquette and table-manners to the practices of preparing food and coming together for shared meals. And, it is not only the practices surrounding our preparation and consumption of food: food must also be produced and distributed. How and what food we produce is affected by the very ecology of place. In this course, we will examine food within the context of French culture while analyzing the normative dimensions of our practices and intuitions about food and reflecting on our own relationship to food. The course will involve significant experiential dimensions afforded by our travels in France and residences in three distinct food-micro-cultures—Paris, Languedoc-Roussillon, and Normandy. Students will regularly encounter and reflect upon the differences in French attitudes and practices with respect to food and gain an appreciation for how these attitudes and practices arise from traditions surrounding food.
Core: Meaning/Ethics/Soc Responsibil
WOLVES & CIVILIZATION ~ This course examines the complexities of the natural and political relationship between humans and wolves, from its virtual extinction in the lower 48 states to reintroduction efforts, to present-day conflict. Readings demonstrate how the lives of humans and wolves are deeply connected to our society. For hundreds of years our country engaged in a campaign to exterminate the wolf. The ferocity and sadism of hundreds of years of wolf slaughter calls out for intellectual inquiry. With wolves now reclaiming some former habitat in the lower 48 states, we ask why this mysterious yet social animal has provoked such violence, compassion, and interest.
TAKING TO THE TREES ~ For four main reasons, the Pacific Coast of the United States, from Seattle southward to the Los Angeles Basin, is the ideal setting for this study away course exploring firsthand the subject of ancient forests and great trees. First, although many Americans tend to associate ancient forests and rainforests with other quarters of the globe (the Amazon in South America, the Daintree in Australia, etc.), the United States has been graced with some of the world’s greatest old-growth forests. Second, in recent decades this region has been the North American epicenter of the timber industry and other, less self-evident threats to the integrity of the remnants of the planet’s ancient forests. Third, this region has become a mecca of sorts for organized interest groups that seek to put an end to the felling of ancient forests. Fourth, and finally, there may well be no other venue and route in the continental United States that could make so viscerally real the concepts the group will have studied in preparation for this trip. The immodest aspiration of this expedition is to do nothing less than instill in the participants a lifelong sense of wonder at the sublime majesty of ancient forests and great trees – and that the students become invested in conveying these crown jewels of the Earth to future generations. Through reading, discussion of those readings, onsite presentations, reflective academic journaling in response to pointed prompts, and a final reflective paper, students will come to fully appreciate the academic material from the preceding twelve-week course (Ancient Forests and Great Trees).
Prerequisite: BIOL 34600 or POLS 34600
PUBLIC POLICY MAKING ~ Public Policy Making takes an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of several areas of government policy that definitely affect the society and the economy in which we live. Using the perspectives of both Political Science and Economics, the course will cover a series of topics. They will include the analysis of the federal government's budget decision making process; the process of taxation, including its economic impact and political justification; an analysis of the government's increased regulatory activity; an overview and critique of cost-benefit analysis as an analytical technique that permits an evaluation of the government's efficiency; and a discussion of current policy issues that are of present concern.
MASCULINITY, FEMININITY, AND CULTURE:CA,UD ~ Masculinity, Femininity, and Culture is an integration of the insights and perspectives of the humanities and social sciences on the topic of the interaction between gender and culture. This course fulfills the Social and Cultural Analysis requirement and the Understanding Diversity in the USA requirement. A revised version of this course is offered for four credit hours as INTD 38400. A student may receive credit for only one of these two courses. Counts toward gender studies minor.
Core: Social/Cultural Analysis Meth; Understanding Diversity Home
NATURAL HISTORY IN THE EARLY 21st CENTURY ~ An examination of the concerns of 19th century and previous natural historians in light of present day understanding of the natural world around us. The course will emphasize a synthesis of historical, biological, and geological approaches. Particular attention will be given to the unique relationship of Americans to their natural environment. Lecture and field experiences will be utilized.
CYBER CRIME IN MODERN BUSINESS:ES ~ Today's businesses use pagers, cellular phones, fax machines, PCs connected to modems, and the Internet. This course deals with the Physics of how these devices operate. The fundamentals of electronics will be thoroughly covered. Then the issue of corporate culture and ethics will be addressed from a Management perspective. Often ethics and culture clash with new technology. Failure to consider corporate culture and ethics when implementing these devices into daily business operations could result in decreased corporate unity and spirit, increased employee fraud and theft, reduced employee self-esteem, and lower operating efficiencies.
Core: Meaning/Ethics/Soc Responsibil
SEIZING THE MOMENT: GENDERED PERSPECTIVES ON SUCCESS AND LEADERSHIP AND 20TH CENTURY US ~ This interdisciplinary course analyzes two special “moments” in the past that appeared uniquely poised to offer special opportunities to one gender. The first occurred in the early 19th century, the era of the “self-made man” mythology, when the new United States was experiencing unprecedented expansion and development. The second “moment,” during and following WWII, saw women taking on so-called male roles as builders, doers, and providers. Each “moment” resulted from a unique convergence of economic, political, and social conditions, and beckoned the most ambitious to step forward and claim participation in it. The themes of success and leadership inform our examination of these two unique situations. The disciplines of history and organizational behavior provide the framework to help determine what individuals, organizations, and society deemed successes and failures within organizational or institutional settings, including the idea of home and housewifery considered a career for women.
GENDER AND CREATIVITY ~ Despite the scarcity of information about them, there have been creative women throughout human history. A chronological survey of the achievements of women-primarily in the Western heritage-will feature questions about the factors which hindered or aided them in their work. Each student will have a research project centering on one notable woman, preferably in the student's major field, including women in the arts, sciences, and social sciences.
TRIUMPH, TRAGEDY, AND THE ARTS ~ Students are presented the chronological narrative from Renaissance (c. 1450) to the present. Students are expected to master this narrative with the goal of better understanding the political (and diplomatic), intellectual, social, religious, economic and cultural histories and their cause-effect relationships. Central to this historical narrative is to create a working content knowledge of the art and music, genres and individuals, reflective of the history of Modern Europe. Chronological and thematic European history is thus used to develop the students’ intellectual and academic skills. To better accomplish this, effective note-taking skills are modeled and stressed. Analysis of primary documents (texts, charts, maps, paintings, music, and relevant graphics) is strongly and frequently used. This culminates with the goal of increasing the students’ ability to compare and contrast, analyze, and evaluate events, trends, human actions, and various movements within the narrative and thematic history both verbally and especially in writing.
WHAT IS NORMAL? I~PHYSICAL ABNORMALITIES ~ This course will look at the pressures to make everyone normal, and the consequences of those pressures. We will examine several examples of what the "normal people" consider to be "abnormal." The readings will include medical and ethical articles as well as selections of drama, poetry, and fiction.
IN SEARCH OF QUANTUM REALITY ~ - or what really happened to Schrodinger's cat? Quantum mechanics is a physical theory used to describe the structure of the microscopic world. This theory is the most quantitatively accurate description of nature ever constructed. However, since its initial formulation there has been an ongoing debate as to the meaning of interpretation of quantum theory. In particular, quantum mechanics demands that we abandon some of our preconceived common-sense ideas about the nature (or even existence) of "reality". In this course we will examine just what it is that quantum mechanics has to say about the nature of reality. In the process we will also try to understand how the microscopic world can be so weird while the macroscopic world continues to be so seemingly normal. Finally, we'll try to understand the terrible entangled fate of a simultaneous |live cat> + |dead cat> state.
THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN ~ The Tuskegee Airmen were the first, black, military pilots in 1941. Although President Roosevelt initiated the training program, many government and military officials in charge of the training did not want blacks flying military aircraft. Until this initiative, the usual position for blacks in the military was limited to mess cooks, janitors, road builders, and grave diggers. Many supervisors charged with training the black cadets decided that this program must fail showing everyone once and for all that blacks cannot fly aircraft. However, despite cruel discrimination, unfair regimentation, lack of resources, and limited opportunities, the Tuskegee Airmen succeeded beyond all expectations setting combat records still unbroken today. How they accomplished this is what this course entails.
SEMINAR ~
SPECIAL TOPICS~ A special opportunity to study an interdisciplinary topic. The content will vary each time this course is offered and therefore the course may be repeated with permission. This course counts toward fulfillment of the interdisciplinary requirement only when it is offered for at least 3 hours of credit.
WHAT IS NORMAL? II:MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISORDERS ~ This course explores through articles, poetry, stories, and drama how those who fall outside cultural norms for mental and emotional health are "normalized," marginalized or kept out of sight. The clinical and ethical articles address the questions of how cultures construct many definitions of mental disorders, which often vary over time and between cultures. Definitions of disease and disorders allow for medical "treatment" and often for insurance coverage, while the same behavior in other times and circumstances might not be considered a disease at all. Literary works provide insights into the experience of mental illness and disorders. The course is constructed from the disciplines of medicine, literature, and ethics.
MASCULINITY, FEMININITY, AND CULTURE:CA,UD ~ Masculinity, Femininity, and Culture is an integration of the insights and perspectives of the humanities and social sciences on the topic of the interaction between gender and culture.
Core: Social/Cultural Analysis Meth; Understanding Diversity Home
IRISH MUSIC AND CELTIC MYTH ~ This course explores the rich tradition of music in Irish culture and its ancient themes: nature, seasonal celebrations, the supernatural, heroines and heroes, love of country, verbal art, and passion for life. We will trace Irish history through music, including the bardic tradition and vocal repertory of sean nos, the instruments and dance music, and songs of protest and war. The last week will concentrate on the great emigration to the United States, Irish contributions to American popular culture, and contemporary Celtic music.
BIOINFORMATICS ~ This is a new field that arises from the interaction of biology and computer science. This course will help students become comfortable thinking about problems and arriving at solutions both as biologists and computer scientists. A general introduction to molecular biology and to computer programming will be provided to establish a common language and basis of understanding. The course will cover computational methods for the study of biological sequence data: analysis of genome content and organization, techniques for searching sequence databases, pairwise and multiple sequence alignment, phylognetic methods, and protein structure prediction and modeling. Each of the problems will be analyzed both from the biologist's and the computer scientist's point of view. The students will have the opportunity to analyze biological data, to experiment with available bioinformatics tools, and to program in Perl to solve bioinformatics problems.
Prerequisite: CPSC 17200 or BIOL 23000
GOING VIRAL: EPIDEMICS IN AMERICAN HISTORY, LITERATURE, AND CULTURE:CA ~ Epidemics are not only biological events, but cultural phenomena that produce wide-ranging effects on populations and nations. This course explores how American history, literature, and culture have been shaped by epidemics, from small pox outbreaks in the American colonies to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. Through a study of historical scholarship, literary texts, and cultural artifacts, we will consider issues such as how epidemiological theory has informed federal policy; how disease has been employed as a metaphor in political rhetoric; how ideas about immunity and susceptibility have produced understandings of race, citizenship, and national belonging; how epidemic events have mobilized initiatives in public health and health activism; and how tropes of communicable disease have manifested in American popular culture. Entering U.S. history at crucial moments of biological crisis, this course aims to analyze the many ways medical theory, practice, and policy have inflected—or infected—the American experience.
Core: Social/Cultural Analysis Meth
MUSIC AND WAR ~ This course examines music and its relationship to power by mingling the study of music with the phenomenon of war. The course will offer the student exposure to an array of musical forms in reference to major historical conflicts of the past four hundred years in both Europe and Asia. Among the themes discussed will be the response of composers to war, the politics of patronage of wartime music, and the significant role of music in mobilizing populations in support of armed conflicts. In addition, the course will explore the contrasts between music written to oppose war and music written to glorify it, a contrast that emerges most fully in our examination of World War II. In order to grapple with these themes, students will gain fluency in basic elements of music and achieve familiarity with the significant historical conflicts in Ireland and continental Europe, Germany and the Soviet Union, and China and Japan. Through guided listening, lectures, films, and readings, students are introduced to representative songs, conflicts, and methods of interdisciplinary analysis.
CHINA TRADITION AND CHANGE:EW ~ This course examines the impact of transformational change on China and its people. The course will explore the underlying traditions of China and their relevance to the changes occurring in Chinese society.
Core: Experiencing the World
NO CHILD LEFT INSIDE ~ This course will focus on the study of nature with children and how developmentally appropriate nature study encourages environmental responsibility. Students will learn the impact of major environmentalists and discuss applications of their work to education and teaching. This inquiry-based course will study the lack of time spent exploring the outdoors by today's youth and investigate ways to interest young people in nature and the environment. Study and analysis of local schoolyards will be used to frame theories on the effect of a lack of attachment to nature formed in childhood. This is a field based course and will require work with K-12 students. Students enrolled in this course will meet during Spring 3 at the J. H. Barrow Field Station. This course is intended for any student who wishes to develop a working knowledge of field, forest, and pond ecosystems, habitats, observational skills, and/or students who intend to work in any setting with children ages PreK-12.
ENGAGED CITIZENSHIP ~ "I don't have time." "It will not make any difference." "I don't know how." These are the often repeated comments when asking someone about their engagement in the civic life of a community. The lack of involvement and trust that the system can be changed contributes to the malaise of many only being spectators, rather than players, in formulating the type of world we would like to live in. This course explores the meaning of engagement for a citizen, and this journey goes into all facets of our lives, not just political, but social, economic, and spiritual. The question to be wrestled with is: What is an engaged citizen? The learning will take several forms. We will read literature (plays) to look at how playwrights pose important social issues and offer some responses; we will read some writings of well-known advocates from many disciplines, including law, ethics, economics, etc., and reflect on their challenges. We will do service for a "greater community good". By the end of our experiences together, we will attempt to draw these understandings together for a personal understanding of "engaged citizenship" to guide us in our daily lives. Some sections of this course may be considered service learning (SL).
SENIOR SEMINAR ~
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH ~
INTERNSHIP ~