First-Year Seminars

Instructor: Christopher Zappe

Title // Department: Provost // Provost's Office

In this interdisciplinary seminar we examine the experiences of those women and men who collectively achieved President John F. Kennedy's dramatic and ambitious goal of sending Americans safely to and from the Moon before the end of the 1960s. In particular, we seek to understand how American society at the height of the Cold War shaped the extraordinarily complex effort to develop and manage the technology and various operations needed to meet Kennedy’s challenge. Moreover, we explore how the science and technology used to transport Americans from the Earth to the Moon impacted our society during and beyond the time of this historic achievement. This seminar will draw upon scholarship from a number of academic disciplines, including computer science, engineering, gender studies, history, international relations, management, mathematics, physics, and political science.

Instructor: Kirby Farah

Title // Department: Assistant Professor // Anthropology

This course will introduce students to the concept of cultural heritage. We will begin by identifying the various institutions, organizations, and individuals that define and govern heritage and then, we will discuss specific topics related to heritage including identity, race, indigeneity, colonialism, nationalism, tourism, development, and warfare, among others. Students will learn to engage in current debates about ownership, responsibility and authenticity as they relate to heritage, and will be exposed to real-world (and constantly shifting) case studies throughout the semester. While this class will help students gain a global perspective on heritage, Gettysburg happens to represent an important locus of heritage-making. We will go on field trips and welcome guest speakers to help us better understand and contextualize the cultural and historical significance of this town as it relates to heritage. We will confront the topic of cultural heritage primarily through the lens of archaeology, history, and popular media. While class topics are predetermined, they are subject to change. One of the most important lessons from this course will be that heritage is constantly (re)produced and (re)contextualized. Once you learn to spot it, you’ll be shocked at how frequently it crops up!

Instructor: Jacquelynne B. Milingo

Title // Department: W. K. T. Sahm Professorship in Physics & Associate Professor // Physics

In this seminar STEM Scholars students will learn what distinguishes science from other modes of inquiry, and be introduced to skills used throughout the various STEM disciplines. Through readings, analyses, discussions and engaging group activities, the STEM Scholars will learn what scientists do and how they do it, with special emphases on the importance of problem solving, quantitative skills, and clear communication with fellow scientists and the general public. Students will learn about the history of science, proper experimental design, uncertainty, and methods for collecting, interpreting and analyzing data. We will discuss how basic scientific research informs technological applications used in our daily lives; learn about cutting-edge scientific discoveries as well as discuss the ethical issues involved in the pursuit and application of science. This seminar focuses on a multidisciplinary approach to learning, understanding, discussing and practicing the specific skills necessary for students participating in the STEM Scholar program in preparation to a successful career in the STEM fields at Gettysburg College and after graduation.

Instructor: Anne Douds

Title // Department: Chairperson/Assistant Professor // Public Policy Program

Throughout your life, you have sought opportunities to be a difference maker, to be an agent for change in your school, your family, your community, and the world. The Eisenhower Scholars program recognizes your desire and ability to help solve social problems, and this course if your first step in the next phase of your policy education. In this course, you will learn how to become policy change agents and how to advocate for social reform. The course incorporates traditional forms of academic scholarship on agency, advocacy, and reform with up-to-the-minute literature in students’ specific areas of policy interest. Throughout the semester, we will take field trips to observe policymakers in action in Washington D.C. and Harrisburg; meet with local policy makers; craft individual policy reform proposals; write policy briefs and proposals; and learn from peers in a highly engaged, interactive, collegial environment. We will study policy arenas that matter to you, and you should leave this course feeling empowered and equipped to seek and effect social change.

Instructor: Rachel Glover

Title // Department: Adjunct Instructor // English

This writing-intensive seminar is designed to help students become more effective communicators and future business leaders. Students will hone their business writing skills and explore modern business communication trends while also learning to write effectively across the curriculum. A variety of research, prewriting, composing, revising, and editing strategies will be employed so students can develop their own personalized “writer’s toolbelts," positioning them for academic and professional success. Students will learn techniques for communicating through a variety of challenging rhetorical situations in business, from giving bad news to a manager to persuading a reluctant client. Practical business writing skills will be covered, such as crafting effective emails, conveying a professional tone, building goodwill with a variety of audiences, writing persuasively, and using unbiased language. Academic writing skills will also be developed, from argumentation to documentation. Topics within intercultural communication and business ethics will be examined through readings, discussion, and oral presentations as students hone their analytical and presentation skills. Students will also gain familiarity with some advanced features of useful business software including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Google Docs.

Instructor: Marta Robertson

Title // Department: Professor // Sunderman Cons. of Music

This First Year Seminar examines messy and complicated “wicked problems" through case studies that have affected the Asian American community both historically and in the present. At the end of the course, you will apply the toolkit we’ve developed through these case studies to a “wicked problem" influencing one (or more) of your own communities. A core competency of this course is learning to discuss these difficult “wicked problems" from a variety of personal and disciplinary perspectives, since it takes all of us thinking together to build community and solve problems. A special feature of this course is our shared discussions with Prof. Miyazawa’s FYS on wicked problems and Asian America.

Instructor: Dr. Susan F. Russell

Title // Department: Adams Professor in Theatre Arts and Associate Professor // Theatre Arts

This course explores the world of the American musical: the most popular form of theatre in the United States for over a hundred years; one of the only truly "American" art forms; and, arguably, the most complex of all the arts because of its fusion of literature, poetry, music, dance, and the visual arts. The class will provide remarkable case studies of the struggles and triumphs of American multiculturalism in its history and development. Topics explored include the roots of the genre in Greek drama and later, opera, operetta and minstrelsy; the huge influence of African American and Jewish composers, writers and performers, as early as the 1920s; its use for political messages during the Great Depression; the so-called "Golden Age" of musical theatre in the 1940s and 1950s; and the gradual inclusion of more diverse voices and styles during the 1960s and into the twenty-first century. Intrinsic to the course is a hands-on approach where students also learn some of the mechanics of the genre, culminating in original collaborative creative projects and research. No prior theatrical or musical experience is required.

Instructor: Randall K. Wilson

Title // Department: Professor // Environmental Studies

Smokey Bear is one of the most highly recognized icons in American culture today. But while many know of his efforts to prevent wildfires, fewer are aware of the contentious issues surrounding the issue of fire policy on national forests. What would Smokey say if he knew that many foresters currently promote forest fires as part of efforts to maintain a healthy forest? Likewise, could he make sense of the fact that bison can be defined as a protected "threatened" species, a threat to livestock, or as "burger on the hoof" simply as a function of where they graze? Or how the strongest advocates for the wildlife refuge system are those who most enjoy shooting it? Or the way environmentalists have worked to eliminate grazing on public rangelands....by becoming ranchers themselves? Such conundrums can be a bit much for any level-headed bear to take in. This course investigates the surprising and often contradictory environmental policy and management challenges facing national parks, forests and wildlife refuges in the United States. To make sense of them, students visit a number of such places, interact with real managers, conduct a project, and consider the "big ideas" of nature that quietly underpin America's system of public lands.

Instructor: Sarah Kate Gillespie

Title // Department: Adjunct Instructor // Art and Art History

Who decides what gets shown in a museum? How it gets shown? Who is the intended audience, and how do these institutions engage with the public? This course peels back the curtain to examine how museums function, both as cultural institutions and as businesses. We will unpack the various roles museums play in our society, including meeting the players who make institutions tick. Through a series of on-site visits to different types of museums throughout the region (possibly including at least one on a Sunday), we will investigate and analyze various types of museums, interact with museum professionals, and literally go behind the scenes to discuss issues such as collection storage and curation, exhibition implementation, development (fund raising), educational programming, and the handling of objects.

Instructor: Bennett Thomas Bruce

Title // Department: Lecturer // Management

Work is something that affects almost everyone. Quite often it, and its associated successes and failures, are described in the context of capitalism. Work is often used as a form of identity and quite often it is used as a source of self-esteem. This seminar dives into the whole concept of work and how this concept has evolved in society and shaped our sense of self. The idea of work and identity has been studied from different perspectives, such as anthropology, industrial/organizational psychology, social psychology, management, and the humanities. We will be looking at work and its relationship with our sense of self. Finally, we will be studying some historical aspects of work and how it has been affected by science and technology.

Instructor: István A. Urcuyo

Title // Department: Associate Professor // Biology

Did you know the U.S. has nearly 23,000 miles of ocean shoreline and that half of the population lives within 250 miles of the coast? Were you aware that in the year 2000, beach pollution was to blame for at least 11,270 beach closings and swimming advisories in the U.S.? Does it surprise you to learn that almost 30 million pounds of pesticides are applied annually in areas that drain into the nation's coasts? Did you ever think of air pollution as the beginning of ocean pollution? Why is it that every year the practices of many fishing industries strip bare a section of the sea floor twice the size of the continental U.S.? Did you know that over the past 25 years a large ?Dead Zone? (the size of Massachusetts) has formed in the Gulf of Mexico? Were you aware that for every pound of commercial fish caught, up to 20 pounds of other marine life is discarded? Why are 58% of the world's reefs at risk from human impacts? Did you know that the largest oil spill on a marine environment occurred during the Gulf War? Would you know what seafood to choose at your local markets that's good for you and also good for the oceans? This seminar course will focus on the diverse environmental problems that have and currently are affecting our oceans and all of its organisms. It will examine and discuss the important role of the ocean in our planet, the interdisciplinary aspects of human use of marine resources (economical, political and biological) and how the current marine environmental problems affect all of us regardless of our location. We will investigate what steps have been taken (or need to be taken) to minimize and remove the multiple negative impacts that our growing human population has on our world's ocean. Critically reading, evaluating, discussing, and writing about the primary scientific literature as well as websites and books for the general public will accomplish this. A strong student participation and commitment is expected.

Instructor: Sahana Mukherjee

Title // Department: Associate Professor // Psychology

The course provides a socio-cultural analysis of various psychological concepts and explore how who we are (e.g., how I define myself), our feelings and motivations (e.g., why I want to be unique or not), our ideologies (e.g., my belief in God), and our behaviors and choices (e.g., why I want to go ‘X’ school) are linked to our cultural contexts (e.g., nation, race, gender, income level). The course considers an intersectional framework to reflect on how our various identities (e.g., religion, political, national) intersect, specifically considering how and when there are conflicts between certain identities and how to reconcile these conflicts. The course also focuses on how these identities inform our beliefs (e.g., stereotypes) and emotions. Finally, the course considers how our ideas about morality impact our beliefs about others and impact intergroup relations.

Instructor: Stephanie A. Sellers

Title // Department: Adjunct Professor // Women, Gender, and Sexuality

This seminar looks at the changing practices in women's healthcare from the holistic, ancient, earth-based traditions that centralized women to the rise of the mechanomorphic American medical system, specifically gynecology. The course examines key historic events that shaped women's healthcare, issues of gender biology, the gardener/mechanic metaphor, the modern medicalization of women's natural cycles, the Wise Woman healing tradition, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, Ayurveda, and issues around women’s personal empowerment. Social issues concerning the control of women's reproduction and the impact of the environment on women's health are addressed. Additional topics include holistic nutrition for women, body image, gender identity, sexual orientation, negotiating young-adult social and emotional challenges, and power and control in intimate relationships. Particular attention will be on centralizing women in their own healthcare.

Instructor: Steve Gimbel

Title // Department: Professor // Philosophy

Einstein showed that the faster an object moves, the shorter and heavier it gets. In quantum mechanics it is shown that a single electron will be in two places at once. Most people consider such possibilities to be nonsense...and they may just be right. But this does not mean that the theories are wrong, possibly it is our notion of sense that needs revision. In this class we will examine what is meant by sense by considering the scientific and philosophical writings of two of the most important historical scientific minds, Rene Descartes and Isaac Newton. In contrast, we will study the epitome of nonsense, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, in order to see how the workings of this fantastical world violate the classical notions of sense displayed in Descartes and Newton. We will then read popular approaches to modern physics written by physicists (including George Gamow, the father of the Big Bang theory) in the style of Lewis Carroll to answer the question, “Has science turned sense into nonsense?”

Instructor: Radost Rangelova

Title // Department: Associate Professor // Spanish

The macho man and the seductive woman might be among the most common Latin American gender stereotypes, but the personal accounts created by activists, feminists, and homosexual men and women, paint a much more complex picture of gender and sexuality in Latin American societies. The voices of the diaries, autobiographies, memoirs and testimonial accounts that we will examine are those of social, national and political subjects, whose stories pose a series of questions for readers in the U.S.: How can we understand the self-reflexive text as an individual, as well as a Latin American political account? In what ways can the act of writing the gendered self become an act of liberation from oppression and domination? How do the authors of the texts subvert common models of gender and sexuality? And how do the personal accounts written by “popular” subjects change our perception of the “official” histories of Latin American nations?

Instructor: Natalie D. Barlett

Title // Department: Adjunct Assistant Professor // Women, Gender, and Sexuality

What makes you happy? Can you increase happiness? Should you want to? In this course, we will explore the meaning of happiness and examine how it is defined and assessed in current research. (Interestingly, not all researchers define happiness the same way nor do they use the same assessment tools.) We will investigate the different theories for where happiness comes from (is it due to nature, nurture, or both?) and identify the possible benefits of being happy. For example, is happiness really related to having more friends, being more creative, making more money, and living longer? In an effort to understand if and how we can increase happiness in ourselves and others, we will focus on popular happiness trends found in pop culture as well as in empirical research from fields including psychology, economics, health, and religion. Being mindful, doing good deeds, having positive relationships, having money, spending money, exercising, and being religious are all topics we will consider when trying to increase happiness.

Instructor: Leonard S. Goldberg

Title // Department: Associate Professor // English

Samplings from the vast body of literature in which principal characters, for any number of reasons, descend to the underworld. Sometimes questing and sometimes damned, such figures as Odysseus, Dante, Faustus, and Satan may lose themselves in Hell to find themselves, may try to turn it into a heaven, and may accept it as the logical consequences of the choices they have made. Studying such figures and the works that tell their stories, we will speculate about how various writers coming from a range of cultures define what is to be valued and what to be revived through representations of the underworld and its denizens. Along with such works that deal directly with the archetype of mythic descent, we will read others that treat it figuratively.

Instructor: Vernon W. Cisney

Title // Department: Associate Professor // Interdisciplinary Studies

What did you think of that movie? This seminar is a philosophical exploration, through both text and film, of the nature of the self and its relationship to the world. Along the way it addresses questions concerning the experience of time and its relation to memory, the meaning of suffering in and out of the context of religious faith, the nature and value of thinking as a practice of everyday life, and the roles and limitations of human knowledge and technology. In addition to textual analysis, the course examines these questions with some of the more provocative films in the history of the cinema (such as Blade Runner, Fight Club, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and others), mining and developing strategies for watching movies at various intellectual levels, thereby enriching the overall experience of the capabilities of film, and illuminating the significance of philosophy as a living activity of thought that finds and transforms us in even the most seemingly mundane moments.

Instructor: Mercedes Valmisa Oviedo

Title // Department: Assistant Professor // Philosophy

Students will explore monsters in literature, myths, movies, art, pop culture, and philosophy as manifestations of cultural symptoms and counter-values. What do we mean when we call something a “monster"? What does the monster tell us about us versus the other? What are the limits of the monstrous, and how do these limits overlap with, challenge, and extend notions of normality? Which cultural and social roles do monster play, and what can we learn from them? A parade of zombies, crippled, witches, cannibals, cyclopes, gigantic cockroaches, dragons, robots, and many other extravagant figures will guide us in answering questions about normativity and power (gender and ethnic norms), fear and fascination (the confrontation of the dissimilar and the other), perception (phenomenological approaches to what appears), self-representation (the monster as external repository of human dubious features), and critique (the power of the monstrous for challenging accepted views). Choose your own monster and let the abominable journey begin!

Instructor: Eric Remy

Title // Department: Director of Educational Technology // Educational Technology

“We all agree that your theory is crazy. But is it crazy enough”? --Niels Bohr Everybody knows that the Earth goes around the Sun and that the Loch Ness monster isn't real. But how do we know? How sure are we? In this course we'll look at a variety of controversial topics ranging from global climate change to homeopathic medicine to the existence of ghosts, as well as the enduring controversy over the Earth orbiting the Sun--enduring, that is, in the early 1600s. We'll discuss how the scientific method works, how we can use it to figure out what's happening and what are the limits of what we can know, hopefully to separate what we can accept as true and what we have to reject as truly crazy.

Instructor: Jack Ryan

Title // Department: Associate Professor // English

This first-year seminar is designed to introduce students to the culture, language, and history of rock music and its representation in American cinema. At one level the class will survey trends and styles in how rock was used in American cinema, focusing first on how rock originally entered cinema in Blackboard Jungle and moving through cinematic history to recent offerings like Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story. We will track the rise of rock’n’roll in film and explore the backlash against rock influenced narratives. Our focus will be on film soundtracks as an expression and extension of the social, cultural, and political changes over time reflected in our domestic cinema. The class will also examine the paradoxical developments of the evolution of music videos with the emergence of an abrasive, often angry music of all types by the end of the 1970s and into the 1990s. In the end, this class will examine and define the technological, business, and social forces that helped cement rock music as an essential language of our contemporary cinema.

Instructor: Dave Powell

Title // Department: Associate Professor // Education

The famous inscription Woody Guthrie placed on his guitar in 1943 says something profound about how many artists and musicians view their work: while art entertains us, it also can enlighten and liberate us as well. Unfortunately, the history of America often taught in schools focuses largely on names, dates, and other facts pieced together in an effort to tell a particular kind of story about America--one that does little to help us appreciate the struggle that runs like a swift current just beneath the surface of daily life. In this seminar we will revisit some of that history, focusing primarily on the way musicians--from 19th century slaves to 20th century bluesmen, from Depression-era balladeers to Civil Rights marchers, and from war protesters of forty years ago to war protesters today--have attempted to right wrongs, educate sensibilities, and awaken the consciences of people in an effort to make America a place that lives up to its promise.

Instructor: Darren Glass

Title // Department: Associate Provost for Academic Assessment,Dean of Natural Sciences,Computer Science&Mathematics // Provost's Office

You meet a stranger at the park who mentions that they have two kids, one of whom is a girl. What is the probability that the other one is also a girl? Depending on the specific phrasing of the question, the answer might be 1/2 or 1/3. Throughout this First-Year Seminar, we will consider the notion of probability from its historical origins through to modern applications such as predicting the outcomes of elections. We will look at how different groups have tried to quantify uncertainty throughout history and look at the mathematical underpinnings of this theory as well as some of the counterintuitive results that arise.

Instructor: Eleanor J. Hogan

Title // Department: Chairperson/Associate Professor // Asian Studies

Godzilla, Astro Boy, and Hello Kitty are all Japanese nationals who have become global citizens. Beginning with Godzilla, this course examines Japanese popular culture from the immediate post-war period to the present. People of all ages enjoy Japanese characters, stories, and culture through varied media such as film, animated films (anime), comics (manga), video games, game shows, fanzines and fan sites, and novels. Scholars write of Japan’s “Gross National Cool” and “soft power” as they joke about the cultural invasion of Japan. Using a variety of interdisciplinary methods, the course examines the sustained presence of these popular icons and cultural works in Japan and beyond. Identifying these cultural products/art forms as reflections of Japanese identity, culture, history, art, and literature, we then examine the portability of these icons/media into other cultures. We seek to answer such questions as: How and why do some characters survive and thrive outside of Japan, while others such as Sweetbread-man (Anpanman), Bacteria-man (Baikinman) have not made the trip across the ocean? What, if anything, has been changed to make a character/story/game more appealing to another culture? What is an otaku and how has the definition changed over time and place? What do these products say about post-war Japanese culture? Informed discussion, writing, research and presentations provide a thorough examination and analysis of the appeal of Japanese popular culture and its relation to Japanese identity and globalization.

Instructor: Charles (Buz) Myers

Title // Department: Associate Professor // Religious Studies

The topic of death raises more questions than answers. What happens when a person dies? Is there an afterlife? How does one deal with the loss of a loved one? How do our funeral practices compare with those of other religions and cultures? But the topic of death also raises personal questions of life: What is the meaning and purpose of our existence? What can I accomplish in my time here? How should I treat my elders, my peers, and my juniors who will predecease or survive me? While we will all experience death, too few of us talk about death. This course intends to begin that life-long discussion by considering death from a variety of angles. We will look at death and popular music and culture, death and the medical profession, the business of death, and the psychological impact of death. We will look at how other religions and cultures view death and deal with the dead. We will also explore various types of death, from illness and disease to suicide, murder, and genocide.

Instructor: Thomas Barstow

Title // Department: Adjunct Instructor // English

This seminar looks at journalism through some of the great movies about the craft, such as "All the President's Men," "Spotlight," "Salvador," and "Truth." But it also explores some of the anti-heroes through movies, such as "Shattered Glass" and "Absence of Malice." The goal will be to show students how journalism is a noble craft that can change society but also can be misused and cause unnecessary pain. The course will be interwoven with a look at current events and how lessons learned from the movies could be applied to the news of the day. The seminars will focus on class discussion and participation, as well as papers and essays on the movies and current events. The ultimate goal will be to foster critical thinking about the press so the students can be better-informed citizens who can ask the right questions about important issues of the day.

Instructor: Joseph Robert Radzevick

Title // Department: Associate Professor // Management

This course examines the operation of the studio system that gave rise to Hollywood’s “Golden Age” during the middle of the 20th century. Along the way, students learn about the business and creative elements that combined to create these films while they explore a number of specific films from the major Hollywood studios released during this period. We also look closely at the economic, political, and social forces intertwined with film making at this time. The course places emphasis on reading, writing, discussion, and film screenings.

Instructor: David F. Petrie

Title // Department: Lecturer // Health Sciences

How fast can a human run? How high can one jump? Will someone long jump thirty feet? World records are what have been done in the past but what will the future hold? This seminar will explore the factors that contribute to the limits of athletic performance and determine if there is a ceiling that is being approached perhaps by the next generation. Students will use statistics to examine the progression of world records in several sporting events. Historically significant milestones will be highlighted including the four minute mile and Bob Beamon’s Olympic long jump. The factors contributing to athletic performance include the anatomy of muscle and bone to determine breaking points, physiological limits of energy production, biomechanical analysis of an athlete’s technique, sports nutrition, “flow” in sport psychology, legal and illegal use of ergogenic aids, equipment and product design, and technological advancements. Each student will select a current world record and through investigation predict the limit of which the human body is capable.

Instructor: Robert Garrity

Title // Department: Adjunct Instructor // Chemistry

This course will explore the historical evolution of society’s struggle to understand what cancer is and how to treat it. While normal cells have defined life spans, cancer cells overcome the normal cycle of death and replacement and, given the proper nutrients, proliferate forever. Thus the ongoing war against cancer is paradoxically, a war against immortality. The modern view of cancer evolved from nearly 4000 years of observation, discovery, debate, and modeling, with emphasis shifting over the centuries from humoral theory, to cell structure, to mutation theory, to aneuploid theory, and most recently, to immune evasion strategies. In 1971 President Richard Nixon enacted the National Cancer Act, declaring a “War on Cancer.” In some ways we are winning that war, as hundreds of cancer-causing genes and multiple cancer inducing mechanisms have been identified which has given rise to new promises for treatment. Moreover, certain risk behaviors are also in decline, the first anti-cancer vaccine has been developed, and novel immune modulating therapeutics are being explored. However, in other ways we are losing ground, as the outcome of too many cancers still remains grim and the incidence of others is alarmingly on the rise.

Instructor: William H. Lane

Title // Department: Lecturer // Environmental Studies

Climate instability? Peak oil? Overpopulation? Malnutrition? Glaciers shrinking? Great rivers drying up before they reach the sea? Siberian forests on fire all summer and Pakistan flooded for months on end? Is this the end of the world or the beginning of a new one? Is this a crisis with no real remedy in sight or an opportunity to build a more balanced, more just, more resilient human presence in the world? This course examines the human-earth relationship in terms of fundamental human needs for food, water, and shelter and explores the systems that shape our choices with regard to these essentials of human life. Secondly, it seeks to build a bridge between science-based information and citizen action in search of strategies for staying human—and humane—on a planet in transition.

Instructor: Joshua Wagner

Title // Department: Manager, Innovation and Creativity Lab // Infrastructure and Computing

Most of our lives we are taught to avoid failure. However, many of the world’s most successful people have failed repeatedly on their paths towards success. Using the equipment, tools, and materials in the Innovation and Creativity Lab we will experiment with failure as a strategy for learning and a catalyst for creative problem solving. Through engaging discussions, hands on design thinking projects, and perplexing activities this course will challenge your preconceived notions of what it means to fail and how to successfully embrace failure in your future endeavors.

Instructor: Kathleen M. Cain

Title // Department: Professor // Psychology

The United States is often called “a nation of immigrants,” and yet Americans have always debated immigration policies and treated certain immigrants as less desirable than others. These contradictions are echoed worldwide in an era of unprecedented migration. Some individuals arrive in new countries by choice; others flee war, persecution, and poverty. How are people affected by the experience of immigration? How can we understand the development of children of immigrants? What are the needs of refugees? Of undocumented immigrants? How do individuals with family histories of immigration come to understand themselves and the diverse communities to which they are connected? What kinds of experiences help immigrant youth feel at home in their new countries, and which experiences lead to a sense of alienation? In this course, we ask how the social sciences, psychology in particular, approach immigration, identity, and development. We address topics such as impact of immigration, models of identity and acculturation, and the diverse paths by which families, communities, and colonial legacy shape identity. The course addresses immigration in general in the context of western countries, and also offers an in-depth exploration of the two immigrant-origin groups in the United States, namely Latinos/Latinas and immigrant Muslims. In class projects, students utilize qualitative research methods and personal stories of immigration – from memoirs, our own experiences and those of our family members, and interviews with immigrants – to examine identity among immigrants and those from immigrant families. The course includes a community-based learning project with local Latino/a youth.

Instructor: Michael J. Birkner

Title // Department: Professor // History

This course is designed to look afresh at the “long” 1960s—from John F. Kennedy’s election as president to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974. In less than fifteen years Americans experienced a civil rights struggle, fought a frustrating war in Vietnam, wept over assassinations, witnessed the rise of the counterculture and a “credibility gap,” debated the virtues of rock music, and saw two strong presidents lose their political mandates. This course will pursue the question, “what was the sixties?” from the a range of perspectives, including those who benefited from the social changes wrought during this era, and those who resented change and resisted it.

Instructor: Monica V. Ogra

Title // Department: Professor // Environmental Studies

Introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Human-Animal Studies. This course invites students to collectively examine modern human-animal relationships in cross-cultural, geographic perspective. Students will learn how to question, research, analyze, and represent the historical, economic, cultural, ethical, and political geographies of various non-human animals. Classic and contemporary readings, films, and popular media sources will be supplemented by field trips, research and service-learning opportunities, and interactions with local animals and their caregivers in order to provide students with a rich and supportive learning environment as they together address questions such as, What underlies humans' diverse relationships with animals in different places and times? How are humans' relationships to animals shaped by our own forms of diversity? How are the struggles of humanity linked to the struggles of animals? The course is intended to be flexible, positive, collaborative, and student-centered; thus students will be expected to contribute their own learning goals and questions as well.

Instructor: Rimvydas Baltaduonis

Title // Department: Associate Professor // Economics

Microeconomic theory attempts to explain the decisions that individuals and firms make about spending time, money, and other scarce resources. In this experimental microeconomics seminar, students participate in a series of economic experiments designed to test hypotheses and develop models of economic behavior. Participants learn the core ideas in microeconomic theory by discussing and writing about experiences and observations.

Instructor: Ryan E. Johnson

Title // Department: Associate Professor // Physics

While science fiction, in all its various incarnations, may be limited only by the author's imagination, the draw of the genre for many is in the tantalizing possibilities of reality among the fiction. Spaceships, powered by faster than light technology, ferry humans to other worlds in the distant future where they encounter creatures beyond our comprehension. Just how far-fetched are these tales? The answer is perhaps not so far-fetched as one might think. Much of science fiction is just that, fiction, but some of these stories have taken from, and even inspired, great works of real science. This course draws from the cannon of modern cinematic and literary science fiction to observe how well these works obey, or do not obey, the physical laws of nature. Prepare yourself for the real world of science fiction where, as Carl Sagan said, "there are wonders enough out there without our inventing any."

Instructor: Timothy J. Shannon

Title // Department: Professor // History

The lives and fates of humans and whales have been intertwined for millennia. Whaling became the world’s first global industry during the nineteenth century and the focus of the first international conservation movement in the twentieth. The peculiar biology of whales has long fascinated marine biologists and contributed to our understanding of evolution. Writers, filmmakers, and other artists have used whales to reflect on humankind’s own place in the cosmos and natural world. In this seminar, we will examine whales and their relationship with humans from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including history, literature, and science. Our primary focus will be on the rise and fall of the American whaling industry, c. 1780-1920, but we will also examine modern conservation efforts to “save the whales” and representations of whales in popular culture. We will assess the place of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick in American literature as well as the experiences of women, African Americans, and indigenous peoples in the whaling industry.

Instructor: Jill Ogline Titus

Title // Department: Associate Director of Civil War Institute // Civil War Institute Office

The American Civil War itself may have ended in 1865, but its’ fault lines, reverberations, and unfinished business continue to shape American society today. From the veterans who sought to honor their causes and comrades in the postwar years and the civil rights activists and segregationists who battled to define the war’s legacy in the 1960 to the Black Lives Matter activists who toppled Confederate monuments in the summer of 2020, Americans of every generation since Appomattox have approached the war with one eye on the past and the other on the present. This course provides an introduction to the diverse ways that memories of slavery and the Civil War have shaped American culture and politics from the immediate postwar years through the present day. Looking closely at monuments, ghost tours, postwar depictions of slavery, cemeteries, preservation of sites associated with slavery and the war, tourism patterns, and depictions of the war on canvas and film, it digs deeply into the ways that different generations of Americans (black, white, northern, and southern) have sought to define the meaning and legacy of the Civil War. The semester closes with a series of discussions about the future of Civil War memory, centering around the place of Confederate symbols in the 21st-century US; the question of reparations for slavery; and the relationship between slavery, Jim Crow, and modern mass incarceration.

Instructor: Florence Ramond Jurney

Title // Department: Chairperson/Professor // French

How does a woman create a relationship with men in the #Me Too Era? What does beauty mean in a world of beauty-enhancing apps? How do you navigate the social media scene when it can make or break you? This course will focus on these issues and other pivotal concerns in a young woman’s development from adolescence to the years of early adulthood.

Instructor: John P. Murphy

Title // Department: Associate Professor // French

Food is always about more than just what’s on our plates. It’s a medium of communication used as much to drive wedges among us as it is to foster feelings of community. It’s thus no wonder that food often incites conflict and debate. This seminar examines some of the controversies surrounding food by critically considering the following questions: How did French cuisine come to dominate the global elite food scene in the first half of the 20th century and why is its importance receding today? What explains the rise of foodie culture and what role does it play in maintaining or producing new forms of social distinction? How have industrial methods of food production and processing changed what and how we eat and what are the consequences for our health and for the future of our planet? In what ways has home cooking evolved in recent decades and what does this evolution tell us about gender roles? How does the American food safety net work and in what ways has its implementation shaped definitions of human value and worth? What is culinary tourism? How might this phenomenon reflect or express an entrenchment of local, regional or national identities? Inversely, how might it promote new forms of cosmopolitanism?

Instructor: R.C. Miessler

Title // Department: Systems Librarian // Library Technical Services

Do we stare at our phones too much and not enough at the world around us? Do we chat with people through screens rather than in person? Are we losing our humanity because of our reliance on technology? No doubt, you’ve heard some of this before. But, what if the digital world accentuates rather than detracts from our sense of being human? After all, we learn through screens every single day. This seminar introduces you to a field – the Digital Humanities - that uses technology to ask and answer questions about how humans think, create, and experience the world. Starting with print books, you will learn how technology and culture are connected and how digital tools are an evolution of our quest for knowledge. Students in this seminar will be introduced to the worldwide community of Digital Humanities scholars through readings and in-class discussion, and develop a digital project of their very own. Through experimentation, hands-on activities, and guided workshops, students will emerge from this course more confident in their ability to do college level research using technology as a tool for learning and creativity. Beyond anything else, you will see both technology and your sense of humanity in a different way than before.

Instructor: Ian Andrew Isherwood

Title // Department: Associate Professor // Interdisciplinary Studies

George Orwell was born into a world that appeared to be collapsing. European nations and once great empires were reduced to rubble through two costly world wars. Political polarization led to authoritarian dictatorships, ones that murdered millions in the name of their ideologies. The world economy became increasingly volatile; periods of boom and bust led to economic disparity and the exploitation of millions of workers across the globe. The old imperial order foundered under the weight of nationalist movements yearning for freedom. As the world grew more dangerous and disenchanted in the 1920s and 1930s, a unique and unusual voice emerged to become the chronicler of the disposed, disenchanted, and victimized. That voice was laser-focused on what he called ‘the power of facing unpleasant facts.’ In this seminar, students will learn about Orwell’s life and times as a window to understanding our own.

Instructor: Christopher Richard Fee

Title // Department: Professor // English

“Homelessness" is a term that conjures up unsavory images in the popular imagination, flat, generic, clichés that owe as much to fear as to fact. The truth is that children account for a shocking proportion of the homeless in America today, as do women fleeing abuse, as do the working poor, many of whom find it impossible to secure affordable housing in many of our cities. If working men and women and school-attending children number among the homeless, why do the stereotypes of the pushy panhandler and the drunken skid-row bum continue to dominate our collective vision of homelessness? Why does this population continue to grow? What can be done to alleviate the circumstances surrounding homelessness in America? Should we act? Should we care? Designed in collaboration with the Center for Public Service, this course combines the traditional academic component with experiential education through a number of Service-Learning opportunities. Each student will participate in regular service commitments in the local community throughout the semester, and the keystone of the course will be a group Service-Learning trip in October. We will meet and work with many people who are or who have been homeless, as well as quite a few who have dedicated their lives to serving those less fortunate than themselves. If experience is any guide, we will like a great many of the people with whom we will come into contact; we most certainly will learn from all of them. In the classroom portion of this course, we will study portrayals of homelessness in popular works of fiction and film in order to refine our understanding of how the American understanding of homelessness has evolved since the Great Depression. Some of these works will reflect common assumptions about the homeless while others may challenge such views, but all will contribute to our understanding of how we as a people face the realities of poverty, homelessness, and social inequities.