2009 Seminars

A Year In History: 1926

 It was the year when Hemingway published his first novel, The Sun Also Rises; a general strike in Britain brought the country to a standstill; Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett flew from Spitsbergen to the North Pole and back; Hirohito became emperor of Japan; the first edition of Milne’s Winnie-The-Pooh came out; Henry Ford announced the 8-hour, 5-day work week; Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across English Channel; Stalin ousted Trotsky from the Politburo; Walt Disney Studios was formed; the second volume of Hitler’s Mein Kampf was published; Shostakovich’s First Symphony premiered in Leningrad, and the first public demonstration of television took place in England. The
year is 1926 -- no more and no less significant than any other year in modern history.

Can the past be re-created? What is the best way to recapture the spirit and discern the patterns of a bygone epoch? Does an artistic text make us experience the past more directly than a historian’s account?

By reading novels and newspapers, examining archival materials, talking to witnesses, watching films and visual art from 1926, we will attempt to recreate the spirit of the time. The topics of discussions will be numerous and include the League of Nations, stock market, strikes, assembly lines, cars, airplanes, jazz, boxing, bullfighting, movie palaces and others, while the focus will be kept on two essential issues: the revolution of values and the experience of displacement.

Elena Duzs, Russian

Adolescence

 For the past several years you have been both a participant in and an observer of adolescence. In this course we will consider the empirical evidence and current theoretical perspectives on adolescence, as well as your own experiences and observations of others, as we address a variety of topics in adolescent development, including:  Are girls bigger bullies than boys? Is female sexual orientation more fluid than male sexual orientation during adolescence? Do social networking sites and online friendships hinder or help adolescent social development and well-being? Is there an oral sex crisis for teens? Do video games impede adolescent cognitive development?   

Gregory J. Smith, Psychology

American Women, Spirituality, and Social Justice

 *This seminar has been designated as part of a Learning Community.

Should your religious faith have any say in your social actions? Should social justice work have anything to do with religion? American Women, Spirituality and Social Justice uses the perspectives of literary studies, women’s studies, and history to explore what it means for different women to have a spiritual “call” and how that translates into doing good work in the world. We’ll look at African-American women’s integration of spirituality and social justice work in the 19th and 20th centuries. We’ll discuss feminist theological concerns about civil rights and suffering in the late 20th century. We’ll also explore Jewish women’s theology and civil rights participation and 21st century Muslim women’s activism.

Using personal testimony, historical texts, and novels, we’ll think critically about our guiding questions:

         How do the traditions we explore define “spirituality”?

        What are some of the differences and commonalities among these faith traditions?

        What makes social justice work effective?

        Is it necessary to believe in or practice a religion to participate in a faith-based movement?

Susannah Bartlow, Women’s and Gender Studies

Biophilia: Human Connections to Other Life Forms

Do we need the natural world? Beyond our needs for resources, how and why do we interact with nature? For most of our history as a species, we have coevolved with other life forms in natural environments. Today many humans, and certainly most Americans, grow up in a transformed landscape with little direct experience of other organisms in natural contexts. What are the consequences of this extinction of experience? As a point of departure the seminar will consider E.O. Wilson's "biophila hypothesis": that humans have an innate, evolved, emotional tendency to affiliate with other life forms. We will evaluate this hypothesis by scientific methods, and explore its implications for citizens of the 21st century. Areas of focus will include conservation biology and practice, nature and mental health, animal rights, the roles of garden, zoo, and wilderness, and the substitution of virtual for real experience of nature. Insofar as much of the meaning of biophilia can only be appreciated subjectively, the seminar will seek to build awareness of biodiversity through field work at the College farm and other locations near campus.

Anthony Pires, Biology

Clothing and the Changing Politics of Attractiveness

 *This seminar has been designated as part of a Learning Community.

From the time humans first put on animal skins to protect themselves from the elements, evidence exists that we were also using clothing to make ourselves more attractive -- for adornment as well as practicality. This class will look at a variety of historical clothing trends in order to see how our idea of what constitutes beauty in adornment has changed throughout history. By looking at modern interpretations of historical dress, we will also study how our 20th and 21st century ideas of beauty affect artistic interpretations of past fashion trends.

Sherry Harper-McCombs, Theatre/Dance

Conspiring to Believe

 When presidents are assassinated or wars begin, we want to know why. Often, people turn to conspiracy theories for explanations. A conspiracy theory explains such events by appeal to the secret plans and actions of a small but powerful group of people, acting for their own, usually evil, purposes. The explanation runs counter to the official story put forward by authoritative sources.

Sometimes conspiracies are real and conspiracy theories are true; more often, conspiratorial explanations strain credulity but nonetheless, gain intelligent and educated proponents. This raises questions:  What should we seek in a credible explanation? How can we tell when and whether to disbelieve authoritative explanations? Are conspiracy theories automatically deserving of disbelief? In this seminar we will explore these and related questions, reading and thinking about questions of credibility, proof, and evidence, as treated in works of philosophy, and applying what we learn to conspiracy theories involving 9/11 and the Kennedy assassination.

 Susan Feldman, Philosophy

Detecting Cultural Narratives

 What could two Golden Age mystery novels set in Britain just before and just after World War I have to do with two spy thrillers from the Cold War era? What could two westerns written about fifty years apart have to do with two hard-boiled detective novels also written about fifty years apart? How do they reflect or interrogate the cultures that produced them? Why did Conan Doyle set much of The Hound of the Baskervilles on remote Dartmoor? Why is James Bond so particular about how his martinis are made?  Why does the Virginian help hang one of his best friends? Why does Philip Marlowe constantly encounter sexual “deviancy” in The Big Sleep? These are only some of the questions we will explore as we study the “cultural work” of some of the most popular forms of genre fiction. If time allows, we will also look at one or two film adaptations to see how a different medium transforms works of literature.  Last, but not least, we’ll tackle the big question:  just why have these sorts of novels remained so popular?

Texts will include the following: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles; Dorothy Sayers, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club; Ian Fleming, From Russia, With Love; John LeCarré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Owen Wister, The Virginian; Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep; Jack Schaefer, Shane; Sara Paretsky, Bitter Medicine.

Robert Winston, English

From Peasants to Technocrats

 As the post-industrial world expands with its service jobs and high-tech sector, people lose a sense of what industrial or pre-industrial work was like. What did peasants, artisans, factory workers or domestic servants do and under what sorts of conditions? How did different peasants work the land, or what did the introduction of the steam engine or the assembly line mean? To find out, this seminar will read autobiographies, novels, and newspapers supplemented by the work of historians and sociologists. We will encounter a variety of experiences including those of women and immigrants. We will also take advantage of current representations such as episodes of “How It’s Made” and touring a local factory to think about what has or has not changed. While our focus will be on the work itself, we will also discuss how work has defined class systems and contributed to political activism. This course will mainly take a European perspective, with some consideration of the American experience.

Regina Sweeney, History

Galileo’s Commandment

 Bertolt Brecht, in his play The Life of Galileo, wrote that Galileo Galilei, the father of the scientific method, said “Science knows only one commandment: contribute to science.” This seminar will focus on those men and women who have dedicated their lives to this commandment, how they view the activity called science, and how their efforts to follow its one commandment are viewed by society. By reading the best of their writings we will explore how, with their energy and imagination, they assembled the edifice of modern science. We will explore how the rest of society has understood and mis-understood science and its creators. We will confront two contrasting views of scientists as seen through the eyes of Hollywood, the “Mad Scientist” and the “Scientist as the Romantic Hero.” In addition to reading and discussing great science writing, and plays such as Brecht’s The Life of Galileo or Stoppard’s Arcadia, seminar members will also view and discuss films that highlight stereotypes about scientists. Other activities may include a trip to a national laboratory to meet and discuss with working scientists how their interest in science developed. As an example of how science is actually done, we will investigate the forces of air resistance in situations as different as falling coffee filters, high speed aircraft, and model rockets.

Robert Boyle, Physics/Astronomy

Green Science for the iPod Generation

 *This seminar has been designated as part of a Learning Community.

The focus of this seminar will be on the science of sustainability. In this era of politically charged debate over the relative “green-ness” of various individuals and groups, the concept of sustainable behavior has become a muddled mess. As a result, the average person is understandably confused as to what to believe when someone makes a claim that a particular action is environmentally friendly or sustainable. This seminar, intended for science and/or mathematically inclined individuals, will explore ways to evaluate such claims, based on a scientific definition of sustainability.

Michael Holden, Chemistry

Harlem, Haiti and Havana: Mapping Cultural Connections through Poetry

Langston Hughes, Jacques Roumain, and Nicolás Guillén are writers from three different countries who published in three different languages, yet shared a fervent socio-cultural consciousness. What common vision does their work illustrate, and why do they represent an important moment in Black African Literature? How can poetry be revolutionary—that is, can one free people by freeing verse? This course will explore the many cultural connections between Harlem, Haiti and Havana in the 1920’s and 30’s, using Martha Cobb’s fascinating study as our springboard. Students will consider the social and political contexts of a range of literary and visual texts, paying particular attention to how cultural producers see themselves as agents of social change. 

Mariana Past, Spanish/Portuguese

ID: Self-Portraiture and Notions of Identity

 *This seminar has been designated as part of a Learning Community.

Throughout the recorded history of art there are countless examples of artists attempting to capture and project some essential sense of self. Often transcending mere representational likeness, many artists engage with the identification of self as it is situated socially and perhaps institutionally—one’s “I.D.”— and also with a sometimes playful approach to the psychoanalytic dimensions of the “id.” The distance between subject and object collapses in the form of a self-portrait, as the artist considers his or her role as a corporeal, mortal, and artistic being. The resulting art objects are not bound by these physical restraints, and serve instead as a symbol of or stand-in for the anxiety, labor, and individuality of one’s amorphous ID. Students in this class will respond to the commonalities and inconsistencies of self-portraiture by researching the complicated construction of identity beyond the simple mirroring of one’s outward appearance. Additionally this class will consider what it means to represent oneself as an art object, and also question how the human form—as both an individual entity and representative of a larger collective—may be conveyed through art.

Ideas that Have Shaped the World

 Why do ideas matter? How is knowledge discovered and conveyed to others? In what ways do significant texts across time resonate within our experience in the present? And how do the writers of these texts – all from different times, places, and cultures – articulate their views? As a new initiative in Dickinson’s First-Year Seminar Program, a group of 15 faculty from 9 different disciplines have come together to explore these fundamental issues of humanistic inquiry with students in a common course through a series of shared, challenging texts. A central principle of the course is that studying the work of outstanding thinkers, readers, and writers carefully is one of the best ways to learn to read, think, and write well yourself. By analyzing closely how accomplished individuals formulate and express complex ideas and issues, we will establish a context for substantive conversations on important questions among students and faculty. From Homer and Plato, to Augustine, Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Jefferson, DuBois, and Achebe (among others), faculty and students will bring their individual perspectives to the classroom and will approach the shared readings in different ways that will enrich conversations about those readings. And, because all students and faculty in each course section will be reading the same texts at the same time, there will be a common ground for these conversations that will extend beyond the classroom. In addition, the course will feature six plenary sessions by Dickinson faculty and guest speakers on specific themes pertinent to the readings, which students and faculty in all course sections will attend together.  

Sylvie Davidson, French/Italian
Carol Ann Johnston, English
Marc Mastrangelo, Classical Studies
Andrew Rudalevige, Political Science
Melinda Schlitt, Art/Art History
Blake Wilson, Music

Identities, Diversity, and Social Justice

 *This seminar has been designated as part of a Learning Community.

People define themselves in terms of multiple identities -- we are students, men, women, sisters, athletes, gay, straight, vegetarians, etc. In our society, some identities and group memberships are more valued than others. In this course, we will explore the issues of social justice that are brought up when considering privileged and disadvantaged social identities. We will consider both marginalized and privileged identities using a variety of sources, and will also consider the ways in which multiple identities intersect to produce unique experiences. We will particularly focus on the ways in which one’s gender, social class, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation identity influence one’s sense of self. We will primarily read essays, and will also examine research articles and research-based books exploring identity and social group memberships from different social science disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and women’s studies.  

Megan Yost, Psychology

Law and Justice

 What is justice? Why do people feel so strongly about it? What is the relationship between justice and law? What happens if the law is seen as a source of injustice? Who should resolve this situation? Is it solely a matter for the courts and public officials? Can or should individuals ever do this on their own? Is it sometimes necessary to break the law and put oneself in conflict with society in order to obtain justice? By reading from among the classics in the western tradition, such as Antigone, Billy Budd, The Trial of Socrates, and The Trial, as well as seeing such films as Breaker Morant, Sleepers, and Unforgiven, we shall grapple with these issues and hopefully arrive at some answers.

Lord of the Castle, Lady of the House

 From Beowulf to Gosford Park, or “The Three Little Pigs” to Home Alone, the theme of the house under
siege has been a staple of Western narrative. This seminar will examine a broad variety of literary and cinematic texts, most of them Anglo-American, with an eye to revealing what various treatments of the house-builder/house-holder/house-breaker motif might tell us about the artists who created them and the audiences for whom they were created. We’ll consider, among other things, the House as a shelter from the dangers of Nature; as a “golden world” of social elitism; as an icon of stifling traditions and attitudes; and as a nest for secret “evil.” One of our particular interests will be the way the home becomes a setting and tool for enforcing ideologies of gender. “Home” has been called “sweet” – “where the heart is.” Just how sweet the place, just how settled the heart, we’ll be exploring in classics like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Coventry Patmore’s The Angel of the House, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day. We’ll also view and discuss films like Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Bryan Forbes’ The Stepford Wives, and Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs.

Tom Reed, English

Malcolm X: The Myth, The Man, and The Legacy

 Generations after his assassination Malcolm X’s image and historical reputation have been profoundly transformed. Most historians of the American experience now rank Malcolm X as one of the most influential personalities in African American history. The essential question of this First Year Seminar is: How has the legacy of Malcolm X been portrayed in the popular imagination and analyzed in scholarly publications?

Malcolm X: The Myth, The Man, and The Legacy will focus on the life and times of slain African American civil rights leader, Malcolm X. The purpose of this course is to expose students to the representation of Malcolm X through film, documentary, literature, speeches, and critical essays.

Using such texts as The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley and Spike Lee’s 1992 film Malcolm X, this course will examine the legacies and influences of Malcolm X. The seminar will focus on the popular view of his life and his treatment by historians and scholars. Similarly, the course will contend with the meaning and implications of particular images of Malcolm X in film and photography.

This course is primarily a discussion with a lecture to contextualize the reading materials within broader historical and contemporary frameworks. A give and take atmosphere where asking questions, voicing ideas, and fostering critical thinking is one of the main goals of this seminar.

Jerry Philogene, American Studies

Mind, Knowledge, and Evolution

 This course investigates the evolution of human minds and human knowledge production and reproduction in the very long run. After introducing the basic concepts of the Darwinist theory of evolution, it discusses various theories on the evolution of the cognitive capabilities of behaviorally modern Homo Sapiens, the academic name for our own species. After that, it will explore the cognitive foundations for the Agricultural Revolution, the Urban Revolution, and Axial Age Breakthrough, and the Scientific and Industrial Revolution since the seventeenth century, the four major revolutions in human prehistory and history. The focus of the course will be on the origins of revolutions in science and technology in cognitive and comparative perspectives.

Dengjian Jin, IB&M

Mind Meets Matter

 Everywhere you go, you are surrounded by stuff! Scientists refer to stuff as “matter,” which is defined as anything that takes up space and has mass. Yet where does it come from? What is it? How can it be manipulated, shaped, transformed, represented? How do human beings understand and interact with matter? What are the broader impacts of manipulating matter - to the environment, to society?

In this seminar we will explore such questions, and in doing so, undertake an in-depth study of matter across the disciplines. The course will be divided into two parts. In the first part, we will focus on understanding matter. This will involve a trip “down the rabbit hole” into the rich world of quantum mechanics - the physical theory that describes the rules for how very small objects, such as electrons and protons, behave. We will read “The Strange World of Quantum Mechanics” (Daniel F. Styer) and study the 2004 film What the Bleep Do We Know, the drama-documentary that brings the metaphysical world into our everyday experiences. The focus of the second part of the course will be on designing matter. Topics will include nanoscience, which provides the ultimate example of how we can work at the molecular level and, atom by atom, create something new, and in doing so, change the way we live. 

Cindy Samet, Chemistry

Muslim Lives in the First Person

 The traditional college course on Islam gives a broad overview of history, ritual, belief, and institutions. We will begin this course with a snapshot of the essentials as a prelude to exploring how Muslims have told their own life stories, in memoir and fiction. The authors range from a nineteenth century princess of Zanzibar to a Saudi novelist describing boyhood in Mecca, from a pioneer of women’s liberation to one of the leading advocates for Islamic revival. Through these works, some films, and a visit to a local mosque, we will consider what it means to live as a Muslim, of various ages, genders and nationalities, in different historical and contemporary situations.

David Commins, History

Mysteries of the Brain

 The goal of this course is to examine the extent to which the form (anatomy) of the brain determines function (behavior). The emphasis will be on the unusual and usual, but nonetheless amazing, behaviors and perceptions generated by our brains. The course will begin with a brief investigation of the basic anatomy of our most complex and interesting organ – and the only organ that can study itself - the brain. Then we will explore, through discussion, readings, and research, some of the more extraordinary things the brain does, including dreaming, producing unusual perceptions, such as synesthesia, and the perceptual and behavioral changes that can occur when the brain is damaged or diseased.

Missy Niblock, Biology

Nature or Nurture, Genes or Culture?

 This seminar explores controversies in the study of the evolution of human behavior.
Theodosius Dobzhansky, a distinguished geneticist, once wrote, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” Indeed, evolutionary theory is the idea that unites all biological sciences, including the study of human origins and evolution. We have a great deal of knowledge about human anatomical evolution based on the analysis of fossilized bones and material artifacts. Understanding human behavioral evolution, however, requires more nuanced interpretations of the archaeological record as well as comparative studies of the behavior of nonhuman primates, our closest living relatives. The quest to understand and explain the evolution of human behavior has led to controversial debates among natural and social scientists as to whether or not there is a universal human nature, and if so, if it is rooted in biology or culture. We first examine the central tenets of evolutionary theory. Then we examine the scope of human evolution and how the fossil record and the behavior of humans and nonhuman primates are used to explain the rise of the human species. We also examine critiques of evolutionary theory as an explanatory device in understanding human behavioral and cultural diversity. Finally, we examine how Western paradigms of science have fueled debates about the politics of cultural ownership and representation, particularly as it relates to archaeology and Native American identity. The readings for this course cover a range of ideas and disciplines, including evolutionary biology, anthropology and archaeology, and the history and philosophy of science.

Karen Weinstein, Anthropology

Religion, Science and the Environmental Movement

 *This seminar has been designated as part of a Learning Community.

Recent scientific findings have moved the stewardship of our environment to the forefront of global political discussions. Concomitant with the rise of these scientific ideas, political movements that seek to tie our interactions with the environment to ethical/moral considerations have increased in number and influence. Indeed, many of these groups seem to ensconce their ideas in the trappings of a religious movement. Should the scientific community welcome these various groups as agents of change to carry their message to the public, or are there dangers in allowing public policy to be dictated by non-scientifically constructed ethos. This seminar will examine the potential benefits and pitfalls of the inclusion of these various groups in the broader environmental movement with a focus on the impacts to public policy.

Jeff Forrester, Math/Computer Science

Science, Culture, and the Future of Civilization

 *This seminar has been designated as part of a Learning Community.

The Problems: Pandemic Disease, Malnutrition, Global Warming
The Solutions: Drugs and Gene Therapy, Genetically Modified Food, Alternative Energy

If you want a problem solved, give it to a scientist. If this statement were true AIDS would be eradicated and fusion power would heat our homes. There must be more to these problems than the quick “technological fix.” How do we even start? This seminar will explore the complexities of some of the world’s most pressing problems to discover the role science and technology play in the larger context of global economics and politics, diverse religious, cultural, and ethical beliefs, and limited natural resources. Historical writings and interpretations of Malthus, Darwin, Spencer, Snow, and others will show us how we got to the present state of the world. Writings by Diamond, Wilson, Easterly, and others will help us to understand the present. Alternative future scenarios and their implications will be debated using writings by Hardin, Lovelock, Friedman, and others. The challenges come in making decisions about our future path. Our discussions will include the role of a liberal arts education to confront the status quo of a world struggling to sustain 6.8 billion individuals and to find ways to educate globally, nationally, and individually as we seek ways to bring positive change.

Jeff Niemitz, Geology

Social and Economic Apartheid in America

 According to social scientists, the gap between the haves and have-nots has been growing for the past 35 years and is now larger than at any time since 1929. This has created an American social and economic apartheid: Gated communities with 24-hour private security to keep people out, barred communities (prisons) to keep people in, and neighborhoods, schools, stores, and restaurants where the ability to pay keeps people segregated by class. What is the nature of these deep social and economic divisions and what are the causes? What if anything should we or can we do about the vast disparities in the economic fortunes of Americans? To answer these questions students in this seminar will examine U.S. wealth and income trends, analyze the causes of these trends, examine the consequences of inequality on people’s lives, and explore possible solutions. Students will learn how wealth and income distribution is measured, and how to interpret income and wealth statistics. They will develop answers to the question of who gets what and why, the causes of social and economic inequality. Students in this seminar will explore many of the individual, social, political, ethical and cultural consequences of inequality as well as what if anything should be done about economic apartheid in the U.S.

Chuck Barone, Economics

Social Justice and American Education

 *This seminar has been designated as part of a Learning Community.

The public education system of the United States was founded on the belief that providing a high quality free education to all Americans would provide them with an equal opportunity to achieve the American Dream. Critics argue, however, that the inequalities found within the American public education system preclude this goal for the most vulnerable in our society. This seminar will examine the origins of the American system of public education, the inequalities currently found within the American system of public education, and the socio-cultural bases for those inequalities. Finally, the seminar will explore ways that the American system of public education might become a more socially just institution. 
NB:  Because this seminar involves visits to public schools, all students participating will be required to obtain up-to-date clearances and PPD/Tine screening during the first week of class. Fees for child abuse and criminal background checks will be covered by Dickinson College. FBI fingerprinting is $38, and PPD/Tine health screening is $10. The latter test may be done at the College’s Health Center.  Total student responsibility: $48.

Pamela Nesselrodt, Education

Sustaining Northeastern Wildlife

 *This seminar has been designated as part of a Learning Community.

Wildlife worldwide is being influenced by human activities at an ever increasing rate.  Species are becoming extinct at the rate of over 100 per day. This course will examine factors that have affected and are affecting wildlife in the northeastern United States. The course will include a survey of wildlife and then examine global warming, individual state management practices, habitat fragmentation, introduction of chemicals to the environment, introduced species, hunting, habitat destruction, and extermination of predators. Solutions to these problems will be a major focus of the course.

Two evening field trips are required for completion of this course. One evening field trip (or more if desired) will be to participate in the North American Saw Whet Owl banding project. The other trip will be to an autumnal vernal pond to witness the migration and courtship of marbled salamanders. We will also spend a weekend at an environmental camp in Elk County investigating Elk management with Ralph Harrison, the leading expert on Pennsylvania elk.

Gene Wingert, Biology

Technology and Culture

 It is no exaggeration to say that humans are tool-using animals. For much of our history as a species, humans have been defined by the use of tools and by particular technological innovations. While we have shaped the tools we use, it is also clear that they have in turn come to shape us. But in what ways and to what effects? This seminar investigates the relationship between technology and the development of human culture. The seminar will begin by examining the emergence of human civilization. We will then move forward through the industrial revolution and the Cold War to issues raised by the current age of information technology. Seminar materials will be drawn primarily from the accounts of anthropologists and scholars working in science and technology studies.
                                                                                                                       
Shawn Bender, East Asian Studies

“The Boy Who Lived”: The Making of Harry Potter

 This seminar explores different interpretations of the phenomenal success of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. What started in 1997 with the American publication of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone, a children’s coming of age fantasy in the tradition of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, became an international sensation. For a decade until the final volume in 2007 Harry Potter dominated the imagination of children and adults throughout the world. How can we begin to understand the social impact of the literary texts and the multimedia support it generated—web sites, blogs, and films? What is the relationship between the writing of the texts and the making of the text through the use of technology? We will begin by placing the series in the fantasy genre, especially as it relates to hero stories. We will consider critical responses by Christian fundamentalists as examples of one kind of social critique, and we will also examine specific cultural critiques of education and secularism. Finally, we will use media sources to explore the various themes and audiences the series reaches. Our theoretical guides include Joseph Campbell, Marina Warner, Jack Zipes, and recent scholarly articles. Students interested in taking the course are expected to have read at least three of the books and seen the films.

Mara Donaldson, Religion

The Future of the Food Industry: Technology and Sustainability

 *This seminar has been designated as part of a Learning Community.

How will the food we eat in five, ten, or twenty years be different from the food we eat today? And, how will the structure of the food industry – the size, number, and location of food companies – evolve over time? An analysis of two major forces that shape industries, technological change and environmental considerations, will help us to assess the food landscape of the future. First, we will study nanotechnology, GMOs (genetically modified food and organisms), nutraceuticals (functional foods), and cosmetic foods to consider how technology is reshaping the food industry. Second, we will examine issues of sustainability. Our oceans are almost fished out. The carbon footprint of the food industry is second to only that of the auto industry. And, irrigation systems in many agricultural areas of the world are drawing water at a faster rate than can be replenished. How will the food industry be altered by these environmental realities? Interspersed throughout our industry analysis will be representations of food in popular culture, including movies, TV, blogs, books, and advertising. 

Helen Takacs, IB&M

The Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence

 Can machines think?  If they can’t think now, will they be able to in the future?  And if they can, what are the implications for our society and behavior?  Philosophers disagree on the answers to these questions.  We’ll try to find out how and why, by reading classic papers in the field, examining the phenomenal power of modern computers, considering the role of artificial intelligence in popular culture, and conducting some research and investigations of our own.  The class will cover both abstract philosophical concepts (such as mind, intelligence, and consciousness), and more practical issues (such as the apparent success of artificial intelligence in computer games, the increasing reliance by humans on computers to make decisions, and the use of on-line challenges by certain websites when verifying a user is a human).

John MacCormick, Math/Computer Science

The Poetry of Place and Identity

 Before there was print, poetry was a spoken art, with close affinities to song – hence rhyme and meter. It also tended to start locally, so poets didn’t have to do much explaining about place and culture. Today, with worldwide distribution available at the click of a mouse, poetry has little previously understood sense of locality and cultural context. There’s also a broad, sometimes chaotic sense of what constitutes the canon. As a result, poets must themselves establish the historical, cultural, and geographical context of their poems. We’ll examine how many poets – with an emphasis on the contemporary – create a sense of place and negotiate their relationship to literary history. We’ll do lots of close readings of poems. You’ll write critical papers and a poem or two of your own. Among the likely poets: Elizabeth Bishop, Mark Doty, Robert Frost, Jorie Graham, Seamus Heaney, Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, Maxine Kumin, Stanley Kunitz, Natasha Trethewey, and Charles Wright.

Adrienne Su, English

War, Violence, and Memory

 This course is focused on the memory of war and violence in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Students will read several classics in war literature and reporting, and will examine and analyze the public memorializing of wars through monuments and commemorative events. Texts include Balakian’s The Black Dog of Fate, Levi’s Survival in Auschwitz, Ninh’s The Sorrow of War, and Winter’s Remembering War.

Kim Rogers, History

Writing About Sports

 In this class we’ll read and write essays that explore the intimate, rewarding, maddening, and complex relationship we Americans have with sports – both as spectators and participants. This is not a course in sports journalism; our focus will be on insightful and substantial reflections about the place of sports in our country and in our homes.

Susan Perabo, English

Writing and Filming: Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa Francophone Societies

 Through the polyvalent character of French-speaking novel and cinema that is termed as "Francophone," that is, from countries other than France, this course examines the role of France as a colonial empire that, although it began to take shape in the 17th century, was consolidated at the end of the 19th and beginning of 20th centuries by a great acquisition of colonial territories and the implementation of the “Civilizing Mission.” From anti-colonial struggles to postcolonial disillusionments, we will investigate how novelists, essayists, and filmmakers capture the complex destinies of African and Caribbean societies, challenging the subjugation that is inscribed in cultural and social fabrics of their communities, exploring imaginative and unexpected venues that may mobilize energies for people’s liberation. Course readings and films will primarily address notions of multiculturalism, imperialism, national identity, as well as the development of colonial discourse in relation to the French empire. No knowledge of French or African and Caribbean history is necessary.

Benjamin Ngong, French/Italian