Growing Up Victorian

Elun Gabriel and Bob DeGraaff

Many social historians claim that the notion of "childhood" as a special period distinct from adulthood first developed during the 19th century. In this course we will be exploring this idea through literature and social history, looking at many kinds of texts that focus on children and the raising of children during the Victorian period. Among them will be two children's novels (Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess) and two novels written for adults whose tales are centered on a child growing up in the midst of the Victorian world (Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Charles Dickens's Great Expectations). To understand the context of these stories, we will explore various aspects of Victorian history pertaining to childhood as well as the growth of child development as a field of study.

Plagues and People

Carol Budd and Ali Pomponio

When considering definitions of illness or wellness, Westerners since the Enlightenment have tended to assume a distinction between mind and body that people in other cultures do not assume. The “body” becomes an object of study, with all its attendant “symptoms” of “illness” to Western medical tradition. The “mind” is considered separate from “body” and from “brain,” which is an organ of the “body.” Hence we have created a tradition of different practitioners for “physical” and “mental” disorders. In other cultural traditions, one’s “body” is not separated from “mind,” or from the social fabric of daily life that connects an individual to other members of his or her society. In this course, we will study cross-cultural approaches to wellness and illness that focus on concepts of the body, “personhood,” gender distinctions, definitions of “wellness” and “illness,” and the consequences these different belief systems have on approaches to “healing.” To understand these issues we will use several primary examples of different kinds of “plagues” that have affected groups of people and their cultures in profound ways. These include the Black Death in 14th and 16th century Europe, Kuru disease in Papua New Guinea and its relationship to HIV-AIDS, Mad-Cow- and Kreutzfeld-Jacob diseases, healing by shamans in South America, and radioactive fallout’s contributions to cultural change in the Marshall Islands of the South Pacific. Students interested in health sciences or cross-cultural study of humanity are encouraged to participate. Students who take this FYP must co-enroll in at least one Natural Science with lab distribution course.

Fight the Power!

John Collins and Wil Rivers

Every generation contains within it the possibility of radical social change, but not all generations actualize this possibility. We will study those generations and movements that choose to reject the status quo in favor of change. All such movements confront the fact that change is never easy; it is strongly resisted by those in power and often turns violent. What motivates people to “fight the power”? What tactics and strategies are used in service of the cause? How do social movements gain support through the use of rhetoric in ethical and unethical ways? Why do students and youth often play such a pivotal role in social movements? In this course we will explore these and other questions by drawing on personal narratives, interviews, movement manifestos, speeches, music, and documentary films. In doing so we will pay particular attention to several important social movements of the 20th century including the free-speech, black power, anti-colonial, anti-war, environmental, women’s liberation, and global justice movements. In addition, we encourage informed, intelligent, and direct student action. We want students to articulate their own concerns about local, national, and global political issues, and to exercise opportunities for social action at SLU.

Amazing Grace: The Black Church in White America

Laura O'Shaughnessy and Shaun Whitehead

In this course we explore the relationship between faith and freedom through the lens of African-American experiences in the United States. The course is in part historical, as we find the origins of black religion within the experience of slavery. Our seminar is also a personal and theological exploration of the sustaining faith of black people in a hostile land, where the Bible itself was used to justify slavery and continuing oppression. By the 20th century, black voices spoke of a “black Christ” and black women carved out a role for themselves as full participants in their church. How and why did this transformation occur? Throughout this transformation, black music, especially gospel music anchored the faith and sustained the strong sense of community of African Americans. This relationship between faith and freedom was one of liberation in this world and the next. Gospel music became the music of the struggle for freedom. We conclude this course by considering the impact of the African-American struggle for freedom on other groups, whether marginalized or “dominant.” This course is open to all students, of all faith traditions or none andregardless of color, who want to explore a challenging and amazing testimony to the human spirit.

Literature Of The Ancient World: Variant Perspectives

Michael Greenwald and Sid Sondergard

What happens when Herodotus and Thucydides, two very different historians, present their perspectives on the same event? How can the epic voyages taken by Odysseus and by Jason offer such radically different perspectives on heroic values? Why do religious systems begin with cosmogonies (describing where the world comes from) or theogonies (describing where the gods come from) or both? We will be engaging in many such comparative readings of the literatures of the ancient Middle East, China, Greece, and Rome. Students will work in three broad areas of inquiry: you will adapt the perspectives of ancient thinkers to contemporary topics; you will investigate ancient spiritual practices and assumptions; and you will also construct your own critiques of ancient models.

Sharing the Continent:
Canadian Culture? American Culture?

Neil Forkey and Jeff Young

Our work in this course will focus on the differing national cultures of the two predominantly English- speaking nations of North America: Canada and the United States. Using a comparative historical approach, we will trace the settlement and development of each country from seventeenth-century beginnings to the present. Our prime concern will be the definition and understanding of each nation's ethos through its differing approaches to Western expansion, governmental structures (presidential versus parliamentary), trade (the fur trade to NAFTA), environmental issues, and health care. We shall visit Canada's national capital, Ottawa, and the Frederic Remington Art Museum as we compare the cultural experiences of both Canada and the United States, both mythic and real.

Framing the Social:
Critical Videography in the North Country

Karen O'Neil and Bob Torres

The production of images -- be they still, moving, or otherwise -- is an inherently political act. Though we often think of photographs or documentaries as wholly accurate slices of reality, these media are deeply influenced by the desires of those who produce the images and the messages which they choose to communicate. By developing a framework for understanding, writing, and speaking about the social, cultural, and ideological meanings and implications of images, we aim to help students develop a critical visual literacy around the messages and meanings of images in the contemporary world. Working from this critical literacy, students will be expected to do some image production of their own by producing, writing, and filming critical videographies of facets of social and civic life in the communities of the North Country. No formal experience in art, film, or photography is necessary, though a willingness to learn these skills is essential.

The 50s: The Way We Never Were

Maegan Bos and Patrice LeClerc

The myths of the 1950s set the stage for the rebellions of the 1960s and are still clung to today. We will compare the myths versus the reality of the 1950s United States, looking specifically at social constructions of gender roles; the function of science; the composition of families; the role of the economy; race and ethnic relations; and the power of technology and media. The myths of the 1950s still have a hold on our visions fifty years later, even though that era remains "the way we never were."

Theorizing about Horror

Caroline Breashears and Mark MacWilliams

What is horror? Why do we take pleasure from being frightened? How is it that horrific scenes in novels and films—baby aliens bursting from human chests, vampires snacking on prone women, telekinetic girls crucifying their mothers—simultaneously attract and repel us? More broadly, why does horror gain momentum in certain eras? We will attempt to answer these and other questions while examining theories of horror, such as the argument that we need to tell monster stories because our ability to defeat monsters reaffirms that the social and physical world is as orderly as we deeply desire it to be. Our texts will include classic novels, such as Dracula, as well as films in the process of becoming classics, such as Terminator II. We will emphasize not only what horror is designed to do—“to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart,” as Mary Shelley says in Frankenstein—but what and how it means.

Culture and Revolution

Liam Hunt and Kathy Stein

The central question of modern history has been “freedom for whom to do what?” In this course, we will consider the various dimensions of democracy, and the various (and sometimes contradictory) meanings of freedom—individual, political, economic, and sexual—from early America to the present. The democratic revolution that began in late eighteenth-century America and France continues to transform, and disrupt, the world in which we live. We will explore some of the ways in which artists and thinkers have responded to this long and complex revolution, in novels, poems, essays, and in some of the greatest films of the past seventy years.

We will analyze the response of writers and film-makers to the social and racial problems of American democracy, to European movements like democratic socialism, communism and fascism, and to the world-wide struggles against colonialism and racism. The issue of gender—and specifically of “gendered” notions of democracy and freedom—will provide a running theme throughout the entire course. We will also consider the problem of the artist’s own freedom: the ways in which writers and film-makers are constrained by the economic and political conditions under which they must work, and how they contrive to evade or subvert those constraints.

The Evolution of the American Family

Cathy Crosby-Currie and Steve Horwitz

“We need a return to family values” is a theme we hear frequently in the media, as the “traditional” model of the nuclear family seems increasingly fragile in the rapidly changing world of contemporary America. This formulation of the problem leaves unanswered the questions, “what is a ‘family,’” and “what do we ‘value’ about it?” Answering these questions is not easy because, as the economic and social functions that families fulfill have changed throughout American history, the forms taken by the family have multiplied and changed. “The” American family could be a single parent with children, a family in poverty, a multi-generational household, an adoptive family, a lesbian or gay family, or that “traditional” nuclear family, which has itself evolved from Leave it to Beaver to My Wife and Kids. Together, we will critically assess the American family as a social institution, asking questions such as: What are the functions of a family? How does the evolution of family forms reflect changes in the functions families have needed to perform? Is it meaningful to speak of a “normal” family? Taught by an economist and a psychologist-lawyer, we will discuss contributions from literature (The Color Purple, Oedipus Rex, and The Handmaid’s Tale) and popular culture (Pleasantville and relevant TV shows), as well as readings from several disciplines that study the family—history, psychology, economics, anthropology, and sociology.

Coldest Cold War Flicks:
American History, American Movies, 1945-1963

Ginny Schwartz and J.J. Jockel

In this course we will examine the earliest and coldest days of the Cold War, a period extending from the end of World War II in 1945 to the signing of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963, through a sampling of historical texts and American movies made during that time. Movies are often more than just mindless escapism: the stories and texts continually recast by our culture not only entertain but also can provide a window into who we are, and were. Because films, like literature, can reflect the time in which they are produced, we can study history and film together to gain insights into values, issues, beliefs, hopes, fears, and historical experiences. In this course, we will look at how the motion pictures of the day reflected the major preoccupations of the early Cold War era, chief among them dealing with nuclear weapons, responding to the Soviet communist threat, and undertaking America’s new responsibilities abroad, as well as enjoying prosperity and mobility at home in the new suburbs while spawning a generation that eventually would be called the “boomers.” Special attention will be paid to the noir films of the 1940s and 1950s, family melodramas such as Mildred Pierce and Rebel Without a Cause, horror films of the 1950s such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and nuclear war films such as On the Beach and Dr. Strangelove.

Finding a Voice:
Creativity, Community, and Performance

Michael Farley and Larry Boyette

Each of us is moved in a unique, individual way by the beauty of the art that we see, hear, or produce, but the meaning we draw from art is shaped as well by the experiences and ideals that we share within communities. In performance, a person draws upon individual creativity and collective knowledge to present sounds/images/words that have the potential to conjure our most deeply held values. We will explore, in part by regularly becoming performers ourselves, ways in which we can convey our ideas clearly and powerfully. We will also explore ways in which artistic expression conveys meaning in cultures very different from our own.

The course requires no prior training or proficiency as a performer. We ask only that you be willing to express yourself creatively and to share that expression. The college will be housed in a residence that provides space and opportunity for rehearsal and practice, as well as proximity to SLU’s Fine Arts, Music, and Speech and Theatre Departments. Taught by an ethnomusicologist and a historian, who sometimes share the stage as saxophonist and guitarist in a local rock and roll band, the college will seek to foster a community that connects serious academic inquiry with artistic creativity, where students can seek their own voices in an actively supportive environment.

Making a Difference: Leadership in Today’s Society

Ron Flores and Liz Regosin

Since you’re reading this collection of FYP college descriptions, it must mean that you’ve decided to get a college education and that you plan to attend St. Lawrence. That’s great! But why did you decide to commit the next four years to a college education and who will benefit from your education experience? What difference will it make if you complete a liberal arts education? What difference will you make? Many young people go to college so that they can get a good paying job in a competitive market place. And, that is important, but is it enough? We will argue that it is not, and we’ll explore how we can and will use our college experience to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Many of our conversations and assignments will center on the role of the citizen as leader through history and in an increasingly complex global society. Our work in the classroom will also be heavily informed by learning and serving in the local community throughout the fall semester.

Conceptualizing Nature: Landscapes, Animals, Peoples

Danielle Egan and Steve Papson

Blending the theoretical with the experiential, this course is organized around the central theme that the idea of “nature” is one that humans have created. We first explore origin myths and use these myths to locate how peoples perceive and relate to the natural environment. This discussion will be extended to include how our relationship to the natural world is understood through particular types of power and knowledge (e.g., rationalist, scientific, eco-feminist, etc). Secondly, we look at nature as a landscape that is constructed in various ways by people from different social positions: the poet versus the scientist, the native versus the tourist, the tree cutter versus the tree hugger, the snowmobiler versus the cross country skier, etc. Finally, we will contrast the animal rights movement with the many ways in which animals are used—food, pets, lab animals, entertainment, etc.—and we will apply a similar discussion to the social construction of animals. In addition to the substantive areas that will be discussed, the course also has a community service component in which we will construct and maintain local trails. Whenever possible it is our intent to integrate the discussions in the classroom with the experiences of the trail. Moreover, we will use a wide variety of approaches--excursions into the Adirondacks, GPS and GIS workshops and assignments, artist bookmaking, and website construction.

Seeing the Forest For the Trees

Bruce Weiner and Carrie Johns

Is “nature” a collection of resources to be utilized by human societies for whatever purposes we deem to be best? Is it our right to just use and consume? Or, alternatively, do we have some responsibility to interact with nature in more respectful ways because it has some intrinsic value as well as use value? Through a variety of readings, discussions, and journal-keeping, we will explore the nature of our relationship with nature. We will look into four main areas: interactions of people and forests, threats to endangered species, views of traditional native peoples along with current resource conflicts on native lands, and, finally, how personal connections to nature have inspired and informed activism in defense of nature. We will plan to include two or three day trips in the Adirondacks or St. Lawrence Valley as part of our learning experiences.

Becoming American, Becoming Canadian:
Immigration and the Making of North American Culture

Assis Malaquias and Bob Thacker

In this course, we will look at how two separate immigrant nations – Canada and the United States – came to share the northern portion of the American continent. Beginning with the history of each country’s settlement and development, we will critically review the development of their respective culture, economic base, and political structures within a comparative framework. In particular, looking at each country’s history of immigration, we will scrutinize Canadian and American ways of accommodating immigrants and moving them toward full citizenship, most especially since 1960. In this context, Canada’s policy of official Multiculturalism will receive special attention. These countries’ distinct experiences at home are reflected both in their international standings and images. We will also spend time on some of the key similarities and differences in American and Canadian foreign relations.

Canoes Jumping Out at Me

Bill Short and Paul Doty

Together we will explore canoes from the perspectives of culture, aesthetics, and design. We will vigorously investigate canoes as instruments of human interaction with nature, as instruments of human engineering, as cultural icons, as symbols, and finally, as something beautiful in-and-of themselves. Of course, what we will really be examining is human imagination and human experience, and we will use the canoe to get there. In addition to reading texts about canoes and canoeing, you will keep an extensive journal based on your participation in either constructing a wooden canoe that will be paddled in Canton’s annual Rushton Relays, or researching vintage wooden canoes held in several collections around the North Country. Finally, you will be expected to be involved with at least one canoe trip during the semester.

The Expression and Psychology of Creativity

Joan Dargan and Jenny MacGregor

What is creativity? Is it an inborn trait parceled out to the lucky few, or it is a process that all of us can tap into and develop in a meaningful way? Is it an integral part of individual and collective freedom? What are the neurobiological underpinnings of the artistic impulse, and what, if any, is the connection between madness and art? How might creative expression lead all of us, artist and non-artist alike, to psychological well-being and a sense of meaning in our lives? Through selected readings, discussion, writing, and your personal engagement in art forms of your choice (music, creative writing, painting, dance, photography, etc.), we will explore questions such as these. You will participate in campus events in the arts (those sponsored, for instance, by the Writers Series, the Brush Art Gallery, and the music and fine arts departments) and draw on your own artistic experience as part of the collective inquiry into these issues. The emphasis will not be on expertise or the “final product,” but on the development of each student’s own creative process.