St. Lawrence University: First-Year Program

ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY
FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
SPRING 2008

The FYS strives to continue the communication skills, critical thinking, ethical reflection, and liberal learning goals of the FYP, but with a specific focus on critical inquiry and research. Each of you will engage in a research project of significant depth over the course of the semester. Our learning goals for that research project include that you:

Be introduced to ways of conducting productive and imaginative inquiry and research in order to become a part of the various conversations surrounding issues.

Learn to differentiate among the various ways that information is produced and presented, between popular and scholarly journals and books, between mainstream and alternative publications, between primary and secondary sources.

Learn how to evaluate and synthesize information, whether gathered from traditional sources, such as books and journals, or from websites or electronic media.

Begin to develop the skills of critical analysis in the interpretation and use of information gathered from any source.

Be introduced to the ethical obligations that scholars have to both responsibly represent their sources and inform their readers of the sources of their information, as well as learning, and being held responsible for the proper use of, the conventions of scholarly citation and attribution.

Present the results of your research through writing, speaking, visual elements, or other multimedia forms in such a way that you demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively using the rhetorical conventions of the chosen form.

FYS COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

IMPORTANT NOTE: The numbers follow each course title are the numbers you should use on your preference form. The preference form can be found here as a PDF that you can print out and turn in.

The descriptions are categorized to facilitate the process of selection. Here are the description categories in order:

Crises and Disasters
Culture and the Visual
Environmental Issues and Human Impacts
Global Issues
Music and Dance
Philosophy and Religion
Science and Technology
Texts and Textual Analysis
The Past and The Present
Youth and Families

CRISES AND DISASTERS

Hurricane Katrina (1)
Margaret Kent Bass
T/H 8:30-10:00 a.m. and W 1:40-3:10 p.m.

This course explores the many perspectives on Hurricane Katrina from various media: autobiographies of survival, photo-journals, film, and local and national newspapers. At the center of our study of Hurricane Katrina are the questions that continue to fuel the controversy:

1) Did local and federal governments have fair warning that such a hurricane was possible or even likely to occur in New Orleans?
2) Was the nation simply unprepared for a disaster of this magnitude?
3) Was the response to Hurricane Katrina what some have called a "national disgrace"?
4) Did the federal government fail to respond immediately because the people most affected by Katrina were primarily Black and poor?

We’ll read, ponder and discuss local, national and international responses to Hurricane Katrina. After extensive investigation and research, we’ll come to our own conclusions about Hurricane Katrina. Perhaps we’ll answer the questions, or maybe we’ll generate more questions than answers. Whatever the case, we’ll share our questions, findings and conclusions with the class.

The Crises of Our Times: What Are They and Can They be Abated? (2)
Bob Wells
T/H 8:30-10:00 a.m. and W 12:00-1:30 p.m.

Beginning with the industrial revolution, circa 1750, the western world experienced a number of crises over a period of 200 years: the French Revolution, the Revolutions of 1848, World War I, the 1918 Flu Pandemic, the worldwide Depression beginning in 1929, and World War II. Since that time the number and types of crises have expanded. Historians have documented at least 12 military and political crises during and after the Cold War, hundreds of international and internal wars, a nuclear arms race between the superpowers, an explosion of the world’s population to 6.6 billion people from 1 billion in 1900, numerous incidents of genocide and gross violations of human rights, an emergence of modern pandemics which we were unprepared for, serious consequences resulting in the depredation of the environment, the outbreak of transnational terrorism and the emergence of a new bipolar world of “haves” and “have nots” where the wealth of the “haves” is three times greater than the “have nots” who constitute three-quarters of the world’s population – the North-South Divide. The seminar will investigate all of these topics through readings, lectures and class presentations and discussions. Students will research selected topics and present them in class and in written essays.

Natural Environmental Hazards: Causes, Effects and Risk Assessment (3)
John Bursnall
T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and H 12:40-2:10 p.m.

This course will provide a background to understanding the causes of catastrophic natural events, typically referred to as natural environmental hazards. These clearly have had, and will continue to have, a profound effect on human existence in the form of destruction of buildings, communication systems and loss of life. The causes and sometimes devastating effects of volcanic eruption, earthquakes, landslides, flooding, tsunami, tornadoes and hurricanes, and changes in climate will all be discussed in some detail. Successful attempts at protection are rare and, at best, short lived (and, in many instances, impossible), so we are left with producing sufficiently accurate prediction techniques and to making an assessment of the risk level. However, the same risk factor may be viewed quite differently by different groups - according to their needs, income, preference, expertise or ignorance. Some of the questions we will attempt to answer are: How do we perceive risk, and why do we continue to live in locations that are known to be prone to these risks? Remediation is generally very costly, who should pay? Should governments have the right to restrict living and building in areas known to be at risk?

CULTURE AND THE VISUAL

Film Noir: The Dark Side of American Culture (4)
Ginny Schwartz
T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and H 2:20-3:50 p.m.

The emphasis of this course will be the visual imagery and themes of the film noir genre, and in particular the ways in which film noir represents and reflects the cultural conditions of the time in which it is produced. Unlike the upbeat movies that are more typical of the classic Hollywood style, noir is often described as portraying a more realistic view of life; perhaps more accurately, film noir reflects a gritty realism about the darker aspects of the human experience. This seminar will use fiction, essays, and films to examine the noir sensibility, including its literary, cultural, and cinematic origins. We will study the classic film noir era, which occurred between 1944 and 1958, and examine the recent reemergence of noir films. Why has a genre that appeared for the first time during the period of post-World War II disillusionment suddenly become so prevalent in the last decade or so? We will explore topics such as film noir’s literary, artistic, and political origins; the noir narrative and visual style; the cultural, historical, psychological, sociological, and gender issues that are typically reflected in noir narratives.

Postmodernity, Culture, and Identity (5)
Stephen Papson
T/H 10:10-11:40 and W 2:40-4:10 p.m.

Postmodern social theory sees the contemporary self as constructed out of media fragments, such as brand signifiers, commodity signs, celebrity images, and TV narratives of success. Moreover, as the velocity of the flow of these information fragments accelerates, it becomes increasingly problematic to situate the self in a stable set of cultural codes. Consequently, it becomes difficult to construct a coherent identity, one in which an individual has strong links to other particular humans or to a notion of humanity in general. Postmodern thought often draws on the psychological categories of schizophrenia and narcissism to describe the self confronted by cultural fragmentation and social privatization. This course will primarily use fiction and film which speak to the problem of forming a coherent self in a social world in constant flux.Class discussion will focus on deciphering these texts and linking the visions of these authors and directors toan understanding and recognition that our sense of who we are is greatly determined by social and cultural forces that exist far beyond our control.

Rebels and Outcasts: the American Identity in Film (6)
Kathleen Stein
T 8:30-10:00 a.m. and H 8:30-11:40 a.m.

Film is a medium dependent on mass appeal for commercial success, yet from its inception American film has been fascinated with rebellious loners and social outcasts. We will explore what these figures can tell us about the American self-image and about the state of American society at the times when they have appeared. We will consider film as an artistic, emotional medium, but also as a barometer of reaction to economic upheaval, social change, gender tensions, wars (hot and cold). Research topics could include specific film genres, character types, or recurring themes, with particular attention to how these have changed over time. Sources for projects will involve a variety of print materials, from historical and sociological studies of film to contemporary reviews, and the close study of films of particular relevance to each topic as well.

Visual Culture (7)
Kasarian Dane
T/H 10:10 a.m.-12:25 p.m.

This seminar is an introduction to the critical study of visual culture, including aspects of popular, artistic, academic and underground culture. Students will develop an awareness of fundamental concerns of seeing and constructing meaning. A variety of visual practices such as architecture, advertising, television, and video as well as more traditional mediums of painting, drawing, and photography will be analyzed critically. Emphasis will be placed on developing a critical awareness of the multifaceted means of visual persuasion and manipulation that fill the viewing landscape (both actual and virtual) of our culture. This seminar will be a mixture of theory and practice. Students will be asked to respond to concepts in both written AND visual form. Studio projects will be a part of the course.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND HUMAN IMPACTS

Environmental Security: Ecological Issues and Human Security (8)
Susan Willson
M 1:40-3:10 p.m. and T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m.

Environmental factors are becoming increasingly more important in analyses of human conflict, development and peace. Around the world, we are witnessing the outcomes of human-induced ecological damage and environmental stress on individual livelihoods, health and fulfillment of basic needs as we continue degrading the sustainability and resilience of natural systems. Environmental degradation is intensifying conflict and competition over natural resources, aggravating social tensions, and in certain volatile situations, provoking or escalating violence and conflict. This course will begin by examining the historical development of concern for human security within an environmental perspective, and the ways that concern has been expressed in various disciplines, including ecology, international relations, and economics. We will then explore examples of conflict situations that stemmed from misuse or abuse of natural resources, at levels varying from regional, to national, to a global perspective. We will focus on the links between poverty and environmental security, and discuss pertinent issues including: fresh water scarcity and quality; fisheries depletion; land degradation, desertification and deforestation; food security; climate change; and vulnerability to natural disasters. Throughout the course, we will examine and discuss management options, legal and policy regimes, governance reform and other appropriate measures to strengthen environmental security at various scales.

Pollution Spectacular, Management Monster: Global Warming and the End of Oil (9)
Jon Rosales
T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and H 2:20-3:50 p.m.

Two major processes, global warming and the end of oil, are converging in extraordinary ways. Global warming – a spectacular pollution problem of magnitude humanity has not ever faced – is predominantly caused by burning oil, and other fossil fuels. Yet diminishing our use of oil is an exceedingly difficult challenge – a management monster – because in industrialized civilizations we are so dependent on its use for energy and as a component of innumerable products. We are faced with a dilemma, or possibly a paradox: To combat global warming, the oil cannot be combusted, but without combusting oil we cannot live as we do currently. With global oil production at or near its peak, the end of oil is posing an interesting twist to this situation. With roughly half of the planet’s recoverable oil still remaining in the ground, what is the best way forward? This course delves into this dilemma, including the power of large oil companies and oil wars, and explores our options for the future.

What Should We Eat? (10)
Pat Alden
T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and F 12:00-1:30 p.m.

This seminar will begin by reading Michael Pollen’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma. If humans can eat all sorts of foods, which ones should we in fact be choosing for our own and our planet’s health? Pollen has been described as a journalist/philosopher, and this seminar will involve the kind of research and writing that characterize good journalism and the kind of ethical probing that characterizes the work of philosophers. Is the choice to be vegetarian/vegan the only healthy, humane, and environmentally sound one? Should we care how cows and chickens are reared and butchered in mass market conditions? Is eating locally a realistic option and is it a good option? Do the increased rates of diabetes and autism signal a problem with our food? How has SLU Dining Services responded to these questions? Students will meet with a number of local food producers and providers throughout the semester. They will identify a food concern of interest to them and research that issue throughout the semester; the final product may be a personal manifesto, a piece of journalism that informs, a scientific paper, or an ethical inquiry that challenges others to think.

World Environmentalism Since 1960 (11)
Neil Forkey
T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and T 12:40-2:10 p.m.

Following the Second World War a unique concern for both the quality of the natural environment and the health of human communities emerged. This new urgency differed from past, usually state-inspired, schemes to conserve natural resources for future economic use. Environmentalism, as the sentiment became to be known, was especially present in the generation born after the war, and this demographic group pushed such issues to the forefront of social agendas beginning in the late-1960s. Thus, since the “sixties” the world has seen the advent and rise of a sustained environmental movement, especially in (but not limited to) Europe and North America. In this seminar, we will explore the historical underpinnings of the world environmental movement. In so doing, we will consider case studies from Europe, the Americas, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. Throughout the course, we will consider how temporal, cultural, socio-economic, and political factors have shaped responses from various countries, or regions of the world. We will also probe the omnibus messages of world environmentalism ranging from that of the “main-stream” to the community-based “grass-roots” type to the more radical deep ecology.

GLOBAL ISSUES

Confronting Islamist Terror (12)
J. Jockel
T/H 8:30-10:00 a.m. and T 7:30-9:00 p.m.

This seminar will examine how the United States, its allies, and its friends are confronting Islamist terror. The instructor will himself pick the first two books to be read and then will select a number of other books and readings in consultation with the students.

Decolonizing America (13)
John Collins
T/H 10:10 a.m. -12:25 p.m.

The United States is a colonial nation in two senses: it began as product of British colonialism, and it subsequently became a colonizing power within North America and beyond. We see the effects and the continuation of this colonization process all around us, whether in the exploitation of indigenous people and territory, the operation of a “prison-industrial complex” whose roots lie in centuries of slavery and white supremacy, or the violence of the US war on and occupation of Iraq. This seminar will explore the United States from the perspectives of those who experience it today as a space of colonization, genocide, and resistance. Beginning from the insights of Frantz Fanon, Angela Davis and other theorists of colonialism and anticolonialism, students will research contemporary injustices as well as movements that have worked and are working toward a radical decolonization of the United States. This course will appeal to students who are interested in the struggle for social justice both inside and outside the US.

Institutions of the Global Economy (14)
Michael Jenkins
T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and W 1:40-3:10 p.m.

Recently the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been the subject of much debate, scrutiny, scorn and protest. In this seminar we will explore these institutions. We will address such issues as the decision making processes within these institutions, with emphasis on comparing the roles of developed countries, like the U.S, to that of the poorer countries of the world. We then examine the impacts of IMF and WTO decisions and actions on both developed and developing countries. In doing so we will consider why these institutions have generated so much recent controversy.

Who am I? Who are We? Understanding Identity and Ethnicity (15)
Maria Tzintzarova
T/H 8:30-10:00 and T 12:40-2:10 p.m.

One important way we form a sense of self is by identifying with larger groups of people, such as nations or ethnic groups. How do identity and nationalism contribute to human behaviors such as discrimination, oppression, violence and even genocide? This class focuses on the involvement of identity groups in the politics of many countries, using the examples of the Kurds in Turkey, the Tamils in Sri Lanka, the Albanians in Kosovo and other groups. It also explores the role of governments in stimulating a common identity for the purpose of achieving political goals. In summary, we will examine interest group activities, their causes, as well as the way states have responded to them.

MUSIC AND DANCE

Capoeira: Resistance in Rhythm, Movement, and Ritual (16)
Relani Prudhomme
T 10:10-11:40 a.m. and T/H 12:40-2:10 p.m.

This course will examine the art of capoeira as a form of resistance developed by black African people (mainly men) in resistance to their condition and designated role as slaves in Brazilian society some 200 years ago. Through rhythm, movement, and ritual, these people told their story, narrated their existence, and asserted their personhood, turning domination and oppression on its head. This course will examine how the narrative in capoeira, as expressed through corporeal, rhythmic, and ritual/theater rhetoric, has been altered by shifts in the institutions of race, class, and gender in Brazilian society. We will use traditional forms of academic material such as audio-visual recordings, lectures, and readings to gain an understanding of the fundamental elements of capoeira and its historical trajectory. A significant portion of class time will also be spent in experiential learning of the basic movements of play/fight/dance, the basic rhythms on various musical instruments, and various capoeira lyrics and their English interpretations.

The Beatles (17)
Peter Bailey
T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and W 12:00-1:30 p.m.

The gaudy profusion of materials (CDs, DVDs, bootleg disks, biographies, insider memoirs, cultural and critical studies and so on) by and about the band that have appeared since their disbanding in 1969 makes the Beatles an extraordinarily apt subject for a research seminar. After considering a few of the critical approaches available to us in our attempt to better understand the band’s music and the 1960’s cultural and political phenomenon they were, we’ll go through the catalogue from beginning (U.K., Please Please Me) to end (Let It Be), seeking to understand the remarkable maturation of the songwriting skills of Lennon & McCartney and George Harrison, while also considering the influences observable in the composition of their songs—pop standards of the ‘40s/ ‘50s, British music hall tunes and Skiffle, and American rhythm and blues. We’ll pay particular attention to the members’ individual rebellions against “The Beatles” that resulted in their dissolution. How deeply we get into the members’ post-Beatles careers will depend on how far students’ evolving research projects take us into the seventies and beyond to Lennon’s assassination, McCartney’s merchandizing of the Beatles’ catalogue, and the death of George Harrison. No musical background is required, and of course Henry the horse dances the waltz.

The Roots of American Popular Music (18)
Larry Boyette
T/H 10:10-11:25 a.m. and W 7:00-9:00 p.m.

This seminar will combine research and performance to explore the musical traditions that have shaped the development of American popular music. We will examine the styles and values of the African and European musics whose extraordinarily fruitful interaction produced the many branches of our music: blues, jazz, country, gospel, bluegrass, rock and roll, soul, hip hop and beyond. All seminar members will contribute to weekly performances that allow us to participate in the music that we study. Though instrumentalists, singers, songwriters, dancers and other performers are encouraged to apply, no prior artistic training or musical expertise is required. The only prerequisite is a willingness to participate in some thoughtful and creative way in performances that deepen our understanding and appreciation of American music.

PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION

Popular Buddhism: Fact or Fiction? (19)
Erin McCarthy
M 1:40-3:10 p.m. and T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m.

In this seminar we will critically examine the upsurge of popular culture’s interest in all things Buddhist. A quick search on the web reveals dozens of links ranging from monasteries and online Buddhist texts to spas and home decorating. We will engage in close readings of original Buddhist texts and scholarly work on Buddhism alongside what often get defined as “popular” texts, as well as films as a way of exploring the relationship between “popular” Buddhism and the Buddhism of the original texts and the scholarly world. This critical investigation requires you to complete a research project that will address, among others, the following questions in relation to one particular school of Buddhism: How is Buddhism being used in popular culture? What is its relation to the philosophy? Why has Buddhism become so popular (again) right now?

Manifestoes and Movements (20)
Ganesh Trichur
T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and W 12:00-1:30 p.m.

The new millennium offers unique spaces for the writing of manifestoes. Manifestoes are really short visionary statements that publicly declare the intentions and motives of their authors. Why do manifestoes get written? What generates their wide appeal? What calls for action and what universalizing claims do they make? How do they emerge at particular historical moments and what do they reveal about the historical circumstances out of which they emerge? We will spend the first half of the seminar reading Machiavelli’s The Prince as a sixteenth century manifesto responding to the crisis of Italian city-states; Sylvain Marechal’s late eighteenth century Manifeste Des Egaux in the context of the French Revolution; and Marx and Engels’ 1848 Communist Manifesto in the context of the new working classes. You will research and make short presentations on a manifesto of your choice. To make sense of our own times, we will try to relate the writing of manifestoes to the wide array of contemporary social movements – like working class movements, women’s movements, environmental movements, civil rights movements, and gay and lesbian rights movements. How do these movements emerge? Despite their differences why are social movements today converging in their claim that “another world is possible”? We will try to see what insights contemporary newspapers offer to movements seeking to understand and create other worlds. Your final project will be to research a social movement of your choice, make a formal seminar presentation, and write a research paper based on the social movement of your choice.

The Infinite Mind (21)
Duriel E. Harris
T/H 10:10–11:40 a.m. and T 2:20–3:50 p.m.

What makes human beings special? Laughter? Empathy? Lying? Belief? Imagination? How we think? What are the neural foundations of the self? What is the relationship between the brain and the mind? How do changes in the brain affect our perception of our environments and ourselves? Using the public radio program “The Infinite Mind” as an anchor and portal, this first year seminar will focus on the art and science of the mind and human behavior. We will examine film, sound recordings, scientific, philosophical, and literary texts to explore the overlap between the mechanisms of the body and the meditations of the mind. Students will begin to consider the ways in which multiple factors inform self-conceptualization. Students will write two essays: an autobiographical case study focusing on the intersection of identity and physiological and psychic being, and a research paper focusing on one of the select topics presented on “The Infinite Mind” program. Students will also contribute research and oral commentary to a class podcast modeled after the nationally broadcast radio program.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Alan Turing: The Man and the Universal Machine (22)
Paul Doty
T/H 8:30-10:00 a.m. and H 2:20-3:50 p.m.

Alan Turing’s ideas shaped the development of the computer in the later half of the twentieth century, and his ideas are the basis for the future of computing: artificial intelligence. In a 1936 paper titled “On Computable Numbers” Turing describes a universal machine which articulates the critical components of the modern computer. Turing’s 1950 paper “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” proposes a game for comparing machine and human intelligence which has become known as the Turing Test, and is still the decisive measure in assessing whether a machine is thinking. Between these two papers Turing served as one of the British code breakers at Bletchley Park, and it is not an exaggeration to say that through his work there Turing had a personal hand in defeating Nazi Germany. Yet his life was not one that allowed him to celebrate his accomplishments: he was notably out of step with his time, and was a man driven to suicide as a result of being prosecuted for his sexuality. This course will be an opportunity to study Turing’s vision of computers and computing, his cryptography, and who he was as a man through biographical and fictional accounts of his life. Students will write on Turing through essays and participation in a wiki, prepare at least one major power point presentation, and do a research project on artificial intelligence that will be published as a web site.

Medical Ecology (23)
Carol Budd
T/H 10:10-11:40 and T 12:40-2:10 p.m.

Everything is connected to everything else. In this course, you will explore the connections between changing environments and the distribution of disease organisms over time as well as the co-evolution of disease organisms with their human host. To understand the issues, we will use several primary examples of environmental and evolutionary changes with profound medical impacts. These include severe inbreeding depression in Florida panthers as a function of habitat isolation; the evolutionary success story of the 4 species responsible for malaria; why a vaccine for HIV is an unlikely event in the near future; the resurgence of tuberculosis; and what we can learn about bird flu from the influenza pandemic of 1918. You will also learn several simple bioinformatics techniques to determine if DNA samples from simulated patients contain normally occurring or pathogenic organisms and how scientists study toxic chemicals using gas chromatography, flow cytometry, and microarrays to assess environmental health issues. Students who take this FYP must also co-enroll in at least one Natural Science distribution lab science.

Medical Ethics (24)
David E. Hornung
T/H 10:10-11:55 a.m. and W 9:40-10:40 a.m.

In this seminar we will examine topics such as the physician/patient relationship, medical assisted suicide, cloning, genetic engineering, transplants, informed consent, elective surgery and reproductive ethics. We will also consider alternative approaches to healing, approaches that for many people in the world are, in fact, traditional. The goal will be to examine the principles that guide individuals as they struggle with these increasingly complex issues. Research projects will focus on some aspect of medical ethics (broadly defined). Six of the T/Th meetings will be with the SOAR (Stimulating Opportunities for Retired People) group which will allow us to interact around the common theme of medical ethics with a group of adults from the Canton area.

The Science of How and Why We Sleep (25)
Pamela Thacher
T/H 12:40-2:10 p.m. and W 1:40-3:10 p.m.

Students will learn about the biological, psychological, and social/cultural foundations of sleep and dreaming. In examining these topics, we will first learn about the brain structures and their inter-connections with respect to sleep, and the psychological issues relevant to sleep, such as the differences between long sleepers and short sleepers, or between early risers and night owls. We will also talk about sleep disorders and their relevance to our lives and culture, and about the various choices that different cultures make with respect to sleep. For example, in some cultures, “co-sleeping” (infant or child sleeping with one or more parents during the night) is the norm, while in other cultures, co-sleeping is considered all but taboo. We will examine how this complex behavior manifests itself in various settings, and how these processes and choices can go wrong. We will learn about the various techniques used to collect information about sleep, including sleep diary data, “actigraph” data, hormonal profiles, and dream reports, to better understand the phenomenology of sleep.

TEXTS AND TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Food For Thought (26)
Paul Graham
M/W 1:40-3:10 p.m. and F 12:00-1:30 p.m.

This seminar will focus on a diverse selection of literature, primarily literary essays, written on the subject of food. How have writers written about this most basic human need? How do these authors and their works constitute a sub-genre of literature, and why are their writings important? Part of our research will be carried out to determine the significance of this literature by situating it historically, culturally, psychologically, etc. In addition to researching a series of questions generated out of the readings and our discussions of them, students will also generate their own piece of literary journalism —archival and experiential research blended with personal narrative—on the significance of food in the community. This will happen through a Community Based Learning component in the course which will place students in various settings to serve the community, carry out research, and write on the significance of food: free-will dinners, meals-on-wheels, and work at local farms are some of the placement possibilities. Therefore, students in this FYS will complete 1-2 hours of community service per week.

News Worthy Anthropology: Scientific versus Popular Portrayals of Anthropology (27)
Renee Koster
T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and W 1:40-3:10 p.m.

Over the last few decades anthropology has become a popular source for news articles and television shows such as History Channel’s Digging for the Truth. But how accurate is the information we receive from the media? Newspapers, magazines, TV, and film report scientific discoveries and information all the time, but are they getting the facts straight? Anthropology is just one of the many fields whose scholars and research are presented to the general public through the many forms of today’s media. In this course we will explore and compare different forms of the media’s representation of anthropology. Specific case studies involving archaeology, human origins, and Native Americans will be examined through a combination of news, popular magazines, film, novels, and scholarly reports and articles. Popular media sources will be examined and critiqued based on the actual scientific research. Students will learn the fundamentals of academic research while conducting a research project on an anthropological topic using a combination of media and scholarly work.

Putting Texts in Context (28)
Kerry Grant
M 1:40-2:40 p.m. and T/H 10:10-11:55 a.m.

Complex texts often assume certain kinds of knowledge on the part of their readers, knowledge that not all of us necessarily have immediately to hand. A political cartoon, for example, depends for its effect on our knowing the situation in which the characters being satirized are involved. A film about the Vietnam war assumes that the viewer has some understanding of the history of that conflict. This course will examine a variety of texts--news photographs, editorials, political cartoons, a novel, a film--with a view to determining what additional information a reader might find helpful in generating a more informed and thus richer reading. Participants will learn how to gather information from a variety of online and print-based resources, and how to present it in a variety of ways. In addition to small informal writing assignments, students will be asked to present the results of research more formally, both orally and in the form of a web site. Training in PowerPoint and in the use of Dreamweaver to create web pages is built into the course. The goal of the course is to increase familiarity with the process of gathering information and of presenting it in ways that serve clearly defined rhetorical goals.

The Dickens Phenomenon (29)
Bob DeGraaff
M 12:00-1:30 p.m. and T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m.

Charles Dickens was, in his own time, the most popular novelist writing in English, and he remains so today. During the publication, in monthly parts, of his first novel, Pickwick Papers, sales soared from 400 to 40,000 copies. Later novels and Christmas stories, as well as his weekly journal, usually sold between 50,000 and 100,000 copies, and all before a “mass market” existed. This course will examine Dickens’s life and work within the Victorian cultural/historical context, in order to try to understand this enormous popularity. Student projects will use that context to illuminate features of the Dickens texts: Pickwick Papers, A Christmas Carol, and David Copperfield.

THE PAST AND THE PRESENT

Famous Dead Canadians: Biography and Iconography (30)
Robert Thacker
M 1:40-3:10 p.m. and T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m.

Predicated on the idea that everyone has someone she’s interested in knowing more about, this seminar will take up some well-known Canadians—now departed—as a means of understanding, shaping, and arguing the significances of a life lived. Our primary cases will be Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, either the man who willed the country into being or a drunk; Louis Riel, a mystical leader who was either traitor or prophet; Emily Carr, a visionary painter and writer and also a bit of a kook; and Pierre Elliott Trudeau, either Canada’s greatest prime minister or the man who ruined the country. Each student will research, write, and present a semester-long biographical essay/project focused on one of these persons or on another dead Canadian of her own choice.

Royal Pains: The British Monarchy in Transition (31)
Deborah Lewis
M 12:00-1:30 p.m. and T/H 8:30-10:00 a.m.

Current fascination with the British royal family, especially the late Princess Diana and her two sons, the Princes William and Harry—and the tabloid articles, books, and movies it has spawned--only reflects an age-old preoccupation with monarchy in all its forms. How has the British monarchy changed, through the centuries? What obstacles have the Kings and Queens of England faced in terms of religious, social, and economic change, and how have these changes affected shifts in power? How have their personalities, political views and relationships influenced national—even international--policy and thinking? Is the monarchy viable today? This seminar will focus on selected monarchs beginning in the Middle Ages, including Richard III, alleged murderer of the Princes in the Tower; the Tudors, including Henry VIII and his six wives; the House of Stuart, including the bisexual James I; the most famous widow in British history, Queen Victoria; and Edward VIII, who abdicated “for the woman he loved.” Primary texts will include court papers, letters, transcripts, commentaries, histories, and literature; secondary materials will include biographies, analyses, and film.

The Shock Of The Sixties (32)
William Hunt
T 10:10-11:40 a.m. and H 8:30-11:40 a.m.

America is still divided along the cultural and political fault-lines that first emerged in the conflicts of the 1960s: the decade that shaped the outlook of the (now middle-aged) “baby boom” generation The virtually even split between supporters of Bush and Gore in 2000 and between Bush and Kerry in 2004 pretty neatly reflects the division between those who support and those who oppose (or at least mistrust) the legacy of the so-called “New Left” the 1960s—anti-militarism, racial and gender equality, sexual freedom, environmentalism, and so on. These same issues—with the war in Iraq replacing the war in Vietnam—are likely to figure largely in the election of 2008 as well. The purpose of this seminar is to enable students to explore, through collective inquiry and individual research, the sometimes paradoxical ways in which the decade of the1960s continues to shape our world.

Utopia in the Modern World (33)
Elun Gabriel
M/W 12:00-1:30 p.m. and H 12:40-2:10 p.m.

From Plato’s Republic to The Beach, imagining good societies (utopias) has been an integral part of the Western literary, philosophical, and historical tradition. In this course, we will briefly survey classic literary utopias before turning to an extended study of modern utopian fiction, as well as the place of utopian themes in social and political thought. We will consider the changing nature of what people have considered the good life, and how they have imagined its realization. This FYS will include a community-based learning component of approximately 20 hours during the semester on certain designated weekend days (3-5 days total). Students must be willing to do a modest amount of physical and other kinds of labor (possibly on a farm, community construction project, or alternative school) as a way of understanding the issues addressed by the authors we will be reading.

YOUTH AND FAMILIES

Moods, ‘Tudes, and Feuds: Adolescent Turbulence from Middle School to College (34)
Jenny MacGregor
T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and T 12:40-2:10 p.m.

Parents sometimes construe adolescence as a black hole of rebellion and sullen silence. But what is really going on inside the teenager’s mind? Drawing on current theories from social, neurophysiological and developmental psychology, we will explore the enormous changes that teens undergo, both internally (e.g., changing self-concept and body image) and externally (e.g., changing social demands and goals). Then, working as a group, we will design a simple study to look at research questions that intrigue the class. Possible questions include: How are masculinity and femininity conceived and enacted throughout the adolescent years, and how do media images of violent manliness and sexy-but-girlish womanhood affect teens? How do internet culture and psychological development interact to produce alternate forms of identity as seen in screen names and myspace.com profiles? How has the internet changed the social dynamics of adolescence? Who becomes popular and why? A significant component of this class will be conducting theory-driven research: deriving hypotheses, operationalizing variables, collecting data (via surveys and interviews), and analyzing results.

Native American Children and Youth (35)
Ronald J.O. Flores
W 12:00-3:00 p.m. and F 12:00-1:30 p.m. plus W 3:00-6:00 p.m. for community-based learning

National research finds that Native American youth are at greater risk of dropping out of high school, drug, alcohol and tobacco use, mental illness and both considering and attempting suicide relative to their non-Native counterparts. Further, the likelihood of such behaviors is higher among Native children and youth who live on reservations. The causes of these child and youth experiences are deeply connected to centuries of genocide, oppression, exploitation and discrimination at the hands of Europeans and Americans. In this seminar, we will learn about Native American children by having our class sessions, as well as volunteering, at the Akwesasne Reservation. During our time on the reservation, we will work closely with Mohawk children in programs that attempt to counter the devastating effects of poverty and scarce resources on the well being of children. Thus, we will not only learn about and experience the conditions native children face, but also how native communities, against considerable odds, actively work to promote the welfare of their children. As part of our research activities, we will work on securing funds for the creation of a recreation/athletic center for the children and youth of Akwesasne.

Not In Front of the Children! Childhood in Contemporary Culture (36)
R. Danielle Egan
T 12:40-2:10 p.m. and H 1:15-4:15 p.m.

Cultural definitions of “childhood” are slippery at best. Those definitions are complex and contradictory, as shown in how we proclaim children are innocent and little angels, and simultaneously television shows such as Nanny 911 or Super Nanny illuminate the spectacle of something far more insidious. In this first year seminar, we will explore the cultural and political implications of the ways we socially construct childhood. Employing film as well as historical, literary, philosophical and sociological texts, we will critically deconstruct childhood in our postmodern culture. We will see that in some cultural contexts childhood ends at the onset of adolescence and in others seems to extend (particularly with regard to sexuality) into university. Our cultural definitions of childhood both inform and validate social and educational policies (welfare, legal accountability, sex education, freedom of expression or parental rights) as well as social control mechanisms (drinking age, legal curfews and prison sentencing). Students in this seminar will conduct semester long projects exploring the complex and contradictory ways in which childhood functions in our contemporary culture. Research topics may vary widely, but might include how children are portrayed in popular culture or the ways in which race, class and gender figure into the issues of childhood obesity. Students will present their work at an undergraduate conference in Buffalo, NY in late April.

The State of the Family: Constitutional Law and the American Family (37)
Cathy Crosby-Currie
T/H 8:30-10:00 a.m. and T 2:20-3:50 p.m.

What power should the state have within the private realm of the family? What rights do parents have to decide how they will raise their children? Does the right to marry apply to opposite-sex couples only? In this course, we will examine the controversies that arise when constitutional rights collide with state and federal laws governing the family. We will begin with an exploration of the basic concept of liberty and the foundational U.S. Supreme Court cases that established the constitutional right to parent and to marry. We will then explore some specific issues including child abuse and neglect, termination of parental rights and same-sex marriage. One purpose of this course is to challenge and expand students’ critical thinking skills by requiring them to grapple with the texts of actual U.S. Supreme Court cases. Students will also conduct a semester-long research project on a family-relevant legal issue (e.g., adolescent abortion, rights of public school students, divorce and custody, artificial reproduction) that will require that they become conversant with a variety of legal and social science literature on their topic and produce a paper reporting on what they have found.


What's new in the FYP: The New Student Guide (NSG) will be in the mail around May 11.
Dates for 2009-2010 Information on Important Summer Mailings FYP Fall 2009 Course Descriptions SLU Songs First-Year Cup Philosophy and Goals Rhetoric & Communication Goals Academic Advising Programs The Munn WORD Studio Residence Life Advisor's Handbook Academic Planning and Registration System Academic Affairs Student Life FYS Spring 09 Course Descriptions FYS Spring 2009 Syllabi FYP Fall 2009 Course Descriptions	ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR COURSE DESCRIPTIONS SPRING 2008 The FYS strives to continue the communication skills, critical thinking, ethical reflection, and liberal learning goals of the FYP, but with a specific focus on critical inquiry and research. Each of you will engage in a research project of significant depth over the course of the semester. Our learning goals for that research project include that you: Be introduced to ways of conducting productive and imaginative inquiry and research in order to become a part of the various conversations surrounding issues. Learn to differentiate among the various ways that information is produced and presented, between popular and scholarly journals and books, between mainstream and alternative publications, between primary and secondary sources. Learn how to evaluate and synthesize information, whether gathered from traditional sources, such as books and journals, or from websites or electronic media. Begin to develop the skills of critical analysis in the interpretation and use of information gathered from any source. Be introduced to the ethical obligations that scholars have to both responsibly represent their sources and inform their readers of the sources of their information, as well as learning, and being held responsible for the proper use of, the conventions of scholarly citation and attribution. Present the results of your research through writing, speaking, visual elements, or other multimedia forms in such a way that you demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively using the rhetorical conventions of the chosen form. FYS COURSE DESCRIPTIONS IMPORTANT NOTE: The numbers follow each course title are the numbers you should use on your preference form. The preference form can be found here as a PDF that you can print out and turn in. The descriptions are categorized to facilitate the process of selection. Here are the description categories in order: *Crises and Disasters* *Culture and the Visual* *Environmental Issues and Human Impacts* *Global Issues* *Music and Dance* *Philosophy and Religion* *Science and Technology* *Texts and Textual Analysis* *The Past and The Present* *Youth and Families* CRISES AND DISASTERS Hurricane Katrina (1) Margaret Kent Bass T/H 8:30-10:00 a.m. and W 1:40-3:10 p.m. This course explores the many perspectives on Hurricane Katrina from various media: autobiographies of survival, photo-journals, film, and local and national newspapers. At the center of our study of Hurricane Katrina are the questions that continue to fuel the controversy: 1) Did local and federal governments have fair warning that such a hurricane was possible or even likely to occur in New Orleans? 2) Was the nation simply unprepared for a disaster of this magnitude? 3) Was the response to Hurricane Katrina what some have called a "national disgrace"? 4) Did the federal government fail to respond immediately because the people most affected by Katrina were primarily Black and poor? We’ll read, ponder and discuss local, national and international responses to Hurricane Katrina. After extensive investigation and research, we’ll come to our own conclusions about Hurricane Katrina. Perhaps we’ll answer the questions, or maybe we’ll generate more questions than answers. Whatever the case, we’ll share our questions, findings and conclusions with the class. The Crises of Our Times: What Are They and Can They be Abated? (2) Bob Wells T/H 8:30-10:00 a.m. and W 12:00-1:30 p.m. Beginning with the industrial revolution, circa 1750, the western world experienced a number of crises over a period of 200 years: the French Revolution, the Revolutions of 1848, World War I, the 1918 Flu Pandemic, the worldwide Depression beginning in 1929, and World War II. Since that time the number and types of crises have expanded. Historians have documented at least 12 military and political crises during and after the Cold War, hundreds of international and internal wars, a nuclear arms race between the superpowers, an explosion of the world’s population to 6.6 billion people from 1 billion in 1900, numerous incidents of genocide and gross violations of human rights, an emergence of modern pandemics which we were unprepared for, serious consequences resulting in the depredation of the environment, the outbreak of transnational terrorism and the emergence of a new bipolar world of “haves” and “have nots” where the wealth of the “haves” is three times greater than the “have nots” who constitute three-quarters of the world’s population – the North-South Divide. The seminar will investigate all of these topics through readings, lectures and class presentations and discussions. Students will research selected topics and present them in class and in written essays. Natural Environmental Hazards: Causes, Effects and Risk Assessment (3) John Bursnall T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and H 12:40-2:10 p.m. This course will provide a background to understanding the causes of catastrophic natural events, typically referred to as natural environmental hazards. These clearly have had, and will continue to have, a profound effect on human existence in the form of destruction of buildings, communication systems and loss of life. The causes and sometimes devastating effects of volcanic eruption, earthquakes, landslides, flooding, tsunami, tornadoes and hurricanes, and changes in climate will all be discussed in some detail. Successful attempts at protection are rare and, at best, short lived (and, in many instances, impossible), so we are left with producing sufficiently accurate prediction techniques and to making an assessment of the risk level. However, the same risk factor may be viewed quite differently by different groups - according to their needs, income, preference, expertise or ignorance. Some of the questions we will attempt to answer are: How do we perceive risk, and why do we continue to live in locations that are known to be prone to these risks? Remediation is generally very costly, who should pay? Should governments have the right to restrict living and building in areas known to be at risk? CULTURE AND THE VISUAL Film Noir: The Dark Side of American Culture (4) Ginny Schwartz T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and H 2:20-3:50 p.m. The emphasis of this course will be the visual imagery and themes of the film noir genre, and in particular the ways in which film noir represents and reflects the cultural conditions of the time in which it is produced. Unlike the upbeat movies that are more typical of the classic Hollywood style, noir is often described as portraying a more realistic view of life; perhaps more accurately, film noir reflects a gritty realism about the darker aspects of the human experience. This seminar will use fiction, essays, and films to examine the noir sensibility, including its literary, cultural, and cinematic origins. We will study the classic film noir era, which occurred between 1944 and 1958, and examine the recent reemergence of noir films. Why has a genre that appeared for the first time during the period of post-World War II disillusionment suddenly become so prevalent in the last decade or so? We will explore topics such as film noir’s literary, artistic, and political origins; the noir narrative and visual style; the cultural, historical, psychological, sociological, and gender issues that are typically reflected in noir narratives. Postmodernity, Culture, and Identity (5) Stephen Papson T/H 10:10-11:40 and W 2:40-4:10 p.m. Postmodern social theory sees the contemporary self as constructed out of media fragments, such as brand signifiers, commodity signs, celebrity images, and TV narratives of success. Moreover, as the velocity of the flow of these information fragments accelerates, it becomes increasingly problematic to situate the self in a stable set of cultural codes. Consequently, it becomes difficult to construct a coherent identity, one in which an individual has strong links to other particular humans or to a notion of humanity in general. Postmodern thought often draws on the psychological categories of schizophrenia and narcissism to describe the self confronted by cultural fragmentation and social privatization. This course will primarily use fiction and film which speak to the problem of forming a coherent self in a social world in constant flux.Class discussion will focus on deciphering these texts and linking the visions of these authors and directors toan understanding and recognition that our sense of who we are is greatly determined by social and cultural forces that exist far beyond our control. Rebels and Outcasts: the American Identity in Film (6) Kathleen Stein T 8:30-10:00 a.m. and H 8:30-11:40 a.m. Film is a medium dependent on mass appeal for commercial success, yet from its inception American film has been fascinated with rebellious loners and social outcasts. We will explore what these figures can tell us about the American self-image and about the state of American society at the times when they have appeared. We will consider film as an artistic, emotional medium, but also as a barometer of reaction to economic upheaval, social change, gender tensions, wars (hot and cold). Research topics could include specific film genres, character types, or recurring themes, with particular attention to how these have changed over time. Sources for projects will involve a variety of print materials, from historical and sociological studies of film to contemporary reviews, and the close study of films of particular relevance to each topic as well. Visual Culture (7) Kasarian Dane T/H 10:10 a.m.-12:25 p.m. This seminar is an introduction to the critical study of visual culture, including aspects of popular, artistic, academic and underground culture. Students will develop an awareness of fundamental concerns of seeing and constructing meaning. A variety of visual practices such as architecture, advertising, television, and video as well as more traditional mediums of painting, drawing, and photography will be analyzed critically. Emphasis will be placed on developing a critical awareness of the multifaceted means of visual persuasion and manipulation that fill the viewing landscape (both actual and virtual) of our culture. This seminar will be a mixture of theory and practice. Students will be asked to respond to concepts in both written AND visual form. Studio projects will be a part of the course. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND HUMAN IMPACTS Environmental Security: Ecological Issues and Human Security (8) Susan Willson M 1:40-3:10 p.m. and T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. Environmental factors are becoming increasingly more important in analyses of human conflict, development and peace. Around the world, we are witnessing the outcomes of human-induced ecological damage and environmental stress on individual livelihoods, health and fulfillment of basic needs as we continue degrading the sustainability and resilience of natural systems. Environmental degradation is intensifying conflict and competition over natural resources, aggravating social tensions, and in certain volatile situations, provoking or escalating violence and conflict. This course will begin by examining the historical development of concern for human security within an environmental perspective, and the ways that concern has been expressed in various disciplines, including ecology, international relations, and economics. We will then explore examples of conflict situations that stemmed from misuse or abuse of natural resources, at levels varying from regional, to national, to a global perspective. We will focus on the links between poverty and environmental security, and discuss pertinent issues including: fresh water scarcity and quality; fisheries depletion; land degradation, desertification and deforestation; food security; climate change; and vulnerability to natural disasters. Throughout the course, we will examine and discuss management options, legal and policy regimes, governance reform and other appropriate measures to strengthen environmental security at various scales. Pollution Spectacular, Management Monster: Global Warming and the End of Oil (9) Jon Rosales T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and H 2:20-3:50 p.m. Two major processes, global warming and the end of oil, are converging in extraordinary ways. Global warming – a spectacular pollution problem of magnitude humanity has not ever faced – is predominantly caused by burning oil, and other fossil fuels. Yet diminishing our use of oil is an exceedingly difficult challenge – a management monster – because in industrialized civilizations we are so dependent on its use for energy and as a component of innumerable products. We are faced with a dilemma, or possibly a paradox: To combat global warming, the oil cannot be combusted, but without combusting oil we cannot live as we do currently. With global oil production at or near its peak, the end of oil is posing an interesting twist to this situation. With roughly half of the planet’s recoverable oil still remaining in the ground, what is the best way forward? This course delves into this dilemma, including the power of large oil companies and oil wars, and explores our options for the future. What Should We Eat? (10) Pat Alden T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and F 12:00-1:30 p.m. This seminar will begin by reading Michael Pollen’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma. If humans can eat all sorts of foods, which ones should we in fact be choosing for our own and our planet’s health? Pollen has been described as a journalist/philosopher, and this seminar will involve the kind of research and writing that characterize good journalism and the kind of ethical probing that characterizes the work of philosophers. Is the choice to be vegetarian/vegan the only healthy, humane, and environmentally sound one? Should we care how cows and chickens are reared and butchered in mass market conditions? Is eating locally a realistic option and is it a good option? Do the increased rates of diabetes and autism signal a problem with our food? How has SLU Dining Services responded to these questions? Students will meet with a number of local food producers and providers throughout the semester. They will identify a food concern of interest to them and research that issue throughout the semester; the final product may be a personal manifesto, a piece of journalism that informs, a scientific paper, or an ethical inquiry that challenges others to think. World Environmentalism Since 1960 (11) Neil Forkey T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and T 12:40-2:10 p.m. Following the Second World War a unique concern for both the quality of the natural environment and the health of human communities emerged. This new urgency differed from past, usually state-inspired, schemes to conserve natural resources for future economic use. Environmentalism, as the sentiment became to be known, was especially present in the generation born after the war, and this demographic group pushed such issues to the forefront of social agendas beginning in the late-1960s. Thus, since the “sixties” the world has seen the advent and rise of a sustained environmental movement, especially in (but not limited to) Europe and North America. In this seminar, we will explore the historical underpinnings of the world environmental movement. In so doing, we will consider case studies from Europe, the Americas, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. Throughout the course, we will consider how temporal, cultural, socio-economic, and political factors have shaped responses from various countries, or regions of the world. We will also probe the omnibus messages of world environmentalism ranging from that of the “main-stream” to the community-based “grass-roots” type to the more radical deep ecology. GLOBAL ISSUES Confronting Islamist Terror (12) J. Jockel T/H 8:30-10:00 a.m. and T 7:30-9:00 p.m. This seminar will examine how the United States, its allies, and its friends are confronting Islamist terror. The instructor will himself pick the first two books to be read and then will select a number of other books and readings in consultation with the students. Decolonizing America (13) John Collins T/H 10:10 a.m. -12:25 p.m. The United States is a colonial nation in two senses: it began as product of British colonialism, and it subsequently became a colonizing power within North America and beyond. We see the effects and the continuation of this colonization process all around us, whether in the exploitation of indigenous people and territory, the operation of a “prison-industrial complex” whose roots lie in centuries of slavery and white supremacy, or the violence of the US war on and occupation of Iraq. This seminar will explore the United States from the perspectives of those who experience it today as a space of colonization, genocide, and resistance. Beginning from the insights of Frantz Fanon, Angela Davis and other theorists of colonialism and anticolonialism, students will research contemporary injustices as well as movements that have worked and are working toward a radical decolonization of the United States. This course will appeal to students who are interested in the struggle for social justice both inside and outside the US. Institutions of the Global Economy (14) Michael Jenkins T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and W 1:40-3:10 p.m. Recently the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been the subject of much debate, scrutiny, scorn and protest. In this seminar we will explore these institutions. We will address such issues as the decision making processes within these institutions, with emphasis on comparing the roles of developed countries, like the U.S, to that of the poorer countries of the world. We then examine the impacts of IMF and WTO decisions and actions on both developed and developing countries. In doing so we will consider why these institutions have generated so much recent controversy. Who am I? Who are We? Understanding Identity and Ethnicity (15) Maria Tzintzarova T/H 8:30-10:00 and T 12:40-2:10 p.m. One important way we form a sense of self is by identifying with larger groups of people, such as nations or ethnic groups. How do identity and nationalism contribute to human behaviors such as discrimination, oppression, violence and even genocide? This class focuses on the involvement of identity groups in the politics of many countries, using the examples of the Kurds in Turkey, the Tamils in Sri Lanka, the Albanians in Kosovo and other groups. It also explores the role of governments in stimulating a common identity for the purpose of achieving political goals. In summary, we will examine interest group activities, their causes, as well as the way states have responded to them. MUSIC AND DANCE Capoeira: Resistance in Rhythm, Movement, and Ritual (16) Relani Prudhomme T 10:10-11:40 a.m. and T/H 12:40-2:10 p.m. This course will examine the art of capoeira as a form of resistance developed by black African people (mainly men) in resistance to their condition and designated role as slaves in Brazilian society some 200 years ago. Through rhythm, movement, and ritual, these people told their story, narrated their existence, and asserted their personhood, turning domination and oppression on its head. This course will examine how the narrative in capoeira, as expressed through corporeal, rhythmic, and ritual/theater rhetoric, has been altered by shifts in the institutions of race, class, and gender in Brazilian society. We will use traditional forms of academic material such as audio-visual recordings, lectures, and readings to gain an understanding of the fundamental elements of capoeira and its historical trajectory. A significant portion of class time will also be spent in experiential learning of the basic movements of play/fight/dance, the basic rhythms on various musical instruments, and various capoeira lyrics and their English interpretations. The Beatles (17) Peter Bailey T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and W 12:00-1:30 p.m. The gaudy profusion of materials (CDs, DVDs, bootleg disks, biographies, insider memoirs, cultural and critical studies and so on) by and about the band that have appeared since their disbanding in 1969 makes the Beatles an extraordinarily apt subject for a research seminar. After considering a few of the critical approaches available to us in our attempt to better understand the band’s music and the 1960’s cultural and political phenomenon they were, we’ll go through the catalogue from beginning (U.K., Please Please Me) to end (Let It Be), seeking to understand the remarkable maturation of the songwriting skills of Lennon & McCartney and George Harrison, while also considering the influences observable in the composition of their songs—pop standards of the ‘40s/ ‘50s, British music hall tunes and Skiffle, and American rhythm and blues. We’ll pay particular attention to the members’ individual rebellions against “The Beatles” that resulted in their dissolution. How deeply we get into the members’ post-Beatles careers will depend on how far students’ evolving research projects take us into the seventies and beyond to Lennon’s assassination, McCartney’s merchandizing of the Beatles’ catalogue, and the death of George Harrison. No musical background is required, and of course Henry the horse dances the waltz. The Roots of American Popular Music (18) Larry Boyette T/H 10:10-11:25 a.m. and W 7:00-9:00 p.m. This seminar will combine research and performance to explore the musical traditions that have shaped the development of American popular music. We will examine the styles and values of the African and European musics whose extraordinarily fruitful interaction produced the many branches of our music: blues, jazz, country, gospel, bluegrass, rock and roll, soul, hip hop and beyond. All seminar members will contribute to weekly performances that allow us to participate in the music that we study. Though instrumentalists, singers, songwriters, dancers and other performers are encouraged to apply, no prior artistic training or musical expertise is required. The only prerequisite is a willingness to participate in some thoughtful and creative way in performances that deepen our understanding and appreciation of American music. PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION Popular Buddhism: Fact or Fiction? (19) Erin McCarthy M 1:40-3:10 p.m. and T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. In this seminar we will critically examine the upsurge of popular culture’s interest in all things Buddhist. A quick search on the web reveals dozens of links ranging from monasteries and online Buddhist texts to spas and home decorating. We will engage in close readings of original Buddhist texts and scholarly work on Buddhism alongside what often get defined as “popular” texts, as well as films as a way of exploring the relationship between “popular” Buddhism and the Buddhism of the original texts and the scholarly world. This critical investigation requires you to complete a research project that will address, among others, the following questions in relation to one particular school of Buddhism: How is Buddhism being used in popular culture? What is its relation to the philosophy? Why has Buddhism become so popular (again) right now? Manifestoes and Movements (20) Ganesh Trichur T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and W 12:00-1:30 p.m. The new millennium offers unique spaces for the writing of manifestoes. Manifestoes are really short visionary statements that publicly declare the intentions and motives of their authors. Why do manifestoes get written? What generates their wide appeal? What calls for action and what universalizing claims do they make? How do they emerge at particular historical moments and what do they reveal about the historical circumstances out of which they emerge? We will spend the first half of the seminar reading Machiavelli’s The Prince as a sixteenth century manifesto responding to the crisis of Italian city-states; Sylvain Marechal’s late eighteenth century Manifeste Des Egaux in the context of the French Revolution; and Marx and Engels’ 1848 Communist Manifesto in the context of the new working classes. You will research and make short presentations on a manifesto of your choice. To make sense of our own times, we will try to relate the writing of manifestoes to the wide array of contemporary social movements – like working class movements, women’s movements, environmental movements, civil rights movements, and gay and lesbian rights movements. How do these movements emerge? Despite their differences why are social movements today converging in their claim that “another world is possible”? We will try to see what insights contemporary newspapers offer to movements seeking to understand and create other worlds. Your final project will be to research a social movement of your choice, make a formal seminar presentation, and write a research paper based on the social movement of your choice. The Infinite Mind (21) Duriel E. Harris T/H 10:10–11:40 a.m. and T 2:20–3:50 p.m. What makes human beings special? Laughter? Empathy? Lying? Belief? Imagination? How we think? What are the neural foundations of the self? What is the relationship between the brain and the mind? How do changes in the brain affect our perception of our environments and ourselves? Using the public radio program “The Infinite Mind” as an anchor and portal, this first year seminar will focus on the art and science of the mind and human behavior. We will examine film, sound recordings, scientific, philosophical, and literary texts to explore the overlap between the mechanisms of the body and the meditations of the mind. Students will begin to consider the ways in which multiple factors inform self-conceptualization. Students will write two essays: an autobiographical case study focusing on the intersection of identity and physiological and psychic being, and a research paper focusing on one of the select topics presented on “The Infinite Mind” program. Students will also contribute research and oral commentary to a class podcast modeled after the nationally broadcast radio program. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Alan Turing: The Man and the Universal Machine (22) Paul Doty T/H 8:30-10:00 a.m. and H 2:20-3:50 p.m. Alan Turing’s ideas shaped the development of the computer in the later half of the twentieth century, and his ideas are the basis for the future of computing: artificial intelligence. In a 1936 paper titled “On Computable Numbers” Turing describes a universal machine which articulates the critical components of the modern computer. Turing’s 1950 paper “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” proposes a game for comparing machine and human intelligence which has become known as the Turing Test, and is still the decisive measure in assessing whether a machine is thinking. Between these two papers Turing served as one of the British code breakers at Bletchley Park, and it is not an exaggeration to say that through his work there Turing had a personal hand in defeating Nazi Germany. Yet his life was not one that allowed him to celebrate his accomplishments: he was notably out of step with his time, and was a man driven to suicide as a result of being prosecuted for his sexuality. This course will be an opportunity to study Turing’s vision of computers and computing, his cryptography, and who he was as a man through biographical and fictional accounts of his life. Students will write on Turing through essays and participation in a wiki, prepare at least one major power point presentation, and do a research project on artificial intelligence that will be published as a web site. Medical Ecology (23) Carol Budd T/H 10:10-11:40 and T 12:40-2:10 p.m. Everything is connected to everything else. In this course, you will explore the connections between changing environments and the distribution of disease organisms over time as well as the co-evolution of disease organisms with their human host. To understand the issues, we will use several primary examples of environmental and evolutionary changes with profound medical impacts. These include severe inbreeding depression in Florida panthers as a function of habitat isolation; the evolutionary success story of the 4 species responsible for malaria; why a vaccine for HIV is an unlikely event in the near future; the resurgence of tuberculosis; and what we can learn about bird flu from the influenza pandemic of 1918. You will also learn several simple bioinformatics techniques to determine if DNA samples from simulated patients contain normally occurring or pathogenic organisms and how scientists study toxic chemicals using gas chromatography, flow cytometry, and microarrays to assess environmental health issues. Students who take this FYP must also co-enroll in at least one Natural Science distribution lab science. Medical Ethics (24) David E. Hornung T/H 10:10-11:55 a.m. and W 9:40-10:40 a.m. In this seminar we will examine topics such as the physician/patient relationship, medical assisted suicide, cloning, genetic engineering, transplants, informed consent, elective surgery and reproductive ethics. We will also consider alternative approaches to healing, approaches that for many people in the world are, in fact, traditional. The goal will be to examine the principles that guide individuals as they struggle with these increasingly complex issues. Research projects will focus on some aspect of medical ethics (broadly defined). Six of the T/Th meetings will be with the SOAR (Stimulating Opportunities for Retired People) group which will allow us to interact around the common theme of medical ethics with a group of adults from the Canton area. The Science of How and Why We Sleep (25) Pamela Thacher T/H 12:40-2:10 p.m. and W 1:40-3:10 p.m. Students will learn about the biological, psychological, and social/cultural foundations of sleep and dreaming. In examining these topics, we will first learn about the brain structures and their inter-connections with respect to sleep, and the psychological issues relevant to sleep, such as the differences between long sleepers and short sleepers, or between early risers and night owls. We will also talk about sleep disorders and their relevance to our lives and culture, and about the various choices that different cultures make with respect to sleep. For example, in some cultures, “co-sleeping” (infant or child sleeping with one or more parents during the night) is the norm, while in other cultures, co-sleeping is considered all but taboo. We will examine how this complex behavior manifests itself in various settings, and how these processes and choices can go wrong. We will learn about the various techniques used to collect information about sleep, including sleep diary data, “actigraph” data, hormonal profiles, and dream reports, to better understand the phenomenology of sleep. TEXTS AND TEXTUAL ANALYSIS Food For Thought (26) Paul Graham M/W 1:40-3:10 p.m. and F 12:00-1:30 p.m. This seminar will focus on a diverse selection of literature, primarily literary essays, written on the subject of food. How have writers written about this most basic human need? How do these authors and their works constitute a sub-genre of literature, and why are their writings important? Part of our research will be carried out to determine the significance of this literature by situating it historically, culturally, psychologically, etc. In addition to researching a series of questions generated out of the readings and our discussions of them, students will also generate their own piece of literary journalism —archival and experiential research blended with personal narrative—on the significance of food in the community. This will happen through a Community Based Learning component in the course which will place students in various settings to serve the community, carry out research, and write on the significance of food: free-will dinners, meals-on-wheels, and work at local farms are some of the placement possibilities. Therefore, students in this FYS will complete 1-2 hours of community service per week. News Worthy Anthropology: Scientific versus Popular Portrayals of Anthropology (27) Renee Koster T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and W 1:40-3:10 p.m. Over the last few decades anthropology has become a popular source for news articles and television shows such as History Channel’s Digging for the Truth. But how accurate is the information we receive from the media? Newspapers, magazines, TV, and film report scientific discoveries and information all the time, but are they getting the facts straight? Anthropology is just one of the many fields whose scholars and research are presented to the general public through the many forms of today’s media. In this course we will explore and compare different forms of the media’s representation of anthropology. Specific case studies involving archaeology, human origins, and Native Americans will be examined through a combination of news, popular magazines, film, novels, and scholarly reports and articles. Popular media sources will be examined and critiqued based on the actual scientific research. Students will learn the fundamentals of academic research while conducting a research project on an anthropological topic using a combination of media and scholarly work. Putting Texts in Context (28) Kerry Grant M 1:40-2:40 p.m. and T/H 10:10-11:55 a.m. Complex texts often assume certain kinds of knowledge on the part of their readers, knowledge that not all of us necessarily have immediately to hand. A political cartoon, for example, depends for its effect on our knowing the situation in which the characters being satirized are involved. A film about the Vietnam war assumes that the viewer has some understanding of the history of that conflict. This course will examine a variety of texts--news photographs, editorials, political cartoons, a novel, a film--with a view to determining what additional information a reader might find helpful in generating a more informed and thus richer reading. Participants will learn how to gather information from a variety of online and print-based resources, and how to present it in a variety of ways. In addition to small informal writing assignments, students will be asked to present the results of research more formally, both orally and in the form of a web site. Training in PowerPoint and in the use of Dreamweaver to create web pages is built into the course. The goal of the course is to increase familiarity with the process of gathering information and of presenting it in ways that serve clearly defined rhetorical goals. The Dickens Phenomenon (29) Bob DeGraaff M 12:00-1:30 p.m. and T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. Charles Dickens was, in his own time, the most popular novelist writing in English, and he remains so today. During the publication, in monthly parts, of his first novel, Pickwick Papers, sales soared from 400 to 40,000 copies. Later novels and Christmas stories, as well as his weekly journal, usually sold between 50,000 and 100,000 copies, and all before a “mass market” existed. This course will examine Dickens’s life and work within the Victorian cultural/historical context, in order to try to understand this enormous popularity. Student projects will use that context to illuminate features of the Dickens texts: Pickwick Papers, A Christmas Carol, and David Copperfield. THE PAST AND THE PRESENT Famous Dead Canadians: Biography and Iconography (30) Robert Thacker M 1:40-3:10 p.m. and T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. Predicated on the idea that everyone has someone she’s interested in knowing more about, this seminar will take up some well-known Canadians—now departed—as a means of understanding, shaping, and arguing the significances of a life lived. Our primary cases will be Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, either the man who willed the country into being or a drunk; Louis Riel, a mystical leader who was either traitor or prophet; Emily Carr, a visionary painter and writer and also a bit of a kook; and Pierre Elliott Trudeau, either Canada’s greatest prime minister or the man who ruined the country. Each student will research, write, and present a semester-long biographical essay/project focused on one of these persons or on another dead Canadian of her own choice. Royal Pains: The British Monarchy in Transition (31) Deborah Lewis M 12:00-1:30 p.m. and T/H 8:30-10:00 a.m. Current fascination with the British royal family, especially the late Princess Diana and her two sons, the Princes William and Harry—and the tabloid articles, books, and movies it has spawned--only reflects an age-old preoccupation with monarchy in all its forms. How has the British monarchy changed, through the centuries? What obstacles have the Kings and Queens of England faced in terms of religious, social, and economic change, and how have these changes affected shifts in power? How have their personalities, political views and relationships influenced national—even international--policy and thinking? Is the monarchy viable today? This seminar will focus on selected monarchs beginning in the Middle Ages, including Richard III, alleged murderer of the Princes in the Tower; the Tudors, including Henry VIII and his six wives; the House of Stuart, including the bisexual James I; the most famous widow in British history, Queen Victoria; and Edward VIII, who abdicated “for the woman he loved.” Primary texts will include court papers, letters, transcripts, commentaries, histories, and literature; secondary materials will include biographies, analyses, and film. The Shock Of The Sixties (32) William Hunt T 10:10-11:40 a.m. and H 8:30-11:40 a.m. America is still divided along the cultural and political fault-lines that first emerged in the conflicts of the 1960s: the decade that shaped the outlook of the (now middle-aged) “baby boom” generation The virtually even split between supporters of Bush and Gore in 2000 and between Bush and Kerry in 2004 pretty neatly reflects the division between those who support and those who oppose (or at least mistrust) the legacy of the so-called “New Left” the 1960s—anti-militarism, racial and gender equality, sexual freedom, environmentalism, and so on. These same issues—with the war in Iraq replacing the war in Vietnam—are likely to figure largely in the election of 2008 as well. The purpose of this seminar is to enable students to explore, through collective inquiry and individual research, the sometimes paradoxical ways in which the decade of the1960s continues to shape our world. Utopia in the Modern World (33) Elun Gabriel M/W 12:00-1:30 p.m. and H 12:40-2:10 p.m. From Plato’s Republic to The Beach, imagining good societies (utopias) has been an integral part of the Western literary, philosophical, and historical tradition. In this course, we will briefly survey classic literary utopias before turning to an extended study of modern utopian fiction, as well as the place of utopian themes in social and political thought. We will consider the changing nature of what people have considered the good life, and how they have imagined its realization. This FYS will include a community-based learning component of approximately 20 hours during the semester on certain designated weekend days (3-5 days total). Students must be willing to do a modest amount of physical and other kinds of labor (possibly on a farm, community construction project, or alternative school) as a way of understanding the issues addressed by the authors we will be reading. YOUTH AND FAMILIES Moods, ‘Tudes, and Feuds: Adolescent Turbulence from Middle School to College (34) Jenny MacGregor T/H 10:10-11:40 a.m. and T 12:40-2:10 p.m. Parents sometimes construe adolescence as a black hole of rebellion and sullen silence. But what is really going on inside the teenager’s mind? Drawing on current theories from social, neurophysiological and developmental psychology, we will explore the enormous changes that teens undergo, both internally (e.g., changing self-concept and body image) and externally (e.g., changing social demands and goals). Then, working as a group, we will design a simple study to look at research questions that intrigue the class. Possible questions include: How are masculinity and femininity conceived and enacted throughout the adolescent years, and how do media images of violent manliness and sexy-but-girlish womanhood affect teens? How do internet culture and psychological development interact to produce alternate forms of identity as seen in screen names and myspace.com profiles? How has the internet changed the social dynamics of adolescence? Who becomes popular and why? A significant component of this class will be conducting theory-driven research: deriving hypotheses, operationalizing variables, collecting data (via surveys and interviews), and analyzing results. Native American Children and Youth (35) Ronald J.O. Flores W 12:00-3:00 p.m. and F 12:00-1:30 p.m. plus W 3:00-6:00 p.m. for community-based learning National research finds that Native American youth are at greater risk of dropping out of high school, drug, alcohol and tobacco use, mental illness and both considering and attempting suicide relative to their non-Native counterparts. Further, the likelihood of such behaviors is higher among Native children and youth who live on reservations. The causes of these child and youth experiences are deeply connected to centuries of genocide, oppression, exploitation and discrimination at the hands of Europeans and Americans. In this seminar, we will learn about Native American children by having our class sessions, as well as volunteering, at the Akwesasne Reservation. During our time on the reservation, we will work closely with Mohawk children in programs that attempt to counter the devastating effects of poverty and scarce resources on the well being of children. Thus, we will not only learn about and experience the conditions native children face, but also how native communities, against considerable odds, actively work to promote the welfare of their children. As part of our research activities, we will work on securing funds for the creation of a recreation/athletic center for the children and youth of Akwesasne. Not In Front of the Children! Childhood in Contemporary Culture (36) R. Danielle Egan T 12:40-2:10 p.m. and H 1:15-4:15 p.m. Cultural definitions of “childhood” are slippery at best. Those definitions are complex and contradictory, as shown in how we proclaim children are innocent and little angels, and simultaneously television shows such as Nanny 911 or Super Nanny illuminate the spectacle of something far more insidious. In this first year seminar, we will explore the cultural and political implications of the ways we socially construct childhood. Employing film as well as historical, literary, philosophical and sociological texts, we will critically deconstruct childhood in our postmodern culture. We will see that in some cultural contexts childhood ends at the onset of adolescence and in others seems to extend (particularly with regard to sexuality) into university. Our cultural definitions of childhood both inform and validate social and educational policies (welfare, legal accountability, sex education, freedom of expression or parental rights) as well as social control mechanisms (drinking age, legal curfews and prison sentencing). Students in this seminar will conduct semester long projects exploring the complex and contradictory ways in which childhood functions in our contemporary culture. Research topics may vary widely, but might include how children are portrayed in popular culture or the ways in which race, class and gender figure into the issues of childhood obesity. Students will present their work at an undergraduate conference in Buffalo, NY in late April. The State of the Family: Constitutional Law and the American Family (37) Cathy Crosby-Currie T/H 8:30-10:00 a.m. and T 2:20-3:50 p.m. What power should the state have within the private realm of the family? What rights do parents have to decide how they will raise their children? Does the right to marry apply to opposite-sex couples only? In this course, we will examine the controversies that arise when constitutional rights collide with state and federal laws governing the family. We will begin with an exploration of the basic concept of liberty and the foundational U.S. Supreme Court cases that established the constitutional right to parent and to marry. We will then explore some specific issues including child abuse and neglect, termination of parental rights and same-sex marriage. One purpose of this course is to challenge and expand students’ critical thinking skills by requiring them to grapple with the texts of actual U.S. Supreme Court cases. Students will also conduct a semester-long research project on a family-relevant legal issue (e.g., adolescent abortion, rights of public school students, divorce and custody, artificial reproduction) that will require that they become conversant with a variety of legal and social science literature on their topic and produce a paper reporting on what they have found.
Contact Us Dr. Catherine Crosby-Currie Associate Dean of the First Year 168 Whitman Hall St. Lawrence University Canton, NY 13617 Phone: 315-229-5909 Fax: 315-229-5709 Email us here Back to FYP homepage Back to SLU homepage

ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR COURSE DESCRIPTIONS SPRING 2008

FYS COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY
FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
SPRING 2008