SEMINAR CANCELLATION: Please note that Psych 101-6-21, "Psychology and 'Weird' Beliefs," has been canceled as of 5/18/07. DO NOT include it on your Top Ten list.
PLEASE NOTE:
* (plus 2 half-day field trips on a Sat. or Sun. during one of the first couple of weekends in the quarter)
** These classes conflict with MENU (Mathematical Experience at NU) undergraduates
UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, THESE FRESHMAN SEMINARS HAVE NO PREREQUISITES
UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, THE PRIMARY TEACHING METHOD FOR THESE
FRESHMAN SEMINARS IS DISCUSSION
ALL FRESHMAN SEMINARS HAVE ENROLLMENT LIMITED TO 15
African and Asian Languages
Anthropology
Art
Art History
Asian-American Studies
Astronomy
Biological Sciences
Chemistry
Classics
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Economics
English
French and Italian
Gender Studies
German
History
Humanities
Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program for Freshman
Linguistics
Mathematics
Philosophy
Physics
Political Science
Psychology
Religion
Sociology
Spanish
Statistics
Writing Program
* * *KAPLAN HUMANITIES SCHOLARS PROGRAM FOR FRESHMEN* * *
Humanities 101-0, Sec. 20
GOOD SOCIETY 1: BRAVE NEW WORLDS
INSTRUCTORS: Carl Smith (English/Am Studies/History)—University Hall 118
Kathryn S. Evans (English)—Fisk 114
Henry Binford (History)—University Hall 112
TIME: TTH 3:30 to 4:50 p.m.
PHONE: 491-7946
EMAIL: hum@northwestern.edu
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: This course is part of a special program being offered by the Kaplan Humanities Institute. It differs from other Freshman Seminars in important ways: Students who choose it are committing to participate in a two-quarter sequence during which they take two combined seminar and lecture courses taught by the same faculty (for a total of four courses). A full description of the program is posted on the Kaplan Humanities Institute website. Students who wish to participate in the program should rank “The Good Society: Brave New Worlds” as their first choice on their Top Ten list.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This is a combined seminar and lecture class examining visions of what constitutes a good society in three different major historical settings in western culture: the northern European Renaissance, the Enlightenment in Europe and America, and the Technological Revolution in Britain and the United States. The classes together are titled "The Good Society: Brave New Worlds" since people in all three settings claimed that theirs was a genuinely new age full of wonderful possibilities. The title is also apt because both its original use by Shakespeare in his play The Tempest and its appropriation by Aldous Huxley in his 1932 novel Brave New World express an ironic awareness that the making of new worlds can lead to unintended and undesirable difficulties. These classes will explore the ironies as well as the achievements that result from the continuing attempts to envision and enact a better world.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Approximately 75% of the grade will be based on written work, 25% on participation. Written work will consist of regular short writing assignments and three formal 5-7-page essays spaced throughout the quarter. Participation may include formal oral presentations in addition to regular contributions to discussion, both in-class and online.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: Three 5-7-page papers (along with drafts and/or rewrites), and numerous shorter (from a few paragraphs to 1 or 2 pages) and less formal assignments.
READING LIST:
Note: This reading list is more substantial than most individual courses since it is for two classes taken together. Many of these readings will be excerpts available through a photoduplicated course reader and/or online. There will also be some secondary reading, as well as the viewing and analysis of many visual materials (e.g., painting, sculpture, architecture, film) from or about the three periods.
Sir Thomas More, Utopia
Desiderius Erasmus, In Praise of Folly
Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene
Richard Hakluyt, Voyages
Bartholomé de Las Casas, A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies
Aphra Behn, Oroonooko
Michel de Montaigne, Of Cannibals
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality
Margaret Cavendish, The Description of the New World Called the Blazing World
John Winthrop, A Model of Christian Charity
Jean de Crèvecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer
Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia
Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Charles Dickens, Hard Times
Friedrich Engels, The Condition of the Working Class in England
Catharine Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe, The American Woman’s Home
Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: Professor Smith came to Northwestern after graduate work in American Studies at Yale, and he has been closely associated with Northwestern’s Program in American Studies since its founding. He has an appointment in English, American Studies, and History, and he teach classes in all three departments. His central interest is nineteenth and early twentieth century American cultural history, especially the history of cities. In addition, he is very interested in the uses of computers in doing historical scholarship and teaching.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: Professor Evans came to Northwestern in 2005 after completing her Ph.D. in English at the University of California, Berkeley. She teaches courses in both English and Gender Studies. Her area of specialization is English Renaissance literature, especially narrative poetry. Other interests include Italian medieval and Renaissance literature; feminist and gender criticism; medieval and Renaissance theories of interpretation; and the history of time.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: Professor Binford did his graduate work in History at Harvard before teaching at Northwestern, where he has been active in American Studies, Urban Studies, and African American Studies, as well as History. Most of his work focuses on cities and urbanization.
* * * AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES * * *
African American Studies 101-6, Sec. 20
BLACK CHICAGO
INSTRUCTOR: Mary Pattillo
TIME: TTH 3:30-4:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: 3-133 CROWE HALL
PHONE: 847.491.2036
E-MAIL: M-PATTILLO@NORTHWESTERN.EDU
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Welcome to Chicago! Well, not quite Chicago, but Evanston is too close not to explore Chicago. This course focuses on the presence of African-Americans in Chicago from the turn of the 20th Century to the present. We will address a number of themes, including: the Great Migration from the South to the North, racial segregation, black politics, black music, the Chicago Freedom Movement, and the contemporary changes in Chicago’s black communities. This class will bring together works of biography, music, sociology, photography, art, political science, and history. The goal of the class is that you understand the contributions, struggles, and future of African Americans to and in the city that is now your home. Black Chicago is a window into the broader story of black life and race relations in the United States.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion.
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Written assignments (70%); oral assignments/discussion (30%).
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: First week 2-page interest essay (10%). Two 2-page reading summaries/critiques (20%); two 5 minute oral research proposals, with written notes submitted (20%); 5-page black Chicago field trip paper (20%); 7-page final research paper (20%); class participation (10%).
READING LIST:
St. Clair Drake and Horace Cayton, Black Metropolis: A Study of Negro Life in a Northern City. Chicago
Robert Gordon, Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters
Richard Guzman, ed. Black Writing from Chicago.
Mary Pattillo-McCoy, Black Picket Fences: Privilege and Peril among the Black Middle Class.
Mary Pattillo, Black on the Block.
Sudhir Venkatesh, Off the Books.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: My areas of interest include race and ethnicity, urban sociology, and qualitative methods. I use the city of Chicago as my laboratory and strive to be an expert in Chicago’s rich and complex history, politics, and social life. I always situate black Chicago as related to other groups in the city, and within a national socio-political context.
* * * AFRICAN ASIAN LANGUAGES * * *
African Asian Languages 110-6, Sec. 23
FRAME TALES: BOOKS AND MOVIES
INSTRUCTOR Richard Lepine
TIME: TTH 9:30-10:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: 4-400 Kresge Hall
PHONE 1-2765
E-MAIL: lepine@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: We will read and discuss three frame tales (tales within tales) that were originally written compositions based on oral traditions--The Canterbury Tales, The Arabian Nights, and The Decameron—and then we will explore film versions of them.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion, multimedia presentations.
METHOD OF EVALUATION: There will be three required compositions whose final drafts will be assessed for grading purposes: each is worth 30% toward the course grade. The remaining 10% will be based on class participation. One of the compositions will take the form of a Blackboard (NU’s web-based course sites) webpage which fellow seminar participants can access. Interim deadlines for the submission of the required “papers” will allow for the submission of first drafts for feedback before the revised and polished final version is to be turned in. There will also be a number of short, “no risk” in-class and take-home writing assignments which will count positively toward the 10% participation component of evaluation, but will receive no penalty if not done or poorly done. These are opportunities to submit a best effort at analyzing some component of a written or filmed story, communicating your interpretation in clear academic writing which credits your sources, while at the same time knowing that you have the freedom to learn from mistakes without fear of damaging your course grade.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: Three major required compositions: two traditional research papers, one a web-page presentation. The webpage will consist mainly of the display of a written composition, but will also include the posting of a digital image file and of web links. The text component of the webpage will include bibliographic citation of sources, including of the image file. The nature of the analytic and presentational challenges posed in all of the three writing assignments will naturally lead to an individual composition length equivalent to five to eight pages (i.e., if the compositions were to take the form of a printed research paper in twelve-point-font that was double-spaced and had one-inch margins all around). “No risk” writing projects will range from a paragraph to three pages in length; short ones will be handwritten in class.
READING LIST: The Canterbury Tales, The Arabian Nights, and The Decameron. Specific editions still to be determined. Go Tell It on the Mountain (2007 Summer-Fall “One Book, One University” text) is to be considered a required text for this seminar, and will be discussed in early seminar meetings.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: Lepine teaches African languages (Swahili, Xhosa) and African verbal arts--oral performance, writing, film--in translation. He has been a freshman adviser for over fifteen years.
* * * ANTHROPOLOGY* * *
Anthropology 101-6, Sec. 21
LEADERS: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
INSTRUCTOR: Timothy K. Earle
TIME: TTH 2:00-3:20
Office address: Admin Office 1810 Hinman Ave Ev Campus
Phone: 847-491-2852
E-mail: tke299@northwestern.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Why do leaders exist? How do they exert authority? This course focuses on a comparative study of leadership in human societies, both modern and ancient. The book compares three archaeological cases from Hawaii, Peru, and Denmark. Students study leadership in traditional societies with information from the electronic version of the Human Relations Area Files, and then study leadership in modern institutions.
PROJECTS: A mini-ethnography of leadership in some organization in modern industrial societies.
TEACHING METHOD: Seminar discussions and student presentations.
EVALUATION METHOD: Grades will be based on class participation (25%), three short papers (2-3pp. each) (25%), and a longer (15-20pp.) term paper (50%).
READING: READING: Timothy Earle, How Chiefs Come to Power, Stanford University Press. 1987.
PERSONAL STATEMENT: Tim Earle is an anthropologist who has conducted major archaeological field projects in Hawaii, Peru, Argentina, and Denmark. He is now working on an international project in Hungary. His specialty is a comparative approach to politics and economics prior to the emergence of capitalism.
Anthropology 101-6, Sec. 22
WHO OWNS THE PAST?
INSTRUCTOR: James A. Brown
TIME: MWF 3:00-3:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: 1810 Hinman Ave, Evanston Campus
PHONE: 847/491-7982
E-mail: jabrown@northwestern.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The recent threat to the antiquities of Iraq, Greece’s pleas for the recovery of the Elgin marbles from the British Museum, and the jailing of art dealers for selling foreign cultural property have highlighted the contentious issue of just Who Owns the Past? Who controls it and for what purpose? Our museums and the homes of private collectors have objects that were collected from peoples and places that had little say in their appropriation and removal. Some of these objects had been currently in use, others were excavated from ancient occupations. At the other end of the collecting spectrum are those individuals here and elsewhere who regard the Past as not worth saving, particularly when development issues are at stake. In any case the priorities of different peoples, including the industrialized nations, have become increasingly in conflict. Even the interpretation of these relics is at stake.
This course will examine these and related issues having to do with matters of interpretation, presentation and conservation of the Past in an increasingly politicized global environment.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion.
EVALUATION METHOD: Each writing assignment will count one-fourth of the grade. The grade will be based on the essay after an opportunity for re-submission of the assignment in response to comments on the first version.
There will be four papers of 7 pages each (at least 2000 words) alternating with submission of revisions due not later than one week after the original assignment was returned (with comments).
READING LIST: Subject to Change F07 Quarter:
Kenneth L. Feder, "Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology," Mayfield, 1996 (2nd addition)
Hurst Thomas, David, "Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology and the Battle for Native American Identity," New York: Basic Books, 2000
Phyllis M. Messenger, "The Ethics of Collecting Cultural Property: Whose Culture, Whose Property?" Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1999.
PERSONAL STATEMENT: James Brown is an archaeologist with broad experience in fieldwork of the Midwest and Southeast of this country. My involvement with museums dealing with the ancient mound-building peoples of the Mississippi River Valley has brought me into contact with many of the issues raised in the course. My current fieldwork takes place at the Cahokia site, a high profile world heritage townsite located in Illinois near St. Louis. Another project involved collaboration in a major show being put together by the Art Institute that required the integration of native Americans. This project illustrates the importance of involving the descendants whose heritage our contemporary society wants to showcase.
Anthropology 101-6, Sec. 23
EVOLUTIONARY FOUNDATION OF MORALITY
INSTRUCTOR:William Irons
TIME: TTH 3:30 to 4:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: 1810 Hinman Ave., Room 201
PHONE: 847-491-5402
EMAIL: w-irons@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION In all human societies people make moral judgments. Certain behaviors are morally correct and others incorrect. But there is great variation from one society to another, and from one historical period to another, as to what is judged moral and immoral. Why do people always make these judgments, think them important, and yet fail to agree about the specifics? This course consists of (1) critical reading of literature which attempts to answer this question by looking at morality as a product of the biological evolution of our species, (2) critical reading of some related literature, and (3) writing four papers related to the course topic. The course will not review the voluminous evidence for biological evolution itself. Rather it will take as its jumping off points the proposition that evolution is a fact. The focus of discussion will be how natural selection has created brainy, talking creatures that make moral judgments and how this view of morality can affect actual moral decision and principles.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion and paper writing.
METHOD OF EVALUATION: There will be an initial short paper of about two pages, followed by three papers, each roughly 6 pages in length. Each of the longer papers will count approximately 25 % or the final grade, and participation in class discussion will count about 25% of the final grade. (The first paper will be a sort of warm up exercise and will not count much toward the final grade.)
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: Four papers one of about two pages and three of about six pages in length. Students will have the opportunity to revise the second and third papers after they have been handed back with critical comments. The grade on these papers will be assigned after the revision is completed. Papers will be graded both for the cogency of the arguments presented and for the effectiveness and style of writing.
READING LIST
William Irons. 1991. "How Did Morality Evolve?" Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 26: 49-89.
(To be sent as an email attachment before the course begins. PDF format.)
William Irons. "Are There Any Moral Absolutes?" (Unpublished paper to be sent as an email attachment before the course begins. PDF format.)
Philip Salzman. "The Iron Law of Politics." Unpublished paper available in PDF format.
Matt Ridley. 1997. The Origins of Virtue. New York: Viking..
Robert Wright, The Moral Animal: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology, 1994. New York: Pantheon Books.
William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White, The Elements of Style, Third Edition, 1979. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL OR PERSONAL STATEMENT My research and teaching focus primarily on the ways in which human social behavior and culture are shaped by biological evolution. Most of the courses I teach focus heavily on this topic. Critics of this kind of use of evolutionary theory often suggest that applying evolutionary theory to the study of human behavior discourages altruistic and moral behavior. This has led me to look into and write about the evolutionary foundations of ethics and of religion. I am convinced that a well-informed appreciation of the biological foundations of ethics can enhance our ability to deal with moral issues. I have been teaching anthropology for 38 years, and in the 1960s and 1970s I did field research among the Turkmen of northern Iran.
* * * ART * * *
Art Theory & Practice 101-6, Sec. 20
BE AN ART CRITIC
INSTRUCTOR Lane Relyea
TIME TTH 9:30-10:50
OFFICE ADDRESS 3-515 Kresge Hall
PHONE 1-2096
E-MAIL: lrelyea@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION The prime objective of this course will be to produce an art magazine. Enrolled students will work on their own and in groups and will be responsible for everything from choosing the medium, format and name of the publication to assigning and gathering contents to producing and distributing the results. Complimenting this activity, the class will skim the relatively short history of art criticism; we will also survey and discuss existing art press, from glossy monthlies to erratic low-budget alternatives, as well as consider the kinds of themes that sustain their conversations and the functions they fulfill within the social, institutional and economic networks through which they circulate. We will hold in-class conversations about criticism and its effects with not only practicing critics but also artists, curators, dealers and collectors. Last but not least, we will look at art and hash out our opinions of it.
TEACHING METHOD The class will be discussion-based and will focus on readings, writing assignments, field trips and presentations by outside visitors.
METHOD OF EVALUATION Not only will grades be given for at least three written art reviews (varying in length), but since the course will rely heavily on group discussion a student's evaluation will depend to a large degree on her or his attendance and participation in class.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: Three written assignments (art reviews) along with the final magazine in which they're published.
READING LIST A course reader including writings by Roland Barthes, Pierre Bourdieu, Thomas Crow, Andrea Fraser, Clement Greenberg, Jurgen Habermas, Dave Hickey, Edward Said, Katy Siegel, Mary Anne Staniszewski and Raymond Williams among others.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT Lane Relyea's essays and reviews have appeared in numerous magazines including Artforum, Parkett, Frieze, Art in America and Flash Art. He has also written recent monographs on Polly Apfelbaum, Richard Artschwager, Vija Celmins, Toba Khedoori, Monique Prieto and Wolfgang Tillmans among others, and contributed to such exhibition catalogs as Helter Skelter and Public Offerings (both Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 1992 and 2001 respectively).
* * * ART HISTORY * * *
Art History 101-6, Sec.1
WAYS OF SEEING: HISTORY OF VISION
INSTRUCTOR: Claudia Swan
TIME: TTH 9:30-10:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: Kresge Hall 3-530 Evanston IL 60208-2208
PHONE: 1 -8031
E-MAIL: c-swan@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This course surveys the long and varied history of vision as it relates to the making and perception of works of art. How have different people at different times and in different places variously construed what it is and what it means to see? And how, in turn, have these different conceptions of vision influenced or coincided with the history of art? Our subjects will include post-classical theories of vision and the imagination; late medieval devotional images; Renaissance and Baroque paintings, sculpture, and architecture; nineteenth-century theories and practices of spectatorship; twentieth-century photographs and films; and the relationship of digital technologies of image production to how we think today about vision and perception. By way of a series of such case studies, we will study the long history of ways of seeing and their relationship to making works of art.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion; occasional (brief) student presentations; group projects
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Students will be graded on the basis of four brief writing assignments, one longer paper due at the end of the quarter, and oral presentations and participation in seminar and general discussion.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: See above
READING LIST: In addition to a course reader containing a variety of primary sources and brief articles, we will also read portions of David Lindberg, Theories of Vision from Al-Kindi to Kepler and of Jonathan Crary, Techniques of the Observer.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: Professor Swan has been a full-time faculty member in the Art History department at NU for close to a decade; her areas of expertise include Northern Renaissance and Northern Baroque art, as well as the history of the relationship between art and science. She is currently working on a book about 17th-cntury Dutch collecting practices and another book on theories of the imagination.
* * * ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES * * *
**Asian American Studies, 106-6, Sec. 20
ASIAN AMERICAN LIVES, PAST AND PRESENT
INSTRUCTOR: John Cheng
TIME: TTH 12:30-1:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: Crowe Hall 1-121
PHONE: 1-3591
E-MAIL: jcheng@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION : This course looks at a variety of sources to consider the aspirations — and subsequent outcomes — that have motivated Asians Americans in their lives, careers, and experiences. It explores key issues and themes in Asian American Studies including migration, family and community, and nationalism within the dynamics of American society. We will examine each source in its historical context — how and why did it get written or produced, what were the motive(s) of the author or producer — and consider how each contributes to the ongoing construction of an Asian American identity.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Grades will be case on class participation (30%), response papers (30%) on the assigned readings and a research paper or family history that incorporates themes developed in the course (40%).
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: Five short papers and one final paper/project.
READING LIST
Helen Zia, Asian American Dreams
Mary Paik Lee, Quiet Odyssey
Carlos Bulosan, America is in the Heart
Deanna Borshay Liem, First Personal Plural (film)
Vijay Prashad, The Karma of Brown Folk
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: John Cheng is Assistant Director of the Asian American Studies Program at Northwestern University. A historian, his research interests include popular culture and media, social and cultural history, the history of science and technology, race relations, and cultural theory and he teaches courses on the same areas. Dr. Cheng enjoys many hobbies including music, movies, and sports and can be seen occasionally in the gym trying to prove he can still play basketball.
* * * ASTRONOMY * * *
Astronomy 110-6, Sec. 20
SEARCHING FOR ET: SCIENCE AND STRATEGIES
INSTRUCTOR: Dave Meyer
TIME: MWF 11:00-11:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: Dearborn 6
PHONE: 491-4516
E-MAIL: davemeyer@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION : The possibilities of extraterrestrial life and intelligence have long fascinated the public imagination. Recently, discoveries of a variety of extrasolar planets within a few hundred lightyears and the Martian Rover evidence of a watery past on Mars have heated the debate on whether we are alone in the universe. In this seminar, we will discuss the scientific foundations of this debate as well as the technology and strategies behind current and planned searches for extraterrestrial life and intelligence.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion
METHOD OF EVALUATION: One 6-8 page paper (30%), three 3-5 page papers (15% each), and participation in class
discussion (25%).
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS : Three 3-5 page papers and one 6-8 page paper.
READING :
Donald Goldsmith and Tobias Owen, “The Search for Life in the Universe” (3rd edition)
Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee, “Rare Earth”
Stephen Webb, “Where is Everybody?”
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: Since joining the Northwestern faculty in 1987, I have specialized in teaching introductory courses in astronomy and cosmology to non-science majors. My research involves observations of interstellar gas clouds and distant galaxies with the Hubble Space Telescope. Although this seminar is especially well-suited to prospective science majors, anyone with an active interest in astronomy is invited to register for it.
Astronomy 110-6, Sec. 21
EVOLVING PERCEPTIONS OF THE UNIVERSE
INSTRUCTOR: Michael F. Smutko
TIME: TTH 2:00-3:20
OFFICE ADDRESS Dearborn Observatory 9a, 2131 Tech Drive, Evanston
PHONE 847-491-4568
E-MAIL: m-smutko@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Human perception and understanding of the universe has changed dramatically in the last few centuries. For example, astronomers used to believe that objects in the Heavens were attached to great crystalline spheres that moved about the Earth with accompanying music. Today astronomers believe that the Heavens are being pushed apart by a mysterious “dark energy” anti-gravity force that may constitute 74% of the universe and may ultimately tear it apart. On top of that, some physicists believe that everything from electrons to gravity itself is made of vibrating loops of string-like energy. Which is stranger? You decide. We will discuss (in a non-mathematical fashion) how our worldview has evolved thanks to the work of Galileo, Kepler, Hubble, Einstein, and many others. We will explore not just their ideas, but also the intellectual struggles and the drama behind those ideas.
TEACHING METHOD Discussions, presentations, and demonstrations. Some discussions will be lead by students.
METHOD OF EVALUATION Grades will be based on class participation (20%), several short essays (50% total), and a final paper (8-10 pages 30%).
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: Several short essays (2-4 pages each), and a final paper (8-10 pages).
READING LIST:
R. Kolb, Blind Watchers of the Sky
Dava Sobel, Galileo’s Daughter
Brian Greene, Elegant Universe
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: I have a joint appointment as a Lecturer at Northwestern and as an Astronomer at the Adler Planetarium. I run the observatories at both institutions, which includes two of the largest telescopes accessible to the public in the Midwest. The dual nature of my position allows me to cultivate my interests in research, formal education, and public outreach. When I’m not at Northwestern, you may find me on the radio or the television giving interviews on the latest happenings in astronomy (sometimes to cartoon robots: http://www.physics.northwestern.edu/research/img/CartoonNetwork.mov).
* * * BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES * * *
Biological Sciences 103-6, Sec. 20
VALUES OF BIODIVERSITY
INSTRUCTOR: Joseph S. Walsh
TIME: TTH 9:30-10:50 (plus 1 half-day field trip on a Sat. or Sun. during one of the first couple of weekends in the quarter)
OFFICE ADDRESS: Hogan 6-110A - Evanston Campus
PHONE: 847-491-5098
E-MAIL: j-walsh1@northwestern.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION: "Biodiversity" is a buzzword familiar to most people, but relatively few possess a clear idea of what it means and why it is important. This course investigates the importance of biological diversity from different standpoints - scientific, practical, and aesthetic. We examine core concepts in ecology and evolution, such as the definition of "species" and recent research on how more diverse ecosystems function better than less diverse ones. We address applied questions such as, "what benefits do humans gain by preserving biological diversity?", and we deal with the aesthetic and ethical dimensions of biodiversity. A field trip to a nearby prairie restoration site enhances our understanding of what biological diversity means in people's everyday lives and how people are working hard to preserve it.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Participation in and leadership of group discussions accounts for at least one-quarter of the grade. Written assignments (see below) account for the remainder, in proportion to their length. Field trip attendance is mandatory.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: There are 4 main writing assignments that total 18 pages: a 3-page essay based on the field trip experience; a 4-page essay based mainly on Abbey (1968); a 5-page essay based mainly on technical scientific papers; a final synthetic paper of 6 pages. There will be two short (ca. 1 page) in-class writing exercises.
READING LIST: We will read selections from the following required books:
Edward Abbey. 1968. Desert solitaire: a season in the wilderness.
Aldo Leopold. 1966. A sand county almanac, with essays on conservation from Round River.
William K. Stevens. 1995. Miracle under the oaks: the revival of nature in America.
Edward O. Wilson. 1999. The diversity of life.
We will also read a few short papers from the primary scientific literature. These will be available online.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: I teach courses in conservation, ecology, evolution, and genetics here at NU. My research interests include evolution and biogeography of SE Asian fruit bats, ecology of frogs in northern Illinois, and restoration of prairies, savannas, and woodlands in northern Illinois. I volunteer pretty much every weekend with restoration groups in the region (removing exotic species, reestablishing native species, conducting prescribed burns) and I work with local conservation groups (designing conservation plans, analyzing monitoring data, testifying before committees, advising politicians).
Biological Sciences 105-6, Sec. 20
SCIENCE WRITING FOR THE LAY READER
INSTRUCTOR David W. Taylor
TIME: TTH 2:00-3:20 p.m.
OFFICE ADDRESS: G-140B Hogan (the 6th Floor)
PHONE: 847-467-1118
E-MAIL: dwtaylor@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION What have you always wanted to learn about in the natural sciences? Is it maybe “How do birds follow migration patterns?”, “How was the Grand Canyon formed?”, “How do whales communicate with each other over long distances?”, or something else from a truly endless list of fascinating topics? In this course each student will choose a subject from the natural sciences that fascinates her or him, and will research the literature on this subject for the entire term with the goal of communicating their knowledge on this subject to a lay person audience through written works and oral presentations. The research process, the analysis of information collected, the presentation of this information to an audience, and the revisionary process is meant to mirror what is done by authors in journals such as Science News or Scientific American and what is done by science educators in the classroom. In order for students to benefit from the critique of their peers and to learn how to constructively critique the writing of others, many of our class sessions will be of a writing workshop format. The active participation of students in this peer review process and the revision of one’s own work are essential components of this course.
TEACHING METHOD Discussion and Writing Workshops
METHOD OF EVALUATION A student’s grade will be based on them conducting independent research in the published literature, analyzing this information, and presenting this information in several written formats as well as oral presentations (with one main oral presentation utilizing Powerpoint). Active and constructive participation in the peer review process (inside and outside of class), and revising one’s own work will form a significant part of a student’s grade.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS There are 4 main writing assignments (a literature review, a persuasive paper, a technical communication paper, and an annotated bibliography) that total 20 pages, and 2 short response papers of approximately 1 page each.
READING LIST
Required Text:
Wayne Booth, Gregory Colomb, and Joseph Williams. 2003. The Craft of Research, 2nd edition.
NOTE: Through their library research, each student will be responsible for finding and reading at least 20 published works that correspond to their chosen subject for the term.
Recommended Text:
A grammar and punctuation quick reference book, such as:
Diana Hacker. 1999. A Pocket Style Manual (spiral-bound), 4th edition.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT I teach, at NU and Chicago Botanic Garden, about plant-animal interactions (such as pollination biology and herbivory), plant ecology, plant identification/classification, and how plants and human society are intimately connected. My studies of diversity and relationships in the coffee/Gardenia plant family have brought me to do field research in eight countries of Central America and the Caribbean, including Cuba, and, more recently, in Taiwan. I have also carried out ethnobotanical research, studying how native cultural groups in Guatemala and Costa Rica, as well as members of the Puerto Rican community of my home city of Hartford, Connecticut, utilize plants for food, medicine, and other purposes. I am fluent in Spanish, and am in the process of learning Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, and other languages.
Biological Sciences 109-6, Sec. 20
SCIENCE POLICY OR SCIENCE POLITICS?
INSTRUCTOR Joshua Schnell
TIME TTH 2:00-3:20
OFFICE ADDRESS Hogan Hall 2-104
PHONE 491-5762
E-MAIL: j-schnell@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Students will learn about the importance of scientific research in crafting the nation’s laws and policies, as well as, the impact the nation’s laws and policies have on the conduct of research. Case studies will be used to explore the role of various governmental and non-governmental entities in setting the nation’s science policy priorities. In addition, the class will discuss the influence of politics on the process of developing science policy.
TEACHING METHOD
Discussion and oral presentation
METHOD OF EVALUATION
Class discussion participation (20%)
2 oral presentations (10% x 2)
5 writing assignments (10% x 5)
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS
5 writing assignments (subject to change):
1 x 3 pages (Week 2)
3 x 4 pages (Weeks 4, 8 and 10)
1 x 1 page white sheet/policy statement (Week 6)
READING LIST
1) A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis by Eugene Bardach
2) A course reader including policy-related reports and articles from primary scientific journals such as Science and Nature and national newspapers such as The New York Times, and sections of reports published by the National Academies.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT
After earning a PhD in biochemistry studying protein trafficking in the cell, I was a science and technology policy graduate fellow at the National Academies of Science (an important player in the science policy arena). Currently, I am the Assistant Chair in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Biology at Northwestern and oversee the day-to-day operations of a department involved in basic biomedical research.
* * * CHEMISTRY * * *
Chemistry 105-6, Sec. 01
A YEN FOR FLY-FISHING: PHILOSOPHY AND ENVIRONMENTALISM FROM MIDSTREAM
INSTRUCTOR Barry A. Coddens
TIME: MWF 11:00-11:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: Tech M192 2145 Sheridan Road
PHONE: (847)467-4016
E-MAIL: bac248@lulu.it.northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: If you were to combine in parts a biologist, environmental activist, entomologist, and philosopher what you would have created would be a fly-fisherman. Fly-fishing allows individuals to discover a great deal about the environment, the people around them, and themselves. The authors selected represent the ideas and thoughts of men and women on the sport, their philosophy, and their connection to the water and wilderness they visit. The responsibility of federal, state, and local governments as well as the responsibility of the individual in providing a viable environment is central to the discussions in the course. The intent is to allow the development of a history of the public trust for the environment.
METHOD OF EVALUATION. Student evaluation will be based on class participation (40%), writing assignments (40%), and a final library project (20%). The emphasis on this class is communication both oral and written. In order to gain from the class it is important that each student participates and brings their own ideas and backgrounds into the discussion. This has traditionally been a somewhat diverse group of students in the past and when students choose not to participate the entire class is impacted negatively.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS:
There will be four writing assignments during the term totaling between 30 to 40 pages. The first paper will be autobiographical and include a presentation to the class. The second and third assignments will be between 8 to 12 pages on topics gleaned from the readings one which will involve researching the literature through the on-campus libraries. The final paper will be “about 10 pages” and serve as a conclusion to the term and as a view to the future four years.
READING LIST:
“Harbrace College Handbook”, 13th edition.
“The Riverkeepers” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and John Cronin
“Reeling in Russia”, Fen Monntaigne
“The Earth is Enough”, Harry Middleton
Additional readings distributed through the term.
PERSONAL STATEMENT: Northwestern for ten years now as the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Chemistry. My primary concerns are the development of effective teaching methodologies in the classroom and laboratory. Teaching is the part of my job that I get the greatest amount of satisfaction from. My principle teaching duties are in organic and environmental chemistry. As you might assume from the topic of this course, one of my interests outside of chemistry is fishing. This has infected my entire family and we spend as much time as we can camping, fishing, and just being outdoors together.
Chemistry 105-6, Sec. 02
CSI: NORTHWESTERN
INSTRUCTOR: Owen Priest
TIME: MWF 11:00-11:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: 2145 Sheridan Rd.
PHONE: 467-7913
EMAIL: o-priest@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: CSI: Northwestern is a reading/writing seminar whose topic is forensic chemistry. Forensic chemistry is a unique and challenging application of science to both criminal and civil law. This class will include an overview of forensic chemistry, forensic toxicology, drug analysis, DNA profiling, and other sub-disciplines. We will also explore how forensic chemistry can help us frame the death penalty debate. Special emphasis will be placed on the techniques of sampling a crime scene and the use of physical evidence to help solve cases. Students will learn how to solve the mystery of crimes through application of science techniques. The class will review important cases where forensic science played an important role in the successful and/or unsuccessful prosecution of a defendant(s). As is the case with all freshman seminars, this course is a reading/writing seminar.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion.
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Student evaluation will be based on writing assignments (60%), a final project (20%), and class participation (20%). The emphasis on this class is communication both oral and written. In order to gain from the class it is important that each student participates and brings their own ideas and backgrounds into the discussion.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: There will be five writing assignments during the term totaling between 30 to 40 pages. The first paper will be autobiographical. The other papers will be between 4 to 9 pages on topics gleaned from the readings and class discussions. The final project will be a poster presentation.
READING LIST:
Saferstein, Criminalistics: An Introduction To Forensic Science; Costanzo, Just Revenge: Costs and Consequences of the Death Penalty; Turow, Ultimate Punishment; Bedau and Cassell, Debating the Death Penalty
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: I started out in the liberal arts, first as a student and later as a chemistry professor. I came to Northwestern University seven years ago and serve as the Director of Undergraduate Organic Laboratories. In addition to running the organic laboratory program, I teach freshman seminars and occasionally teach advanced chemistry classes for undergraduates.
Chemistry 105-6, Sec. 03
WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE
INSTRUCTOR: Shelby Hatch
TIME: TTH 9:30-10:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: Tech Institute, K221 - Department of Chemistry - 2145 Sheridan Road - Evanston, Il 60208-3113
PHONE: 847-491-3430
E-MAIL: slhatch@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This class focuses on ethical issues related to the world’s second most highly traded commodity in the world—coffee. The controversies we will discuss span history, beginning with a focus on the Muslim world in the 15th century when the drink was seen by some to be an aid to prayers and to others akin to alcohol—or were their arguments more politically based? Modern controversies focus on aspects of trade—is free trade fair?—as well as who is making what scientific claims. Is the coffee industry funding this research?
TEACHING METHOD: In-class discussion.
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Grades will be based on class participation (15%), a group presentation (15%), 4 Papers (60%), and journals (10%).
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: There will be four written assignments, one every two weeks, throughout the quarter. Each paper will be 5-7 pages in length.
READING LIST:
Antony Wild, "Coffee: A Dark History", Harmony; ISBN 1841156493, 2004.
Bennett Alan Weinberg and Bonnie K. Bealer, "The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World’s Most Popular Drug", Routledge, ISBN 0-415-92722-6, 2001.
Joseph E. Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton, “Fair Trade For All: How Trade Can Promote Development”, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-9290090-3, 2005.
I plan to include at least one work of fiction that centers around coffee, and we will also view the film "Coffee and Cigarettes" as well as other media (song recordings, television sit-com episodes, etc.). We will also read at least one coffee research article, published in a peer-reviewed journal.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: I have long been fascinated with the interplay of science and culture. Coffee is the perfect conduit to deeply explore this relationship. Before pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry, I spent three years teaching chemistry in Cameroon, West Africa. Many of my students were the children of coffee farmers, and I saw how coffee impacted their world in vastly different ways than it impacts ours.
Chemistry 105-6, Sec. 04
Chemistry OF Art: Color, Forgery, and EFFECTS on society
INSTRUCTOR: Frederick J. Northrup
TIME: TTh 9:30 – 10:50 AM
OFFICE ADDRESS:Technological Institute, Room K368
PHONE: (847) 491-7910
E-MAIL: f-northrup@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: A casual consideration of the fields of fine arts and science might suggest that they are completely unrelated disciplines. However if one looks more closely one discovers that art and science have developed in parallel fashion through history. Capabilities in the art world have changed dramatically due to scientific invention. Perhaps more surprisingly some aspects of scientific research have been driven by the need for new capabilities originally expressed from the art world. This seminar will consider the intimate relationship between chemistry and fine arts from the point of view of the evolution of capabilities through history, the evolution of individual works of art with time, the importance of chemistry in detecting art forgery, and the adverse effects of the link between art and science on economy and personal and environmental health.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Grades for the class will be determined from class participation (20%), four writing assignments (60%), and a final project (20%) involving library research and an oral presentation.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: There will be four writing assignments throughout the course. The first likely will be a short paper (5 pages) as an introduction to the general course topic and the other three will be longer papers (8-10 pages) on more specific topics.
READING LIST:
The following three books will be read:
Victoria Finlay, Color: A Natural History of the Palette
Simon Garfield, Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color that Changed the World
Philip Ball, Bright Earth: Art and the Invention of Color
Other short journal or magazine articles will be provided by me and by members of the class to introduce specific examples for discussion.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: During my 15 years at Northwestern University I have taught undergraduate courses in physical and analytical chemistry and I have directed the Analytical Services Laboratory, a shared analytical instrument laboratory. In the latter role I have seen the use of instrumental analysis techniques for applications that previously had not seemed obvious to me. Some recent work I have done on instrumental analysis of the pigments in paint has raised my interest in the link between chemistry and art in terms of analysis of art works for technique and forgery, the degradation of art works with time, and the health hazards of art works.
Chemistry 105-6, Sec.05
DRUG DEVELOPMENT & THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
Instructor: Larry S Trzupek
Time: MWF 11:00-11:50
Office address: Tech M190 2145 Sheridan Road Evanston Campus
Phone: 847-467-0167
E-mail: l-trzupek@northwestern.edu
Office Hours: TBD
COURSE DESCRIPTION: In contemporary times, the development of new medicinal agents has been carried out largely by the pharmaceutical industry. Today's drug makers have been characterized as everything from modern-day heroes dispensing the benefits of the latest scientific developments to unscrupulous profiteers, exploiting human suffering for unreasonably large financial gains.
In this seminar, we'll explore the development of pharmaceuticals from a variety of standpoints, including those involving historical, scientific, legal, regulatory and economic components. The course will include readings as well as several presentations from individuals involved in the production of pharmaceutical agents.
PREREQUISITES: None which are absolutely required; some background and interest in the sciences would be helpful.
TEACHING METHOD: Group discussions; student presentations; presentations by one or two visiting professionals.
EVALUATION METHOD: METHOD OF EVALUATION: (% are only approximate) written papers, about 60%; individual presentations, about 20%; discussion participation, about 20%. One examination is possible, but not likely. At least one oral presentation will be required.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: Two short papers (3-4 pages); one longer paper (8 to 10 pages).
READING: Three books will be covered in whole or in part:
"Drugs: From Discovery to Approval", R. Ng, Wiley (2004) ISBN 0-471-60150-0
"Powerful Medicines", J. Avorn, Vintage Books (2005) ISBN1-4000-3078-1
"Key Issues in the Pharmaceutical Industry", A-M. McIntyre.
(The paperback edition of the Avorn book is preferred. The McIntyre book is out-of-print; the instructor will work out some arrangement for accessing the required material).
In addition, the course will use a number of articles and handouts.
RESTRICTIONS: None.
* * * CLASSICS * * *
Classics 101-6, Sec. 20
MADNESS AND WINE IN CLASSICAL LITERATURE
INSTRUCTOR: William Tortorelli
TIME: TH 9:30-10:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: Kresge 1-400
PHONE NO: 467-6976
E-MAIL: w-tortorelli@northwestern
DESCRIPTION: The ancient Greeks founded Western civilization as an exercise of reason and rationality, but their writings show an equal fascination with the irrational: for every Apollo a Dionysus. Their poetry, their religion, their philosophies--all pay equal honor both to reason and to madness and intoxication. This course will sample some foundational Western writings on madness in order to examine this apparent paradox. Topics to be discussed will include the importance of wine in Greek and Roman culture, the role of irrational thought in Greek mythology, the roots of drama in Dionysian religious observance, and the presence of madness at the heart of all personal poetry. Class time will focus heavily on analysis and discussion with lectures devoted mainly to putting the readings into their historical, cultural, and literary contexts. All readings will be in English, but many ancient Greek terms will be learned. Texts will include Homer, several tragedies, Plato, Epicurus, Plutarch, Horace, Ovid, and the archaic Greek poets, as well as some secondary literature, including Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy. There will be significant analytical writing required and a final research paper.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: There will be two 5-6 page analytical papers and a final 10-15 page research project. In addition, students will keep a journal of responses to the readings.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion, analysis, and creative response to ideas uncovered in the primary texts
EVALUATION METHOD: Evaluation of the writing assignments will include both form (syntax, grammar, spelling, punctuation) and content (style, consistency of arguments, pertinence, ingenuity). Grading will include evaluation of the written assignments and class participation. Number of writing assignments and their lengths: There will be two 5-6 page analytical papers and a final 10-15 page research project. In addition, students will keep a journal of responses to the readings.
READING:
Primary: Euripides, Bacchae and Medeia; Aeschylus' Eumenides; selections from Homer; selections from Plato; selections from Ovid; all surviving Greek Lyric Poetry; the letters of Epicurus preserved by Dionysius Laertius; Secondary: Friedrich Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy; E.R. Dodds, selections from The Greeks and the Irrational; Ruth Padel, selections from In and Out of the Mind and Whom Gods Destroy; Anne Carson, selections from Eros the Bittersweet.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY: Professor Tortorelli engaged in neuroscience research at the University of Florida before pursuing his PhD in Classics at Brown University. He has long had an interest in human consciousness and its concomitant disorders. His research focuses on the archaic Greek poets, especially Sappho.
* * * EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES * * *
Earth and Planetary Sciences 102-6, Sec. 1
DEATH OF THE DINOSAURS
INSTRUCTOR: Donna Jurdy
TIME MW 3:00 – 4:20
Office Address: 206 Locy Hall, 1850 Campus Drive
Office Phone: 847-491-7163
E-mail: donna@earth.northwestern.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The death of the dinosaurs as well as theories and evidence for other catastrophic extinctions will be examined. Geologic time and the history of life on earth, plate tectonics, dinosaur classification and behavior, periodicities, cosmic occurrences, and the search for Nemesis, the “Death Star” will be included in the seminar.
TEACHING METHOD: Short presentations most classes, discussions, films, demonstrations and examples.
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Grades are assigned based half on content and half on style (organization, grammar, sentence structure, spelling, etc.). Papers 2 and 3 count 25% each. Final paper is worth 25% for written assignment and 25% for oral presentation.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: 4 papers. First paper is autobiographical. Second and third papers are on assigned topics. Final paper may be fiction or research.
READING LIST: TBD
PERSONAL STATEMENT: My research specialties are plate tectonics on Earth and also the tectonics of Venus and Mars. I am active in professional organizations. Among my outside interests are movies and science fiction. I have been a Faculty Associate of the Communications Residential College for more than 10 years. For more information about me, see my homepage: http://www.earth.northwestern.edu/people/donna.
Earth and Planetary Sciences 102-6, Sec. 32
FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY
INSTRUCTOR: Steven D. Jacobsen
TIME: TTH 3:30-4:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: Room 202, Locy Hall, 1850 Campus Drive
PHONE: 847-467-1825
E-MAIL: steven@earth.northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Sometime during the next few years, the rate of global oil production is expected to decline. Fossil fuels in the Earth required millions of years to form, but the consumption of oil will ultimately be a brief episode in human history. The energy economy will change entirely during the lifetime of students taking this seminar. What does the future of energy look like? After traditional hydrocarbons become economically unaffordable or exceedingly dangerous to the environment and national security, planet Earth will remain central to human sustenance because renewable energy from wind, solar, biofuels, tides, and geothermal heat are similarly linked to natural sources from the sun and Earth. Technology will also play an important role in harnessing energy from photovoltaic arrays, fusion, and energy carriers such as hydrogen. Here, we meet at the crossroads of economics and science.
TEACHING METHOD: This is a discussion and writing course based on short reading assignments, new research, and documentary film, but also includes hands-on demonstrations with solar cells, hydrogen fuel cells, and a field trip.
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Students will be evaluated on four writing assignments (80%), a final presentation (15%) and class participation (5%).
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: There will be four writing assignments in total; two at 2-3 pages, one at 3-4 pages, and a final paper at 8-10 pages.
READING LIST:
Required: Beyond Oil: The View From Hubbert's Peak (by Kenneth S. Deffeyes)
Required: The Hype About Hydrogen (by Joseph J. Romm)
Optional textbook: Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future (Godfrey Boyle, Editor)
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: I am a geologist with an active research program studying the structure and physical properties of Earth, planetary, and technological materials.
Earth and Planetary Sciences 102-6, Sec. 33
GLOBAL WARMING: THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
INSTRUCTOR: Francesca A. Smith
TIME: TTH 2:00-3:20
OFFICE ADDRESS: 20O A/B Locy Hall, 1850 Campus Drive
OFFICE PHONE: 1-3459
E-MAIL: Francesca-Smith@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Global warming is more than a media catch-phrase. It represents a massive global experiment with unknown consequences. In this course we will discuss the scientific evidence for modern-day global warming including melting ice sheets, long-term temperature records from ice cores and extreme weather events such as hurricanes. Current trends and the role of human activities will be examined in the context of the geologic record of natural climate variability and the feedbacks inherent in the climate system. Anticipated future impacts include sea level rise, spread of infectious diseases, drinking water shortages, habitat loss and extinctions. Given these forecasts, strategies for managing the effects of global warming will be assessed.
TEACHING METHOD: This will be a discussion course based on reading assignments, documentary films, demonstrations, guest visitors. Discussion will be emphasized.
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Students will be graded on four writing assignments, discussion participation, and a final oral presentation. 80% of the final grade will be determined through written assignments. These papers will be evaluated equally for strength of argument and style (organization, grammar, etc.). 15% of the final grade will be derived from a final oral presentation, and 5% will be based upon discussion participation.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: Four written assignments. First paper will be autobiographical. Second and third papers will be on assigned topics. Final paper will be a research paper, with peer review and be presented in a short oral presentation.
READING LIST:
Textbook and selected short scientific publications (e.g. in Science or Nature).
PERSONAL STATEMENT: I am a paleoclimatologist. My research focuses on the geologic record of ecological responses to climate change. Specifically, I analyze fossil molecules to determine how past global warming events affected plant communities. Every summer, I camp out for a month to collect samples in the Bighorn Basin in Wyoming. Camping and backpacking are some of my favorite things to do and led me to become interested in geology and the environment.
* * * ECONOMICS * * *
Economics 101-6, Sec. 20
ECONOMICS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
INSTRUCTOR: Lillian Kamal
TIME: MW 2:00-3:20
OFFICE ADDRESS: Economics - 2001 Sheridan Road - Room 3231
PHONE: 847-491-5394
E-MAIL: l-kamal@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Most developing countries are faced with a plethora of problems including poverty, low access to adequate health services, corruption, etc. International institutions such as the World Bank or the IMF are important to these countries because of the provision of aid (both monetary and in the institution of development projects), and because of prescriptions for macroeconomic policy. This course takes a deeper look at the impact of these institutions on developing countries. Is the effect always positive? Are the policies that these institutions implement appropriate for developing countries? Ultimately the course will seek to find the answer to the question how important have these institutions been in the path to development that developing countries are charting out?
Number of Writing Assignments and Their Lengths: There will be five papers, each four pages in length, and each with an accompanying short version of the paper, for distribution to the class.
PROJECTS: Grades will be based on papers (50%), participation in online discussion threads (25%), and class presentations (25%)
PREREQUISITES: None.
TEACHING METHOD: Short formal lectures, and discussion.
EVALUATION METHOD: Grades will be based on papers (50%), participation in online discussion threads (25%), and class presentations (25%)
READING: TBA This will be updated in the near future.
NOTE: I also teach Introductory Macroeconomics, Introductory Microeconomics, and Economics of Developing Countries. I will also offer a new course on Globalization, International Institutions and Developing Countries as a 300-level course in Spring, 2007. I do research in applied macroeconomics, financial development, and microfinance. I am originally Bengali, but I was born in Uganda and grew up in Kenya. I love Agatha Christie novels, Monk, the Safari Rally, PBS, wildlife safaris, and try not to let a year go by without traveling home to Kenya.
Economics 101-6, Sec. 30
ECONOMICS OF ENERGY
Instructor: Lynne Kiesling
TIME: TTH 2:00-3:20pm
OFFICE ADDRESS: Economics - 2001 Sheridan Road - Room 3228
PHONE: 847-491-8250
E-MAIL: lkiesling@northwestern.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Since earliest human history we have used power to increase our productivity, raise our standards of living, and reduce the costs of producing the goods and services that we value. The energy we use and the power we create from using it has changed dramatically, especially over the past two centuries, and the tradeoffs we face in our energy choices have also changed. We will analyze and discuss such timely and newsworthy topics as the determinants of gasoline prices, OPEC's ability to act like a cartel, the role of environmental regulation in energy markets, electricity regulation and deregulation, and technological change and new energy alternatives like hydrogen. This subject lends itself to applications of the interaction of economics and politics, as well as discussions of the evolution of energy industries like oil and electricity over the past century.
PROJECTS: NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: There will be four to five papers, each 4-5 pages in length, each with an accompanying short version of the paper.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion.
EVALUATION METHOD: Grades will be based on papers (70%), comments on peer's papers (10%), and class discussion (20%).
READING: Various articles which will be provided in class.
NOTE: In addition to my teaching, I am the director of an applied energy research center. My research focuses on electricity policy and the evolution of electricity markets out of our historically regulated environment. I also teach environmental economics, history of economic thought, and western economic history. I am what you might call a jock, and will have just run the Chicago Triathlon when we meet in September. I love shoes, British comedy, and Chicago architecture.
**Economics 101-6, Sec. 50
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF LEGAL AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN AMERICA
INSTRUCTOR: Steffen Habermalz
TIME: TTH 12:30-1:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: Economics - 2001 Sheridan Road - Room 3224
PHONE: 847-491-8240
E-MAIL: s-habermalz@northwestern.edu:
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Immigration, especially from countries with a low-skilled labor force, has been a focus of public debate in the recent past. This course examines the economic impact of immigration. We will discuss the history of immigration policy in the United States and analyze the various economic issues that dominate the current debate over immigration policy. They include the changing contribution of immigrants to the country’s skill endowment; the rate of economic assimilation experienced by immigrants; the impact of immigrants on the employment opportunities of native-born workers; the extent to which immigrants “pay their way” in the welfare state; and the source and magnitude of the economic benefits generated by immigration.
Number of Writing Assignments and Their Lengths: Approx. 5 papers, 5 pages each.
PROJECTS: Grades will be based on papers (50%), participation in online discussion threads (25%), and class presentations (25%)
PREREQUISITES: None.
TEACHING METHOD: Short formal lectures, and discussion.
EVALUATION METHOD: Grades will be based on papers (70%), participation in online discussion threads (15%), and comments on peers papers (15%)
READING: George J. Borjas, Heaven’s Door: Immigration Policy and the American Economy, Princeton University Press, 1999. More reading to follow (announced in class).
BIOGRAPHY/PERSONAL STATEMENT: I also teach Introductory Statistics, Introduction to Econometrics (The fun stuff) and Labor Economics. My research is mostly in Labor Economics. I was born in Lich, Germany and moved to the United States in 1998 to attend Graduate School in Milwaukee. I enjoy reading (mostly popular science), music (favorite bands: AC/DC, Marillion, Nick Cave, Nirvana, White Stripes), movies (Big Lebowski, The Wire, Frasier) and sports (mostly Bulls). I used to play basketball but old age has forced me to switch to running. Last but certainly not least I like to spend time with my wife Catherine.
* * * ENGLISH * * *
English 101-6, Sec. 20
ARCHITECTURE OF ENTHUSIASM
INSTRUCTOR Brian Bouldrey
TIME TTH 2:00-3:20
OFFICE ADDRESS: UH 226
PHONE 491-5595
E-MAIL: b-bouldrey@northwestern.edu
DESCRIPTION: In The Stones of Venice, John Ruskin asks readers to reconsider the notion of “Gothic”, which rises out of “Goth”. Ruskin liked the rudeness of northern architecture, he liked imperfection—he was living at a time when the rise of the industrial age was dehumanizing everything, and, as he said, “You must either make a tool of the creature, or a man of him.” Nobody wants to be a tool. So if we are going to embrace the idea of people being human, then we must also embrace the idea that everybody makes mistakes. As we read deeper into Ruskin’s book of gothic lamentations, his gripes about the dehumanization of his times oddly corresponds with a contemporary distance between the artistic corps and the culture at large. This course will use The Stones of Venice as a primary text to investigate the possibility of acknowledging a unity that is both inclusive and rejuvenating, rather than repressive and deadening.
Teaching Method: Discussion
Number of Writing Assignments: Four short papers (2-3 pages); One long final paper (8-10 pages)
Readings:
The Stones of Venice, John Ruskin
Reader will include excerpts from:
Bakhtin, Mikhail, On Rabelais and His World
Bonaparte, Roland, Episodes et Tableux, Paris, 1886.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, “The May-Pole of Merry Mount”
Huggins, Nathan Irvin, Voices from the Harlem Renaissance
Kellner, Bruce, ed., Keep A-Inchin’ Along: Selected Writings of Carl Van Vechten about Black Arts and Letters
Kieckhefer, Richard, Theology in Stone
Kemble, FrancesAnne, Journal of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation in 1838-1839
Manual of Ecclesiastical Architecture, Curts & Jennnings, Cincinnati, OH, 1897.
Lear, Edward, Journal of a Landscape Painter in Corsica
Miller, Tim, “Statements by the Artists/Respondents after Oral Arguments March 31, 1998”, National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley et al., Docket Number 97-371.
Nabokov, Vladimir, Lectures on Russian Literature
Patrimoine de la Basilique de Vezelay, Le
Ryan, Kay, “Death by Fruit”, Say Uncle
Schopenhauer, Arthur, The World as Will and Representation
Short, Ernest, A History of Religious Architecture
Brian Bouldrey is Senior Lecturer of the Creative Writing Program in the Dept. of English.
English 101-6, Sec. 21
STUDIES IN 20TH CENTURY LITERATURE: THE BEAST WITHIN/THE BEAST WITHOUT
INSTRUCTOR: JULIE P. GORDON
TIME: TTH 3:30-4:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: UniversityHall 215
PHONE 847-491-7294
E-MAIL: jpg@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The class will focus sharply on a continuing image in modern literature, that of the "beast" which seems to haunt characters in various fictional forms. We will examine different authors, British and American, and genres (story, novel, and play) in an attempt to show the close relation of form and content. Authors have been chosen to reveal a wide variety of literary styles in order to afford opportunities to compare and contrast among them. Though the theme of the beast within/without is the thread which links the writers, we shall see that their approaches vary greatly as they deal with the ambiguity of evil and the different aspects it takes. Characters often appear as obsessive personalities who have a tenuous relationship to the world. Real and imagined beasts form a symbolic pattern -- social and psychological -- in this literature.
TEACHING METHOD: In-class discussion of texts, which should provoke debates and disagreements. Discussion questions on the texts will be distributed each week.
METHOD OF EVALUATION: There are no exams. The class grade will be based primarily on written papers, but a portion of the total grade will be based on participation in class discussion (20%).
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS:
There will be four papers, each about 5 pages.
READING LIST
Henry James: The Turn of the Screw and The Aspern Papers
Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness
Ernest Hemingway: A Clean Well-Lighted Place, Hills Like White Elephants and The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber
John Fowles: The Collector
Rachel Ingalls: Mrs. Caliban
Ian McEwan: Atonement
Peter Shaffer: Equus
W. Strunk and E.B. White: The Elements of Style
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT Dr. Gordon has been a senior lecturer in American and British literature at Northwestern's School of Continuing Studies--where she was also Associate Dean-- for more than twenty years, and more recently she has been teaching freshman seminars at WCAS. She earned her Ph.D. in English literature from Harvard University. Her special fields of expertise are 19th and 20th century British and American fiction. She was an undergraduate philosophy major at Boston University and also attended Oxford University as a special student. She came to Northwestern from the Illinois Institute of Technology, where she was a professor in the Humanities department, teaching courses in literature, art history, and film.
* * * WRITING PROGRAM * * *
English 105-6, Sec. 20
READING AND WRITING STORIES FROM THE MARGIN
INSTRUCTOR: Penny L. Hirsch
TIME: MWF 9:00-9:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: Kresge 2-210
PHONE: 491-4969
EMAIL: phirsch@northwestern.edu
OFFICE HOURS: MW 10 – 11 & by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Who is on the margin in our society, and how and why do they write about their experiences? What do we learn when we read or hear their stories – or when we write about our own “marginal” perspectives? The goal of this seminar is to answer these questions while helping you become a better writer and reader of stories and developing our collective awareness of voices that are too often unheard. Toward those ends, we will read narratives of protest and survival from people who feel marginalized by race, class, gender, war, sexuality, or prison.
As we read the stories of both artists and ordinary people who use writing to explore their lives and comment on society, we will also look at (a) the relationship between stories and “truth” (and how fiction and non-fiction merge) and (b) the differences between mainstream stories and “stories from the margins.” Then, focusing particularly on narratives from people in prison, we will see how stories can help us better understand specific social and political issues.
Readings will include pieces by James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, Sandra Cisneros, and Tim O’Brien, as well as an eye-opening study by Renny Golden, a professor of sociology and criminal justice, called War on the Family: Mothers in Prison and the Families They Leave Behind. Guest speakers will include women writers from Grace House, a transition home in Chicago for formerly incarcerated women. Papers will focus on both personal issues, such as how you have benefited from--or been challenged by--a marginal perspective, and on research, such as how stories we hear from “outsiders” conflict with widely held social views, enlighten us to problems we want to change, or challenge our view of ourselves and others. You will be encouraged to experiment with various writing techniques and also to use Northwestern’s extensive library resources to help you craft effective arguments.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion and workshop
EVALUATION METHOD: This course requires three papers and a short final reflection (approximately 25 pages total). All papers will be written in stages and revised. Quarter grades will cover writing (approximately 70%) and class participation (30%, including attendance and online discussion in our class blog).
READING:
James Baldwin, Go Tell It On the Mountain and essays from Notes of a Native Son
Anne Karpf, The War After
Andrew Pham, Catfish and Mandala: A 2-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam
Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried
Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis, or Art Spiegelman, Maus (both graphic novels)
Selections from George Orwell, Audre Lorde, Pearl Cleage, Wally Lamb, and Yann Martel
Excerpts from Reading Across Borders: Storytelling and Knowledges of Resistance by Shari Stone-Mediatore
PERSONAL STATEMENT: Penny Hirsch is Associate Director of the Writing Program, with a joint appointment in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. She is an active researcher in engineering communication and related areas such as education and teamwork. Her doctoral work focused on magic and literature in such renowned writers as Shakespeare, Melville, and Toni Morrison. Hirsch is a Fellow of the Women's Residential College and the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence. As a volunteer, she runs writing workshops at Grace House in Chicago. She enjoys travel, skiing, opera, and her marvelous cat.
English 105-6, Sec. 21
HOW LANGUAGE WORKS
INSTRUCTOR Ellen Wright
TIME: MWF 10:00-10:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: Kresge 2-205
PHONE: 491-7414
EMAIL: elwright@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to give students an increased control over their writing through an understanding of the way language works. In class sections we will focus intensively on language, discussing the rhetorical choices good writers make and the linguistic, psychological, and sociological principles behind those choices. We will analyze various methods of creating interesting sentences, cohesive paragraphs, and forceful and imaginative arguments. We will also review grammatical and stylistic "rules" -- and note why sophisticated writers might occasionally want to break them. Students will practice what they've learned by writing (and rewriting after consultation with the instructor) three different types of essay.
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Written papers and class discussion
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: 1 three-page paper, 2 six-page papers, 1 eight-page paper
READING LIST
"Hedda Gabler"
BIOGRAPHY Ellen Wright has published literary criticism on Latin poetry, Old English poetry, Renaissance drama, and the nineteenth-century American novel. She has also worked as a magazine and book editor. She is currently writing fiction and becoming a bluegrass musician.
English 105-6, Sec. 22
UTOPIAN AND DYSTOPIAN FICTION
INSTRUCTOR: Charles Yarnoff
TIME: MWF 10:00-10:50
OFFICE ADDRESS Kresge 2-220
PHONE 847-491-7414
E-MAIL: csy771@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Since the Renaissance, authors have portrayed fictional utopian societies. More recently and in part as a response to attempts to create the “ideal society” in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, authors have countered with fictional dystopias (from the Greek words meaning “bad place”). We will read fictional utopias and dystopias that explore these and other questions: Can society be organized to ensure happiness and a good life for all? What are the dangers of attempts to create such a society? What essential elements of humanity must be protected at all cost from efforts to perfect society?
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion is the primary teaching method. Students will also meet with the instructor individually outside of class throughout the quarter to discuss their papers.
METHOD OF EVALUATION: The writing assignments comprise 85% of the course grade. Class discussion comprises 15% of the grade.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS:
Essay One (reflective essay on a reading): 2-3 pages
Essay Two (analysis of a reading): 4-5 pages
Essay Three (comparison of two readings): 5-7 pages
Essay Four (reflective essay on an issue raised by the course readings): 3-4 pages
NOTE: Students will revise each essay
READING LIST: Readings will be drawn from works by Thomas More, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Jonathan Swift, H.G. Wells, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Anthony Burgess, Margaret Atwood, and Kazuo Ishiguro
BRIEF INTELLECTUAL DESCRIPTION: As a faculty member of the Writing Program, Charles Yarnoff teaches courses on essay, fiction, and technical writing. As a faculty member in Northwestern's School of Continuing Studies, he teaches courses on 19th and 20th century American fiction and poetry. He has been a freshman advisor for seven years.
English 105-6, Sec. 23
INWARD JOURNEY: SELF DISCOVERY THROUGH READING AND WRITING
INSTRUCTOR: Marcia Gealy
TIME: MWF 11:00-11:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: Kresge 2-215
PHONE: 491-7414
E-MAIL: mgealy@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Marcel Proust has written that "no matter what you are reading, you are really reading yourself." Like reading, writing has been defined as a process of self -discovery that enables one to understand the self in relation to others. In this seminar, we will read selected fiction, poems, and essays and respond to them in writing as a way of clarifying our ideas and communicating them effectively to others. Students will write three papers of varying length and revise them by participating in workshops and individual conferences. Among the authors we shall study are William Blake, George Orwell, Alice Munro, William Maxwell, and Amy Tan.
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: 3 essays of varying length=20 total pages; response papers to various reading assignments.
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Writing Assignments= 75% of course grade
Participation in discussion and workshops=25%
READING LIST: Abcarian and Klotz, Literature : The Human Experience.
Munro, Vintage Munro. Maxwell, So Long, I’ll See You Tomorrow.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY: Marcia Gealy teaches a variety of writing and literature courses for the Writing Program, the Center for the Writing Arts, and the Program in Comparative Literary Studies. She also advises undergraduates who wish to submit essays to the national Elie Wiesel Contest for Essays on Ethics.
English 105-6, Sec. 24
HOW TO BECOME AN EXPERT IN ROUGHLY TEN WEEKS
INSTRUCTOR: Barbara Shwom
TIME: MWF 11:00-11:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: Kresge 2-245, 1880 Campus Drive
PHONE: 491-7690
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Every day on television and radio, on the streets and in classrooms, we hear people expressing opinions about a variety of topics. The people who are most persuasive, however, are those who are most informed. This course is designed to give students the tools to develop an informed opinion, to present that opinion to others orally and in writing, and to persuade others to consider (and even accept) their point of view.
In this seminar, you will have the opportunity to select a topic of your choice and research it in depth, using library resources, the Internet, interviews and surveys. You will also learn a number of techniques for presenting your ideas persuasively, both orally and in writing. By the end of the course, you will be in position to discuss your ideas in a thoughtful, authoritative way. In this sense, you will have earned the right to call yourself an expert on your topic.
METHOD OF EVALUATION Class participation (20%), writing assignments (60%), and 10-15 minute oral presentation (20%)
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: You should assign at least three papers totaling approximately twenty pages. As a general rule, the more often students write the more they will get out of the seminar, i.e., assigning weekly or biweekly papers with opportunities for revision is preferable to assigning fewer, lengthier papers.
Students will write two essays of 6-10 pages each, a shorter essay of 2-3 pages, an annotated bibliography, and a PowerPoint presentation, putting each through at least two drafts.
READING LIST Two textbooks are required:
Rules for Writers by Diana Hacker
The Craft of Research by Wayne Booth, Gregory Colomb, and Joseph Williams
Most of the reading, however, will be keyed to the students' own expert research projects.
BIOGRAPHY: Professor Shwom teaches research writing, technical writing, and business writing in WCAS, the engineering school, and the Kellogg School of Management. In addition to teaching and advising, Professor Shwom directs the Writing Place, a peer tutoring center located in the library. In 1996-97, Professor Shwom held the title of Charles Deering McCormick University Distinguished Lecturer.
English 105-6, Sec. 25
INSIDERS AND OUTSIDERS: READING AND WRITING CULTURAL STORIES
INSTRUCTOR Jeanne Weiland Herrick
TIME: TTH 9:30-10:50
OFFICE ADDRESS - Kresge 2-225
PHONE (847) 491-4967
E-MAIL: j-herrick@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Telling stories is one of the primary ways we make sense of the world and ourselves. The cultures we belong to influence these stories. Using the city of Chicago and her culturally rich neighborhoods as our point of departure, together we will explore cultural stories—how they are written and interpreted and how being an insider or an outsider to a culture makes a difference. We will read authors from Chicago’s neighborhoods: people like Alex Kotlowitz, Sandra Cisneros, Tina De Rosa, Gwendolyn Brooks, and former Latin King, Reymundo Sanchez. Students will also read The Lemon Tree, true story of an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man, to explore how our cultural perspective shapes how we interpret events. In addition, students may choose any of at least three fieldtrips to Chicago neighborhoods (They are welcome to attend all fieldtrips). As a community of writers, we will work together to respond to these stories in crisp, clear, and compelling prose by writing three papers about cultures ourselves, those we belong to and those we don’t.
TEACHING METHOD: The primary method of teaching will be class discussions. Students will prepare for these discussions by writing some summaries and response papers. We will also view some video tapes, as well as take some optional field trips.
METHOD OF EVALUATION : Writing will account for 80% of the course grade, while the remaining 20% will be based on students’ demonstrated engagement in the course through participation in class discussions, workshops, and exercises.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS:
Students will write three papers, putting each through at least two drafts.
Essay One - 4-6 pages
Essay Two - 5-7 pages
Essay Three - 6-8 pages (based on outside research)
There will be no final exam. In addition to the three formal papers, students will write several one or two page summaries and/or responses to readings and a few writing exercises, some which will be written in class.
READING LIST
We will read excerpts form Ethnic Chicago as well as excerpts from the works of Chicago authors such as Alex Kotlowitz, Sandra Cisneros, Tina DeRosa, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Reymundo Sanchez, that will be available in a coursepack of readings from Quartet Copies. A substantial unit of readings will be about the Puerto Rican community and gangs, as a culture. We will also use a writing textbook, Writing Analytically by David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: Dr. Jeanne Herrick, a sociolinguist, is a specialist in intercultural communication. After a career doing sales and marketing in the field of broadcasting for CBS, Dr. Herrick focused on the study of how people from different cultures and language backgrounds can communicate. She conducts ongoing research in the area. She is also interested in the use of narrative as a way of making sense of our experiences and cultures and our use of stories to understand the world.
Professor Herrick also teaches in the Engineering Design and Communication Program, in conjunction with McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. In this program, she teaches project management, teamwork, and presentations skills, as well as both business and technical writing.
Jeanne loves gardening, traveling, dancing, kayaking in Puget Sound where she has a summer cottage, and is an avid Northwestern basketball fan.
English 105-6, Sec. 26
CREDIBLE WRITER: THE NATURE OF WRITING AND EVIDENCE
INSTRUCTOR: Kathleen Carmichael
TIME: TTH 2:00-3:20
OFFICE ADDRESS: Kresge 2-255
PHONE: 491-7414
E-MAIL: k-carmichael@northwestern.edu
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION: What makes a writer credible? In other words, how do readers determine what writers deserve their trust? Every day we place our confidence in strangers who advise us on matters that range from the immediate (movies and restaurants) to the long-term (our money and our health). Yet high-profile scandals—such as fraudulent reporting at the New York Times—remind us that we must not place our faith too casually. In this course, we will examine the relationship between writers and their readers with an eye to understanding how the style, social context, and unspoken assumptions of a written work help inspire our confidence or elicit our disbelief. Students will be asked to consider the ethical responsibilities both of readers, alert to the possibility of misrepresentation or fraud, and of writers seeking to establish their own credibility and authority.
Course readings will include works of fiction, journalism, and writings from the natural and social sciences. We will also consider practical topics such as how University library resources and experts can help students locate and evaluate key sources and develop authoritative arguments.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion and workshop
EVALUATION: This course requires three papers and periodic writing assignments in the class blog (approximately 25 pages total). All papers will be written in stages and revised. Quarter grades will cover writing (approximately 70%) and class participation (30%, including attendance and in-class presentations).
Readings will be selected from
Yann Martel, Life of Pi
Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice
Steven D. Levitt, Freakonomics
Stephen Jay Gould, The Mismeasure of Man
Bethany McClean, Peter Elkind, The Smartest Guys in the Room
Essays by Vivian Gornick, David Foster Wallace, Malcolm Gladwell and others
PERSONAL STATEMENT: Kathleen Carmichael teaches courses in composition and engineering communication. Her instructional strategies are informed by more than eight years of experience as a securities analyst, public relations specialist and educational consultant. Her interests include the rhetoric of public policy (especially in the healthcare sector), literatures of addiction, and the ways that scientific endeavor has been represented in popular media from the Enlightenment to the present.
* * * FRENCH * * *
French 105-6, Sec. 20
TELL ME WHAT YOU EAT AND….
INSTRUCTOR Marie-Simone Pavlovich
TIME: MWF 11:00-11:50
OFFICE ADDRESS : Crowe 2-137
PHONE : 847-491-5490 / 467-3930
E-MAIL : mpa347@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION This course presents food for thinking literally. Indeed the literary meanderings through the meals or feasts presented in French novels [Rabelais, Flaubert, Zola, Guy de Maupassant, Arrabal, Duras], and in movies such as Babette’s Feast, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, A Day in the Country, will lead to a psychological and sociological analysis in the aspects of meal partaking. After having read some cultural and sociological studies done in the field, we will study how the meals act as revealers of truth in the main characters of our readings and movies. These considerations will be later applied to other literatures and cultures.
TEACHING METHOD: Lectures, workshops, discussions, oral presentations will constitute the core of the classes. Emphasis will be put on improving writing skills through various papers
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Final grade will be based on written work (as described below) and oral participation. Students are expected to participate, and also make an oral presentation. The presence and the participation in class are essential.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS There will be 4 papers of various lengths (including the final exam), and 3 mini papers; the final exam will consist of an essay (6 pages min.). A folder will also be presented as part of the final project.
READING LIST
1)Gustave FLAUBERT‚ Madame Bovary, translated by Francis Steegmuller, Vintage Classics, NY.
2) Marguerite DURAS‚ Moderato Cantabile, (Four Novels) , Grove Weidenfeld, NY, 1990
3)Lawrence SCHEHR and Allen WEISS, ed. French Food: On the table, on the page, and in the French culture, Routledge, NY,2001
4) Course Guide to be purchased at Quartet Copies (Clark Street)
Recommended: a grammar handbook; a good dictionary.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: MARIE-SIMONE PAVLOVICH, Senior Lecturer in French, was educated in Geneva, Switzerland (B.A. in Psychology, M.A. in Education) and at Northwestern (M.A. in Romance Languages and Ph.D. in French literature). She teaches advanced grammar, composition and conversation, as well as phonetics and Business French, and is the Coordinator of the 300-level language classes.
She is very involved in the coordination of programs for the American Association of Teachers of French, such as the "Enrichment Day for High School Teachers of French"; she is also the Director of the Grande Dictée de la Francophonie in Illinois, a spelling competition open to all Francophiles and Francophones of the region that has taken place at Northwestern every February since 1998. She lectures on that topic at various meetings and conventions.
She is very interested in language pedagogy, and received a Hewlett Grant to develop a web interface entitled Français à dire et à chanter, used in the phonetics class. But her primary interests lie in "gastro-literature" (food in literature from a psycho-sociological point of view) and literature of Switzerland, particularly by women.
She was named Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French Ministry of Education in 1998.
French 105-6, Sec. 21
IMAGINING IDENTITIES IN FRANCOPHONE FICTION & FILM
INSTRUCTOR: Dominique Licops
TIME: MWF 10:00-10:50
OFFICE: Crowe 2-139
PHONE; 847-491-8258
E-MAIL: d-licops@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION : Stories, narratives, and images have been crucial to the elaboration of personal and cultural identities in fictional texts and films from France, the French Caribbean, and North Africa since the 1950s. In the context of the contestations of colonialism, decolonization, and globalization, writers and film-makers have reflected on what happens when multiple, often conflictual, narratives and images impact the formation of personal and group identities. By discussing fiction and films from the 1950’s – 2000, we will address the following questions:
How do characters develop a sense of self? A sense of belonging / community?
How do they understand and negotiate the hegemonic discourses of gender, culture, ethnicity/race, class, and sexuality?
What images and metaphors do the authors deploy to represent their characters’ identities and how do we interpret their meaning?
What role does the imagination play in the construction of identities?
What are the functions of otherness in these narratives, in the elaboration of personal and cultural identities?
How is culture represented and understood in these works?
TEACHING METHOD: Class discussion and presentations, short essays, peer-editing and re-writing
METHOD OF EVALUATION
●4 essays (5 pages each) & peer editing (60%)
●Oral presentation (15%);
●Attendance and Class participation (25%)
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS:
4 essays (5 pages each)
READING LIST
Joseph Zobel, Black Shack Alley. (1974)
Pineau, Exile according to Julia. (1996)
Condé, Desirada. (excerpts in CP) (1997)
Assia Djebar, Fantasia. (1985)
Course Packet
List of Films
Euzhan Palcy, “Sugar Cane Alley” (1983)
Pontecorvo, “Battle of Algiers” (1966)
Brigitte Roüan, “Outremer” (1990)
André Téchiné, “Wild Reeds” (1994)
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: Dominique Licops has a Licence (B.A) in Germanic Philology from Université Catholique de Louvain-La-Neuve (Belgium), an M.A. in Literature from Commonwealth Countries from Leeds University (UK), a PhD. in Comparative Literary Studies from Northwestern University, and a graduate certificate in Gender Studies, also from Northwestern University. Her dissertation is a study of metaphors of identity in Caribbean Francophone and Anglophone Literature. She currently teaches a wide range of courses in the French department and for the School of Continuing Studies, and occasionally for the Gender Studies Program. Her main interests are in post-colonial and francophone studies.
French and Italian 105-6, Sec. 22
AVENGERS OF THE NEW WORLD: THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION IN MEMORY AND REPRESENTATION
INSTRUCTOR: Doris Garraway
TIME: TTH 2:00-3:20
OFFICE ADDRESS: 1880 Campus Dr #2-375
PHONE: 491-8255
EMAIL: d-garraway@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On January 1 1804, Jean-Jacques Dessalines ripped the white from the French tricolor flag and declared the independence of Haiti, thus bringing an end to the most important slave insurrection in history, and transforming the colony of Saint-Domingue into the second independent state in the Western hemisphere. Although the Haitian Revolution is now often regarded as the most radical political movement in the Age of Enlightenment, the defining test of the French Revolution’s rhetorical embrace of universal liberty, and the founding moment of Haitian literature, its legacy in French and Francophone Caribbean literature has been fraught with ambivalence. This course examines the significance of the Haitian Revolution as a political and discursive movement, and the ways in which it has been represented and remembered in the literatures of France and the Francophone world from the postrevolutionary period to the present. While memories of the revolution have inspired many writers’ visions of the possibility for heroism, resistance, and unity of oppressed or enslaved peoples, others have reinterpreted the Haitian case as another phase in the cycle of racialized violence, political repression, and military dictatorship that has traumatized the country’s population since its origins in slavery, thus auguring the ambiguities and disillusionments of the postcolonial condition. At the same time, the Haitian Revolution invites a reconsideration of the role of Enlightenment universalism in the struggle against slavery and oppression in the colonial world.
Required Reading: Selected works by authors such as C.L.R. James, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Alphonse de Lamartine, Victor Hugo, Aimé Césaire, René Depestre, Jacques-Stéphen Alexis, Marie Chauvet, and Madison Smartt Bell. Taught in English.
Evaluation: class discussion, two short papers, outlines and other preparatory exercices, final research paper.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY: Doris Garraway is Associate Professor of French and Francophone literature in the Department of French and Italian. Her primary research and teaching interests include Francophone Caribbean literature and cultural theory, Haitian literature and history, and seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French literature. Her book, entitled The Libertine Colony: Creolization in the Early French Caribbean (Duke University Press, 2005) examines narratives, histories and fictions of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French slave societies, with particular emphasis on the role of gender and sexuality in social relations of domination and constructions of race. She has also published several journal articles on colonial and postcolonial Francophone Caribbean literature, and her edited volume, entitled Tree of Liberty: Cultural Legacies of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World, is forthcoming from the University of Virginia Press in early 2008. She regularly presents her research at conferences around the country, and recently organized an international symposium at Northwestern entitled "The Haitian Revolution: History, Memory, Representation," held on October 22-23, 2004.
* * * GENDER STUDIES * * *
Gender