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-Asian Languages
Anthropology
Art
Art History
Asian-American Studies
Astronomy
Biological Sciences
Chemistry
Classics
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Economics
English
English - Writing Program
Gender Studies
German
History
Humanities
Italian
Linguistics
Mathematics
Philosophy
Physics
Political Science
Psychology
Religion
Sociology
Spanish
Writing Program
*
* * HUMANITIES * * *
PLEASE NOTE: Students who sign up for the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program take two courses in the Fall (a lecture course and an associated freshman seminar) and two courses in the Winter (again, a lecture course and associated freshman seminar). For this, they will receive a total of four course credits, satisfy the Weinberg requirement for two freshman seminars, as well as receive two distribution credits, one in Area IV (Historical Studies) and one in Area VI (Literature and Fine Arts). Their transcript will indicate that they have completed the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program.
Note: This means that the Program demands half the first-year student's work-load in the first two quarters. Students will receive two grades for the program in the Fall, and two again in the Winter. Students who apply, but are not admitted to the Program, are no way disadvantaged in getting their next top choice for a regular freshman seminar.
Humanities 101-6
THE GOOD SOCIETY 1: BRAVE NEW WORLDS
*Instructor: *Carl Smith (English, History, American Studies)
*Office address: *306 University Hall 1897 Sheridan Rd Evanston, Il 60208-2240
*Phone: *847/ 491-7136
*E-mail: *cjsmith@northwestern.edu
*Instructor: *Kathryn Sydney Evans (English)
*Office address: *University Hall 222
*Phone: *1-7135
*E-mail: *ksevans@northwestern.edu
*Instructor: *Henry C. Binford (History)
*Office address: *102b Harris
Evanston Campus 2220
*Phone: *847-491-7262
*E-mail: *hcbin@northwestern.edu
PLEASE NOTE: Students who sign up for the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program take two courses in the Fall (a lecture course and an associated freshman seminar) and two courses in the Winter (again, a lecture course and associated freshman seminar). For this, they will receive a total of four course credits, satisfy the Weinberg requirement for two freshman seminars, as well as receive two distribution credits, one in Area IV (Historical Studies) and one in Area VI (Literature and Fine Arts). Their transcript will indicate that they have completed the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program.
Note: This means that the Program demands half the first-year student's work-load in the first two quarters. Students will receive two grades for the program in the Fall, and two again in the Winter. Students who apply, but are not admitted to the Program, are no way disadvantaged in getting their next top choice for a regular freshman seminar.
TIME:*Humanities 101 will meet on Tuesday and Thursday 3:30-4:50. Humanities 210 will meet Monday and Wednesday 3:30-4:50. The three instructors who teach the two classes will divide the lectures in Humanities 210 and each will lead one of the Humanities 101 seminars.
Course Description: Students in this lecture class, which is coordinated with the freshman seminar course Humanities 101 (the two must be taken together), will explore the distinctive visions of “the good society” expressed by writers and artists during three major moments in western cultural history: the Northern European Renaissance, the Enlightenment in Europe and America, and the Technological Revolution in Britain and the United States. The works we will examine address major questions: What is the proper relationship between the individual and community? How are politics to be conducted? What about the relations between and among the sexes? What constitutes a proper education? This course is entitled "Brave New Worlds" because people in all three periods claimed that theirs was a genuinely new age full of wonderful possibilities. The title is also apt because in both its original use by Shakespeare in /The Tempest/ and in its appropriation by Aldous Huxley for his 1932 novel, the term “brave new world” expresses an ironic awareness that making a new world can lead to unintended complications. We will discuss the ironies as well as the achievements that result from the continuing attempts to envision and enact a better world.
Students will have the opportunity to read and discuss a wide variety of written and visual sources, along with some of the best work by modern scholars, supplemented by addition sources. For example, we will look at painter Hans Holbein’s stunning portraits of political leaders when we are also analyzing Thomas More's ideas of a more perfect world in his /Utopia /(1516) and viewing a modern retelling of his sacrifice of his life for his principles in the Oscar-winning 1966 film, /A Man for All Seasons/. We will take advantage of the extraordinary array of cultural resources in the area with class trips to such places as the Art Institute of Chicago and the model industrial town of Pullman.
*PREREQUISITES: This course is open by permission only to students who have been admitted to the Kaplan Humanities Institute Freshman Scholars Program.Concurrent enrollment in Humanities 101 as part of the Kaplan Humanities Institute Freshman Scholars program.*
TEACHING METHOD: Lecture course (Humanities 210) and discussion seminar (Humanities 101). There will also be some discussion in Humanities 210.
EVALUATION METHOD: Papers, shorter writing assignments, and participation in seminar discussion.
READING: Some sample texts:
Thomas More, Utopia, 1516
Michel de Montaigne, Of Cannibals, 1575
Robert Hooke, Micrographia, 1665
Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, 1792
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, 1790
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, 1818 `
Charles Dickens, Hard Times (1854)
Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (1932)
*Brief Biography or Personal Statement:
Henry Binford
Professor Henry Binford is an urban historian specializing in the nineteenth century evolution of cities, suburbs, and slums. His publications include The First Suburbs: Residential Communities on the Boston Periphery, 1815-1860. He was named a Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence in 1998.
Kasey Evans
Professor Kasey Evans teaches and writes about medieval and Renaissance literature, especially narrative poetry. She is currently working on a book about changing representations of temperance in Renaissance literature, where the virtue is transformed from a broad concept of moderation to a specifically pre-capitalist notion of time-management. Her forthcoming publications include articles on allegory and personification; scenes of misreading in Shakespearean drama; and New World slavery in Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene. She is particularly interested in questions of race, gender, and sexuality as they shape Renaissance English literature.
Carl Smith
Professor Carl Smith is the author of Urban Disorder and the Shape of Belief: The Great Chicago Fire, the Haymarket Bomb, and the Model Town of Pullman (1995). His most recent book is The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City (2006). Like Professor Binford, he was designated a Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence.
*
* *
AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES * * *
AF-AM 101-6, Sec. 20
RACE, POVERTY & PUBLIC POLICY IN AMERICA
INSTRUCTOR : CELESTE WATKINS-HAYES
TIME : TTH 9:30-10:50am
OFFICE ADDRESS - Crowe 3-137
PHONE: 847-491-4805
E-MAIL: c-watkins@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION There has been long-standing concern in American society about the plight of the poor. Policy and public opinion reflect various sides of the debate, resulting in programs and discourses that embody a constant tension between the desire to meet the basic needs of the poor and the fear of overextending the hand of the state. At the same time, while the majority of the poor do not come from any particular minority group, the disproportionate representation of families of color among the country’s impoverished does raise important questions. In this freshman seminar, students will develop an in-depth understanding of the scope of poverty in America and consider competing theories on its causes. Students will also read work that examines the role of racial stratification in the creation and perpetuation of economic marginalization and reflect on its present day incarnations. Both scholarly work and examples from recent events (e.g., Hurricane Katrina, the HBO television program /The Wire,/ the 2008 presidential election) will provide fodder for analysis. As students develop a keen knowledge of the historical and contemporary debates on poverty in America, we will study public policy responses to the plight of the poor from outdoor relief to present-day initiatives. The last part of the course will consider debates on the future of anti-poverty policy with special attention paid to the relationship between racial and economic stratification.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion with some instructor lectures
METHOD OF EVALUATION
The course will consist of two class meetings per week.
30% - 3 reflection papers
30% - class attendance and participation
40% - final paper
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS
Students will write 3 reflection papers (3-4 pages each) and one final research paper (7-10 pages).
READING LIST
Iceland, John. 2003. Poverty in America: A Handbook. University of California Press.
ISBN: 0520239598
Royster, Deirdre. 2003. Race & the Invisible Hand: How White Networks Exclude Black Men from Blue-Collar Jobs. University of California Press.
ISBN: 0520239512
Edin, Kathryn and Maria Kefales. 2005. Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood Before Marriage. Berkeley: University of California Press.
ISBN-10: 0520248198; ISBN-13: 978-0520248199
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY : Celeste M. Watkins-Hayes is currently Assistant Professor of Sociology & African American Studies at Northwestern University. In addition to her faculty appointment, Watkins-Hayes serves as a Faculty Fellow at Northwestern's Institute for Policy Research and a Visiting Summer Fellow at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California – San Francisco. Her areas of research specialization are urban poverty; social policy; HIV/AIDS; formal organizations (non-profit and government); and race, class, and gender. Watkins-Hayes has published articles in Social Problems, the Harvard Journal of African-American Public Policy, and The State of Black America, 2001 and has been profiled in Essence and USA Today Weekend magazines. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Harvard University in June 2003. She also holds an M.A. in Sociology from Harvard and a B.A. from Spelman College, where she graduated summa cum laude in 1996.
*
* *
AFRICAN ASIAN LANGUAGES * * *
African Asian Languages 110-6, Sec.20
LEARNING FROM LANGUAGE
INSTRUCTOR: Lynn Whitcomb
TIME: MWF 1:00-1:50
OFFICE ADDRESS: Kresge 4-360 1880 Campus Drive
PHONE: 847-491-2770
E-MAIL: l-whitcomb@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: What does language reflect about individuals and societies? Focusing primarily on Arabic-speaking language communities, this course will provide the student with a broad introduction to areas of research and investigation within sociolinguistics.
TEACHING METHOD: Reading, discussion, student presentations.
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Homework and writing assignments; revisions; discussion participation and presentation
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: Two papers (4-6 pages) with revisions; periodic short written responses to readings; one turn as student presenter/discussion facilitator
READING LIST: TBA
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: Lynn Whitcomb is a Senior Lecturer in the Program of African and Asian Languages, currently serving as Coordinator (and Instructor) of Arabic. Her background includes time spent living in Sierra Leone (West Africa) and Egypt, and graduate work (M.A., Ph.D.) in Linguistics with a focus on Arabic diglossia and foreign language pedagogy.
*
* * ANTHROPOLOGY * * *
Anthropology 101-6, Sec. 21
WHO OWNS THE PAST?
Instructor: James A. Brown
TIME: MWF 2:00-2:50
Office address: Mailing 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 F08 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 illustrated the importance of involving the descendants whose heritage our contemporary society wants to showcase.
Anthropology 101-6, Sec. 22
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. 23
EVOLUTIONARY FOUNDATION OF MORALITY
INSTRUCTOR: William Irons
TIME TTH 3:30-4:50
Office address: 1810 Hinman Ave., Room 201
Phone: 847-491-5402
E-mail: 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.
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 39 years, and in the 1960s and 1970s I did field research among the Turkmen of northern Iran.
Anthropology 101-6, Sec. 24
LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS: NARRATIVE AND THE ILLNESS EXPERIENCE
INSTRUCTOR Kearsley Stewart
TIME: TTH 2:00-3:20
Office address: Department of Anthropology, 1810 Hinman Avenue
Phone: 847-491-4830
E-mail: kstewart@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: What can we learn about writing by studying the autobiographies of HIV positive persons? And what are the different experiences of living with HIV/AIDS in the USA and around the world? This class emphasizes several skills: attentive listening, close reading, and critical and reflective writing. To develop your listening skills, we will watch documentaries about the challenges of living with HIV/AIDS. To develop your reading skills, we will study first-person accounts of illness written by patients or family members of patients. To develop your critical writing skills, we will read essays that offer theoretical frameworks for understanding personal narratives. And to develop your reflective writing skills, we will study anthropological perspectives that investigate the meaning of illness for both individuals and cultures. Finally, we will explore the healing effects of narratives and study the impact of narratives on the doctor-patient relationship.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion
METHOD OF EVALUATION: Written assignments, class discussion, and final oral presentation
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS: Three 5-page essays (20% each), one 8-page final essay (30%); three 1-page reaction paper/discussion guide (10%).
READING LIST
Selected chapters:
Bayer and Oppenheimer. AIDS Doctors: Voices from the Epidemic
Brophy, Sarah. Witnessing AIDS: Writing, Testimony, and the Work of Mourning
Chambers, Ross. Facing It: AIDS Diaries and the Death of the Author
Charon, Rita. Narrative Medicine: Honoring the Stories of Illness
Dent, Tory. various poems
Farmer, Paul. AIDS and Accusation; Infections and Inequalities: The Modern Plagues
Frank, Arthur W. The Wounded Storyteller
Hawkins, Anne. A Small, Good Thing: Stories of Children with HIV and Those Who Care for Them
Howe and Klein. American Writing from the AIDS Pandemic
Kaleeba, Noerine. We Miss You All
Kleinman, Arthur. The Illness Narratives
Kramer, Larry. The Normal Heart
Kuschner, Tony. Angels in America
Lather and Smithies. Troubling the Angels: Women Living with HIV/AIDS
Monette, Paul. Borrowed Time: an AIDS Memoir
Peterson, Paula. Penitent, With Roses: An HIV+ Mother Reflects
Sanchez, Sonia. Does Your House Have Lions?
Scannell, Kate. Death of the Good Doctor
Sontag, Susan. Illness as a Metaphor, AIDS and Its Metaphors
Steinberg, Jonny. Sizwe’s Test: A Young Man’s Journey through Africa’s AIDS Epidemic
Van Maanen, John. Tales of the Field: On Writing Ethnography
Verghese, Abraham. My Own Country: A Doctor’s Story
White, Edmund. Loss within Loss : Artists in the Age of AIDS
Wyatt-Morley, Catherine. AIDS Memoir: Journal of an HIV-Positive Mother
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT: Kearsley A. Stewart (Ph.D. 2000, University of Florida) is Senior Lecturer in Medical Anthropology. She teaches courses on HIV/AIDS, Global Health Theory, Global Bioethics, Gender and Global Health, Medical Anthropology, Visual Anthropology and Africa. She is a research specialist in the theory and practice of Global Health and recently co-sponsored a workshop on “Moral Experience in Global Health” with colleagues at Harvard and Boston Universities. She helped to create a new minor, Global Health, which is now the largest minor in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern. In Spring 2008 she led a group of 14 Northwestern undergraduates on a Global Health study abroad program in Uganda. Most recently, Stewart was a David Bell Fellow at the Center for Population and Development Studies at the Harvard School of Public Health (2005-2007). She was a member of the 2002 inaugural group of the Fulbright New Century scholars. Her Fulbright project was an ethnographic study of a HIV/AIDS clinical trial from the perspective of the study participants in rural Uganda. From 1999-2002, Stewart was a consulting medical anthropologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on a project to study adherence of newly-diagnosed HIV patients to anti-retroviral treatment. As a member of the CDC interdisciplinary team, she conducted ethnographic research to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapies. Her dissertation work, on adolescent HIV voluntary testing and counseling in Uganda, was supported by grants from NIMH and NSF, and findings led to a change in national policy which extended VTC to rural areas and for youth. She is also working on a full-length documentary of the revival of glass bead production in Ghana, which recently won three awards at independent film festivals in the U.S. Her website contains links to her research, as well as streaming video from student projects. http://www.depot.northwestern.edu/projects/stewart/
*
* * ART HISTORY * * *
Art History 101-6, Sec. 20
TITLE: ART AND REVOLUTION
INSTRUCTOR: Christina Kiaer
TIME: TTH 9:30-10:50
Office address: Crowe 3-113
Phone: 847-467-5795
E-mail: c-kiaer@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This seminar will consider the role of art in periods of social upheaval and change. How has art participated in revolution? What are the limits of what art can do? Is art that is engaged in a revolutionary social movement necessarily revolutionary as art? (The Russian avant-garde at the time of the Bolshevik Revolution insisted that art itself had to change – the old art could not possibly depict the new revolutionary life.) We will consider key artists and works of art in the context of revolution in the modern era, primarily but not exclusively in Europe, including the French Revolutions, the Paris Commune, the Russian Revolution, and the student revolutions of 1968.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion, accompanied by digital images of works of art.
METHOD OF EVALUATION
Approximate weighing of required work:
Class participation throughout the quarter: 25%
-- this includes both oral participation in class discussion, and written responses to your classmates' written work posted on the class NuWiki pages
Oral presentations: 10%
Four shorter critical analysis papers: 40% (4 x 10% each)
Final paper: 25%
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS
Four shorter critical analysis papers of 2-3 pp. each, assigned approximately every other week, to be posted on the class NuWiki pages to foster an open writing forum.
Posted, brief responses to some of your classmates’ critical analysis papers on NuWiki.
One final paper of approximately 6-7 pages.
READING LIST
Reading assignments will not be heavy, and are designed to provide the necessary historical background, art historical knowledge, and theoretical questions to foster our class discussions of individual works of art. Historical texts will include: Gordon Wright, France in Modern Times and Sheila Fitzpatrick, The Russian Revolution. Art historical texts will include selections from: Thomas Crow, Painters and Public Life in Eighteenth-Century Paris; Darcy Grimaldo Grigsby, Extremities: Painting Empire in Post-Revolutionary France; T.J. Clark, Image of the People: Gustave Courbet and the 1848 Revolution; Albert Boime, Art and the French Commune; Camilla Gray, The Russian Experiment in Art; Christina Kiaer, Imagine No Possessions: The Socialist Objects of Russian Constructivism; and Maria Gough, The Artist as Producer: Russian Constructivism in Revolution. Theoretical texts will include Karl Marx, The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte and The Civil War in France; primary documents by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Leon Trotsky; artists’ manifestoes and declarations; selections from Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno and Georg Lukacs; and Guy Debord, Society of the Spectacle.
With the exception of the Wright and Fitzpatrick books, which can be purchased as paperbacks, the assigned readings will be made available electronically via Blackboard.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY: Christina Kiaer (Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley) teaches twentieth-century art, specializing in Russian and Soviet art, the politics of the avant-garde, and feminist theory and art. Her book Imagine No Possessions: The Socialist Objects of Russian Constructivism (MIT Press) appeared in 2005, as did an interdisciplinary volume of essays on Soviet cultural history that she co-edited with Eric Naiman, Everyday Life in Early Soviet Russia: Taking the Revolution Inside (Indiana University Press). Her current book project focuses on the problem of Soviet Socialist Realism within the history of modern art. At Columbia University, where she taught prior to coming to Northwestern, she was the recipient of the Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Award for junior faculty who have distinguished themselves as teachers.
*
* * ART THEORY AND PRACTICE* * *
Art 101-6, Sec. 20
BE AN ART CRITIC
INSTRUCTOR: Lane Relyea
TIME: MW 2:00-3:20
OFFICE ADDRESS: 3-515 Kresge Hall
PHONE: 847-491-2096
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).
*
* * ASIAN-AMERICAN STUDIES * * *
Asian-American Studies 103-6, Sec. 20
POPULAR CULTURE OF ASIAN AMERICAN YOUTH
INSTRUCTOR: Nitasha Sharma
TIME: TTH 9:30-10:50
Office address: 3-131 Crowe Hall
Phone: 847-467-0448
E-mail: n-sharma@northwestern.edu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION – In this introductory seminar for first year students, we will delve into an analysis of immigration, race, ethnicity, identity, gender, sexuality, class, community, and generation through the lens of Asian American youth popular cultures. Covering an array of Asian Americans and a variety of popular cultures, the aim of this course is to understand how young Asians in the U.S. come to understand themselves as part of and apart from America by analyzing the role popular culture plays in this formation and expression of minority youth identity. Drawing from a collected volume of essays on Asian American popular culture, this class includes the experiences of South Asian, East Asian, Southeast Asian, Pacific Islander, and West Asian youth, both U.S. born and those who immigrated here as "1.5" generationers. The Birmingham School of Cultural Studies highlighted several decades ago the critical role of analyzing individual and group expressions of self by reading bodies, stylistic, linguistic, and other "performances" as "texts" in order to interpret how individuals craft meanings out of everyday materials and the materiality of their bodies. Ranging from Korean car culture to Indian American bhangra parties, and from Southeast Asian rappers to the Hello Kitty phenomenon, this course links these particular forms of popular culture to the operation and manipulation of race, class, gender, and sexuality in American culture. Ultimately, it reveals how Asian youth in America actively take part in interpreting—and transforming--their identities and place in the world.
TEACHING METHOD – This course will be a combination of lecture and discussion. Student oral participation is required.
METHOD OF EVALUATION – Grading for the course includes attendance and oral participation, a class presentation, and paper assignments.
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS – Three short reading response papers (3-4 pages) and a final project (10 pages).
READING LIST – Asian American Youth (edited by Jennifer Lee and Min Zhou), Asian American X by Hun and Hsu and East Main Street: Asian American Popular Culture.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OR PERSONAL STATEMENT - Dr. Sharma is an assistant professor in Asian American Studies and African American Studies. She received her MA and PhD in cultural anthropology and conducted research on South Asian American hip hop artists. She teaches courses on Mixed Race Asian Americans, Hip Hop Culture, and Asian/Black race relations in the U.S.
*
* * ASTRONOMY * * *
Astronomy 110-6, Sec.20
SEARCHING FOR ET: SCIENCE & STRATEGIES
INSTRUCTOR: David M. Meyer
TIME: MWF 11:00-11:50
Office address: Dearborn 6
Phone: 847-491-4516
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 LIST
Bennett and Shostak, “Life in the Universe” (2nd edition)
Ward and Brownlee, “Rare Earth”
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, astrobiology, 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 who has
ever wondered if we are alone in the universe is invited to register for it
Astronomy 110-6, Sec.21
EVOLVING PERCEPTIONS OF THE UNIVERSE: CRYSTALLINE SPHERES TO SUPERSTRINGS
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
This seminar is part of a pilot "First-Year Experience" project. Students placed in it will live in Shepard Residential College. If you are interested in this seminar, be sure to include Shepard on the list you submit to the Housing office.
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 dominated by a mysterious “dark energy” force that may ultimately tear the universe 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 Senior 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.
*
* * BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES * * *
Biological Sciences 102-6, Sec. 20
MR. DARWIN MEETS HIS INNER FISH
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Teresa H. Horton
TIME: MWF 4:00-4:50
Office address: 2-144 Hogan Hall, 2205 Tech Drive
Phone: 847-467-1686
E-mail: thorton@northwestern.edu
This seminar is part of a pilot "First-Year Experience" project. Students placed in it will live in the Freshman Quad (Elder Hall or 600 Lincoln). If you are interested in this seminar, be sure to include the Freshman Quad on the list you submit to the Housing office.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION This class will build on the summer reading “The Reluctant Mr. Darwin” by David Quammen with extension to Darwin’s original works and recent discoveries in the fields of paleontology, molecular biology, and developmental genetics as summarized in the book “Your Inner Fish” by Neil Shubin. Additional readings from online sources will be read as appropriate. Analysis of these readings will be used to discuss the continuing process of scientific discovery, the testing of hypotheses, the use of evidence in science, and the role that the theory of evolution by natural selection plays in modern biology and medicine.
TEACHING METHOD Group discussion of assigned readings. Each student is responsible for leading at least one discussion session.
METHOD OF EVALUATION Participation in and leadership of group discussions. Written assignments consisting of four short assignments and one long research paper. The short assignments are designed to aid the development of the research paper. Grades are distributed on a percentage scale (A 90 % and up, B 80-89%, C 70-79%, D 60-69%, F 59% and below. Minus and plus grades are assigned to the lower and upper two percentage points of each grade bracket
NUMBER OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR LENGTHS Over the course of the quarter each student will conduct library research and write a term paper based on their research. The development of the paper will be broken down into several phases over the course of the quarter. The final paper will be evaluated in the following three categories:
a. Style and organization. Is material presented in a manner that is easy to follow? Is the information presented in a logical order? Is the tone appropriate for the topic and audience?
b. Grammar and syntax. Is the sentence structure accurate? Is there agreement among the subjects and verbs?
c. Accuracy, thoroughness and significance. Is the information presented correct? Has the author adequately reviewed the literature (as appropriate for the level of the class)? Is the topic relevant to the class and is the topic an important one? Has the author developed the topic so that the reader understands why the topic is important?
Assignment 1: Brief, 1-2 pages, critique of an article to be assigned. (Purpose: practice in summarizing and critiquing scientific literature (25 points). (Due at end of 2nd week of class)
Assignment 2: Prospectus for research paper. Thesis statement or general statement of interest, one or two paragraphs explaining why this topic is important and how you plan to develop it. List of at least 5 references, not including references used in class discussions. (25 pts) (Due at end of 4th week of class)
Assignment 3: Brief, 1-2 pages, paper summarizing of one of the articles to be used as a reference for your research paper. (Purpose: practice in summarizing and critiquing original literature (25 points). (Due at end of 5th week of class)
Assignment 4: Rough Draft. Fairly complete draft of paper, contains most of the ideas and bibliography, but may have a few sections where statements such as “I need to find more information about this” are made. (50 points) (Due at end of 8th or 9th week of class, TBA).
Assignment 5: Final Paper. 15-20 pages. (200 pts). Due first day of finals week.
READING LIST
Quammen, D. 2006. The Reluctant Mr. Darwin. W. W. Norton.
Shubin, Neil. 2008. Your Inner Fish. Pantheon
Pechenick, J.A. 2004. A Short Guide to Writing about Biology. 5th Ed. Pearson Longman. New York.
PERSONAL STATEMENT: I have always been fascinated by nature. I grew up riding horses and hiking in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. As I progressed through college I discovered that I could make a career out of learning about animals. This has led to a career in which I do research in neuroendocrinology and reproductive biology. I received my BS in Zoology from the University of Washington and my Ph.D. from the Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology Program of the Department of Biology at the University of Utah. I am interested in both the physiological mechanisms controlling reproduction by animals and in the evolutionary and ecological reasons for why they reproduce when and where they do. These interests are reflected in my research and in my teaching. In addition to this Freshman Seminar, I teach Biol Sci 101-1 (Biology in the Information Age) and Biol Sci 320-0 (Animal Behavior). I do research on the roles reproductive hormones play in animal behavior and metabolism.
Biological Sciences 105-6, Sec. 20
SCIENCE WRITING FOR LAY READERS
Instructor: David W Taylor
TIME: TTH 8:00-9:20am
Office address: Hogan G-140 B 2205 Tech Drive
Phone: 847-467-1118
E-mail: dwtaylor@northwestern.edu
COURSE 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
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.
EVALUATION METHOD: 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.
READING: Required Text:
Wayne Booth, Gregory Colomb, and Joseph Williams. 2003. The Craft of Research, 2nd edition.
Recommended Text:
A grammar and punctuation quick reference book, such as:
Diana Hacker. 1999. A Pocket Style Manual (spiral-bound), 4th 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.
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
ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF BIRDS
Instructor: Laura J Panko
Time: MWF 4:00-4:50
Office address: 1908 Sheridan Road Evanston, IL 60208
Phone: 847-491-8916
E-mail: l-panko@northwestern.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Birds are a distinctive, yet familiar, part of the natural world. They dazzle us with their showy plumage, delight us with their songs, and fascinate us with the ease with which they swoop through the air. In this course students will learn how scientists approach questions about the evolution of birds. What are the closest relatives of birds? Through what intermediate stages did flight evolve? What questions are clarified by the newest fossil discoveries? As students learn about avian paleontology, biology, and anatomy, plus some history of science, they will also learn how to effectively analyze and communicate scientific ideas, particularly in writing.
PREREQUISITES: none
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion with some lecture and class activities.
EVALUATION METHOD: Grades will be based primarily on written assignments (the main research project will culminate with a 10-page paper, plus there will be shorter writing assignments weekly), student presentations, and participation in class discussions, group work, and projects.
REFERENCES: Main text is Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds by Louis M. Chiappe, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007. ISBN: 0-471-24723-5.
*
* * CHEMISTRY * * *
Chemistry 105-6, Sec. 01
A YEN FOR FLY-FISHING: PHILOSOPHY AND ENVIRONMENTALISM FROM MID-STREAM
INSTRUCTOR Barry A. Coddens
TIME: MWF 11:00-11:50
Office address: Tech KG-64, 2145 Sheridan Road
Phone: 847-467-4016
E-mail: bac248@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. Each year additional activities have been included in the course, which has been a day of volunteerism working with Trout Unlimited or a visit to the Root River and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources salmon weir. No course, which deals with fly-fishing, would be complete without at least one outing where the students will have the opportunity to learn casting the fly rod.
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 for each student that chooses 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 20 to 30 pages. The first paper will be autobiographical and include a presentation to the class. The second and third assignments will be between 7 to 8 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.
NOTE: I have been with Northwestern for eight 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 P. Priest
TIME: MWF 11:00-11:50
Office address: Tech L-212, 2145 Sheridan Road
Phone: 847-467-7913
E-mail: 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 four 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: