First Year Seminar (FYS) Course Descriptions

Spring 2009 Course Listing

First Year Seminars (FYS) are writing-intensive, topic courses that introduce students to academic thought, discourse and practice.  All first year students are required to take a First Year Seminar.  These 3 credit courses will fulfill certain core curriculum requirements.

ANTH 199-001                         Food, Feasting, and Folly
MWF 9:05-9:55                         Dr. E. Brenner
Our first year seminar takes students on a journey through time, into the human consciousness, and into the human condition. We begin with an exploration of modes of food-getting in prehistory, from hunting-and-gathering through the emergence of agriculture, noting how each form of food-getting impacts physical health, environmental sustainability, sociopolitical organization, and belief systems. We continue with a cross-cultural examination of contemporary and historic forms of feasting, delving into the meanings and functions they hold for participants. The course ends with a confrontation with hunger in the world today, focusing on how and why individuals, families, and communities lose their entitlements to food. (Social and Behavioral Science Core Distribution)

ARTH 199-001                         Art as National Identity
MWF 11:15-12:05                     Prof. J. Hooker
In this course students explore the use of art to create a national identity. Students rediscover works of art that have been imprinted on the American mind, namely The Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, and Maya Lin’s Vietnam Memorial. Students also begin to expand their knowledge of and interest in patriotic work from around the globe in the past and present. Students will research how contemporary artists are questioning and re-presenting the relationship between art and country and the controversies that ensue. (Fine and Performing Arts Core Distribution)

ARTH 199-002                         Writing Through the Senses
TR 2:00-3:15                             Prof. G. White
In this class we will investigate “Inspiration.” We will employ all the senses to examine the forces that move writers. Through both personal and collaborative work, we will cultivate systems for creative, engaging writing by developing a heightened sensitivity to our environment. In and outside the classroom we will explore a wide range of media, including written, musical, visual arts, and performance, along with other diverse sources, both mundane and obscure, to develop our own cache of “Inspiration.” Attendance of one professional performance will be required. (Fine and Performing Arts Core Distribution)

BIOL 199-001                         Food and Toxicity
MWF 10:10-11:00                   Dr. J. Roling
Every day we eat meals and snacks, but do we really know everything that we consume? Within that cheeseburger, the beef is loaded with hormones, the cheese is saturated with leached plastic, the wheat in the bun is genetically modified, and the ketchup can stand at room temperature for months. This class will examine the toxins and carcinogens within our daily diet from pesticides on vegetables to the birth control in our city water. (Natural Sciences – Non Lab Core Distribution)

BIOL 199-002                         You Are Where You Eat
MWF 9:05-9:55                       Dr. S. Schwartz
Most people do not think about the origins of food in the grocery store or restaurant. As we become aware of changes in our environment, it is important to learn about and question fundamental and poorly considered facets of food. Why is distantly produced “fast food” so popular and unhealthy, but nutritious local “slow food” neglected? Does it make sense that transporting food from where it is grown to where you eat it often takes more energy than is contained in the food itself? What about growing crops strictly for fuel? Why do we eat what we eat? What forces of biology, psychology, history, religion, and culture shape our food preferences? We will look at the choices we make as individuals and as a society in the foods we eat. This course questions the basic premises of our culinary lives and will hopefully make you aware of how extraordinary our food culture has become. (Natural Sciences – Non Lab Core Distribution)

CHEM 199-001                     The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: The effects of some molecules
TR 8:00-9:15                          Dr. L. Norman
Why are some molecules “good” and others “bad”? In this course, we will examine several molecules, some common and some controversial, and consider how they may be good, bad, or even ugly, depending on their usage. Through this exploration, we will discuss the social responsibilities of both chemists and consumers. (Natural Sciences – Non Lab Core Distribution)

COMM 199-001                  Non-Verbal Communication and Sports
MWF 8:00-8:50                     Prof. L. Mendoza
Picture the umpire throwing his arm in the air making a strikeout gesture. No explanation needed—his actions speak louder than any words he could utter. And just like in baseball our actions in relationships speak louder than our words. How we say something carries more weight and consequence than what we say making nonverbal communication very powerful. So, let’s turn off the sound to some Red Sox games and watch them through their actions—without the words—as we learn about the nature, the functions, and the codes of nonverbal communication. We will then compare and contrast our relationships with what we observe on the baseball diamond. (Social and Behavioral Science Core Distribution)

COMM 199-004             Communication Skills and Courts
TR 8:00-9:15                    Prof. Christopher Delmonte

Have you ever bought something only to find out it was a lemon? Have you ever been stopped by the police for a driving offense? Have you ever witnessed or been the victim of a crime? Have you ever been selected for jury duty? This course is intended to develop the student’s understanding of communications in the court process. We will discuss the historical basis and traditions of the process, explore the roles of the individuals involved, and critique the effect of perspective on their function. Students will also learn the techniques and skills necessary to communicate their message and exercise their rights in a procedurally driven environment. (Social and Behavioral Science Core Distribution)

COMM 199-005             Speaking for Equality: The Speeches and Writings of Women Advocates
MW 1:50-3:05                 Prof. S. Cleary
Women were in the forefront of the American struggles against slavery and segregation, and for women’s rights in the 19th and 20th centuries. This writing intensive course will examine the rhetoric of these advocates in order to gain understanding of the role public advocacy plays in social movements and the unique voice women brought to these particular movements. (Social and Behavioral Science Core Distribution)

CRJU 199-001                 Interrogating Illicit Drug Policies across the Globe
TR 3:25-4:40                     Dr. D. Perrone
This course provides a critical analysis of illicit drug policy. The course materials, assignments and discussions seek to deconstruct assumptions and definitions of drugs, drug users, and drug addiction. In particular, the class will investigate the representation of drug use in media sources – film, advertisements and books. US drug policies including prohibition, treatment, prevention, and supply-reduction will be evaluated based on their theoretical frameworks, effectiveness at meeting their goals and their overall respect for civil and human rights. The course will review drug policies in Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands and other European countries to gain a comprehensive understanding of alternative approaches to addressing drug use and its potential harms.

ENGL 199-001 or 002                         American Poetics and Popular Song
MWF 10:10-11:00 or 11:15-12:05       Dr. M. Bell
This course will examine the connection between American lyric poetry and popular song forms of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We will begin by considering the legacy of Walt Whitman's democratic and populist poetic principles, and we will continue by looking at poetry that meditates on music (Dickinson, Stevens, Hughes, Toomer, O'Hara, Collins, and others) and at examples of blues, jazz, folk, rock, singer-songwriter, disco, punk, and hip-hop music traditions. Readings will include some nonfiction accounts of the connection between poetry and music, as well as some manifestos of poetics. Students will participate in classroom discussion, write several short and longer papers (including a research paper), and share their work with the class in oral presentations. (Humanities Core Distribution)

ENGL 199-003              Exploring Gender and the Fairy Tale Tradition
TR 8:00-9:15                   Prof. P. Portanova
This first-year seminar will introduce students to college-level writing and critical inquiry. As an introduction to the discipline, writing tasks will focus primarily on the literary analysis of fairy tales. During this course, students will explore the evolution of classic Western fairy tales through a variety of retellings; from Perrault and the Grimm Brothers to Margaret Atwood and Disney’s modern adaptations. Analysis of these texts will be negotiated through representations of gender and how such representations are particularly relevant in American society. Students will also debate the social implications of fairy tales and the desire for such tales to render an altogether pleasing conclusion. Readings will include familiar and unfamiliar variations of “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Hansel and Gretel”, “Cinderella”, “Snow White”, “The Little Mermaid” and more. (Humanities Core Distribution)

HEAL 199-001             Pathways to Wellness
T 2:00-4:40                   Prof. C. Cooney Wilbur
In this course students will explore the interrelationships and interdependence of mind, body, and spirit. They will examine the connections between the brain and the immune system, and see how negative emotions, relationships, environments, and conditions put individuals at increased risk for illness and disease, and how positive emotions, relationships, environments, and conditions protect health and help heal. Students will discover how the harmony of mind, body and spirit, and a holistic approach to wellness can create a high and rich state of health.

HIST 199-001 or 002                     From Camelot to Watergate
TR 9:30-10:45 or 11:00-12:15         Dr. D. Culver
An examination of the major topics of the 1960's, including the Cold War (Berlin, Cuba, Vietnam), civil rights, women's rights, counterculture, and Watergate. (Humanities Core Distribution)

HIST 199-003                 History of Childhood in Colonial America
TR 2:00-3:15                     Professor J. Stonehouse
This course will explore the history of colonial childhood including the lives of colonial children in the context of colonial attitudes toward children and childrearing. It will also explore the ways that historians have developed the field of childhood history in general and colonial childhood in particular beginning with Philip Aries’s Centuries of Childhood, written in 1962. (Humanities Core Distribution)

MUSC 199-001             The Whole Big Show – Introduction to the Opera
MWF 11:15-12:05         Prof. E. Milham
Why would anyone want to learn about opera? Well, how about sex, violence, intrigue, back-stabbing, drugs, love, lust, romance, satire and good old-fashioned slapstick comedy. In short, it’s got all of the stuff you generally look for in entertainment, all wrapped up in some of the greatest music ever written. It’s no wonder that, since its inception around the turn of the 16th - 17th centuries, opera has been considered the culmination of the art forms, the ultimate interdisciplinary artwork. It encompasses all the best of stagecraft, acting, singing, instrumental music, dance, even at times painting and architecture. In this class, we will consider opera not so much from a musical standpoint, but in a “whole big show” sort of way. We will watch and discuss several complete operas, and excerpts from several more, concentrating not only on their historical and musical value, but their sheer entertainment value as well. As opera is not one unified style, but a collection of disparate styles, we will consider a variety of different kinds of operas. We’ll discuss historical trends in opera from its earliest days right up to the present, inquiring as to why it was so popular when it was so popular and why, perhaps, that popularity has waned. (Fine and Performing Arts Core Distribution)

PHYS 199-001             Science Fiction in Black, Blue and Green
F 12:20-2:55                 Dr. T. Kling
Black holes, Deep Blue and other thinking machines, and Green science and technology are frequent science fiction backdrops. What known science is present in modern science fiction, and what ideas in science fiction might foreshadow the real future? In this writing-intensive first year seminar, students will dissect the science portrayed in science fiction films and write their own science fiction short story. (Natural Sciences – Non Lab Core Distribution)

PHYS 199-002             Physics of Music
MWF 10:10-11:00        Prof. J. Kern
All sound begins with motion: a physical vibration transmitted through a medium to your ear. But what separates music from noise? Is the difference purely a result of mathematical patterns in vibrating air? Alternatively, does the distinction occur in your mind, in your body, in the instrument itself, or in the person who created it? We will explore these questions and more in connection to the physics of waves and how the human body and mind respond to them. Students will analyze their reactions to music (including music heard in class as well as music of the student’s choosing) in physical, emotional and mathematical contexts in search of relationships between each aspect.
(Natural Sciences – Non Lab Core Distribution)

PSYC 199-001             Laughing Matters
TR 2:00-3:15                Dr. M. Johnson
This course explores the human capacity for humor. Topics addressed include humor as a basic part of human nature, present in early infancy; its social functions (which are particularly intricate during adolescence and early adulthood); individual differences in appreciating and generating humor; and the relationship of humor to psychological well-being. Goals for the course include the application of critical thinking skills, as in evaluating the evidence for claims about the benefits of laughter, or in distinguishing between teasing and verbal abuse. Through small-group discussion and presentations, as well as frequent writing assignments, students will actively make use of the basic concepts, theories and research methods that psychologists employ in studying humor. Outcomes center on an enhanced ability to speak and write clearly and effectively. (Social and Behavioral Science Core Distribution)

SCWK 199-001         Sacred & Profane: Religion, Philosophy, & Spirituality in Global Community
TR 3:25-4:40             Dr. D. O’Malley
What do Agnostics, Buddhists, Jews, Pagans, Muslims, Atheists, Hindus and Christians have to say to each other? Depending on with whom you speak, it may be nothing . . . or lots! Many present day challenges faced in the U.S. as well as in Iraq, Darfur, Israel, India and Ireland have religious/spiritual dimensions. This seminar will explore the changing dynamics of spiritual/religious beliefs, practices and identity in the U.S and global society. Participants will explore how interreligious encounters and initiatives continue to shape communities, cultures, politics and policies. Bring your own experience and analysis to the conversation as we gather past and present examples from campus, the communities of southeastern Massachusetts and beyond. (Social and Behavioral Science Core Distribution)

SOCI 199-001 or 002                     Sex, Drugs and Rock& Roll: Sociology Examines Pop Culture
MWF 8:00-8:50 or 10:10-11:00     Dr. M. Spencer
Examine the role of sexuality, drugs and music in popular culture. How important are sex, drugs and music in our culture? How have our society’s views of these topics changed over time? What exactly is "normal" sexual behavior? Is our culture sexually permissive or repressive? How did drugs become illegal and why? Finally, how important is music in our culture? This course will examine the topics of sex, drugs and music from a sociological perspective, how they have changed our culture and society's methods of controlling deviant behavior within these realms. (Social and Behavioral Science Core Distribution)

SOCI 199-003             Showtime: Sociology goes to the Movies
R 2:00-4:40                 Prof. L. Overstreet
Students will view major motion pictures for review and analysis from a sociological perspective. Current feature films often entirely, or in part, present issues and concepts that are encountered in courses such as Introduction to Sociology and Social Problems. These topics will be introduced and discussed prior to viewing each movie. This in turn will prepare students to identify these themes, recognize their relevance in the world around them, and enable then to compose papers examining and evaluating how their appearance in each film is pertinent to Sociology and its significance in its relationship to social science. Cinema imitates Sociology! (Social and Behavioral Science Core Distribution)
 

For more information about the content of individual courses, please contact faculty instructors listed on the course description page.  For more information about First Year Seminar, please contact FYS coordinator Thomas Kling (tkling@bridgew.edu). 

 

For more information on the Core Curriculum see www.bridgew.edu/corecurriculum
 

Last Modified: November 6, 2008