Each First-Year Seminar offers an opportunity for entering students to develop skills in writing, reasoning, and research that will be of critical importance throughout their academic careers. Enrollment is limited to fifteen students to ensure the active participation of all class members and to permit students and instructor to concentrate on developing the skills necessary for successful college writing. Seminars typically focus on a current problem or a topic of particular interest to the instructor. First-Year Seminars are not open to upperclass students. They carry full course credit.

General Education. One seminar may be used in fulfilling the General Education requirement in humanities and history. In addition, designated seminars may be used to fulfill the quantitative requirement. (See 7C under Degree Requirements)

Courses
014. Slavery in America. This course studies American slavery from various perspectives. Attention is given to the roots of slavery and its emergence in the North American colonies in the seventeenth century; the economic, political, and social characteristics of slavery; and the effects of slavery on blacks and whites. Fall semester. J. Carignan.

084. Anatomy of a Few Small Machines. One can treat the products of technology as "black boxes"—plain in purpose but mysterious in function. A more flexible and exciting life is available to those who look on all such devices as mere extensions of their hands and minds—who believe they could design, build, modify, and repair anything they put their hands on. This course helps students do this primarily through practice. Only common sense is required, but participants must be willing to attack any aspect of science and technology. Field trips are required. Fall semester. G. Clough.

127. Experimental Music. Whether in classical, jazz, popular, or category-defying music styles, experimentalists challenge inherited definitions and social conventions of music by favoring expanded sound sources, unconventional formal structures, and radical performance practices. This seminar examines the roots, history, and musical documents of American experimental music from Benjamin Franklin to Frank Zappa. Fall semester. R. Pruiksma.

150. Hamlet. This course undertakes an intensive study of Shakespeare's play, with particular emphasis on the various ways it has been interpreted through performance. Students read the play closely, view several filmed versions, and investigate historical productions in order to arrive at a sense of Hamlet's changing identity and enduring importance. Winter semester. M. Andrucki.

153. Race in American Political and Social Thought. Race as an idea has changed during the course of American history in response to shifting political and economic circumstances, and social and scientific debates. This seminar explores constructions of race shaped by society, rather than by nature, through examination of political documents, scientific research, oral history, and film. Readings include accounts of people challenging dominant images in daily life as well as in heroic moments. Fall semester. L. Hill.

177. Doing It, Getting It, Seeing It, Reading It. This course studies a broad representation of sex and sexualities, both "straight" and "queer," within a variety of cultural products ranging from painting and poetry to music and 'zines. Issues discussed include the relationship between sexual representation and sexual practice; the validity of distinctions between pornography and erotica; the politics of censorship; the interrelations between constructions of sexuality and those of race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, and class; and the representations of power, pleasure, and danger in sex from both the margin and the mainstream. Winter semester. E. Rand.

187. Hard Times: Economy and Society in the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a watershed in the experience of Americans and Europeans, bringing a transformation in many dimensions of life, such as unemployment, poverty, agriculture, unions, financial markets, and leisure. This seminar examines the Depression years, focusing on economic and social issues, and the debate about the role of government in citizens' lives. Fall semester. M. Oliver.

198. Childhood and Literature. Many writers, especially in the last two centuries, have turned to childhood for inspiration and subject matter. Whether the childhood they write about is their own or another, imagined or observed, these writers find in the early years of life a mysterious and fertile wilderness, a place to think evocatively and clearly about the most essential human questions. Such questions shade from the psychological to the social to the metaphysical and aesthetic, but they provide multiple windows upon cultural habits, and some excellent opportunities to think across disciplines. Students read, discuss, and frequently write about many different sorts of literature and childhood—memoirs, poetry, essays, short fiction, and novels. Fall semester. R. Farnsworth.

232. Human Nature and Perfectibility. This seminar looks at influential theories of human nature and different conceptions of the possibility of human perfection. What is the essence of human nature? Is the capacity to improve upon itself part of its essence? What is the best possible human life and why is it so difficult to achieve? The course considers a wide range of sources from ancient philosophical and religious texts to modern and contemporary scientific and philosophical theories of human nature. Winter semester. D. Cummiskey.

234. The U.S. Relocation Camps in World War II. During World War II, the United States government interned over 110,000 American citizens of Japanese descent and resident Japanese in "relocation camps" far away from their homes. This course studies the history of Asian immigration to the United States; the political, social, and economic conditions of the United States prior to internment; the relocation camps themselves; and the politics of redress leading to the presidential apology over the wartime "mistake" a half century later. Fall semester. A. Hirai.

235. Einstein: The Man and His Ideas. An introduction to the life of Albert Einstein and to his special theory of relativity. The seminar begins with a study of Einsteins life, through biographies and his own writings. Next, his special theory of relativity is developed, and its seemingly bizarre predictions about time, length, and mass are discussed. The experimental verifications of these predictions are then studied. Finally, some of the philosophical implications of the theory are discussed, as well as some of its applications to nuclear weapons and modern theories of the universe. Fall semester. M. Semon.

236. Epidemics: Past, Present, and Future. The course covers principles of epidemiology, mechanisms of disease transmission, and the effects of diseases on society throughout history. Emergence of new diseases, drug resistance, and biological terrorism are discussed. Social effects of bubonic plague, typhoid, tuberculosis, smallpox, yellow fever, Ebola, Marburg, AIDS, hantaviruses, and Legionnaire's Disease are studied. Fall semester. Not open to students who have received credit for Biology 127 as of Winter 2002. P. Schlax.

242. Identities. Aspects of ourselves we hold most dear, most changeless, are, in actuality, socially fashioned. This seminar examines the raw materials out of which identities are formed, fixed, and made to appear timeless. Students consider how our variously gendered, raced, classed, and otherwise imperatively regarded selves become named, learned, performed, and enforced in different cultural and institutional settings. Students examine how systems of production, ownership, and religion help mold notions of personhood. Through ethnographic interviews, historical research, and the analysis of print and Web- based texts, students have ample opportunity to explore in their research papers aspects of personal, family, and other corporate identities. Fall semester. C. Carnegie.

245. América with an Accent. This course examines the historical background and experiences of Chicanas/os and Latinas/os in the United States. Issues discussed include historical erasure, saving heritage by problematizing gender, strategies of self-representation, and surviving capitalist America and the media hype. Particular attention is paid to the process of negotiating difference versus celebrating diversity. Historical, autobiographical, literary, and popular texts are used throughout the course. Fall semester. C. Aburto Guzmán.

250. Ethics and Human Rights in Sports. Sports play a major role in many aspects of most cultures. This course examines some of the philosophical, political, economic, sociological, religious, and legal issues associated with sports. Topics addressed include corporate ethics, gender issues, racism, sports-related ethical decision making, and specific sports-related human rights issues. Winter semester. S. Coffey.

251. Spectacles of Blood: Roman Gladiators and Christian Martyrs. This course considers the sociology of violence in the ancient world by exploring the question, "Why did Romans like to watch people die?" Students trace the history of gladiatorial games from their origins as Etruscan funeral rites to their culmination in violent spectacles of death routinely enjoyed by Romans of every segment of society in the early empire. In the second half of the course, students trace the phenomenon of martyrdom in the early Christian Church and the reasons why Christian martyrs might embrace a violent, public death in the arena. Assigned readings are drawn from English translations of primary sources and selected secondary readings. Fall semester. M. Imber.

253. NATO's Moral War. On 24 March 1999 NATO launched the last major military campaign of the twentieth century. For seventy-eight days the world's most powerful military alliance applied its sophisticated arsenal against the rogue government of Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic. NATO leaders claimed a moral responsibility to take action to end Milosevic's repressive policies against the ethnic Albanians living in Yugoslavia's southernmost province, Kosovo. In the end, NATO achieved its goals, but at what cost? In this course students examine the diplomacy leading up to the NATO campaign, the propaganda and media manipulation used to justify "going to war," the environmental impact of the bombing, and questions of sovereignty and international law that were finessed by all sides. Fall semester. D. Browne.

255. The Psychology of Influence. Much of human behavior is directed toward influencing others. The field of social psychology has systematically investigated the nature of people's influence on one another. This course uses social psychological theory and research to examine the phenomenon of how people influence one another. Topics to which social psychological theory and research are applied include the Holocaust, advertising, pseudoscience, health prevention programs, cults, eyewitness identifications, and prejudice. Fall semester. Staff.

256. Positive Psychology. While historically psychologists have spent considerable time investigating human frailty, recently a number of psychologists have become interested in studying human excellence. This new movement, "positive psychology," has been described as a "science of positive subjective experience, positive traits, and positive institutions." What is the "good life"? How do psychologists study topics such as happiness, optimism, wisdom, creativity, resilience, volunteerism, and human excellence? Fall semester. G. Rich.

257. To Fly. This course introduces the science, mathematics, and practice of aeronautics as practiced by pilots of small private aircraft. The course serves as a private pilot ground school where students learn operations and procedures for planning flights, navigation, communication, obtaining and interpreting weather information, and operation of piston-powered aircraft. The lab focuses on the use of PC-based flight simulators to demonstrate aviation principles, navigation, and pilot maneuvers. Field trips include FAA and National Weather Service facilities as well as actual flights in small aircraft. Fall semester. J. Pelliccia.

258. Health Care in America. Health care in the United States is unique in the world because a) it is the most technically advanced care anywhere in the world; b) it relies on private firms, independent physicians, and markets to produce and distribute it; c) it is virtually unavailable to over one-tenth of its population. Students in this seminar investigate such questions as: What would constitute a "fair" health care system in the United States? How did the present system come into being? How does the United States' system com- pare to other countries' systems in terms of quality and access? What changes in the present system are feasible and desirable? Winter semester. J. Hughes.

259. Shakespeare on Film. This seminar explores the many ways in which Shakespeare's plays have been adapted for film. From Hollywood to Bollywood to Japan, and from westerns to sci-fi to cartoons, Shakespeare has been reworked and reconceived in every filmmaking culture and in every genre. A number of major plays are considered both through "straightforward" versions as well as through some of their more unconventional adaptations. Using the tools of both literary criticism and film analysis, the course seeks to assess the interpretive value of these films in the study of Shakespeare, their place in performance history and film history, as well as their status as individual works of art. Plays include Henry V, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Twelfth Night. Fall semester. Staff.

260. Life, Sex, and Cells. One of the great mysteries of evolution is the origin, prevalence, and diversity of sexual reproduction. How did sex—DNA mixing—begin? What are its evolutionary patterns in microorganisms, plants, and animals, including species without distinct "female" and "male" individuals? This seminar takes a wide perspective to investigate the patterns of sex, gender, and reproductive alliances among the species, assessing popular ideas and traditional explanations—and their critiques—of the evolution and consequences of sex and gender. Fall semester. S. Kinsman.

261. "Ain't I a Woman": Reading and Writing a Women's Life. Drawn from a speech given at the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, in 1852, the words of Sojourner Truth, "ain't I a woman," still ring forth to remind women of their right to explore, to claim, and to express their own realities. This course invites students to examine classic and contemporary writings that have awakened and sustained women, young and older, in their search for a unique place in the world and in their attempts to move beyond the conventions defined for them. Students approach the course material from the perspective of what autobiography, biography, memoirs, and fiction have in common, what is being said, and what has been left unsaid. As students read a representative selection of twentieth-century writing, they may come closer to being able to write their own lives. Fall semester. M. Makris.

262. Stealth Infections. Specific microorganisms, including some bacteria, viruses, and prions, have recently been associated with specific chronic, long-term diseases. Some of these diseases, termed "stealth infections," include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, ulcers, cervical cancer, obsessive compulsive disorder, coronary artery disease, diabetes, and Crohn's disease. In this seminar, students explore the links between microorganisms and these particular diseases and consider several questions: What is the scientific evidence linking microorganisms with these stealth infections? Have the organisms co-evolved with their human hosts? How are the organisms transmitted? Can we control them? What might be the public health impact of such stealth infections? Fall semester. K. Palin.

263. Tales of the City. Cities feature uncommon activity and diversity, not to mention singular amounts of real or imagined nuisances. Within them materializes what we humans hold real, what we cherish, what we expect or hope. A nonfictional genre, urban ethnography, has attempted to render social life in our urban places with the kind of firsthand detail and verve that novelists might envy. What is this particular approach to community study, and what does it tell us about the way cities are experienced? Using classical and contemporary urban ethnographies, as well as selected fictional renderings of urban experience and more recent media depictions, this seminar examines urban representation (and reality) through a variety of observational lenses and voices. Fall semester. J. Phillips.