FMS
115-01

M,W,F
12:00-12:50.

An Introduction to College Writing and Argumentation.  This course is intended as an introduction to college writing and argumentation. However, since writing is a rhetorical act, this course is also intended to familiarize you with the rhetorical and dialogical foundations of the writing process. In this class, we will focus on a variety of texts (essays, visual material, non-fiction narratives), analyzing them for their rhetorical strategies and argumentative claims, as well as engaging with them in a kind of critical dialogue. In a series of long and short essays, you will construct your own arguments, and will do so in direct response to our readings. Through these and other assignments, you will learn to parse information, assess claims, and distinguish between various argumentative positions. In short, in this course, you will learn to be better writers and thinkers, and will come to understand writing as a means of engaging in critical conversation with others.

Michael
Bedsole

FMS 115-02

T,R
2:00-3:15

Picking Up the Power of Persuasion.   What do you really care about and how can you effectively tell others about it? In this course, you will learn how to recognize and produce effective written communication so that you can inform others about a topic of your choice and persuade them to consider your perspective. You will build up a body of knowledge about your topic from academic and popular sources, analyzing these to help you as you fine-tune your perspective about your topic and learn to build arguments about this perspective. You will also tell others in class about your point of view, seeking to inform and persuade them through both oral and written communication. 

Courtney
Wooten

FMS 115-03

T,R
3:30-4:45

Picking Up the Power of Persuasion.   
See FMS 115-02 for course description.

Courtney
Wooten

FMS 116-01

SI

T,R
11:00-12:15

Drama, Scandal, and Rhetoric in American Life.  Be the star lawyer or key witness in a gripping court battle; use cunning arguments to win the minds of a jury of your peers. Fill the shoes of a community leader who makes decisions that affect thousands; further your own political agenda while protecting your scandalous secrets. In this course, we will use large-scale role-playing activities to explore the ethical challenges that face modern democratic societies. The course will begin with philosophical readings and discussion of concepts in moral and political theory, apply those concepts in a series of role-playing mock legal trials where your character will try to persuade a jury, and conclude with a three-week-long role-playing game where you will fight for your character’s agenda and try to uncover the secrets of your rivals.

Chris
Metivier

FMS
120-01

WI

M, W
2:00-3:15

Science in Fiction.  Scientists ask questions and design experiments to find answers; novelists build worlds with words around central questions. In this seminar, we explore the intersection between these two populations. What happens when a novelist explores the life of a scientist and the people who live & work with the scientist? Is there room for scientific truth in fiction? Reading will include: Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis, Flight Behavior: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver, Galatea 2.2: A Novel by Richard Powers, State of Wonder: A Novel by Ann Patchett, and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Nancy
Bucknall

FMS
120-02

WI

T,R
2:00-3:15

Contemporary Literature: Heroes of a Modern Mythos.  Curiosity and desire are your fare and ticket into fiction. In this class we will explore narratives of tweets, stories, novels, poems, of local and national origin.  Through your own discussion, writing, and creativity, we will develop our knowledge in class of how to more deeply read and learn about literature and its relationship to the modern world of technology.

Abigail Browning

FMS 120-03

WI

T,R
3:30-4:45

Contemporary Literature: Heroes of a Modern Mythos. See FMS 120-02 for course description

Abigail Browning

FMS 120-04

WI

M,W
2:00-3:15

Scary Stuff.    One reason people value narrative literature is that it offers—to diligent readers—new experiences and, therefore, has the potential to enrich life. The experiences we—as diligent readers—are to have in this course will all be, in a word, scary. (Don’t worry; class itself won’t be scary.) Expect not a semester’s worth of corny horror. Instead, expect to read serious books of varied thematic depth that, despite their differences, are common in their tendency to elicit fear. This commonality will get us even more excited to read than usual. Fear will also serve as the hub around which our discussions of other emotions and ideas will revolve. Finally—with any luck—we’ll end up with enriched appreciation for the relative placidity of everyday life.

Ben Klinkner

FMS 120-05

WI

M,W
3:30-4:45

Scary Stuff. See FMS 120-04 for course description.

Ben Klinkner

FMS
130-01

WI

M, W, F
10:00-10:50

Acting Change in America: Human Rights Onstage.   In this course we will look at the rich legacy of American plays that have, at their center, the struggle for equality in a chaotic world. These dramas reflect the nation’s political, social, and moral norms which have been in constant flux in the tumultuous 20th century and they bring into sharp focus the troubling prejudices and conformities that have influenced and sometimes dominated our culture.

Jeff
West

FMS
130-02

WI

M,W
2:00-3:15

What Moves You? Exploring Performance and Identity.    In this course we will consider ways in which artistic works, especially performances, provide avenues of knowledge of who we are and our place in the world. People are drawn to move toward certain new ideas, places, and people; something inspires, raises curiosity, and encourages wonder.  With our choices to move in this or that direction, toward the new, or something familiar, we create and perform identity. To explore the reasons behind these choices is to know oneself and the world more thoroughly, and to make increasingly more conscious and self-fulfilling choices. What moves you makes a difference!

Caitlin Spencer

FMS
131-01

WI

T,R
11:00-12:15

History and Art of Animation.  Animation is an art form that brings fanciful imaginings to vivid realization.  As a popular form of entertainment for children and adults, animation captivates our imagination and influences our way of perceiving the world.  In this class we will look at the historical progression of animation techniques, the social characterizations presented in popular cartoons, and the artistic brilliance of animators from around the world.

Eleanor
Cowen

FMS
142-01

WI,
WGS

T, R
2:00-3:15

Women in Judaism.  This course explores the role of women in Judaism. Topics include 1) women in Jewish literature, 2) Judaism's understanding of marriage, women's sexuality, and reproductive rights, 3) women's roles in Judaism, and 4) the modern Jewish women's movement. Class will focus on close readings and group discussions, as well as on developing critical thinking, speaking, and writing skills useful in a variety of college settings. Readings will be drawn from traditional Jewish literature, modern Jewish women's writings, and current events.

Ellen
Haskell

FMS 151-01

WI

T,R
9:30-10:45

The (Not-So) Dark Ages.  The years between 500 and 1050 CE have a terrible reputation.  Often called ‘the Dark Ages,’ this time frame is described as the low point in European civilization, when barbarism, warfare, raping, pillaging, illiteracy, and superstition ran rampant.  But was it really that bad?  In this course, we’ll look at early medieval society in detail – were Vikings really men in horned hats?  Did kings really murder their relatives? Did people really worship bones?  - to decide if the ‘Dark Ages’ were really all that dark.

Caitlin
Saraphis

FMS
160-01

WI

MWF
10:00-10:50
Mary Foust 128

"Been in the Storm So Long:” The Long Road of the American Civil Rights Movement.  Pick up any high school history book, and the story of 20th century America is always the same: a War, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, another war, then another war, this one of a different kind, affluence, and then, all of the sudden, by the way, POOF!  The Civil Rights movement comes out of nowhere.  The real story is much more deeply embedded in American History, with its roots at the very beginning.  As with all history, the civil rights movement did not up and occur one day, so we will look at each event in its larger historical context, finding the roots of each.
This class is cross-listed with Ashby Residential College; 11 spaces are reserved for Residential College.

Christine
Flood

FMS 160-02

WI

MWF
11:00-11:50

God and the Constitution.   Have you ever heard the adage "one should never discuss religion or politics"?  I have heard it most of my life and I think it's crazy.  Two of the most powerful forces in the history of man are religion and government.  So, we will look at their relationship in America, beginning with the writing of the Constitution in 1787 and moving all the way forward to 2013.

Jeff
Colbert

FMS 160-03

WI

TR
11:00-12:15

The Modern South.  For the last half century, the question that guided much of the writing and teaching of Southern History was whether a New South emerged following the Civil War.  In recent years, that question has given way to debate over whether the South should remain a discrete region of study, entitled to close analysis and scrutiny for its unique sense of place and identity.  This course approaches that question by examining a wide array of readings that argue both for and against the idea of a distinctive Modern South.  By looking at the region’s politics, culture, and economics, students will make their own arguments and draw their own conclusions about where the South fits in today’s world. 

Susan Thomas

FMS 170-01

WI

T, R
9:30-10:45

War and Conflict.  It has been estimated that there has been a war somewhere in the world 94%  of the time
since the dawn of civilization. Why does mankind periodically organize himself for armed conflict and
warfare? This course will begin by asking these questions and try to answer them through an examination of
the United States’ involvement in war and conflict over the last hundred years.

A. Leigh
Sink

FMS
170-02

WI

T,R
11:00-12:15

Creating and Communicating the Self.How do you know who you are?  How do others know who you are?  We'll be exploring the ways we create, interpret, and share our identities through discourse, nonverbal, and mediated communication. Do we create ourselves as members of society or does society create us?  Could both be true? We will examine theoretical perspectives on human identity, focusing on communicative processes. 

Jessica
Digh

FMS 170-03

WI

M,W,F
12:00-12:50

Fans, Athletes, and Sports in Modern Society.  This course investigates the place of sport in society with a special emphasis on identity. Social identities are clearly an important factor in how a person understandings his or her sense of self and place in society—and identities formed in and around the issue of sport are becoming increasingly important in late modern societies. As such we’ll be looking at how these identities are achieved and disengaged for both athletes and fans. Central to this discussion will be issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation

Steve
O’Boyle

FMS 170-04

WI

M,W,F
1:00-1:50

Fans, Athletes, and Sports in Modern Society. 
See FMS 170-03 for course description.

Steve
O’Boyle