Warren Ashby Residential College

Spring 2007 RC Core Information And Schedule

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The four semester series in the RC CORE are assigned GEC credits in Philosophical/Religious/Ethical Perspectives, Literature, Historical Perspectives and Social & Behavioral Sciences.
CORE COURSE RCO 209	THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN A GLOBAL WORLD	MWF 11-11:50 AM
In the Spring of 2007, the Core series will examine, through an interdisciplinary seminar on various topic issues, a deeper understanding of the 21st Century American Experience as a Global Experience, focusing on the role of America history, culture, politics and society as part of the wider world. Your section, Red, White, Blue or Yellow, will travel among the four Core section instructors this term, completing a three-week section on a single issue, which will then be integrated into larger themes of Contemporary Issues. The readings and assignments will be assigned in each four-week term, but will also include one common Core text. Common Text: The World Is Flat: A Brief History Of The Twenty-First Century, Thomas L. Friedman Requirements: Participation and attendance at lectures and seminars, a mid-term and final exam, common readings, and seminar assignments.

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RCO 209-01	Whyfore Art Thou?	Frances Arndt
This section of core will look at the response to life that people manifest in art, by turning their experiences into a medium to project and communicate to others, perhaps finding a pattern for healing or at least sharing these. We will read at least one work, a memoir or novel based on current world events (I am looking at Mariama Ba's So Long A Letter and Bagdad Burning: Girl Blog From Iraq), listen to artists with media other than words (I hope to have a sculptor, a musician, etc. visit), and also have each student produce one work that reflects his or her vision. Tentative Texts:  TBA

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RCO 209-02	America In The 21st Century	Jeff Colbert
What does the 21st century hold for America and American politics?  Will we end the Electoral College?  Will we have on-line voting?  Will the Libertarian or Green Parties ever make a difference?  Where will the international hotspots be?  Will we still be slaves to oil?  Will America be the leader or even a leader of the world in 2096?  Will we land on Mars or colonize the oceans? Obviously, none of us knows the answers to any of these questions.  But in my seminar, we will look at the US and the world in the 21st century.  We may not look at all the questions noted above, as I may drop some of those and add others.  But these are the types of questions we'll be examining in our time together.  Texts:  We will probably not use a specific text beyond the common text, but I plan to gather and bind articles that will be our source material.

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RCO 209-03	Recent Supreme Court Decisions And Their Societal Impact	Christine Flood Mark Moser

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RCO 209-04	Principles Of Sustainability	Jay Lennartson
Climate change, urban sprawl, overpopulation, species extinction, water and energy shortages, pollution, deforestation, environmental racism—we read and hear about these issues in the media on an almost daily basis.  All of these challenges have a common denominator; they result from an American lifestyle that does not take into consideration whether our behaviors and practices—which are influenced by our core values—are sustainable.  In his best selling book Collapse, Jared Diamond (a fellow geographer), discusses how past societies have collapsed when they were unable to discard core values that were incompatible with sustainability.  One of the issues that we will explore in this course is whether America is headed toward a collapse.  Moreover, many scientists are adamant that the time is running short, and our window of opportunity to address what they consider as serious environmental challenges is closing rapidly.  Dr. James Hansen, NASA’s top climate scientist speaking about global warming in a July 2006 presentation, said “We are near a tipping point. If global emissions of greenhouse gases continue on a business as usual course for even another decade, it may become practically impossible to avert climate changes with devastating consequences.” (http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/)  In this course you will (1) learn about the key environmental challenges of our time; (2) what sustainability means, (3) the fundamental principles of sustainability; and (4) about the roadblocks and challenges to a sustainable future for America and the Globe.  Texts:   TBA Requirements: In-class and electronic discussions; numerous reading, writing, and speaking assignments

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RCO 222-01	Detective Fiction (GLT, WI, GN)	Frances Arndt MW 3:30-4:45 PM Tisdale Room
Invented by Edgar Allan Poe in a brief period of sobriety and success, the fictional detective is a product of the modern age, an individual able to use his reason or her feeling to unravel difficult puzzles and restore order to a troubled world. This course will chart the development of this popular genre from its origins in 1842 to the present, looking at the innovations and variations it undergoes as it evolves.  Dominated by English and American writers for over one hundred years (western nations were first to develop modern police forces and court systems), it now reflects almost every conceivable culture and national region.  Non-western writers such as Qiu Xiaolong will be represented as well as western classics such as Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) and Hammett (Sam Spade). Besides writing their own detective story, students will help shape the course by reporting on a writer of their choice. Texts:  Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; Hammett, The Maltese Falcon; Qiu Xiaolong, The Loyal Character Dancer; Smith, The #1 Ladies Detective Agency; Hillerman, Dance Hall of the Dead; and handouts. Requirements:  There will be a couple of tests, at least one short paper, a story you write yourself, and an oral report and term paper on a writer you choose. Maximum Number of RC Students:  12 Equivalent:   FMS 122-03

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RCO 280-01	Bible As Literature (GLT, GL)	Murray Arndt   MW 3:30-4:45 PM Mary Foust 118
In this course, emphasis will be placed on:  geographical and historical backgrounds to biblical materials intellectual and cultural development in Judaism the influence on Judaism and Christianity of “foreign” cultures and ideas the authorship, form and meaning of major biblical text This is not a course in religious belief, and denominational argument has no place in it.  Students who are strict literalists may find some of the material discomforting. Texts:  King James Bible Requirements:  Frequent quizzes, 2 tests, an optional paper, and a final exam. Maximum Number of RC Students:  20 Cross-listed:  ENG 371-01

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RCO 102-01	English Composition (GRD, SI)	Sara Littlejohn   TR 2-3:15 PM  Mary Foust 118
What influences our choices?  What cultural narratives do we believe in and why?  What purposes do cultural narratives serve?  This course will speculate on some answers to these questions.  Through explorations of these questions, you will develop your writing, reading, speaking, and critical thinking abilities.  As always in my classes, it is important that you have control over your reading, writing, and speaking choices.  You will actively choose your audience, purpose, and message with each piece of writing you do, as well as topics for your papers and class presentations. We will be doing two units: (1) Television and Film; (2) Music and Food.  We will use weekly readings around these topics to discuss the way rhetoric functions in speech and writing.  We will also use these topics as a springboard for discussing how our daily interactions with these very familiar facets of our lives function at the level of ideology. Texts:  Readings on E-Reserve Requirements:   2 papers, 1 group presentation, 1-2 individual presentations, weekly response papers, and daily class discussions. Maximum Number of RC Students:  22

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RCO 235-01	Music Appreciation (GFA, GL)	Tom Dempster TR 9:30-10:45 AM Mary Foust 118
Music Appreciation, as a course, starts somewhere during the Middle Ages with plainchant and early polyphonic church music in Western Europe, and ends with the Art Music of today, with some discussion of world music, jazz, and popular music.  Chronologically ordered, the course seeks to give students: a basic understanding of the fundamentals of music theory and the structure, function, and materials of music; a vocabulary for discussing and describing music; the tools to hear a piece of music and discuss its significant features; and, a knowledge of the most historically important composers, compositions, trends, and styles since the 12th Century CE.  Discussions about pieces and composers will be made as topically relevant to today as possible.  The course is lecture-based, with three exams and a final (or a final paper in lieu of a cumulative exam), and each exam has a substantial listening component.  So, this all means that you’ll be able to not only say “I like Beethoven, Diddy, and The Shins,” but you’ll also be able to say why. Caveat: this will be an intense course and there is a lot of material to cover; however, since music is all around you all the time, there may be no better way to spend a few hours a week than to learn more about your sonic environment. Texts:  Machlis/Forney, The Enjoyment of Music (9th Edition—shorter version), Norton; Machlis/Forney 4 CD Set to accompany The Enjoyment of Music; other texts and pieces TBA (handouts, in-class listening, Blackboard assignments. Maximum Number of RC Students:  12 Equivalent:  MUS 241-03

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RCO 239-01	The History And Art Of The Book	Susanne Martin  M 6-8:50 PM Tisdale Room
In this class students will have an overview of the history of the book and its artistic and practical value in human society as well as having hands-on experience in creating their own books.  Geographically, we will explore how the different aspects of the book have developed throughout the world.  We will see many examples of books throughout history by way of slides and samples.  We will discuss the integrity of the book and how its form and function have changed over time.  Students will have a great deal of experience in making their own books and in handling other peoples work through samples and their own search of examples hidden away in the general collection of Jackson Library.  Texts:  Photocopied handouts. Requirements:  There is a fee of $50.00 for supplies.  Grades will be based on a projects portfolio, a presentation, and class participation. Maximum Number of RC Students:  16

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HIS 329-01	Women In American History After The Civil War (WGS)	Christine Flood MWF 1-1:50 PM   HHRA 1214
As Fran Arndt often tells us in Core, way back in the colonial era, Dolley Madison pleaded with her husband to please “Remember the ladies” when crafting the new federal government.  In the post Civil War period, “remember the ladies” became “the ladies now demand to be heard.”  In this course we will examine the role of women’s suffrage, women’s emergent economic status, participation in the World Wars and the Civil Rights movement in the greater fabric of American History. Texts:  Standard textbook and an essay/debate reader TBA. Requirements:  Aside from the traditional midterm and final, students will each complete two biographical papers, and present that research to the class.  Maximum Number of RC Students:  10 This course carries WGS credit for Women’s Studies majors/minors, and credit toward the major for History majors. The course is cross-listed with the History Department, and is open to non-RCer’s as well.

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RCO 112-01	Contemporary Topics In Mathematics	Linda Kilgariff MWF 10-10:50 AM Mary Foust 118
Practical mathematical topics including set theory, properties and operations of number systems, algebra, geometry, and consumer mathematics.  Additional topics may be selected from logic, systems of numeration, and mathematical systems.  Requirements:   Grade for this course based on the following:  4 announced tests; 15 unannounced pop quizzes and take-home problems; and a comprehensive final exam.  A calculator containing an exponent key and a square root key is required for this course.  The TI-89, TI-92, and any other calculator with similar capabilities will NOT be allowed on tests or the final exam. Maximum Number of RC Students:  20 Text:  A Survey of Mathematics with Applications, Angel, Abbott & Runde (7th edition) Equivalent:  MAT 112-08

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RCO 216-01	Introduction To Hinduism (GPR, GN, WI)	Gregory Grieve TR 12:30-1:45 PM  Mary Foust 118
Through readings, lectures, discussion, and writing, this course investigates Hinduism through a nonsectarian, unbiased approach that uses various methods and theories to understand the religious life of others.  The course will concentrate more on practice than philosophy, with attention to some of the myths, rituals, and images that inform the lives of Hindu women and men. The student will become familiar with significant features that contribute to Hinduism as a religion, including basic terms and common concepts, major deities and their myths, and forms of devotional expression.  We will also consider the significance of the teachings of key Hindu classics, such as the Veda, Upanishads, Puranas, and the Bhagavad Gita.  An underlying but no less important objective of this course is to become familiar with a theoretical “tool box” for the academic study of religion in general, especially as it pertains to the study of South Asia. Texts:  An Introduction to Hinduism by Gavin Flood; The Craft of Research, Wayne Booth et al.  (University of Chicago Press, 1995); and E-Reserves Requirements:  Class participation, tests, papers, etc.  Exams 40%, written work 50%, student participation 10%. Maximum Number of RC Students:  15 Equivalent:  REL 223-02

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REL 323-01	Religious Movements/Communities:  Tantra (WI)	Charles D. Orzech Gregory Grieve W 6-8:50 PM Foust Building 111
This course explores "Tantra," a complex body of religious texts and practices that spread throughout Hindu and Buddhist traditions.  The Tantras advocate ideologies and practices that make worldly aims (power, pleasure, etc.) central to or even identical with religious attainment.  While some tantric works are abstract and theological, others use sexual imagery in ways intended to shock traditional practitioners of Hinduism and Buddhism.  This dimension of the Tantras has played a central role in how the West has imagined Asia.  This course offers a critical account of Tantra as a religious phenomenon.  We will trace Tantra both in classical texts, scholarly imaginations, and popular culture, and we will explore the use of gender imagery in the traditions themselves and in Western appropriations of Tantra. Texts:  TBA Maximum Number of RC Students:  5

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RCO 274-01	Introduction To Sociology (GSB)	Nkrumah Lewis MW 2-3:15 PM Mary Foust 118
This is an integrated course comprised of both analytical and critical thinking, reading for understanding, and persuasive writing.  It is my purpose to rouse your social consciousness and prepare you to practice sociology regardless of your major.  This will not be a course in which the subject matter is intangible, nor will we engage in useless banter.  Our studies will encompass social issues ranging from race and prejudice to religion and sexuality.  We will make every attempt to address prevalent social phenomena that affect the everyday lives of  students.  Your thought process will be developed and challenged simultaneously, as a great deal of introspection will occur through the medium of our discussions.  Together we will attempt to make sense of our world, our society, and our personhood Texts:  Sociology (11th Edition) by John J. Macionis (Prentice Hall, 2007, ISBN: 0132184745) Requirements:  Two 5-8 page papers, midterm exam, quizzes/reaction papers, group discussions. Maximum Number of RC Students:  24 Equivalent:  SOC 101

ATY 253-01	Introduction To Physical Anthropology (GLS, GNS)	David Leone MW 3:30-4:45 PM Science Building 201
This course will introduce you to several important areas within biological anthropology, including the genetic basis of human evolution, how evolution works as a process, modern human variation, primate ecology and behavior, and the human fossil record. Texts (Lecture): Introduction to Physical Anthropology (10th Edition) by Jurmain, Kilgore & Trevathan. Texts (Lab):  Lab Manual and Workbook for Physical Anthropology (5th Edition) by Diane L. France.   Supplemental reading and exercises for lectures and labs will be posted on website and announced in class.  Blackboard will contain supplementary handouts, practice quizzes and problem sets, important announcements, grades, etc. Maximum Number of RC Students: 20 Note:  4 Lab times are available for this class – M 5-7:50 pm; T 12:30-3:20 pm; W Noon-2:50 pm; R 12:30-3:20 pm.  Note:  This course is 4 credit hours

RCO 276-01	Personal Health (GSB)	Jeanne R. Irwin-Olson W 5-7:50 PM Mary Foust 118
Using lecture, class discussions, reading, and related assignments students will be able to identify and explain pertinent health issues related to college students, have the ability to identify and utilize accurate health information from a variety of sources, and critically examine advertising and media as they relate to health. Texts:  No text required.  Handouts. Requirements:   10 brief papers (5 on class discussions; 5 critiques of health related articles), a mid-term, and final. Maximum Number of RC Students:  24 Equivalent:  HEA 201

Additional Classes Available At Residential College

There are other RC classes available for those students interested. These are Residential College Independent Study (RCO 301) and Residential College Advanced Study (RCO 302).

Please inquire in RC Office if you have interest in these courses.

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