ARCHIVE
• Spring 2008 • Winter 2008 • Fall 2007 • Spring 2007 • Winter 2007 • Fall 2006 • Spring 2006 • Winter 2006 • Fall 2005 • Spring 2005 • Winter 2005 • Fall 2004 • Spring 2004 • Winter 2004 • Fall 2003 • Spring 2003 • Winter 2003 • Fall 2002 • 9/11 Seminars • Past Seminars |
SPRING 2006 FRESHMAN SEMINARS
The School of Biological Sciences also offers freshman seminars during spring quarter. For more information, please visit http://freshmanseminars.bio.uci.edu/. Please note that students may take a maximum of three freshman seminars for credit, so long as subjects vary, over their entire university career.
CLAIRE TREVOR SCHOOL OF THE ARTS Changing Nature of American Jazz Dance Bob Boross, Dance F 10:00-10:50am, MAB 317 Course Code 87581 American jazz dance has regularly adopted new looks as styles, technology, and popular culture have evolved throughout the twentieth century. Yet, the fundamental basis of jazz dancing - feeing and reacting to rhythm - still remains the same. This seminar will examine the roots of jazz dance, its philosophy, societal influences, and the pioneers of the changing nature of American jazz dance. Bob Boross is head of the jazz, tap, and musical theatre dance areas of the UCI Dance Department, and holds an M.A. in Individualized Study in Jazz Dance from New York University. After performing on Broadway in the 1981 revival of Can-Can, choreographed by Roland Petit, Bob became a teacher and choreographer in jazz dance and musical theatre. In theatres across the country he has choreographed Annie Get Your Gun, Guys and Dolls, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Pirates of Penzance, and for UCI - Victor/Victoria. His concert dances have been seen in New York City at the Broadway Dance Center Performance Outlet and at Dancespace, in Los Angeles with the 2002 Gypsy Awards show and Spectrum Dance in LA, and Texas with Discovery Dance Group. His piece "Cool," a finalist in the Jazz Dance World Congress Choreography Competition, will soon join the repertory of the London Studio Center Jazz Dance Company in England. Artists as Activists: Finding the Activist in You! Cliff Faulkner, Drama M 3:00-3:50pm, Mesa Court Housing Complex, Community Center Classroom Course Code 87575 NOTE: This class is being held in Mesa Court Housing. Please be aware that your travel time will be greater than 10 minutes if you are coming from Central Campus. For a map of Mesa Court, please go to http://www.housing.uci.edu/ug/mc/. You can make a difference in this world. Actors, painters, composers, writers, and other artists have a long tradition of social activism. Studying their acts of idealism can bring out the leader in you! Key to our work is identifying your passions as an artist. We will also enjoy readings from activists within and beyond the arts, including leaders such as Delores Huerta, Maya Angelou, and Mahatma Gandhi. We will examine the structures of oppressive cycles so that we can better recognize the tools of liberation, and students will present brief reports on activists whose work stands as a model for us all. Cliff Faulkner centers his work on his students at UCI. He has also enjoyed many years as the resident scene designer at South Coast Repertory, has directed classical and contemporary plays, and has led collaboratively developed performance projects. Cliff is also a member of the National Advisory Circle of Cornerstone Theater Company, the nation's leading community-based theater company. Top Ten Secrets to Become a Singer! Joseph Huszti, Music W 11:00-11:50am, AITR 196 Course Code 87557 We will focus on the technical ways to produce a natural tone; how to make critical, aesthetic evaluations of singers and singing; what is essential for maintaining a lifelong enjoyment of singing. Each seminar member will learn how to produce their individual, natural sound. Demonstrations by live singers and ensembles. Final seminar will result in a solo/ensemble presentation by the seminar members. Supplemental readings will be assigned. Professor Huszti was appointed as director of the choral/vocal areas. His UCI ensembles and singers have taken sixteen international tours and won prizes in Wales, Hungary and the Netherlands. UCI singers under his direction, are enjoying careers in the fields of opera, jazz, gospel and musical theater. Hollywood's Portrayal of the Artist Alan Terricciano, Dance Tu 8:00-8:50pm, HH 251 Course Code 87569 This seminar examines the ways that Hollywood portrays artists as dramatic characters. The focus of the course will be on the way in which these portrayals perpetuate the mythology of the artist as outsider hero, and how the notion of genius has become embedded in popular culture. Films will include 'Shakespeare in Love,' 'Immortal Beloved,' 'Spinal Tap' and 'Amadeus,' among others. Readings will focus on the notion of Genius and the Masterwork and will include chapters from Kandinsky's 'Concerning the Spiritual in Art' and Tolstoy's 'Kreutzer Sonata.' There will be one written asignment, a critique of a film from a designated list. Educated at Yale University and the Eastman School of Music, Alan Terricciano is a Professor on the faculty of the University of California, Irvine, where he serves as chair of the Dance Department, along with a joint appointment in the Music Department. Professionally active as a composer and pianist with a particular focus on choreographic collaboration, he has received numerous commissions and awards. PAUL MERAGE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Social Networks and Innovation David Obstfeld, Organization and Strategy Every other Wednesday 4:00-5:50pm, SB 111 Course Code 87563 Note: Professor Obstfeld's seminar will meet weeks 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. Research shows that social networks are a critical determinant of professional and social success. This course will explore some of the fundamentals of social networks and examine how social networks influence professional and social effectiveness. In addition to reading research on social networks and innovation, students will examine their own approaches to different situations where social networks are critical. In this seminar, we will familiarize ourselves with speeches about both foreign and domestic held in some of the great drama of the western tradition and in classic Hollywood cinema and contemporary film. Texts will include ancient Greek comedy and tragedy and plays by Shakespeare. Films will include Mankiewicz's 1953 Julius Caesar (Marlon Brando as Marc Antony!) and Kenneth Branagh's 1989 Henry V. Students will be asked to analyze contemporary political speeches in light of the discoveries we make about how words are used to wage war and peace in our texts and films. David Obstfeld is an Assistant Professor in Organization & Strategy. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan and his A.B. at the University of Chicago in Political Science. His Key Research Areas include knowledge management, knowledge creation, innovation, social networks, entrepreneurship. HENRY SAMUELI SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING Critical Knowledge: Concepts, Word, and Numbers Nicolaos Alexopoulos, Dean, Henry Samueli School of Engineering W 8:00-8:50AM, CS 213 Course Code 87573 Fundamental concepts pertinent to a highly technological society will be discussed from a historical perspective highlighting the significance of words and numbers as agents of critical knowledge. N.G. Alexopoulos is Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science as well as Dean of The Henry Samueli School of Engineering. He is highly cited in computer science for the development of a unified theory and design algorithms for integrated microwave circuits and microstrip antennas. He is interested in the theory and applications of engineering electrodynamics in wireless communications, systems-on-chip design, metamorphic structures and materials, the histroy of engineering science, etc. SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES Poems for Living Elizabeth Allen, English W 11:00-11:50am, HIB 311 Course Code 87551 What are poems good for? Why do they speak indirectly, or even silently? Why are they obscure, and why do we associate poetry with the past, not the present day? In this course we will read selected works of twentieth (and twenty-first) century poets. We will explore how little "confessional poetry" actually confesses, and how much one image (blackberries; light on a marsh) can say. We will examine how poetic meaning is created through formal elements and how those formal elements, far from being detached from the lives real people lead, actually create ways for tolerating, enjoying, and fully experiencing life. Weekly at-home readings; assigned reading aloud in class; imitation of a poem. Elizabeth Allen teaches medieval English literature and has just written a book entitled *False Fables and Exemplary Truth.* How To Do Things With Words Ermanno Bencivenga, Philosophy Th 2:00-2:50pm, HOB2 233 Course Code 87552 Does language describe the world? Or can speaking actually change the world? What are the practical implications of uttering sentences like "I apologize" or "I promise"? In this seminar we will discuss the foundational text of the so-called performative use of language, which has vast implications in the law, in philosophy, and in critical theory. At UCI since 1979. The author of 29 books and over 70 scholarly articles. The winner of five teaching awards. The founding editor of an international philosophy journal and of a book series. Learning key concepts in the humanities through film and media Horacio Legras, Spanish M 3:00-3:50pm, HH 251 Course Code 87558 In this freshman seminar I plan to introduce students to some key concepts in the language of the humanities, such as idealism, post-modernism, gender, popular culture, and ideology. We will develop a primary understanding of these concepts through a discussion of films and T.V. shows such as, The Matrix, The Truman Show, Artificial Intelligence, Red Dwarf, Adams Family 2, Bourne Identity, Alias, and Hercules among others. Film screening, film discussion. Reading of essays (or sections of essays) but Althusser, Jameson, Baudrillard, Italo Calvino, Borges. Professor Legras just arrived at the Spanish and Portuguese departmen after teaching for five years in the East coast. His area of research is Latin American Literature and Culture. He has considerable experience teaching contemporary theory at both graduate and undergraduate level (and he does it in a clear and highly entertaining way) He is currently editing a book (a textbook)on the teaching of film and media. How to Succeed in College by Really Trying Glenn Levine, German M 11:00-11:50am, MKH 400D Course Code 87577 You've gotten into UCI (congratulations!), and now you sit attentively in seminars and lectures designed to mediate copious amounts of information on diverse topics. These courses should help you learn to read and think about texts, research and write papers, process scientific information, conduct experiments, make public presentations, etc.: all components of a well-rounded education. But sometimes the "big picture" never comes into focus, and a lot of what is learned remains a blur, just a set of "requirements" toward a degree. To put it bluntly: sometimes even college graduates never learn a lot of what we (seek to) train them for: to read, write and think well. In this seminar we will discuss this dilemma, with the goal of helping you bring your own college career into focus at the outset, and of giving you the tools to reflect critically on your education. At the heart of it we'll study the concept of literacy, which is not only a matter of reading and writing, but of developing the ability to successfully negotiate and engage with the multiplicity of communications channels and media in today's world. In the process we'll critically examine the U.S.-university education overall, and our complex roles in it. Glenn Levine is an Associate Professor of German. He is a linguist with publications and research projects in bilingualism, adult second-language acquisition, critical pedagogy, and Yiddish. As the father of four children ranging from kindergarten to college age, he has a keen personal interest in critically examining all aspects of education in the U.S. Household Words Julia Lupton, English W 11:00-11:50am, HH 251 Course Code 87560 This seminar looks at the history and future of the home as an idea in Western literature and culture, using words and pictures, analysis and imagination. Most of the reading will be done in class. Activities will include analyzing contemporary images of the home in relation to historical paradigms. We will look at still life paintings and interior scenes from Renaissance art; cookbooks; household manuals; magazines. Julia Reinhard Lupton is Professor of English and Comparative Literature, a lecturer in the Humanities Core Course, and the author of 3 books on Shakespeare. She is co-editor of the design blog www.Design-Your-Life.org, whose themes relate to the topic of this course. Hitler and the Germans in the Second World War Robert Moeller, History M 12:00-12:50am, Mesa Court Housing Complex, Community Center Classroom Course Code 87561 NOTE: This class is being held in Mesa Court Housing. Please be aware that your travel time will be greater than 10 minutes if you are coming from Central Campus. For a map of Mesa Court, please go to http://www.housing.uci.edu/ug/mc/. This seminar will explore the experience of Germans during the Second World War. Did Germans support the war or was it just "Hitler's War" as many Germans would say after 1945? Did the Second World War make the Holocaust possible? How did Hitler mobilize German society for "total war"? How did Germans mobilize on the homefront? How did Germans remember the war once the shooting stopped? We will explore these questions through consideration of a range of primary sources, including published texts, images, films, and even music. Assignments will include a range of primary source materials. Bob Moeller teaches modern German, comparative gender, and modern European history. He also works closely with the Humanities Out There program and the California History-Social Science project, a teacher professional development initiative for middle and high school teachers in Orange County. Wars of Words: Public Speaking in Literature and Film Jane Newman, Comparative Literature W 5:00-5:50pm, HH 251 Course Code 87562 In this seminar, we will familiarize ourselves with speeches about both foreign and domestic held in some of the great drama of the western tradition and in classic Hollywood cinema and contemporary film. Texts will include ancient Greek comedy and tragedy and plays by Shakespeare. Films will include Mankiewicz's 1953 Julius Caesar (Marlon Brando as Marc Antony!) and Kenneth Branagh's 1989 Henry V. Students will be asked to analyze contemporary political speeches in light of the discoveries we make about how words are used to wage war and peace in our texts and films. Texts will include: Aristophanes, Lysistrata, Sophocles, Antigone, Aeschylus, The Oresteia, Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Marlowe, The Jew of Malta. Films will include: Julius Caesar and To Kill a Mockingbird. Students will be asked to analyze individual speeches and to identify how speech making functions in contemporay films of their choice. A final project will address the way contemporary political speeches rely on some of the same rhetorical devices as our ancient, Renaissance, and film texts. Professor Jane O. Newman (Comparative Literature) holds degrees from Yale and Princeton, and has taught ancient Greek drama and Renaissance literature at UCI for quite a number of years. For the last two years, she has been working on a project on the 'Afterlives of the Greeks' in contemporary World Literature. In 2004, she co-authored a paper on the topic with four UCI undergraduates that will be published in 2006 by the Modern Language Association, the professional organization of Literary Studies in the United States. She has won prizes for teaching and mentoring in both the School of Humanities and campuswide. The Spanish Language Worldwide Armin Schwegler, Spanish Th 2:00-2:50pm, HH 251 Course Code 87565 This "fun course" studies the history and contemporary usage of Spanish worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on Latin American dialect varieties (including Mexican, Cuban, Argentinean, Colombian, and USA Spanish). By taking this course students will gain a better appreciation for (1) how and why a once very marginal tongue has become one of the world's major languages, (2) the extent to which Spanish dialects differ today, and (3) how Spanish evolved from Roman times into what it is today. No prior knowledge of spoken or written Spanish required. Readings: Short articles, approx. 10-15 pages per class meeting (these readings will come bound in the form of an inexpensive READER). Born in Switzerland and resident of the USA since 1975, Professor Schwegler has learned Spanish and about 10 other languages. His research on the Spanish language and its dialects have taken him to virtually every corner of Latin America (he often does field work in remote jungles in South America). The author of over 40 scholarly articles and several books, he is currently writing a monograph about PALO MONTE, an Afro-Cuban ritual language used in voodoo-like ceremonies. Prof. Schwegler has been a guest professor at several universities in Europe and the United States, and recently spent 2 years in Costa Rica as Director of UC's Education Abroad Program. In the fall of 2002, he taught at the University of Havana and did field work in Cuba for his new book. Making Speeches, Changing the World John H. Smith, German W 10:00-10:50am, MKH 400D Course Code 87580 We will read (and, where possible, listen to and watch) major speeches from the Ancient Greeks to the present that had a profound impact on the world. Additionally, we will study the field of rhetoric (the art of persuasion) to learn techniques for analyzing and producing effective speeches. Aristotle, "Rhetoric" (selections) Readings in "framing theory" from the Social Sciences. Selected speeches including Pericles, Cicero, Marc Antony and Brutus (from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar), Martin Luther, Lincoln, Hitler, F. D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, George W. Bush (as well as many others). Students will actively discuss the readings and write a short speech of their own. The main focus of Professor Smith's teaching and research encompasses three areas: the impact of the tradition of rhetorical study on Western thought; German literature and philosophy; and modern thinking about religion. Black Power Politics Katherine Tate, African American Studies F 11:00-11:50am, Mesa Court Housing Complex, Community Center Classroom Course Code 87568 NOTE: This class is being held in Mesa Court Housing. Please be aware that your travel time will be greater than 10 minutes if you are coming from Central Campus. For a map of Mesa Court, please go to http://www.housing.uci.edu/ug/mc/. In this seminar, students will discuss Black power strategies as they emerged in the civil rights era, and as they have continued to influence the politics of African Americans in the post civil rights era, including the campaign strategies of Black presidential contenders. This course is P/F based on attendance. Students will review audiotapes of leading Black political activists and documentaries on the Black power era. Katherine Tate is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine, where she also holds a courtesy appointment in African American Studies. Baseball as America Steven Topik, History M 2:00-2:50pm, Middle Earth Housing Complex, Gandalf's Classroom B Course Code 87570 NOTE: This class is being held in Middle Earth Housing. Please be aware that your travel time will be greater than 10 minutes if you are coming from Mesa Court or the School of the Arts. For a map of Middle Earth, please go to http://www.housing.uci.edu/ug/me/. Using the history of baseball in 19th and 20th century America, we will examine how an American identity was formed and issues such as race, ethnicity, immigration, regionalism, commercialism, and gender were played out. Some previous understanding of baseball would be helpful. Baseball Hall of Fame, "Baseball as America" and some additional short readings. Professor Topik has been in the UCI history department since 1984. He was chair 1996-2000 and has won teaching awards and published or edited seven books. He enjoys baseball. Austen & the Movies Ann Van Sant, English Th 1:00-1:50pm, SSL 122 Course Code 87572 Almost 200 years after her last novel was published, Jane Austen was making news. She was featured in Vanity Fair (1996). She was selected as "Entertainer of the Year" by Entertainment Weekly (1995). A new film of her most famous novel was released in 2005. And her novels remain on best seller lists. What is it about Jane Austen that makes her work so film-friendly? And what is it about us that makes those films--and her novels--so popular? We'll try to come up with some answers to these and other questions as we read two Austen novels and view films made from them. Reading: Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility Film viewing: films of both novels Writing: 1) Course noteboard for informal commentary on novels & films 2) One film review of one of the films required for the course or of another film made from an Austen novel We will also have an "Austen marathon (with potluck lunch) in order to see several Austen films. Professor Van Sant is in the Department of English. She Iectures in Humanities Core and teaches courses in 18th-century literature, satire, women & fiction. She is now working on a book that creates links between literature and concepts in law. SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES From Aristotle to Einstein: Universe we knew back then and we know now. Asantha Cooray, Physics M 4:00-4:50pm, FRH 4135 Course Code 87574 The seminar will explore past and present developments in astronomy and cosmology that has continued to shape our view of the Universe. The course will explore ideas such as the Earthocentric model for the Universe by Ptolmey, how Copernicus changed that model to a heliocentric one in the 1600s, the role played by Galileo, Newton and Einstein, and how we now know that we are just part of a billion stars in each of the trillion galaxies that make up the Universe. We will be reading from the book "Blind Watchers of the Sky: The People and Ideas That Shaped Our View of the Universe by Rocky Kolb (Helix Books)". There are no other assignments planned. Assistant Professor Cooray received his bachelor's degrees in Physics and Mathematics from MIT in 1997, his Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics from U. of Chicago in 2001, and has been a UCI faculty member since 2005. His current research attempts to understand how the Universe got to be the way it is. He is also interested in understanding the inner workings of the "Big Bang" event, and if there are signatures from the event that we can see and detect today. His website is http://www.cooray.org. Galileo's Predicament Michael Dennin, Physics W 11:00-11:50am, FRH 2111 Course Code 87556 Have you every wondered why the Catholic Church banned the works of Galileo? What were those works, and why were they so controversial? What was it like to live in Italy at that time? What would it be like to live in a convent at that time? In this seminar, we will discuss these and other questions as we read the book, Galileo's Daughter. The book discusses Galileo's life, as based on letters written between his daughter (who lived in a convent) and himself. We will explore not only Galileo's great contributions to science, but the political and religious intrigue that surrounded his life. Reading the book Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel. Roughly 30 pages a week. One two page paper. Michael Dennin has been a Physics Professor here at UCI for roughly 8 years. His research interests include understanding how foam and sand flow and how patterns in nature develop. He is also fascinated by history, especially the development of science and its interaction with existing politcal and social structures. The Chemistry of Health and Disease A. J. Shaka, Chemistry F 12:00-12:50pm, CS 213 Course Code 87566 Why do we age, senesce, and finally become ill and die? What is known, on a molecular and chemical level, about how environment and genetics interact to promote health and well-being or, conversely, to promote disease? Advances in bio-analytical chemistry and information technology allow tentative answers to some of these questions. In this Freshman Seminar we will learn some of the chemistry that is implicated in the multifaceted process of aging, in mammals. By exploring waht is known about the chemistry of health and disease we will learn how to sidestep some chronic disease states, and how to promote longevity. Best of all, some of the measures can, with prudence and moderation, be applied to ourselves. We will read from the current scientific literature. A basic knowledge of chemistry, at least through the Freshman Level will be assumed. Some knowledge of biology, genetics, and statistics might make some of the material easier to digest. However, any student with sufficient interest will be able to take away something from this course. Professor Shaka received his B. S. degree (Chemistry) from Harvey Mudd College in 1980 and Ph. D. from Oxford University in 1984. After a postdoctoral position at UC Berkeley, he joined the UC Irvine Chemistry Department in 1988. Professor Shaka's research focuses on the structure and dynamics of molecules in solution, using NMR spectroscopy. A recent area of interest is the structure of polysaccharides isolated by reductive cleavage from the glycoproteins on cancer cells. The Quest for Life in the Universe Virginia Trimble, Physics F 8:00-8:50am, FRH 2111 Course Code 87571 People have been asking "are we alone" and "are we unique" from as far back as there are any records. Answers have ranged from "life, even intelligent life, must be very common" to "human intelligence is the only sort possible." Recent developments in astronomy, geosciences, and biology have made it possible to say that planets, including potentially habitable planets, must be common and that the processes leading up to appearance of life on earth may easily have happened elsewhere. The seminar will explore what we know about these topics and how we know them. There will be weekly reading assignments from "Life in the Universe" by Steven J. Dick, and students will be asked to come to class prepared both to ask and to answer questions based on the reading and their other activities during the week. Full participation will guarantee a B in the course. Students wishing to receive As will be asked to write about some topic they choose from a list of things provided by the instructor. Virginia Trimble is a native Californian and a graduate of Hollywood High School, UCLA, and the California Institute of Technology. Her current scientific interests encompass structure and evolution of stars, galaxies, and the universe and of the communities of scientists who study them. She serves on committees, boards, and panels of more than a dozen professional organizations and foundations and has a publication list with about 500 items on it, ranging from "Motions and Structure of the Filamentary Envelope of the Crab Nebula" (her PhD dissertation) to productivity and impact of optical telescopes (a study recently completed with a high school student summer intern). SCHOOL OF SOCIAL ECOLOGY Comic Books, Graphic Novels, Manga and More! Ken Chew, Planning, Policy and Design W 11;00-11:50am, Mesa Court Housing, Community Center Classroom Course Code 87555 NOTE: This class is being held in Mesa Court Housing. Please be aware that your travel time will be greater than 10 minutes if you are coming from Central Campus. For a map of Mesa Court, please go to http://www.housing.uci.edu/ug/mc/. Why do we like or dislike certain comics, graphic novels, or manga? What does that reveal in turn about these media and their audiences? This seminar provides a toolkit for reading and evaluating comic books, graphic novels, manga, and related outlets, both for their aesthetic and their sociological qualities. We'll survey some classics, some classics-in-the-making, and some of our personal favorites (classics or not!). The first half of the seminar (and brief illustrated assignments) will be based on the following: 1. Eisner, Will, 1990. Comics and Sequential Art (expanded edition). Tamarac, Florida: Poorhouse Press. 2. Callahan, Bob, ed., 2004. The New Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Stories: From Crumb to Clowes. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books. The second half of the seminar will involve brief, multi-media student presentations about their own favorites. Ken Chew started paying serious attention to comics long, long before coming to UCI in the mid-1980s. His favorites include Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo, Mike Mignola's Hellboy, and Paul Chadwick's Concrete. He loves to learn about what other fans are reading. Global Environmental Problems: What Role for Economics? Jean-Daniel Saphores, Planning, Policy and Design W 1:00-1:50pm, SSL 117 Course Code 87578 The purpose of this seminar is to provide an overview of the role economics could play in tackling some regional and global environmental problems. We will examine the management of natural resources (such as fisheries and forests), the shortages of freshwater in many parts of the world, the impacts of urbanization, the loss of biodiversity, and global warming. Although we will adopt a multidisciplinary approach, we will focus on some economic concepts to explore the advantages and the drawbacks of economic solutions. The course will rely on several videos, on scientific papers, and on material available on the Internet. • Week 1: Introduction - Economics and the environment. • Week 2: "Urban Explosion" Video. • Week 3: Some Consequences of Urbanization - Local and regional air pollution. • Week 4: Water Resources Video (Cadillac Desert IV). • Week 5: Water Resources - Water, pricing, and the urban poor. • Week 6: The Commons - Overfishing. • Week 7: Biodiversity Video. • Week 8: Biodiversity - What are mitigation banks? • Week 9: Biodiversity, Deforestation, and Global warming. • Week 10: Sustainability Issues Jean-Daniel Saphores holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics, with a specialization in Natural Resources and Environmental Economics, and an MA in Economics, both from Cornell University. He also has a civil engineering background with a degree from Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (Paris, France), an MS in Geotechnical Engineering from University of Colorado at Boulder, and an MS in Environmental Systems from Cornell University. SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Further Studies in Language and Culture Tom Boellstorff, Anthropology Th 11:00-11:50am, SSPB 4250 Course Code 87554 NOTE: This seminar is available ONLY to students concurrently enrolled in Anthropology 2D, Spring 2006. If a student drops out of Anthropology 2D they MUST drop out of the seminar as well. This seminar will be offered in Spring 2005 and is available ONLY to persons concurrently enrolled in Anthropology 2D (Language and Culture). It will offer 15 students enrolled in Anthropology 2D the opportunity for a more in-depth introduction to linguistic anthropology. Short readings linked to the readings for the Anthropology 2D lecture. Tom Boellstorff is Assistant Professor of Anthropology. His research has focused on sexuality in Indonesia, HIV/AIDS in Indonesia, globalization, mass media, and cyberspace. Sociology of Cartoons Belinda Robnett-Olsen, Sociology Tu 4:00-6:50pm, HH 251 Course Code 87564 Cartoons provide powerful messages to viewers about race/ethnicity, class gender, sexuality, sexual orientation, and violence. Millions of children and adults view these seemingly innocuous messages on a daily basis. In this course, we will examine and critique cartoons, including Disney features, Anime, and current popular shows. We will analyze and critique films such as "The Little Mermaid", "Mulan", "Batman", "Pokeman", "Dragon Ball Z", and "Sailor Moon". Readings include: "The Pervasiveness and Persistance of the Feminine Beauty Ideal in Children's Fairy Tales" by Lori Baker-Sperry and Liz Grauerholz in Gender & Society Vol. 15 no. 5, October 2003 711-726. "Asian American Women and Racialized Femininities: "Doing" Gender Across Cultural Worlds" by Karen Pyke and Denise Johnson in Gender & Society Vol. 17 no. 1, February 2003 33-53. Belinda Robnett is a professor of Sociology and former Director of African-American Studies at the University of California, Irvine. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1991. Professor Robnett is the author of How Long? How Long? African-American Women in the Struggle for Civil Rights, Oxford University Press, and the co-author of a recent book, Social Movements: Identity, Culture, and the State, Oxford University Press. She is currently working on a new book project, Our Struggle for Unity: African Americans in the Age of Identity Politics and has published numerous articles on race, gender, and social movements. The Search for Knoweldge and Happiness at UCI Barbara Sarnecka, Social Science W 12:00-12:50pm, SSPB 2209 Course Code 87579 In this seminar, we reflect on the 'big' questions. What are we all doing at this university? What are we looking for here, in our classes and outside them? Will we find something here that makes us happy? How will we know when we have found it? We will read selections from the book "Peace is Every Step" by Thich Nhat Hanh, and discuss whether Hanh's philosophy is relevant to the lives of UCI students in 2006. Barbara Sarnecka is an assistant professor of Cognitive Sciences with a background in linguistic anthropology. She also has a personal interest in meditation and philosophy. What Kind of Nation: The Formation of the US Supreme Court P. Kyle Stanford, Logic and Philosophy of Science F 10:30-11:20am, Middle Earth Housing, Harrowdale Study Room Course Code 87567 NOTE: This class is being held in Middle Earth Housing. Please be aware that your travel time will be greater than 10 minutes if you are coming from Mesa Court or the School of the Arts. For a map of Middle Earth, please go to http://www.housing.uci.edu/ug/me/. In this seminar we will read and discuss historian James Simon's influential book describing the fierce and prolonged battle between Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall to define the role and powers of the Supreme Court in the emerging government of the United States. Jefferson was a states' rights advocate who tried to limit the power of the Court, while the Federalist Marshall sought to establish an independent judiciary as the cornerstone of a b federal government. We will also ask whether history has vindicated either Jefferson's or Marshall's conception of democratic government. We will read approximately one chapter a week. Grades will be based on in-class discussions, and possibly on in-class presentations and/or brief writing assignments as well. P. Kyle Stanford is an Associate Professor here at UCI and a damned fine human being. He teaches a successful upper-division course every year on theoriest of legal interpretation in constitutional law (cross-listed in Poli Sci, Philosophy, and CLS), so he feels quite comfortable teaching this subject matter, though it falls outside his own area of greatest professional expertise (which is the philosophy of science). The course does concern a fundamental question in which he has an abiding intellectual interest he would enjoy sharing with incoming studentsÑhe tends to think that students of college age spend rather too little time thinking about what the institutions of democratic government should be like, and what the options are. Democracy for the Few Rodolfo Torres, Planning, Policy & Design Th 7:00-7:50pm, SST 318 Course Code 87582 How have tiny minorities of the rich and privileged exercised so much power in the United States? Seminar participants will examine the ways the wealthy elite has influenced the American experiment with democracy. Rodolfo D. Torres was born and raised in East Los Angeles. Professor Torres is author of several books on US politics and social policy. He is currently on the faculty in the Deparment of Planning,Policy & Design. COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES The Changing Face of Beauty in the Age of Extreme Makeovers Brian J.F. Wong, Head & Neck Surgery Tu 4:00-4:50pm, Beckman Laser Institute (BLI) A120 Course Code 87576 NOTE: Professor Wong's seminar is being held at the Beckman Laser Institute. This is building 817 on a campus map. Marketing, multiculturalism, the explosion of reality TV programming have expanded the definitions of facial beauty and eroded traditional biases toward cosmetic facial surgery. The focus of this course will discuss facial beauty from both contemporary and classical sources and examine how some standards have changed while others have remained constant. Discussions will be from the perspective of art, science and surgery. Dr. Wong is a facial plastic surgeon in the Department of Otolarngology-Head and Neck Surgery and also a Biomedical Engineer based at the Beckman Laser Institute. His research is focused thermoviscoelasticity in tissue, optical imaging, shape change technologies, and wound healing, and is funded by the National Institute of Health, Department of Defense, and the State of California. His practice is focused on corrective and aesthetic nasal surgery. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Freshman Seminar Program 256 Aldrich Hall Irvine, CA 92697-5675 Phone (949) 824-6987 Fax (949) 824-3469 A Division of Undergraduate Education Program © 2006-2008 The Regents of the University of California All Rights Reserved |
