Writing Fellows Courses - Spring 2009
Writing Fellows courses help students improve their writing skills by working with a Brown undergraduate who has been trained in composition and pedagogy. In a "fellowed" course, students receive detailed commentary on at least two paper drafts during the semester. Professors receive the first drafts, annotated by the Writing Fellows, along with the final papers, so that they may review the process of their students' work.
First-Year Seminars
ANTH 0066Q - Crisis of Identities in the Global Order
Students in this seminar will discuss and analyze one of the perplexing questions of the modern age: Why, with globalization and an attendant world_view shaped by the technological revolutions of communication that appeal to commonalities, do we find more emphasis on local differences, more conflicts related to identities determined by opposition to "the other"? A concordant question will also be explored: How do different disciplines address the concept of identity?
Tuesday 1:30_3:50 p.m.
Philip Leis, Professor of Anthropology
EDUC 0410D - Brown v. Board of Education
Using sources in history, education, and law, this course will explore the landmark Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education, which found school segregation unconstitutional and challenged the entire foundation of legal segregation. We will explore the legal, political, and social issues that culminated in Brown and examine the development and deployment of remedies, with particular emphasis on school integration and educational equity. We will consider the legacy of Brown and analyze its impact on the civil rights movement, schooling, law, and politics in the late twentieth century and consider its implications for the future.
Thursday 4:00-6:20 p.m.
Tracy L. Steffes, Assistant Professor of Education
ETHN 0090A - The Border/La Frontera
This seminar examines the historical formation and contemporary reality of the U.S._Mexico border within the framework of globalization. Students will study written texts and visual materials in both Spanish and English in order to develop an understanding of how the border is construed from bilingual (English and Spanish), multicultural (U.S. mainstream, Mexican, and Mexican_American), and transnational (U.S. and Mexico) perspectives. Students enrolled in this seminar must be reasonably proficient in comprehending, reading, and speaking Spanish.
Monday 3:00_5:20 pm
Evelyn Hu_Dehart, Professor of History
GNSS 0090C - Reproductive Health: Science and Politics
Reproductive health issues such as contraception, abortion, sexually-transmitted infections, and gay and lesbian health are some of the most controversial and politically charged issues in the US today. After an introduction to the interpretation of medical literature, we will explore scientific, political, religious, and cultural aspects of these important public policy issues. Successful national and international programs will be discussed. Although all views are welcome, it is expected that students will be respectful of other’s opinions and will incorporate the best available scientific data into their conclusions.
Monday 3:00_5:20 p.m.
Sarah Fox, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
HIST 0970U - The Politics of Gender in the U.S. from World War II to the E.R.A.
This course focuses on gender and sexuality in the U.S. from World War II through the defeat of The Equal Rights Amendment in 1982. We will examine issues of privacy, gender equality, reproduction, marriage, the family, homosexuality, and roles and expectations of men and women in both private and public life.
Monday 3:00_5:20 p.m.
Robert Self, Associate Professor of History
SOC 0300D - Who am I?
This course is a study of self in contemporary society. We will examine the structural and situational forces that shape the self and their impact on personal development, orientations to the world, and interpersonal behavior. We will also investigate the development of the self as a way of being in the world that makes everyday doings and, ultimately society, possible.
Tuesday/Thursday 10:30_11:50 p.m.
Gregory Elliott, Professor of Sociology
Courses Open to All Students
BIOL 0190H - Plants, Food, and People
This course examines the selection, breeding, cultivation, and uses of food plants. Students will learn about the effects on agriculture of pathogens, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. We will consider whether enough food can be produced for a world population of potentially 10 billion, while sustaining biodiversity and environmental quality.
Monday/Wednesday 3:00-4:20 p.m.
Peter Heywood, Professor of Biology
EDUC 1050 - History of African-American Education
This course will examine the history of African-American education with particular emphasis on the twentieth century. We will explore African-Americans' experiences with schooling under slavery and segregation, the struggle for desegregation and equity North and South, and the place of education in African-Americans' quest for equal rights. We will also consider how the African-American experience with public schooling makes us rethink major narratives of American education, democracy, and equality of opportunity, and how an historical understanding of these issues may help us engage contemporary debates.
Tuesday/Thursday 2:30-3:50 p.m.
Tracy L. Steffes, Assistant Professor of Education
EDUC 1860 - Social Context of Learning and Development
This course focuses on the social environment that contributes to the development of children's minds from birth through young adulthood. We will study the development of language, self-understanding, relations with others, affect, and attitudes toward learning. Topics include children's social interactions, parental expectations and socialization practices, and the influences of family, peers, school, and media.
Thursday 4:00-6:20 p.m.
Jin Li, Associate Professor of Education
ENGN 2910Y - Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Creating Value Out of Graduate Research
The course focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship of embryonic ideas, pioneering technologies, and scientific breakthrough emanating from the university research enterprise. All assignments will center on enrolled stuents’ graduate research, culminating with a full business plan. The course allows students to focus on their graduate work while simultaneously harvesting the commercial potential of their research.
Friday 3:00-5:50 p.m.
Danny Warshay, Adjunct Lecturer in Engineering, and Angus Kingon, Professor of Engineering
GEOL 0240 - Earth: Evolution of a Habitable Planet
This course introduces Earth's surface environment evolution-climate, chemistry, and physical makeup. We will use Earth's carbon cycle to understand solar, tectonic, and biological cycles' interactions. WE will examine the origin of the sedimentary record, the dating of the geological record, chemistry and life on early Earth, and the nature of feedbacks that maintain the "habitable" range on Earth. Two field trips; five laboratories arranged.
Tuesday/Thursday 1:00-2:20 p.m.
Timothy Herbert, Professor of Geological Sciences
PHIL 0190 - Contemporary Moral Problems
This course will address issues of contemporary moral concern. These include topics from the public sphere, such as environmental concerns, capital punishment, and affirmative action, as well as issues from the private sphere, including sexuality, drugs, and abortion. The course will present the arguments of various philosophers, but the main emphasis will be on developing the critical and philosophical tools necessary to think through these matters: the identification and evaluation of arguments, and the construction of careful and rigorous arguments. No background in philosophy is required.
Tuesday/Thursday 9:00-10:20 a.m.
Eoin Ryan
RUSS 1200 - Russian Fantasy and Science Fiction
This course surveys Russian literature—from fairy tales, utopias, and dream sequences to science fiction—that depict altered states of reality. Readings are in English, although Russian concentrators and graduate students are expected to cover most of the readings in Russian. Familiarity with Russian literary history is not required.
Tuesday/Thursday 10:30-11:50 a.m.
Alexander Levitsky, Professor of Slavic Languages
SOC 1420 - Violence and Society
This course focuses on the personal and structural sources and consequences of violence in the U.S. We will investigate three levels of violence: interpersonal; institutional, wherein social institutions do violence to individuals or groups; and structural, examining the structures of society that tolerate or promote violence, both within the society and toward other societies. Next, we examine the culture of violence that permeates our society, including the mass media and violence. We will focus on specific forms of violence in our society, including gang violence, bullying, violence within schools, sex trafficking, war, religious violence, and terrorism.
Tuesday/Thursday 1:00-2:20 p.m.
Gregory Elliott, Professor of Sociology