Writing Fellows Courses

One of many student-driven organizations at Brown, Writing Fellows work in a spirit of collegiality, helping to extend intellectual discourse beyond the classroom. Mutually engaged, Fellows and Fellowees ultimately do more than focus on writing; they shape their own and each other’s education, and in so doing they help to keep vibrant what is most unique and valuable about Brown. As peers, Fellows serve as sympathetic readers, providing informed, constructive criticism directed toward the argumentation, analysis, organization, clarity and style of papers. After drafts of papers are returned, Writing Fellows meet with each of their Fellowees in conference. These conferences provide a chance to discuss revision strategies and work through additional concerns.

 

SPRING 2024 WRITING FELLOWS COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

    ENGN 0120A & B: Crossing the Consumer Chasm by Design
    Richard Fleeter
    Course Description: Technologies have shaped human life since tools were sticks and flints to today's hydrocarbon powered, silicon managed era. Some spread throughout society; bread, cell phones, airlines, but most never do; personal jet packs, Apple Newton, freeze dried ice cream. Space Tourism, the Segway, electric cars: Can we predict which ones will cross the chasm to broad application? Can we help them to by combining design, engineering, marketing, communications, education, art, and business strategies? Student teams identify potential new products, conceptualize, package, and define their business mode. By plotting their course across the chasm, we confront the cross-disciplinary barriers to realizing benefits from technology.

    ENGN 1520: Cardiovascular Engineering
    Kareen Coulombe 
    Course Description: In this course, students will learn quantitative physiological function of the heart and vascular system, including cardiac biomechanics and vascular flow dynamics, through lectures and discussion of current scientific literature. A systems approach will integrate molecular biophysics, cell biology, tissue architecture, and organ-level function into a quantitative understanding of health and disease. Discussion topics will include cardiovascular devices, pre-clinical regenerative therapies, stem cell ethics, and clinical trials. 

    EDUC 1660: Social Context of Learning and Development
    Jin Li
    Course Description: This course focuses on the social environment that contributes to the development of children’s minds, language, self, affect, relationships with others, beliefs about learning, experience with/attitudes toward school. The course covers the period from birth through young adulthood. Topics include child development and learning under the influences of family, peers, community, school, and immigration, culture, race/ethnicity, and SES. We will review theoretical frameworks and empirical research and discuss implications for education. Prior coursework in human development, education, and psychology is required, such as EDUC 0300, EDUC 0400, EDUC 0620, EDUC 0800, EDUC 0850, EDUC 1289, CLPS 0610, CLPS 0620, or equivalents. Enrollment is limited to 20 students.

    NEUR 1540: Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
    Monica Linden
    Course Description: Exploration of learning and memory from the molecular to the behavioral level. Topics will include declarative and procedural memory formation and storage, associative and non-associative learning, cellular and molecular mechanisms for learning, and disorders affecting learning and memory. Examples will be drawn from numerous brain areas and a variety of model systems, including humans. Students will gain experience interpreting experiments from primary literature. Prerequisite: NEUR 1020.

    ENGN 1010-01: The Entrepreneurial Process
    Daniel Warshay
    Course Description: Entrepreneurship is innovation in practice: transforming ideas into opportunities, and, through a deliberate process, opportunities into commercial realities. These entrepreneurial activities can take place in two contexts: the creation of new organizations; and within existing organizations. This course will present an entrepreneurial framework for these entrepreneurial processes, supported by case studies that illustrate essential elements. Successful entrepreneurs and expert practitioners will be introduced who will highlight practical approaches to entrepreneurial success. 

    CLAS 1310: Roman History I: The Rise and Fall of an Imperial Republic
    Amy Russell
    Course Description: The social and political history of Ancient Rome from its origins to the death of Augustus in 14 CE. Focuses on the social conflicts of the early Republic; the conquest of the Mediterranean and its repercussions; the breakdown of the Republic and the establishment of monarchy. Readings emphasize ancient sources in translation.

    APMA 1930P: Mathematics and Climate
    Mara Freilich
    Course Description: Mathematical models play a critical role in projecting and understanding climate processes. This course will discuss techniques for application of theoretical models, computational experiments, and data analysis in climate science, including oceanic, atmospheric, and ecological phenomena. Intended for students in applied mathematics and other concentrations with quantitative skills who are interested in applying their knowledge to mathematical modeling and climate problems. No previous coursework in climate science is required. Physical science concepts and mathematical techniques will be introduced throughout the course. Students will develop collaborative or individual projects later in the semester. Prerequisites: APMA 0360, or APMA 0340, or written permission; APMA 1650 is recommended.

    HIST 1262M: Truth on Trial: Justice in Italy, 1400-1800
    Caroline Castiglione
    Course Description: Why do we think that one human being can judge another? How did this activity, enshrined in legal and political systems, profoundly shape society? This course examines the changing face of justice, from the medieval ordeal to judicial torture; the expansion of inquisitorial and state law courts; and the critical role the judicial system played in shaping Italian society. Using Italy as a focus, the course explores how law courts defined social, political, scientific, and religious truth in the early modern period. 

     

    Past Writing Fellows Course Descriptions