University of Minnesota, Morris

First Year Seminar 2008

IS 1001, First-Year Seminar (FYS), is designed to be an introduction to liberal arts at UMM. Each section is organized on the theme of human diversity. During the first week of the term, all sections participate in a convocation presented by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean. Students then move on to explore their specific topic as listed inside this brochure.

Pick a few sections that interest you. Your advisor will help you select a section based on your choices that also fit the scheduling of your other courses.

Class #	Section	Instructor	Start Time	End Time	Days	Room
53332	1	Page, Michelle	1:00 PM	1:50 PM	MW	IH 203
53334	2	Page, Michelle	2:15 PM	3:05 PM	MW	IH 203
53336	3	Dean, Rebecca	9:15 AM	10:05 AM	MW	IH 3
53338	4	Dean, Rebecca	10:30 AM	11:20 AM	MW	IH 3
53342	6	McPhee, Nic	1:00 PM	1:50 PM	MW	IH 217
53344	7	Kearns, Kristin	1:00 PM	1:50 PM	MW	Sci 3665
53346	8	Benson, Katherine	2:15 PM	3:05 PM	MW	IH 217
53348	9	McPhee, Nic	3:30 PM	4:20 PM	MW	Sci 3665
53350	10	Logan, Mark	10:00 AM	10:50 AM	TTh	Sci 4655
53352	11	Logan, Mark	11:00 AM	11:50 AM	TTh	Sci 4655
53354	12	Anderson, Tracey	11:00 AM	11:50 AM	TTh	Sci 2185
53356	13	Anderson, Tracey	12:00 PM	12:50 PM	TTh	Sci 2185
53358	14	Hodgson, Ken	12:00 PM	12:50 PM	TTh	HFA 185
53360	15	Gross, Stephen	12:00 PM	12:50 PM	TTh	IH 203
53362	16	Gross, Stephen	1:00 PM	1:50 PM	TTh	IH 203
53364	17	Kearns, Kristin	1:00 PM	1:50 PM	TTh	Sci 3665
53366	18	Hodgson, Ken	9:00 PM	9:50 PM	TTh	HFA 185
53848	19	Graham, Vicki	2:00 PM	2:50 PM	TTh	IH 217
53850	20	Du, Fang	2:00 PM	2:50 PM	TTh	Sci 3665
53852	21	Graham, Vicki	3:00 PM	3:50 PM	TTh	IH 217
53854	22	Cotter, James	3:00 PM	3:50 PM	TTh	Sci 2185
53856	23	Mumford, Karen	3:00 PM	3:50 PM	TTh	Sci 2200
53858	24	Mumford, Karen	4:00 PM	4:50 PM	TTh	Sci 2200
57038	25	Stefanek, Kevin	1:00 PM	1:50 PM	TTh	IH 217

The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation.

Insects and Human Culture
The influence of insects on human society extends far beyond the realm of science. Insects inspire artists, musicians and writers. They are revered as religious symbols and used as metaphors for what we fear most. They spread deadly disease and have influenced the course of human history. In some cultures insects are a prized culinary delicacy. And, they are the most abundant and diverse group of animals on our planet. Through readings, discussion, short writing assignments and student designed projects we will investigate ways in which insects intersect and influence human culture.

53354 Section 12 TTh 11:00 11:50 Sci 2185 Tracey Anderson, Biology

53356 Section 13 TTh 12:00-12:50 Sci 2185 anderstm@morris.umn.edu

My Wonderful Life

Now that you got into college, what do you think your life will be like when you get out? Do you want to go home to live with your folks in the basement? What kind of work would you like to do? Will it satisfy your and your family’s needs? Do you even want a family? Are you thinking of ways you can “give back” as a volunteer? What happens after work? We will talk about all the choices you have in today’s global community, consider research about lifespan development and career-planning, and then focus on how you can make your choices a reality. Class will consist of talking, reading, Web searching, short written assignments, projects, and listening to the life experience of others outside of class and in.

53346 Section 8 MW 2:15-3:05 IH 217 Katherine Benson, Psychology

bensonka@morris.umn.edu

Out of Africa – The Peopling of Europe, Asia and the Americas

Genetic evidence indicates modern humans (Homo sapiens) had their origin in Africa. This course will explore the geologic and climatic influences on human migration to Europe, Asia, and ultimately the Americas. We will also discuss changes that resulted from this migration, the end of Neanderthal, new technologies, and the development of racial variations. Finally, we will discuss intelligence tests in light of the out of Africa theory.

53854 Section 22 TTh 3:00-3:50 Sci 2185 James Cotter, Geology

cotterjf@morris.umn.edu

RACE is a Four-Letter Word: Critical Issues in Human Diversity

"Race" is a social construct, not a biological one. We are all physically different from each other, yet our differences do not pattern neatly along the racial lines that our culture has defined. In this class, we will examine human biological variation through readings, discussions, and hands-on activities, focusing on how evolution and our environment have shaped our bodies and our genetic makeup. We will also learn about the cultural interpretation of our physical differences – both how they have been interpreted historically and how they are interpreted (and misinterpreted!) today.

53336 Section 3 MW 9:15-10:05 IH 3 Rebecca Dean, Anthropology

53338 Section 4 MW 10:30-11:20 IH 3 rdean@morris.umn.edu

East Asian Elements in 21st Century Hollywood Movies:  Acculturation or Assimilation?
Recent Hollywood movies such as Kong Fu Hustle, Hero, and Memoirs of a Geisha represent a trend toward greater cultural diversity.  But only easily-identifiable elements of Asian culture are chosen—violence, revenge, exotic costume, dance—that often result in cultural assimilation.  This class will go beyond the elements presented by the media to examine the Asian philosophies and cultures behind them, such as the understanding of life and death, friendship, and peacefulness of the soul.  Students will use movie clips and critiques as well as traditional materials.

53850 Section 20 TTh 2:00-2:50 Sci 3665 Fang Du, Multi-Ethic Student Program

fangdu@morris.umn.edu

Earth Stories: Wilderness and Human Culture

The Boundary Waters. Yosemite. The Great Smokey Mountains. What images do these names evoke for you? The Sierra Club? Unlimited natural resources? Backpacking and canoeing? RV’s and parking lots? Freedom? Awe? Fear? Many of the early European settlers of this continent saw a howling wilderness they had to tame. Others saw it as an Edenic paradise. Behind these extremes lies a complex history of widely diverse social, cultural, religious, political, and philosophical values. These values still inform decisions we make about the wilderness today, leading to deep misunderstandings among different groups of people. Readings for the class will be drawn from the journals, memoir, fiction, and poetry of the past and the present and will help us to trace the origins of our wilderness ethic. Through our own creative writing we will respond to this history and explore our own personal experiences of the wild.

53848 Section 19 TTh 2:00-2:50 IH 217 Vicki Graham, English

53852 Section 21 TTh 3:00-3:50 IH 217 grahamv@morris.umn.edu

Explaining the Inexplicable: 20th Century Genocides
This course examines a couple of the contemporary world’s largest and most important dilemmas. Why did we see in the last century, a time of incredible scientific progress, all the now familiar campaigns of mass murder based on racial and ethnic hatred? Why, in addition, have we been so slow to learn from this experience? Why, in short, have we been so unsuccessful in honoring our pledge of “never again?” Through history, memoir, and film we will examine these questions and try to understand and answer them from both an historical and a moral perspective.

53360 Section 15 TTh 12:00-12:50 IH 203 Stephen Gross, History

53362 Section 16 TTh 1:00-1:50 IH 203 ggrosssj@morris.umn.edu

Music: The Language of Diversity

This course will investigate diverse cultures and their respective musical heritage to determine what can be learned about the culture and its people from its indigenous music. We will try to answer the questions: "What can we learn of these people from their music?" "What of the natural setting of the country helps to determine and shape the music and can we, in some way, see the country and its people through its music?"

53358 Section 14 TTh 12:00-12:50 HFA 185 Kenneth Hodgson, Music

53366 Section 18 TTh 9:00-9:50 HFA 185 hodgsnkd@morris.umn.edu

Our Future in Space?

Since the birth of the Industrial Age, scientists, politicians, poets and pop stars have been envisioning a future in which humans set out (or are driven) from the “pale blue dot” of Earth to make our mark on the cosmos. Today, multiple companies exist for the purpose of building low-cost reusable space flight vehicles for the masses, and the President of the United States has instructed NASA to “build new ships to carry man forward into the universe, to gain a new foothold on the moon, and to prepare for new journeys to worlds beyond our own.” Is the future finally here? We will survey the diversity of past and present visions of a space-faring future, ponder the slippery slope between fact and fiction, and investigate the current state of knowledge and technology in order to make our own expert predictions of our future in space. Students will work individually and as a team to identify and investigate compelling questions, and document and communicate their discoveries.

53344 Section 7 MW 1:00-1:50 Sci 3665 Kristin Kearns, Physics

53364 Section 17 TTh 1:00-1:50 Sci 3665 kearnsk@morris.umn.edu

The Human Experience of Geometry
This course will study the influence of geometry in human culture as it has affected different aspects of art, science, and everyday life. Topics may include: symmetry in 1 and 2 dimensional patterns (pottery decoration, textiles, wallpapers, etc.), deliberate breaking of symmetry; proportion in architecture and figures; tessellations and tilings; the Platonic solids and related shapes; origami and other paper folding; perspective and its relationship to projective geometry; maps and ways of representing 3 dimensional information and 2 dimensionally; the fourth dimension and higher dimensions; fractals and their appearance in nature (clouds, coastlines, plant forms, etc.).

53350 Section 10 TTh 10:00-10:50 Sci 4655 Mark Logan, Mathematics

53352 Section 11 TTh 11:00-11:50 Sci 4655 loganm@morris.umn.edu

Climate Change: Global Crisis or Tempest in a Teapot? 

Depending on who you listen to, global climate change is either the greatest crisis or the biggest scam of our age. This complex question combines many topics, including science, politics, economics, and philosophy. Using a variety of sources, such as on-line reporting, film, and print, we will try to make sense of the conflicting messages. Who's speaking, and why? What assumptions and agendas do they reflect? Our goal will not be to come up with definitive answers, but instead to gain a better understanding of the complexities and interactions of the problem, and to explore tools and techniques to address a multi-faceted question such as this.

53342 Section 6 MW 1:00-1:50 IH 217 Nic McPhee, Computer Science

53348 Section 9 MW 3:30-4:20 Sci 3665 mcphee@morris.umn.edu

Cars, Culture, and Environment

Few technologies have had a greater impact on the people and the built and natural environments of the U.S than the automobile. This seminar explores our individual experiences with the automobile and the multi-level impacts of our collective devotion to the car. Through readings, film, music, and print media, we will explore the different ways car ownership influences our feelings of status and independence, community design and transportation infrastructure, and national environmental and foreign policy. We will also examine the evolution of electric, hybrid, and alternatively-fueled cars and their potential impacts on energy production and consumption.

53856 Section 23 TTh 3:00-3:50 Sci 2200 Karen Mumford, Biology