Samples of seminar topics

In a time and culture saturated with information and images, attention has become a scarce resource. The ongoing competition for your attention has become a driving force of our economy through social media and other algorithmic metrics of digital life, which has consequences for creativity, democracy, freedom, and human experience. This class invites students to think critically about the ways humans engage with technology. We will draw from an array of sources and disciplines, including history, social and behavioral sciences, art, science fiction, and literature, to explore in depth how communication technologies and human identities are intertwined.

In this seminar we will explore the mechanisms underlying a variety of interesting and surprising animal traits, with particular focus on the wildlife we see regularly here on campus. As a recurring theme we will focus on the processes and consequences of biological evolution, with particular attention paid to the evolution and biological basis of altruism, in humans and in other species. Understanding these topics involves exploring several areas of study, including animal behavior, genetics, game theory, and general ecology. We will also explore the consequences of these ideas for social justice. Thus, we will survey a wide range of topics and disciplines during the semester.

We all need to make choices every day about what we eat, and we are bombarded with information about diets and nutrients. We will discuss where our food comes from and societal influences that may affect food choices. After taking this course, you will have a better understanding of issues related to nutrition in order to make informed decisions in the future.

Most scientists recognize the importance of communicating scientific results to the public as being critical to our societys progress and ultimately its survival. Unfortunately, many efforts to convey scientific information fall short for various reasons including scientists inability to effectively tell their story in ways that are interesting and compelling to non-scientists. This class will investigate the aims of scientific communication [hy do we want to communicate science and hat do we want to communicate?], the forms of scientific communication [how and when do we communicate scientific information?], the role of scientists and other stakeholders [who gets to communicate science?], and finally, the audience [who are we trying to reach with this scientific information?].

Resilience is the key to taking life as it comes and seeing all experience as the raw material to sculpt a satisfying life of purpose and personal growth. In this course, well look at art and artists of all kinds as we explore the idea of resilience: what it is, why it matters, and how to develop it in a way thats meaningful for each artist in the course. Enrollment in this section of Core 101 is limited to DeSousa-Brent Scholars.

Frankensteins monster. Scrooges ghosts. Count Dracula. Bertha Mason. Heathcliff. Mr. Hyde. Wonderlands Creatures. Dorian Gray. The Victorians adored and reviled their monsters, and ever since their inception, we Americans have adapted them and their stories into art and film. As Michel Foucault once said, we are other Victoriansfor we, too, are fascinated and horrified by these monsters and what they represent, including violence, deviance, decadence, and the Other. Such monsters symbolize our deepest conflicts and fears of the unknown, the uncanny, and the irrational; of failed progress; and of being taken over by regressive, seductive, and immoral forces. Through the study of narratives, films, and photographs across three centuries, in this Liberal Arts Seminar, students will write both critically and creatively about the original Victorian monsters themselves and how these monsters articulate various anxieties within contemporary American society. Students will also consider what these monsters represent in both their time and ours: slavery and empire, science and evolution, industrialization and commercialism, womens rights and domesticity, fashion and image, aesthetics and criticism, and deviant sexuality. Finally, students will interrogate modern-day views of the monstrous by viewing and discussing films that both adopt and adapt these beasts. Students should expect to read a number of big Victorian novels; to write and revise five assignments; and to watch at least four films.

Satire: ridicule and reform. Is satire a responsible response to the world we live in as some claim? Is it true, as Mark Twain wrote, that against the assault of laughter nothing can stand? Certainly the ancient Greeks [Aesop and Aristophanes] and Romans [Horace and Juvenal] thought so. So did Swift, Twain, Charlie Chaplin, Dorothy Parker, and Vonnegut. And so do Dave Chappelle, SNL, The Onion, The Daily Show, Matt Stone [South Park, Book of Mormon], Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, and Jordan Peele. If we judge by the explosion of comedy in the new millennium, it would definitely seem so. But what is satire and how does it work? Does it always produce laughter? Does it have the potential to change attitudes, believes, and opinions about social mores, cultural dogma, or political principles? In our seminar, we will sharpen our understanding of this ancient form of comedy, briefly explore its historical significance, and focus on the current forms of satire that proliferate our lives in all media forms: television, film, social media, internet, and literature. We will read some famous satires from selected literary sources, watch and listen to satires in various media forms, and even try our hand at writing satire ourselves. This will be a writing-intensive course, focusing on expository, analytical, and argumentative writing.

This seminar will explore the relationship between songs and poetry as we learn how to engage academically at St. Marys College of Maryland. Our guiding question, to begin, is this: are song lyrics poetry? On a page, song lyrics and poems look similar, relying on figures of speech and poetic techniques. But what happens when we add music, performance, and technology? What happens when we take away those aspects? How do songwriters respond to, reflect, and incorporate various musical styles, genres, and themes into their work? What themes are specific to individual writers? What makes music so powerful? How has it influenced daily life and society as a whole? In search of answers, we will pay attention to sound, structure, form, language, and cultural context of song lyrics across genres and periods. We will also investigate the historical and literary roots of poetry and song to better appreciate their relationship. Well examine the social, personal, and political environment in which a song was written and discuss how personal expression, emotional authenticity, social commentary, ritual, and entertainment intersect.

In this course we will read a selection of the novels of Toni Morrison, as well as her short story Recitatif, for engagement with form and content and how one serves the other in narrative structures of fiction. We will explore formal elements of fiction, and the development of content to shape story. Through shorter in-class writing assignments and three longer papers, students will do close readings on the themes, cultural significance, and historical engagement of Morrisons works.

This seminar will ask what makes words powerfulespecially in the context of American political rhetoric. Students will analyze examples of effective perusasion and build their own persuasive arguments.

College students, regardless of race, class, gender or sexual orientation, have been drawn to the objectives of Black Lives Matter and many have become part of a new generation of American activists. This course will examine why, in the twenty-first century, the founding members felt the need to remind all Americans of our shared worth and humanity, interrogate Americas increasingly racialized prison industrial complex, question the use of militarized police forces in underrepresented communities and reinvigorate age-old practices of civil disobedience and democratic resistance.

Without question Abraham Lincoln remains a figure of extraordinary interest for many people. But who was he? With so many Lincoln legends, is there still such a thing as the real Abraham Lincoln? This seminar will examine both what Lincolns actual life was like and how the image of Abraham Lincoln has been utilized in the decades since. We will examine the creation and the meanings of the image of Lincoln as the rail-splitter and Honest Abe while he was alive, as well as the modern image of Lincoln as cyborg and vampire hunter.

The Crossroads of the World. The Pivot of History. The Graveyard of Empires. For all its grand nicknames, Central Eurasia remains a region little-studied in the West. This course endeavors to separate fact from fantasy while providing an introduction to the social, cultural, and political history of Central Eurasia from medieval times to the modern age. Special topics include the rise and rule of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane; nomadic society in the steppe; cultural encounters and diverse religious traditions; and the rise of the Russian Empire.

Loss is a fact of life. Sometimes it makes us sad and sometimes it makes us glad. Either way, music has always had something to say about it. In this course we will look at four seminal pieces of music that address this fundamental experience. Monteverdis opera LOrfeo and Mozarts Requiem both concern bereavement and the loss of life, while Beethovens Fifth Symphony reflects the composers loss of hearing and his way of coming to terms with it. Finally, the Beatles album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band appeared in the wake of the groups permanent retreat from the concert stage and the loss of its former identity as a live performance phenomenon. We will consider the ways in which these four works, spanning four centuries, represent their own time and culture yet also transcend these specific circumstances in order to speak to us today as clearly and powerfully as they did when they were written.

What does it mean to be a good person? What do you owe to yourself and others? In this course in moral philosophy well explore answers to both of those questions and think about what it means to act responsibly in personal relationships, in your community, and in the world. Enrollment in this section of Core 101 is limited to DeSousa-Brent Scholars.

This seminar will investigate different ways of thinking about the relationship between mind and body. We will be examining traditional, modern, eastern and western conceptions of the relationship, the ways in which embodiment shapes the mind, as well as the significance of cultivating the mind-body relationship through practices such as meditation.

Its easy to say that love and friendship are great to have on ones life. But does this apply equally to all the varieties of love? Of friendship? And is the self sacrificed in these relationships? Enhanced? Discovered? Melted away?

This course will explore philosophical issues related to the study of film. We will study traditional philosophical texts in both Eastern and Western philosophyincluding those from Plato, the Buddha, Descartes, Hinduism, Nietzsche, and Sartreand we will critically evaluate films from Korea, Tibet, India, Europe, and the US. No prior knowledge of philosophy or film theory is required for this course, though an active, critical approach toward the readings, film viewings, and class discussions is necessary.

In this seminar we will examine the Cold War era in U.S. foreign policy through the medium of film. Besides discussing the elements of this critical period that are captured by the films, we will compare their reality to scholarly work about the era. Finally, the class will discuss whether lessons from the Cold War are still applicable to U.S. foreign policy problems today.

This course is devoted to reading a sample of works at the intersection of philosophy and literature [dialogues, plays, novels, poems]. We will address various philosophical and moral problems while discussing questions such as how to interpret a philosophical drama. Most importantly, well ask: can fiction teach us about life?

This course attempts to generate serious answers to the seemingly absurd question: what can we learn from zombies? We will engage with various representations of zombies in television, film, literature, and scholarship to understand how zombies can be used as models to explore and explain various phenomena and even as metaphors for deadly ideas. We will consider zombies and a zombie apocalypse through various disciplinary and professional lenses in our quest to find and generate meaningful life lessons.

This course presents a secular reflection on the fragility of life on our world across deep time. Well sweep through the ages to examine global extinction events, calamitous moments in human history, climactic forces that threaten life on our planet, and the certainty of ultimate cosmic doom. By the end of the course, youll be prepared to act with new ideas and skills that might bolster our chances. Well, at least for a while because nothing lasts forever. Its the history of The End!

This course will investigate why and how civil resistance works, noting both successes and failures across several decades from the Civil Rights Movement to the current day. We will also examine strategic nonviolence and civil disobedience in the context of other countries around the world. Enrollment in this section of Core 101 is limited to DeSousa-Brent Scholars.

This course is devoted to reading a sample of works at the intersection of philosophy and literature [dialogues, plays, novels, poems]. We will address various philosophical and moral problems while discussing questions such as how to interpret a philosophical drama. Most importantly, well ask: can fiction teach us about life?

This seminar will commence with readings in moral philosophy and will be followed by study of the ethical dilemmas raised by the biotechnological revolution of the last fifty years.

Events in the economy affect all of you. This course explores the relationship you will have with the economy throughout your lives. We will look at economic events such as recessions, inflation, and unemployment to consider the impact they will have on you. We will also investigate ways you can cope with these events through the choices you will make with regard to a career, investing, or borrowing money. The purpose of this course is to provide a perspective on real world issues. No background in economics is needed.

Events in the economy affect all of you. This course explores the relationship you will have with the economy throughout your lives. We will look at economic events such as recessions, inflation, and unemployment to consider the impact they will have on you. We will also investigate ways you can cope with these events through the choices you will make with regard to a career, investing, or borrowing money. The purpose of this course is to provide a perspective on real world issues. No background in economics is needed.

What is the American Suburb? Where did it come from and why? What is its relationship to other spaces in the American landscapenotably cities and the countryside? We will discuss at length Suburban Sprawl, or the spread of housing developments, mall-style commerce, and office parks into what was very recently empty spaces and farms. Embedded in any discussion of the suburbs is a tension between the public and the private, and through the lens of this debate, we will study the impact of the suburbs on such facets of life as transportation, education, housing, jobs, consumerism, food, and the environment. To this end, we will examine books, essays, films, TV shows, even songs, about the suburbs to enrich our discussions and responses.

We are expected by our society to act in the right way towards various others, and if we deliberately choose not to do so, we are considered by it to be unethical or immoral [or at least to be avoided or mistrusted]. But who or what things constitute others and what actions are the right way? Is rightness limited to just the ways we actually act, or are the right thoughts or attitudes also required? So, for example, do we have some obligations towards animals or other living things like trees? How about rivers or mountains or the air we breathe? Is it OK to be racist or sexist if we never act badly towards people of other races or genders? In this seminar we will explore what several thinkers have written on these questions and discuss and write about the ideas and thoughts we develop in reaction to them. In the process, we will learn how to use libraries and on-line sources for research, write our opinions in argumentation essays, and give more thought provoking [and hopefully] convincing presentations.

This seminar will investigate different ways of thinking about the relationship between mind and body. We will be examining traditional, modern, eastern and western conceptions of the relationship, the ways in which embodiment shapes the mind, as well as the significance of cultivating the mind-body relationship through practices such as meditation.