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INSTRUCTIONS FOR COURSE SELECTION FOR FALL 2010

FOR STUDENTS ATTENDING JUNE DAYS

1. Prepare in advance of your visit to Trinity by reading this First-Year Student Course Selection Booklet

carefully, giving particular attention to the discussion of the First-Year Program, First-Year Seminars,

Academic Planning/the Trinity College Curriculum, and the ―First-Year Student Schedule of Classes.‖

2. Spend some time thinking about possible First-Year Seminars and other courses in which you are

interested. Please call one of the Transition Advisers if you have any questions prior to your visit on one

of the June Advising Days. (Names, phone numbers, and email addresses of Transition Advisers were

included in the first Starting Out packet mailed to you earlier.)

3. Bring your entire Course Selection Packet to June Days.

Make sure you bring the following:

1. Blank Course Selection Form (You will have an opportunity to complete this form during your

June Days visit.)

2. If appropriate, a signed Directory Hold request

We will collect these materials during your visit at June Advising Days. After you have completed and

handed in these forms, please do not telephone with changes. You will have the opportunity to make

changes when you meet with your faculty adviser during Orientation.

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR COURSE SELECTION FOR FALL 2010

FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND JUNE DAYS

1. Prepare by first reading the First-Year Student Course Selection Booklet carefully, giving particular

attention to the discussion of the First-Year Program, First-Year Seminars, Academic Planning/the Trinity

College Curriculum, and the ―First-Year Student Schedule of Classes.‖

2. Spend some time thinking about the First-Year Seminars and other courses in which you are interested.

You may wish to contact one of our Transition Advisers for assistance in making your seminar & course

selections. (Names, phone numbers, and email addresses of Transition Advisers were included in the first

Starting Out packet.)

Please mail the Course Selection Form (and, if appropriate, a signed Directory Hold Request) in the

envelope enclosed in this packet so that it arrives at Trinity no later than June 23, 2010.

If you need help completing these materials, please call the Registrar’s Office at (860) 297-2295. Ask for

Caitlin Gura, the First-Year Student Coordinator. Office hours in the summer are 8:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.,

Monday through Thursday, and 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Fridays.

PLEASE NOTE: IF WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR FIRST-YEAR STUDENT COURSE SELECTION FORMS BY JUNE 23,

THE LIKELIHOOD OF YOUR GAINING ENTRY TO THE COURSES YOU SELECTED WILL BE GREATLY REDUCED.

After you have mailed us these forms, please do not telephone with changes. You will have an opportunity to

make changes, when you meet with your faculty adviser during Orientation.

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FIRST-YEAR PROGRAMS

The First-Year Program is designed to provide incoming first-year students with an intellectually challenging

academic experience while making a personalized link between academic life and campus life. This process

begins with the First-Year Seminar and extends beyond the classroom as first-year students learn to balance

their personal and social development with their intellectual life at the College.

First-Year Fall Seminars

Since 1969, new students at Trinity have enjoyed the benefit of small seminar classes (14-16 students) and close

contact with both a faculty member and an upper class student mentor during their first semester in college.

The First-Year Seminars are academically rigorous and designed to familiarize first-year students with the

expectations inherent in college-level work: critical analysis, the college writing process, discussion and debate,

and research and information literacy. All first-year seminars carry the designation of being a ―Writing Intensive‖

course. To graduate from Trinity College, a student must take at least two ―Writing Intensive‖ courses, one of

which must be a First-Year Seminar.

The Gateway Programs

Those students who have accepted an invitation to participate in the Cities, Guided Studies in Western

Civilization, InterArts, or Interdisciplinary Science Programs will not select a First-Year Seminar listed in this

booklet. One course in each of the Gateway programs has already been designated as meeting the Writing

Intensive First-Year Seminar requirement, and the Gateway student will automatically be placed in this seminar.

In addition, each Gateway course has been assigned a First-Year Mentor, and, like other first-year seminar

students, the program participants will live together in first-year residence halls.

First-Year Faculty/Advisers

First-Year Seminar faculty members represent a wide variety of disciplines and research interests. For some

faculty members, the seminars offer an opportunity to explore a topic outside the areas they ordinarily teach.

For others it is an opportunity to present interdisciplinary approaches to traditional material or to explore a new

academic idea within their field. The seminar professor also serves as the student’s academic adviser until a

major is declared, usually during the second semester of the sophomore year. In this role, the faculty member

provides guidance in the design of the student’s course of study for the first two years.

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First-Year Mentors

An academically successful upper class student works with each seminar instructor to be a mentor to the

participants in that seminar. Mentors attend the seminar or special program class, assist both the faculty

member and the students in exploring the seminar material, provide assistance with writing assignments and

papers, and coordinate extra-curricular activities associated with the seminar. Mentors are also trained to

provide assistance in areas such as research and information literacy, campus resources, and community

involvement.

First-Year Residence Halls

Each first-year student will live in a first-year residence hall. These halls range from 60 to 135 students. All first-year

dormitories are co-educational, although some dormitories contain single-sex floors. Bathrooms are not co-

educational. All first-year dormitories are substance free.

The participants of each seminar or program are housed as closely as possible together in adjacent residence

halls. Therefore, the seminar to which you are assigned will determine the residence hall area in which you

reside. Your specific room and/or roommate is determined by the information you provide on the Residential

Life questionnaire to be completed online (see packet #1).

You will be notified by early August about your seminar assignment, faculty adviser, mentor, residence hall, and

specific room assignment.

CHOOSING A FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR

All first-year students (who are not in a Gateway program) need to choose five First-Year Seminars from the

listing that follows. Select any you simply find interesting, not necessarily those directed towards a Major or area

of study you might pursue later. List these five seminars on the Course Selection Form. Your list will not be

considered in any order of preference. We will make every effort to place you in one of the seminars you have

indicated. The specific seminar to which you are assigned may be subject to a variety of enrollment factors,

however, such as time conflicts with other courses you have indicated you wish to take.

Also note: seminar course numbers do not indicate sequence or degree of difficulty. The seminars numbered in

the 100 range are at the same level as those numbered in the 200 range. If we have difficulty scheduling you

for one of the five choices you indicate, we will contact you after the scheduling process has begun.

THE TRINITY COLLEGE CURRICULUM

The Trinity curriculum sets a basic direction for students through general education requirements, while offering

each individual exceptional flexibility to experiment, to deepen old interests and develop new ones, and to

acquire specialized training in a major field. Those components of the Trinity curriculum which are of special

importance to entering students are discussed below. Please read this material with care, and select your

courses accordingly. If you have questions about course selection, you may contact the First-Year-Student

Coordinator in the Registrar’s Office at 860-297-2295.

A. Writing Proficiency

Writing proficiency is essential to success in courses at Trinity. The Writing Center assesses the writing

ability of all entering students prior to their matriculation, using standardized test scores and other

relevant information on file at the College. On the basis of this assessment, some students may be

required in their first semester to take English 101, a college-level introduction to expository writing.

Those students who are required to take English 101 will receive a notification letter in early June.

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B. Quantitative Literacy

Because many introductory courses (especially in the natural and social sciences) assume basic

quantitative skills, Trinity requires every student to demonstrate a level of mathematical proficiency

equivalent to what can reasonably be expected of someone who has taken two years of high school

algebra and a year of geometry. This is known at Trinity as ―Quantitative Literacy‖ and requires four

areas of proficiency:

(1) Numerical Relationships,

(2) Statistical Relationships,

(3) Algebraic Relations, and

(4) Logical Relationships.

Proficiency is determined when each student takes the Quantitative Literacy Exam, either during June

Days or during First-Year Orientation. The Quantitative Literacy requirement must be completed

successfully (by passing the ―Quantitative Literacy exam or completing the assigned Mathematics

course with a grade of C- or better) before enrolling in the third college semester. This proficiency must

also be achieved prior to a student enrolling in any additional math courses as well.

C. General Education Distribution Requirements

To be liberally educated means, in part, to be broadly educated. To ensure suitable breadth in their

programs of study, all students are required to pass, with a grade of at least C-, one full-credit course (or

the equivalent in fractional-credit courses) in each of eight course distribution categories: a) the Arts, b)

the Humanities, c) the Natural Sciences, d) Numerical and Symbolic Reasoning, e) the Social Sciences,

f) Intensive Writing, g) Urban and Global Engagement, and h) a Second Language. Numerous courses

are available in each category, thus affording the students ample freedom of choice. Further

information about eligible distribution courses will appear in the 2010-2011 Trinity College Bulletin,

available online at the start of the semester. Some of the designated distribution courses may also be

part of the student’s major and / or interdisciplinary minor (if you elect to take a minor): such courses

may be double-counted in fulfillment of both the distribution requirement and the requirement of the

major and / or minor. NOTE: The Distribution requirement is in addition to the Writing Foundation

Requirement and the Quantitative Literacy Requirement.

We recommend that students take courses in two or three of the distribution categories during the first

two semesters.

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D. The Major

Each student must complete a major. His or her choice of a major must be made prior to the

Registration for the first semester of the Junior Year. More than 750 courses in 37 majors (eight of which

are interdisciplinary) are offered. A minimum of 12 courses in a single discipline may be required in a

major, and no more than 18 courses overall. Majors presently established include:

American Studies International Studies

Anthropology Jewish Studies

Art History Language and Cultural Studies

Biochemistry Mathematics

Biology Music

Chemistry Neuroscience

Classical Civilization Philosophy

Classics Physics

Computer Science Political Science

Economics Psychology

Educational Studies Public Policy and Law

Engineering Religion

English Sociology

Environmental Science Studio Arts

History Theater and Dance

Human Rights Women, Gender, and Sexuality

Students may also propose individually-tailored, interdisciplinary majors.

While a student may take courses during his or her first-year which will be part of a major that is declared later,

the College does not recommend that students commit themselves to any particular major during their first-

year.

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INFORMATION FOR PRE-HEALTH PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS

The challenges to being admitted to a health professional school are formidable and need to be faced very

realistically. Each of the health professions has seen a recent surge of interest and their schools are becoming

increasingly selective. Indeed, never before have so many sought entrance into health profession schools.

This fact should not be taken as a discouragement; you simply must appreciate that if you want a career in the

health profession you must be willing to dedicate your time and efforts to excellent accomplishments in all that

the health profession schools require.

If you are considering a health profession for your life’s work, you need to begin exploring and preparing now, if

you haven’t begun already. By exploring, we mean finding out all you can about the health professions,

preferably first-hand. Find work or volunteer opportunities in the general area of your interest and become

acquainted with the challenges and activities of that health profession. Is it what you expected? Will it gratify

and fulfill your needs as a vocation? Have you become aware of the seemingly limitless variety of opportunities

in the profession? Does the commitment of time and energy required by the profession allow for the personal

growth and family role you envisage for yourself? By preparing, we mean beginning to do the many things

which health professional schools require as prerequisites to application for admission. The first step of proper

preparation is to meet with a member of the health professionals advisory committee.

ADVISERS

The Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC) exists for the purpose of assisting those who are interested in

pursuing a career in a health profession. We advise, counsel, and evaluate students applying to health

professions schools. Even after graduation, our services are available to those who wish to use them. Please

feel welcome to call on any of us.

William Church, Chairperson

Associate Professor of Chemistry/Neuroscience

(860) 297-2215

William.Church@trincoll.edu

Peter Bennett Sarah Raskin

Interim Director of Career Services Associate Professor of

(860) 297-4204 Psychology/Neuroscience

Peter.Bennett@trincoll.edu (860) 297-2342

Sarah.Raskin@trincoll.edu

Michael O’Donnell Alison Draper

Principal Lecturer/Laboratory Coordinator Director of the Trinity College Science Center

(860) 297-2228 (860) 297-5189

Michael.ODonnell@trincoll.edu Alison.Draper@trincoll.edu

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MAJORS

There is no preferred academic major for a pre-health profession student. There are certain requirements for

admissions that must be fulfilled, but they do not constitute a major. The selection of an undergraduate major

area of study should be a careful and considered decision. You should select a major area of study that is of

primary interest to you and that will provide a foundation of knowledge necessary for the pursuit of several

career alternatives. Those who select a major area of study based solely or primarily because of a perception

that it will enhance the chance of acceptance to a health profession school are not making a decision in their

best interest.

It should be strongly emphasized that a science major is not a prerequisite for health profession schools, and

you should not major in science simply because you believe this will enhance your chances for acceptance.

Health professions schools are most concerned with the overall quality and scope of undergraduate work. The

schools also recognize the desirability of including students with a broad variety of interests and backgrounds in

their classes. Non-science majors who take a minimum number of science courses to meet the health

profession school requirements must do particularly well in those courses, as well as their major courses, to

ensure adequate preparation and favorable consideration by admission committees.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTH PROFESSION SCHOOLS

Nearly all of the health professions schools require, or recommend, the following undergraduate courses:

General (intro) chemistry (with labs) 2 semesters

Biology (with labs) 2-4 semesters

Organic Chemistry (with labs) 2 semesters

General Physics (with labs) 2 semesters

Math (include one semester of Calculus*) 2 semesters

English 2 semesters

*This will keep all options open. However, most medical schools do not require calculus and many of the other

health profession schools have alternative math requirements. You should consult with HPAC members

regarding the particular math requirements you need to satisfy.

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COURSE SCHEDULING

Students come to Trinity with a variety of academic backgrounds and experiences. Therefore, it is important

that you seek advice individually regarding course selections which will satisfy the requirements of health

profession schools. For this advise, we strongly recommend that you seek the counsel of a member of the

HPAC.

If you are interested in pursuing a health profession but are unsure about what courses to select for your first

term at Trinity, please call a member of the HPAC before you complete your Course Selection Form.

Some things to keep in mind when making your course selections are listed below. Most health profession

schools will not accept AP credit for the courses they require. They want to see your performance in a college

course. The exception to this is when a student plans to major in the subject of the AP credit. For example, a

student with a score of 5 in AP biology who wants to major in biology can be exempted from a semester of

Introductory Biology. Since many more courses in biology will be taken while fulfilling the major, the AP credit

for an introductory course will not be a problem.

A. Ordinarily, the pre-health profession student will take the following courses during the first-year:

Fall: Chemistry 111 Spring: Chemistry 112

Biology 181 Biology 182

Math (depends on placement) Math

Most students satisfy the organic chemistry requirement in their sophomore year and the physics requirement in

their junior year. We urge completion of the English requirement as early as possible.

B. If you are required to take English 101, we suggest that you take it in the fall of your first-year, substituting it

for your Math course.

It is most important that your academic schedule in the first-year – particularly your first semester – match your

abilities and interests. The transition from high school to college is often filled with unexpected hurdles, even for

students who are used to exceptional academic achievement. For students interested in the health professions

the importance of starting off your college experience with a strong academic record cannot be overstated.

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THE FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR PROGRAM

FIRST-YEAR SEMINARS

FYSM 101-01 (10587) BFF or Strange Bedfellows:

Cohorts, Compromise, and Political Destiny

TR 10:50AM-12:05PM

Is the enemy of your enemy your friend, or will you need to make friends with your enemies? Will you use

rhetoric, reason, persuasion or just plain violence to get what you want? Leave your 21st century American

sensibilities behind as you assume the roles of a member of an Athenian assembly in 403 B.C. and a member of

the 1945 conference in Simla, India, to explore the timeless question of how much one should give up to get

their political way. Using the role playing/game playing teaching paradigm of ―Reacting to the Past,‖ you will

explore pivotal moments in the history of Athens and India from the perspective of a participant. Your

character will have goals to achieve, and perhaps a hidden agenda or two, and within the dynamic

classroom experience of ―Reacting to the Past,‖ your political successes, failures and compromises will shape

the outcome of ―history.‖

Madalene Spezialetti is a professor in the Computer Science department. Her research area is the use of

animation and video in Computer Science education.

FYSM 101-02 (10570) Science amid Uncertainty – Choices – choices! MW 1:15-2:30PM

President Obama says the government will now use science to make decisions. This seminar will explore how

complicated this becomes when the evidence is incomplete and the decisions are pressing. You will play the

role of decision makers, examine the evidence, present your arguments, and try to convince your peers to

agree. If you succeed, you win the game. But be warned, the evidence is not always clear, and the other

students may have good arguments, too. The games in this seminar are part of the innovative ―Reacting to the

Past‖ approach in which each student plays a role in making critical decisions in historical situations.

People, as well as governments, constantly make decisions based on the evidence available to them, when

they vote, make purchases, convict a felon, etc. But often evidence is incomplete or is subject to

interpretation. Ones personal philosophy determines how evidence is evaluated. Different economic

assumptions may lead to different decisions. Thus many factors come into play. Two games will be played

during the seminar. The first game is set in Kansas in 1999. The state Board of Education has just voted to remove

the teaching of Evolution and the Big Bang cosmology from the required curriculum. The game begins with an

election to replace the Board and then the students elected as Board members must examine the evidence

and develop a science curriculum. Other students give testimony and try to persuade the Board members. The

second game begins in Geneva in 1979 at a UN conference on Acid Rain. Students play roles as

representatives of the nations of Europe. They must decide whether air pollution represents an international

problem and, if so, what actions to take to mitigate the problem of acid rain. The roles define the philosophical

position and the political and economic needs of the country they represent. Students win the game if their

country prospers as a result of their actions. Each of these games allows students to explore the scientific

evidence available in the historical moment of the game and then brings the science up to the present after

the game. Students also do hands-on labs which show how data is obtained and processed and underscores

the scientific concepts. Students can learn more about reacting games at the Reacting website at:

http://www.trincoll.edu/prog/reacting_past

David Henderson is Professor of Chemistry and former Director of the Environmental Science Program. He has a

wide range of interests including painting, music, religious history, and skiing. His most recent publication

concerned the environmental impact of man-made snow at ski areas and he continues to work on

contaminated wells and streams in Connecticut. He is also very active in ―Reacting to the Past‖ programs as

the author of four Reacting games, Acid Rain in Europe, Evolution in Kansas 1999, USDA Food Pyramid, and

Constantine and the Council of Nicaea.

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FYSM 101-03 (10584) The Ides of March TR 2:55-4:10PM

The Ides of March is a “Reacting to the Past” Seminar for students who have previously studied Latin for at least

two years. Fulfils the second language requirement.

Julius Caesar was killed in 44 BCE by assassins who thought they were liberating Rome from a dangerous tyrant.

The conspirators were confident that Caesar’s death would quickly bring about a restoration of the Republic,

but instead the murder precipitated a series of events that ultimately brought a permanent end to the

Republic. In an exploration of complex issues of Roman power politics at a moment of crisis, we will read

excerpts from the works of Cicero, Plutarch, Suetonius, and other ancient sources in Latin. Students will be

assigned roles derived from the historical setting. This seminar puts a strong emphasis on collaborative research,

the art of persuasion, clear and effective writing, and the enthusiasm for understanding the intellectual and

political issues at stake in the Roman Republic.

Martha Risser, Associate Professor and Chair of the Classics Department, teaches courses on ancient art,

archaeology, Greek, Latin, and classical civilization. During the summer, Trinity students accompany Professor

Risser on archaeological expeditions in the Mediterranean.

FYSM 103-01 (10562) Culture and Mental Health TR 10:50AM-12:05PM

In this seminar, we will examine the role of culture in the context of understanding mental health and mental

disorders. Focusing on ethnic minority populations in the U.S., we will address several questions, including: How

does our understanding of culture shape our understanding of mental health? How do cultural norms affect the

definition and treatment of mental illness? What are causes of ethnic disparities in mental health (e.g., the

underutilization of mental health services)? One goal of the seminar is to examine our assumptions while

transforming and extending the dialogue regarding issues in ethnic minority mental health research. We will

evaluate these issues by analyzing empirical research, theoretical papers, literature, film, and media. There will

be a heavy emphasis on building and applying critical thinking skills through regular class discussion, student

presentations, readings, writing assignments, and other seminar activities.

Janet Chang, Assistant Professor of Psychology, teaches several courses in the psychology major, including

General Psychology, Social Psychology, Cultural Psychology, and Finding the Self. She studies cultural influences

on the self and psychological well-being, with a particular focus on mental health issues relevant to Asian

Americans and Latinos.

FYSM 104-01 (10564) Food, Fitness, and the Journey Toward Self-Discovery MW 2:40-3:55PM

We are constantly bombarded with advice about food and fitness, much of it confusing, contradictory, and

often disturbing. How can something as simple as eating well and keeping fit be so difficult to understand and

to do? In recent times, moreover, we have become increasingly concerned about food safety, the

environmental impact of food production, and good health. More generally we seek to enhance our

emotional well-being through diet and exercise. In this course, therefore, we will examine food and fitness in a

historical and cultural perspective with the aim of making sense of them in terms of our own lives. Some of the

topics include: the Paleolithic or caveman lifestyle, taste and nutrition across cultures, the Blue Zones (human

longevity and aging), concepts of mind and body in Western philosophy, clear thinking and good writing in the

literature of food and of sport. Besides reading, discussing, and writing about influential

ideas and innovations related to food and fitness, students will also put into practice some of the concepts they

learn by creating their own diets and fitness routines. As part of our journey toward self-discovery, there will be

frequent extra-curricular activities, such as field trips, cooking meals together, and workouts. In this regard,

students enrolled in this First Year Seminar must also register for Wesley Ng's (Head Coach, Women's Rowing)

fitness course for an additional .25 credit.

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Dario Del Puppo has made it his mission to infect students with a passion for all things Italian. As a teacher and

scholar he is primarily interested in Italian popular culture from the Middle Ages to the present, and he

encourages students to consider the way works of art, literature, and other cultural phenomena have come

down to us through the ages. Among his other interests pertinent to this course are food history, cooking,

cycling, and Olympic weightlifting.

Wesley Ng graduated from Yale University with a bachelor's degree in history. Currently, he is a master's degree

candidate in public policy studies at Trinity College and is the head coach for women’s rowing. In the physical

education department he teaches courses that are designed to be challenging and induce positive change

physiologically and mentally in his students.

FYSM 110-01 (10566) War TR 10:50AM-12:05PM

This seminar will explore the nature and evolution of war by concentrating on warfare in medieval and early

modern Europe, the periods that were crucibles for major changes in the technology and culture of armed

conflict. After looking at warfare in the world of the Greeks and Romans, we will explore the rise of the mounted

knight, chivalric culture, the Crusades, technological innovations such as the bow and armor, the rise of

gunpowder weapons, and large infantry armies. We will study specific battles and try to understand what

factors (cultural, technological, etc.) determined the outcome. We will try to understand the individual

experience of combat as well as the great movements of strategy and politics. We will explore briefly the

aftershocks of these changes in more modern conflicts and look briefly at large scale industrial warfare of the

nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Our sources will be the great novels and chronicles of the western tradition,

including the Iliad, Beowulf, Song of Roland, the Chronicles of the Crusades, Froissart, as well as classic

accounts by historians.

Jonathan Elukin teaches medieval history, Jewish history, and the history of the book. He is particularly

interested in medieval warfare and the Crusades.

FYSM 111-01 (10567) Visions of What’s to Come WF 1:15-2:30PM

What do we see when we look into the future? Even without a crystal ball, we can make certain rational

predictions based on our understanding of history, our present world, human nature, and what seems to be the

logical relationship between past, present, and future. But we also project our dreams and fears into the future

and conjure possible worlds, ranging from the utopian to the dystopian. In this course, we will focus on

representations of the future in the modern novel, and there is no shortage of great works to explore (and some

film adaptations), from Yevgeny Zamyatin, Edward Bellamy, and George Orwell to Aldous Huxley, Sarah Hall,

and Margaret Atwood. We will encounter totalitarian worlds, consumer dystopias, ecological wastelands, but

also communal, post-colonial utopias and worlds of peace and abundance. In short: what the future holds,

through the imagination of some of the great 20th century novelists.

Johannes Evelein is an Associate Professor of Language and Culture Studies and has taught at Trinity College

since 1997. He offers courses on German language and literature as well as more general courses on European

literature and the study of language and culture. On occasion, he teaches Norwegian (his first love) and

Dutch (his mother tongue). His research focuses on intellectual exile from Nazi Germany. Scholarship aside, he

is better known as a squash player, cyclist, soccer dad, and Jazz aficionado. He has been meaning to teach a

course on utopia/dystopia for some time, and here it is.

FYSM 112-01 (10558) God and Satan in Literature MW 1:15-2:30PM

At its extremes, human behavior exemplifies both godliness and godlessness. Our seminar will explore

treatments of Good & Evil and/or God & Devil in great works of literature. Central to the literary works we will

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read is the question of how human beings reflect, or act out, their own conceptions of holiness (frequently

understood as kindness, self-sacrifice, and creativity) and the satanic (destructiveness and the desire to bring

harm to others). We will consider the works in pairs or clusters so that we may appreciate sub-textual references

to previous works, and understand the works as literary conversations between authors of different cultures and

eras. Many of our readings will come from Russian literature. Authors will include Dostoevsky, Kafka, and others.

Carol Any is a literature scholar who enjoys reading for entertainment, escapism, and as a way of

contemplating life’s great questions. When she is not snuggled up with a good book, she can usually be found

with her students or singing life’s great songs.

FYSM 113-01 (10571) Paris, je t’aime W 1:15-3:55 PM

What accounts for our love affair with Paris? The title of this seminar is taken from that of a film released in 2006

in which an international set of directors explores the theme of love and its related passions in ―shorts‖ set in the

distinct neighborhoods of Paris. This course, too, explores the neighborhoods of Paris – the Latin Quarter, the

Marais, the Jardin des Plantes, the Bastille, and so on—through storylines in film, prose and poetry which are

framed by the historical personalities of these districts. We will view Paris, je t’aime and Paris vu par (a New

Wave film in the mold of Paris, je t’aime) as well as look at bits of Casablanca and Children of Paradise. We will

read excerpts of Père Goriot, Les Misérables, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. We will look at the mythic

aura of Revolutionary sites such as the Bastille, the Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette and others were

imprisoned) and the Place de la Concorde (the site of the guillotine), as well as for a later period, the Père

Lachaise cemetery and the church of the Sacré Coeur. Our discussions will focus on the interplay between

emotion and place which the city of Paris seems uniquely to generate as it draws us to its monuments,

museums, markets, and cafés, as we wander its boulevards and streets, steeped in history, saturated with the

memories of other selves.

Students taking this seminar will have priority in application for study abroad at the Trinity campus in Paris.

Kathleen Kete is Associate Professor of History and teaches courses on the French Revolution and modern

Europe. She has written about Paris and Parisians in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and is currently

working on a book about the Alps.

FYSM 120-01 (10597) Change TR 9:25-10:40AM

The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that there is nothing permanent except change. President Obama

campaigned on ―change you can believe in.‖ Everywhere you turn, change is being discussed. Starting

college will be a big change in your life. As humans we experience, react to, and even bring about change.

In this seminar you will examine and reflect on change and the role it plays in human life. Change will be

examined from the perspectives of a scientist, a writer, a historian and a first-year college student. The goal of

the course is to change you. This will happen by your active participation in laboratory experiments, reading,

quizzes, class discussions, writing, library research, and oral presentations.

Tim Curran is a Professor of Chemistry. In the 7th grade he was 5' 10'' tall and thought he would grow up to play

center for the Boston Celtics. In the 36 years since then many things have changed, except his height. When

he plays basketball now, he plays guard.

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FYSM 123-01 (10569) Body of Knowledge MWF 11:00-11:50AM

Knowledge about the human body grows through observation and experimentation. It is therefore difficult to

believe that medical students were once prohibited from dissecting human bodies. In this seminar we will

explore cultural and technological limitations that had to be overcome in order to advance knowledge in

medicine. We will discuss heroic efforts that resulted in extraordinary improvements in public health and that

have enhanced the well-being of millions. We will also debate controversies over the use (or misuse) of

medical knowledge. Interestingly, our bodies also generate knowledge. For instance, we will study emotions

that result from changes in the body and that affect awareness and decision-making. Finally, we will study

practices such as meditation, yoga, and acupuncture that may alter physiological responses in ways that

promote health.

Hebe Guardiola-Diaz teaches courses in Biology, Biochemistry, and Neuroscience. She investigates natural

responses that promote resilience of neural cells and enjoys mentoring undergraduate student research.

FYSM 124-01 (10592) Elvis, Billie, and Tupac TR 9:25-10:40AM

This course explores the work of iconic figures Elvis Presley, Billie Holiday, and Tupac Shakur in the context of their

social times. We will look at Elvis, the so-called ―King of Rock and Roll,‖ in terms of the musical culture of the

1950s and try to understand the many reasons for his rise to pop superstardom as well as his continued

popularity. Along the way, we will read two of the most important studies of Elvis: Peter Guralnick’s Last Train to

Memphis and the sequel, Careless Love. Our discussion of Billie Holiday will center largely on her recorded work

and its importance in shaping the direction of jazz in the 1940s and 1950s. We will read her controversial co-

authored ―autobiography‖ as well as several studies of her life and work. Finally, we will consider the

multifaceted personality of Tupac Shakur, looking at his music and his influence on rap and hip-hop culture in

the late 20th and early 21st centuries. To these ends, we will read articles in popular culture magazines,

including The Source, Rolling Stone, and Vibe, as well as those contained in popular music and culture

anthologies. An optional two-day visit to Graceland during the fall Trinity Days is planned.

Gail Woldu is Associate Professor and Chair of the Music Department. She divides her scholarly work between

hip-hop culture and French music at the turn of the 20th century. She has written a book in each area: a

translation and critical edition of Volume I of composer Vincent d'Indy's Cours de composition musicale, and a

book on Ice Cube called The Words and Music of Ice Cube.

FYSM 126-01 (10572) Game Changers:

Computer Games for Social Change in Our Cities

TR 2:55-4:10PM

Halo, Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario Bros., The Sims... Computer games are part of the everyday life of college

students and adults alike. As an industry, it rivals the film business, captivating audiences by the millions. This

course will explore a sub-genre within the gaming culture - games for social change - to identify how computer

games can be designed and used to address urban social problems. We will focus on the Hispanic community

in Hartford as a test case for developing new solutions to some pressing issues in urban housing, poverty, ethnic

relations, and development to name a few. Students will analyze and evaluate a variety of games from a

theoretical and instructional viewpoint. Working in groups you will develop a game-based curricular module to

help players gain a deeper understanding of a given urban problem of your choosing and come up with

potential solutions. As part of this discovery process, students will read current literature on computer games as

well as a set of articles on Latinos in the United States and the urgent issues facing American cities today. The

final projects will be tested with community members at the Trinfo Café on Broad Street.

Eduardo Lage-Otero is the Director of the Blume Center for Language and Culture Learning and Spanish

Lecturer in the Language and Culture Studies Program. His academic interests include cognitive science,

instructional design of multimedia environments, educational technology, and second language acquisition.

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FYSM 130-01 (10575) Who Are We? Citizenship, Identity, and Immigration

in Comparative Perspective

MW 2:40-3:55PM

Citizenship traditionally has been understood as a bundle of rights and obligations exclusive to formal members,

or ―citizens,‖ of territorially bounded nation states. Transnational migration seems to violate this assumption by

creating citizens outside and foreign residents inside traditional state territories. Some scholars have suggested

that globalization generally--and migration specifically--undermines the value and salience of citizenship and

creates popular and policy confusion about who are ―we.‖ This seminar will explore the major political and

social challenges transnational migration poses for notions of who ―belongs‖ and who doesn’t within the major

immigration-receiving countries, including the United States. No previous knowledge of politics or the

phenomenon of transnational migration is required.

Anthony M. Messina, John R. Reitemeyer Professor in the Department of Political Science, has published widely

on the politics of ethnicity and immigration in Western Europe. As a second generation American and native of

Lawrence, ―Immigrant City‖ Massachusetts, he has a few ideas about who ―we‖ are.

FYSM 131-01 (10617) Witchcraft in Colonial America WF 1:15-2:30PM

The Salem Witchcraft trials in colonial America continue to haunt American society as illustrated by Arthur

Miller’s play The Crucible that serves as a metaphor for the McCarthy era of the 1950’s. This seminar will focus

on Witchcraft in colonial America and will take into account the history of European continental and English

witchcraft experiences as an intellectual background for the colonial American trials. We will investigate the

witch trials in mid-17th century Connecticut including the origin, and consequences of the ―Hartford Witch

Panic‖. We will explore how and why the Salem trials came about and how to account for the size and scope

of the persecutions and their eventual end. We will also compare and contrast the 1692 witch hunt in Stamford

Connecticut, to determine why it never reached the level of the ―hysteria‖ of the Salem trials.

Richard Ross is the College Librarian at Trinity College and has an academic background in European and

United States history. Before coming to Trinity, he taught at the University of New Hampshire, Boston College,

and Northeastern University.

FYSM 133-01 (10585) Deadly Disease – A Mathematical Look

at the Spread of Infectious Diseases

TR 1:30-2:45PM

From the Black Death in the Middle Ages to AIDS and influenza, infectious diseases have long been a part of

human life. Some have quite minor consequences, like the common cold, but others, such as Ebola or AIDS,

are much more deadly. Often the seemingly unpredictable nature of diseases, infecting some individuals while

others escape, prompts worry, fear and sometimes hysteria.

Though much biological progress has been made in the treatment of disease since Edward Jenner discovered

penicillin, many infectious diseases, particularly those caused by viruses, still have no cure. Instead, various

treatment and vaccination strategies are often implemented in an effort to contain the spread of disease.

How are these strategies determined? For example, when is a vaccine effective enough to warrant its

widespread use? In the last century, much progress has been made using mathematical models to answer

such questions and to understand and predict the spread of diseases. It is these kinds of mathematical

methods that we will look at in this seminar.

We shall start with a brief look at how infectious diseases have had an impact on human history. Then,

beginning with John Snow’s critical study of cholera in the nineteenth century, we will look at the ways in which

mathematics has led to an improvement of our understanding and predictive ability. A critical factor will be our

ability to link mathematical models with real data and we will frequently use online data sources such as the

World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control.

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While this seminar is not a mathematics course, it will nonetheless use a variety of mathematical techniques and

arguments. Thus, students interested in enrolling should have successfully completed 4 years of high school

mathematics and should have attained a score of at least 18 on the Trinity College Mathematics Placement

Exam. Students are encouraged to contact Professor Russo if they have any questions or concerns.

Paula Russo is a faculty member in the Mathematics Department and has been at Trinity since 1987. She is

interested in the ways in which mathematics can be used to explain biological phenomenon, particularly the

spread of disease. Outside of work she loves to garden, read, and take long walks in the woods with her dog

and family.

FYSM 134-01 (10586) Games of Strategy and Experimental Examination of

Predictably Irrational Behavior

TR 1:30-2:45PM

Economics, dominated by the rational choice paradigm, provides rich insight in how humans are supposed to

think and behave. But what can we say about actual, not hypothetical behavior? Are people indeed rational

and self-interested? Do humans, at least in some instances, have a tendency to make decisions that are in

conflict with their long-term interests? Do preferences have a social dimension? Do individuals care about

fairness and reciprocity? What is the role of emotions in social interactions? Are people generally nice to

people who are nice to them, and mean to people who are mean even if such behavior is irrational and

costly?

In this seminar we will learn about games and their predictions about rational human behavior. We will run a

series of bargaining and social dilemma games to test whether these predictions are indeed true. Our goal will

be to study how people actually behave in economic settings, not how we think they should behave. We will

address the importance of monetary incentives in experimental economics and determine how to properly

incentivize our own experiments. We will discuss the relevance and applicability of our experiments outside of

economics. Finally, students will be required to design and conduct their own game experiments. No previous

background in economics or game theory is required to take this course. Arthur Schneider, Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics, teaches a variety of courses in Economics, including

Microeconomic Theory, Industrial Organization, and Experimental Economics. His main research area is

experimental economics. He enjoys working on research projects with his students.

FYSM 137-01 (10588) Japanese American Internment and American

Culture

MW 1:15-2:30PM

Shortly before he died in 2005, Fred Korematsu asked the United States Supreme Court to review the

constitutionality of the prolonged detention of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. His amicus brief read: ―To avoid

repeating the mistakes of the past, this Court should . . . affirm that the United States respects fundamental

constitutional and human rights—even in time of war.‖ This seminar investigates that past. We will study the

cultural context and contemporary debates that contributed to the mass incarceration of approximately

120,000 Japanese Americans during the Second World War, the impact of wartime policies on Japanese

American communities, and the changing meaning of internment in American culture. Discussion themes

include anti-Japanese sentiment, the tension between civil liberties and national security, Japanese American

accommodation and resistance, life in the camps, and postwar reintegration. By analyzing a variety of texts

(e.g., news articles, government documents, oral histories, media images, and Asian American literature) and

evaluating different interpretations, we seek to understand internment and its complex legacy.

Scott Tang teaches in the American Studies Program. His scholarly interests include race relations, ethnic

studies, Cold War culture, and the American West. His research examines the ways in which the Second World

War and the early Cold War transformed San Francisco’s Asian American and African American communities.

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FYSM 139-01 (10590) Bollywood and Beyond:

An Introduction to Popular Indian Cinema

MW 8:30-9:45AM

M 6:30-9:30PM (screenings)

The course provides an introduction to Indian cinema, with a focus on popular Hindi cinema from WWII to the

present. For over fifty years "Bollywood" has dominated India's domestic market and made a huge impact in

markets and cultures around the world: China and other Asian countries, the former Soviet Union, Africa, the

Middle East, Greece, and the diasporic audiences of the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and North America.

Bollywood films are consumed by an audience larger than that for Hollywood and art cinema combined and

yet they have received little attention from film scholars or the mainstream of Western culture. The keys to this

global popularity and scandalous neglect lie in the specific contexts - aesthetic, cultural, social, historical -

within which Bollywood films are produced and received. Understanding Bollywood cinema requires a journey

through the films into Indian aesthetics, culture, society and history, a journey that will provide you with a unique

set of perspectives on the contemporary world.

Prakash Younger’s interests range widely across the humanities - including literature, philosophy, geopolitics,

and art history – but his work as a teacher and scholar is grounded in the study of film. Films provide access to

the experience of other times, places, cultures and sensibilities and enhance our ability to connect with the

world we live in today; studying film is a detour that is justified by the fact that, in the end, it always gets us to

the right place, faster.

FYSM 140-01 (10591) Muslims Can be Funny, Too!

The Heritage of Humor in the Islamic Religious

Tradition

TR 2:55-4:10PM

In mainstream media, Islam and humor are often portrayed as mutually exclusive. The fall-out of the Danish

cartoon scandal, in which the publication of twelve cartoons of Muhammad led to diplomatic crises and riots

across the Muslim world, appeared to justify this portrayal. Humor is a reflection of cultural norms. What

happens when humor is globalized, and humor theories clash?

This class will explore the nature and function of religious humor in the great works of Islamic religious literature –

the Qur’an, the sayings and accounts of Muhammad, and in the stories of beloved Sufi teachers (both

medieval and contemporary) - and attitudes towards religion and humor in Islamic legal traditions. We will also

look at the creative navigation of humor in the performances of contemporary Muslim-American stand-up

comedians. These performers see comedy as a means of dissent in the American public sphere, particularly as

understood against the backdrop of civil rights protest, art, and as a way to present a confident religious

identity to the American public. Finally, this class will consider the boundaries and power-relations of humor: for

example, the fast-emerging discourse of the ―humorless Muslim‖ in Europe portrays Muslim immigrants as unfit to

live in Western secular liberal democracies, which value spontaneity, individuality, and fun.

Homayra Ziad teaches courses on Islam in the Department of Religion. She works on intellectual and cultural

trends in Islamic South Asia, the Sufi tradition, and Qur’anic hermeneutics. She is fascinated by the intersection

of the comic and the sacred, and believes the best religious pedagogy always involves a touch of the absurd.

FYSM 142-01 (10563) Italian Cities TR 1:30-2:45PM

For thousands of years cities have been the defining feature of the Italian peninsula. They have also borne the

imprint of many unique topographies—the meander of rivers, the rise of hills, and the fluxing sea yielding to

stone, line, and the built shape. This course explores the urban experience in Italy from the rise of city-states

and communes in the eleventh century to the development of cities in the modern period. Through an urban

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lens, it is possible to discern the diversity of Italian civilization and its deeper common strands. Historical sources,

literature, art, photography, film, and virtual tools like Google Earth will be a fundamental part of the class: you

will be asked to read, observe, examine, and think critically about all the material. This will include historical

accounts of the fractious civic life of city-states, outsiders’ views of Italy, theoretical and historical writings on the

city, as well as works of fiction and of the imagination. I aim to move beyond the familiar image of Italy,

beginning with the extraordinarily varied history of individual cities. We will begin by understanding how

ancient forms became the inheritance of contemporary cities. By semester’s close we will be in the present

day, looking at how the twenty-first century overlaps the worn fabric of the past. As a major part of your grade,

you will write a set of essays, to be revised in two phases and compiled as an anthology of your writings.

Sean Cocco teaches the history of Italy, where he was born. He writes about nature in history and is finishing a

book titled Volcanic South.

FYSM 154-01 (10565) Science and Asthma: A Global Perspective TR 9:25-10:40AM

M 1:15-3:55PM

In this seminar, we will build our knowledge of health and science and then use it to help others in a community

service project on asthma. We will read essays by eminent scientists and physicians and discuss them in class.

We will also take advantage of all the health resources in Hartford – learning about asthma from world-class

public health officials, health educators and physician-researchers. This will require field trips to various offices

and institutions around Hartford, including Hartford Hospital and the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

Additionally, we will carry out a semester-long community service project in collaboration with the American

Lung Association of Connecticut. Asthma has reached nearly epidemic proportions in Hartford, particularly

among Latino and African American children, and we will assist the City of Hartford in educating children and

parents about the symptoms and management of asthma through a curriculum developed by the American

Lung Association.

Alison Draper is the director of the Science Center at Trinity and a member of the Health Professions Advisery

Committee. She is a toxicologist and does research in environmental toxicology.

FYSM 157-01 (10595) Stories in Motion W 1:15-3:55PM

This seminar will examine the nature of narrative in literature, film, and graphic novels. Where do stories come

from? How and why do they get told? What role does music play in storytelling? To explore these questions,

we will focus on a series of interrelated examples of stories in multimedia forms: (1) George Orwell's novel 1984

and James McTeigue's film version of V for Vendetta; (2) Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen and Zack

Snyder's film adaptation; (3) Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis in translation, both the graphic novel and the

animated film she created; and (4) Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road and the 2009 film adaptation directed

by John Hillcoat. We will meet in a computer classroom designed for interactive writing and analyzing images

and sound, and we will make extensive use of our seminar’s course website and the Internet.

Beverly Wall is the Allan K. Smith Lecturer in English, Associate Professor of Composition and Rhetoric, and

Director of the Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric. She teaches courses in writing, argument, and

digital literature. For as long as she can remember, she has been fascinated by the culture and rhetoric of

storytelling in all of its forms--from the earliest oral folktales to contemporary digital art.

FYSM 163-01 (10574) From Godliness to Gothic: Exploring the Medieval

Mind

TR 2:55-4:10PM

In the thousand years that span the time referred to as ―medieval,‖ wide variations in human behavior appear

in the literature; cruelty and saintliness seem to live side by side. The bloody head ruthlessly hacked from King

Holofernes is set beside the holiness of his killer; Charlemagne’s knights skewer both rider and horse in the name

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of righteousness. What do these extremes tell us about the times and cultures they reflect? What do they tell us

about human nature in any time period? We will begin the seminar by reading some of the ―top hits‖ of

medieval literature (in English) beginning with Anglo-Saxon poems such as ―Judith‖ (who beheaded

Holofernes), Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf; the bloody, Old French ―battle‖ Song of Roland; the

knightly test of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; and selections from Chaucer’s, The Canterbury Tales.

We will also look closely at the order and disorder embedded in the ideal of ―the Gothic,‖ and spend some

time learning about Trinity’s renowned Collegiate Gothic Revival Chapel. As well, we will follow the evolution

from warrior culture to the world of courtly romance to a more hard-headed political reality by tracing the

legends of King Arthur. Finally, we will read the ―neo-Gothic‖ text, The Castle of Otranto and at least one

contemporary ―graphic novel‖ that re-tells a medieval story. Students will be asked to write literary analyses,

critiques of ideas and texts discussed in class, and their own historical narratives.

The class may include a Saturday field trip to the Worcester (MA) Armory Museum.

Margaret Lindsey is the dean of the First-Year Program and has an academic background in medieval

literature. She previously taught freshman writing at The University of New Hampshire and directed graduate

programs at Dartmouth College and Wesleyan University.

FYSM 164-01 (10560) Justice in Hell MWF 10:00-10:50AM

Dante’s Inferno plumbs the depths of crime and punishment. We will take a fresh look at this literary

masterpiece by viewing it through the lens of the social sciences. A key to the work’s enduring fascination is

Dante’s creation of a world where the punishment fits the crime: wrongdoers are trapped in vivid metaphors of

their wrongdoings. We will come to grips with Dante’s vision—and will compare and contrast it with modern

theories and real-world practices of crime and punishment. The course is designed as an introduction to literary

criticism, psychology, and informal game theory (strategic interaction). The course is also designed to equip

students with broadly useful skills in expository writing and public speaking.

John Alcorn teaches courses in Italian history, literature, and culture. He has a weakness for unique acoustic

guitars and enjoys long walks with his beloved Catahoula leopard dog, Cooper.

FYSM 166-01 (10579) Politics in Film TR 2:55-4:10PM

Politics is a persistent theme in American film. From the idealistic classic, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to the

cynical,Wag the Dog, film-makers have depicted - often through a distorted lens - the American political

system. In this course, we will watch a number of films, read related literature in political science, and conduct

our own research on politics and government. We will focus on comparing how government and politics are

popularly portrayed in film with evidence on how the system really works as revealed by research in political

science. Note: Reserve Tuesday nights from 7:00-8:30 for watching films with the class.

Diana Evans is a professor of political science. Her courses focus on Congress, political parties, and interest

groups. She is also Director of the Legislative Internship Program. Her research is on pork barrel politics in

Congress; she is sure that she will never run out of research material.

FYSM 167-01 (10580) Digital Landscape Photography

and Atmospheric Phenomena

TR 9:25-10:40AM

We will use digital landscape photography to explore the physics of the atmosphere and visible light. Some of

the processes of interest include the reflection, absorption and scattering of light, and their effects on

photography (or landscape art in general), as well as the physics of natural phenomena, such as rainbows,

halos, crepuscular rays, northern lights, etc. To study these we will learn a little bit about optics and general

physics, but we will also go outside and take our own pictures. If everything works out we will display our images

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in Mather Hall at the end of the semester. We will spend several Saturday mornings (leaving before sunrise,

often being back before 11AM) and late afternoons taking photographs in various places across the state. You

will also have the opportunity to spend Trinity Days in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, hiking, taking

pictures and enjoying the scenery. The course will concentrate on taking good photographs and learning a

little bit about physics. We will not spend much time on digital post-processing.

You will need a digital camera that allows you to manually override most settings (this rules out point and

shoots) and a lens of your choice. Owning a computer helps, but you can certainly download and store your

images using College computers. For more information visit the instructor’s course website at

http://www.trincoll.edu/~cgeiss/courselist.htm.

Christoph Geiss is a geophysicist who likes the outdoors and (according to his wife) spends way too much time

taking pictures. He is the director of Trinity’s Environmental Science Program and teaches courses on geology,

soils, climate change, environmental science, and physics. With the help of his students he maintains an active

research program which focuses on the magnetic properties of soils and sediments and how they can be used

to reconstruct past climates.

FYSM 169-01 (10581) Social Class/Social Clash:

The Denial and Embrace of Classism in America

MW 1:15-2:30PM

This seminar will be an inquiry into social class issues from a number of perspectives including cultural,

economic, and historical. Questions we will ask include: how is class constructed, and by whom? How does it

affect the way we vote, the way we work, the cars we drive, and the homes we live in? Can a person move

from one class to another? What do race and gender have to do with class? How is class depicted in ―serious‖

and in popular culture?

Robert Francis Peltier is a Senior Lecturer in the Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric where his interests

include the intersections of fiction and non-fiction writing, especially as they pertain to narrative. He is a Dean

Arthur H. Hughes Award winner for achievement in teaching.

FYSM 172-01 (10589) Roads, Traffic, and their Relevance to Human Health:

Toward a Medical Anthropology of Roads

TR 10:50AM-12:05PM

Roads are important forces in transforming environments and human behavior. Like railroads, pipelines, and

power lines they construct new pathways across landscapes and dramatically influence patterns of movement

and flows of ideas. How do they work? What is the ecology of a road? How do ideas about space and traffic

flow allow vehicles to move in such different ways in Mumbai, Buenos Aires, and Hartford? How do new and

old road networks influence migration, pathogen flows, and human diseases? We will read a broad variety of

journal articles as well as books such as Duneier’s Sidewalk, Conover’s The Routes of Man, and Vanderbilt’s

Traffic to explore answers to these questions.

Jim Trostle is a medical anthropologist with an interest in public and global health. He has worked in Ecuador

for eight years studying how a new road changes rural social life and health. His most recent book

Epidemiology and Culture was published in 2005 and he is writing one now about his road project. He regularly

consults for the World Health Organization.

FYSM 174-01 (10573) Highlanders: People and Culture of the Himalayas MWF 9:00-9:50AM

The Himalayan rim exists in the American imagination as a set of dramatic pictures and impressions constructed

from such sources. We equate the Himalayas with forbidding landscapes, exotic forms of Buddhism, and

harrowing ascents of Mount Everest. However, only a fragment of the historical and cultural experience of this

complex region is captured in its record as conveyed by the foreign visitors who sought adventure or the exotic

in the lands of this imposing mountain chain. These remote lands were extraordinarily creative as they

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produced great religious, artistic, and philosophical traditions that profoundly influenced the entire South and

East Asian world. Unlike India or China, the small states of the Himalayas escaped colonial administration and

developed in an idiosyncratic manner that strongly influences the life and mores of this part of the world today.

The seminar will focus on the ethnographic map of the Himalayan rim and introduce the peoples who

produced its distinctive cultures. An optional trip to Nepal or Tibet with an attached .5 credit independent study

is likely to be offered to interested students of the seminar during the inter-term (December 2010–January 2011).

Michael Lestz Michael Lestz is the Director of the O’Neill Asia Cum Laude Endowment and an Associate

Professor of History. He specializes in the history of China and also teaches courses related to South and

Southeast Asia. He has often taught in the First-Year Program and has offered his course on the Himalayas for

seven years. He has led fifteen treks or study programs for Trinity students in Tibet, Nepal, China and

Cambodia. Lestz speaks Chinese and Nepali and is a devoted amateur mountain climber.

FYSM 177-01 (10578) Minds behind the Brain TR 8:00-9:15AM

This is an interdisciplinary first-year seminar organized around a survey of the great thinkers and scientists whose

contributions of ideas and scientific discoveries have led to our current understanding of the brain. We will

explore not just their ideas and theories, but also their personal lives, ambitions, biases, as well as their

detractors. Spanning ancient Egypt and Greece to the 20th century, these pioneers include Hippocrates,

Galen, Vesalius, Descartes, Galvani, Broca, Ramon y Cajal, Sherrington and Levi-Montalcini, among others. This

seminar will expose students to the non-technical aspects of brain science, its interdisciplinary nature, and its

impact on our society. Issues related to the mind-brain dualism and whether or not behavior, thoughts, and

previous experiences can change the actual structure of the brain will also be explored.

Harry Blaise is an associate professor of engineering and neuroscience. He teaches courses in linear circuit

theory, semiconductor electronics, automatic controls, neural engineering, principles of neuroscience,

neuroscience methodology, among others. His research interests include neurophysiology of learning and

memory consolidation, and the impact of stress on neuronal circuits involved in learning, emotionality, and

executive function. His research targets three primary brain regions: hippocampus, amygdale, and prefrontal

cortex.

FYSM 178-01 (10582) Artistic Visions and Imaginary Worlds MW 2:40-3:55PM

Pop culture discourse has come a long way, from describing various artistic disciplines – Fine Arts, Theater,

Dance, Music – as being enacted in a vacuum without any cross pollination of ideas to recognizing a

significant exchange between artists of multiple fields. For example, in contemporary artistic media words such

as ―remix‖ and ―mash-up‖ have entered into the vocabulary of popular culture and are used to describe the

co-mingling of various source materials within a single document. This can be read as analogous to the

construction of a city landscape. When we look at the portrait of a city, that portrait is a combination of so

many individuals’ collective vision. Everything is linked (and hyperlinked).

This class will examine historic and contemporary examples of interdisciplinary artistic practice as models for the

creation of both imaginary cities and real world environments.

Some of the media sites we will examine include live television, reality broadcasting like MTV’s Real World,

audio-tours, ―YouTube,‖ and other live internet happenings. In addition, we will examine those sites which can’t

be found on the internet – museum spaces, literary worlds, live performance events, and the geography of our

dreams as alternate sites from where new art and urban spaces might emerge. Our readings will draw on the

work of such artists and authors as Andy Warhol, Hunter S. Thompson, John Cage, and others who have posited

imaginary artistic visions of ―real world‖ environments.

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Mitchell Polin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theater and Dance. Since 1998 he has acted as

artistic director of the ―Ordinary Theater,‖ a theater company which explores the application of performance

theory in the creation of non-narrative theater. His fields of interest include: American experimental

performance, radio and sound art, interactive media, and the European avant-garde. His current research is

examining the impact of new sound and video technologies on narrative in performance.

FYSM 185-01 (10596) Inquiring Minds Hard-Boiled Detectives TR 1:30-2:45PM

For our exploration of American hard-boiled detective fiction, we will study novels such as, Raymond

Chandler’s The Big Sleep, Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, Chester Himes’ A Rage in Harlem, Sara

Paretsky’s Bitter Medicine, Carl Hiaasen’s Stormy Weather, and Sue Grafton’s A Is for Alibi.

We will consider how these texts reflect and interrogate the social values and cultural conflicts of their times,

especially the complexities of race, class, and gender. We will also look at two or three film adaptations to see

how a different medium transforms these texts. Along the way, we will try to determine why this genre has

remained so popular.

Writing requirements include: informal reflection papers for each reading, three or four short papers (3/4

pages), and a longer researched argument. Writers will practice peer review and revising through multiple

drafts. Students will also present the research for their final paper to the seminar.

Cynthia Butos has been teaching for 21 years at Trinity College for the Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and

Rhetoric. She teaches expository writing courses that emphasize critical thinking, argument, and research.

Outside the classroom at Trinity, she worked with other faculty and students to write and implement the Student

Integrity Contract and has been a faculty adviser for the football team for the past six years. Reading mysteries

and watching the Yankees are two of her favorite leisure activities.

FYSM 202-01 (10561) The Weather: Historical Events, Great Storms,

and Modern Forecasting

TR 10:50AM-12:05PM

Weather and climate have affected the settlement of our continent, the history of our country, and the health

of our economy. The seminar will cover the subjects of weather and climate in the contexts of both history and

science. Historical material will range over topics that include the journey of peoples from Africa to the

Americas, the vanishing of the prehistoric Anasazi civilization in the American Southwest, the Dust Bowl of the

1930’s, and the role of weather in the D-Day invasion of Europe. Papers will be required on topics such as the

Year Without Summer, the Blizzard of 1888, and the Johnstown Flood. The current global-warming controversy

will be the subject of critical analysis by the students. Students will be introduced to a view of meteorology as a

well-developed, interdisciplinary science of physics, mathematics, computing, and high-technology data

acquisition. Students also will have the opportunity to learn basic weather-forecasting techniques.

Philip Brown is a professor in the Mathematics Department. He is the coordinator of the Models and Data Minor

and teaches computer-related courses in mathematical modeling and numerical analysis. His research is in

the field of cloud physics with a focus on the rain process.

FYSM 208-01 (10577) Science and the Consumer R 1:30-4:10PM

Recent global and national news has once again shown that one of the pressing challenges for the 21st century

is to accommodate society’s ever-increasing need for energy. The first half of the semester will be devoted to

readings and discussion of the current and alternative sources of energy from the point of view of the science

and technology, reserves, economic considerations, environmental impact, government mandates and global

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choices. Some field trips are anticipated. The second half of the semester will be devoted to student

investigations of some ―over the counter‖ commercially available products. Students, working in pairs, will

select a product, consult the literature, design the analysis procedure, conduct the experiments, and report the

results in the form of written and in-class oral reports.

Ralph O. Moyer, Jr. is the Scovill Professor of Chemistry. An inorganic chemist, his research interests focus on

the formation, crystal structure, behavior, and applications of metal hydrogen systems. An avocational interest

is in the preservation of open spaces.

FYSM 209-01 (10594) The Spirit of Place MW 1:15-2:30PM

In this seminar we will reflect on how the nature of different places affects the experiences people have there.

Our readings will range from travel writing to fiction to poetry to theories in "psychogeography": the study of

how places affect our feelings and actions. Geographer Yi-fu Tuan says, "Place exists at different scales. At

one extreme a favorite armchair is a place, at the other extreme the whole earth." For the most part we will

explore physical places--cities, natural settings, homes, countries, schools, armchairs, etc.---but we will also

consider figurative senses of "place" -- in particular, the "mental spaces" of our own minds. Our classroom will

be a "contemplative space," where we will experiment with how meditation practices influence the "places" of

our thinking. Students will write essays and many informal exercises both on the readings and on their own

experiences in various places.

Irene Papoulis teaches writing in the AK Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric, and often encourages students

in her creative nonfiction classes to write about place. She has written essays about emotions in the classroom,

among other subjects, and is interested in contemplative practices. She occasionally writes opeds for the

Hartford Courant.

FYSM 237-01 (10583) Understanding and Reversing Prejudice and

Discrimination

TR 10:50AM-12:05PM

What are the causes of prejudice and discrimination? Are prejudice and discrimination inevitable? Does

prejudice always lead to discrimination? Is discrimination always a result of prejudice? Is the nature of

prejudice universal, whether we consider group differences based on social class, race, religion, gender,

politics, obesity, age, or any other status characteristic? Do strategies for reducing prejudice and discrimination

follow the same principles, whether we are trying to improve Israeli-Palestinian relations or implement

affirmative action programs in American institutions of higher education? Questions like these will be addressed

in this seminar through use of literature, film, and social science readings, as well as regular in-class debates.

David Reuman is an Associate Professor of Psychology. His research interests include the effects of the social

organization of schools on motivation, achievement, and peer relations.

FYSM 250-01 (10568) Fallacies for Fun and Profit TR 2:55-4:10PM

―It ain’t so much the things we don’t know that get us into trouble.

It’s the things we know that just ain’t so.‖

Artemus Ward (1834-1867)

A fallacy may be defined as an error in reasoning with potentially strong psychological appeal. It may occur

accidentally or as a deliberate choice.

The subject of this seminar is informal logic, in both verbal and quantitative settings. What is an argument?

Where would I find one? How is a deductive argument different from an inductive one? What characteristics

do I look for in a good argument? How can I identify a fallacy?

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Besides an informal logic text, students will read selections from popular books like How We Know What Isn’t So:

The Fallacy of Human Reasoning in Everyday Life and Selling It: the incredible shrinking package and other

marvels of modern marketing. Each student will also read a daily newspaper and occasional magazines of

his/her choice in order to find examples of arguments and fallacies. Besides class discussions, reading, and

written reports, students will prepare a final cumulative project, which will be an annotated scrapbook

summary of the course.

Charlotte Gregory is Interim Director/Senior Lecturer in Trinity’s Aetna Quantitative Center where she has been

teaching quantitative reasoning courses for the past thirteen years.

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Course Selection Form

If you are attending our June Days program you will complete the yellow Course Selection form during

your visit. Please keep this copy for your records.

If you are not attending June Days, please send the yellow Course Selection form in the enclosed pre-

addressed envelope so that it reaches the Registrar’s Office no later than June 23, 2010.

Important: Before making your course selections, please read carefully the section ―Instructions for Course

Selection for Fall Term 2010‖ in the First-Year Student Course Selection Packet. You may log onto the Starting

Out web site (http://internet2.trincoll.edu/TCStartingOut/) for course descriptions, which you should carefully

read (they can also be found in this Course Selection Booklet).

First-Year Seminar Choices All students should identify five (5) seminars that interest them. We do not consider this list in any order of

preference.

4-Digit

Class #

Seminar Number

Seminar Title

Non-Seminar Course Choices

The normal course load for first-year students is a First-Year Seminar and three non-seminar courses. Students

who wish to enroll in a mathematics course in the Fall 2009 semester should simply write ―math‖ as a course

selection, we will use the results of the on-line Math Placement Test to enroll you in the correct course. Do not

indicate a specific mathematics course. You are required to complete the Mathematics Placement Exam

online (see Starting Out Packet) no later than June 23, 2010, even if you do not plan to enroll in a mathematics

course during the Fall 2010 semester. PLEASE NOTE: You are not required to take a math course in your first

semester at Trinity College. In fact, you may not need to take one at all, unless you need to do so for your

major requirements, or wish to use a math course to fulfill the Numeric and Symbolic Reasoning Distribution

Requirement.

4-Digit

Class #

Course

Number

Course Title

If required to take Math 101 or another Quantitative Literacy Course, I prefer to enroll during (Circle One):

Fall 2010 Spring 2011

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Alternate Choices

We will schedule these courses only if necessary. You should make at least five alternate non-seminar course

selections. When making these alternate selections, do not list different sections of the courses listed in Section

B (the last 2-digits [“-01,-02,-03”] reflect section numbers) . For example, if you elected Economics 101-04 in

Section B, you may be assured that we will automatically try to enroll you in a different section of that course,

should your preferred section not be available. Therefore, you should NOT list this course again with a different

section in the box below.

4-Digit

Class #

Course

Number

Course Title

Used to

Replace

which Courses

from Sec. B?

Advanced Placement Exams

In the box below, please list any Advanced Placement exams you may have taken and the scores you

received, if they are known to you.

Exam Title Score Exam Title Score

Foreign Language Background

Do you intend to enroll in a foreign language during your first semester of college? _____ If so, please provide us

with the number of years (if any) you studied this language in secondary school and the final grade(s) you

received in your language course(s).

1. Language: _____________________________ Number of Years Taken in Secondary School:___________

Final Grade(s): first year: _____ second year: _____ third year: _____ fourth year: _____

2. Language: _____________________________ Number of Years Taken in Secondary School:___________

Final Grade(s): first year: _____ second year: _____ third year: _____ fourth year: _____

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Key to Course Subject Codes

AHIS Fine Arts – Art History HRST Human Rights Studies

AMST American Studies IART InterArts Program

ANTH Anthopology IDPS IDP Seminar

ARAB Language and Culture Studies – Arabic INTS International Studies

ASTR Physics – Astronomy ISP_ Interdisciplinary Science

BIOL Biology ITAL Language and Culture Studies – Italian

CHEM Chemistry JAPN Language and Culture Studies – Japanese

CHIN Language and Culture Studies – Chinese JWST Jewish Studies

CLAS Classics LACS Language and Culture Studies

CLCV Classics – Classical Civilization LATN Classics – Latin

COLL College Course LEST Minors – Legal Studies

CPSC Computer Science LING Language and Culture Studies – Linguistics

CTYP The Cities Program MATH Mathematics

ECON Economics MUSC Music

EDUC Educational Studies NESC Neuroscience

ENGL English PBPL Public Policy

ENGR Engineering PHED Physical Education

ENVS Environmental Science PHIL Philosophy

FILM Film Studies PHYS Physics

FREN Language and Culture Studies – French POLS Political Science

FYCO First-Year Colloquium PSYC Psychology

FYPR First-Year Program RELG Religion

FYSM First-Year Seminar RUSS Language and Culture Studies – Russian

GDST Guided Studies SILP Language and Culture Studies –

Self-Instructional Language Program

GREK Classics – Greek SOCL Sociology

GRMN Language and Culture Studies – German STAR Fine Arts – Studio Arts

HEBR Language and Culture Studies – Hebrew STGT Student-Taught Course

HFPR Health Fellows Program THDN Theater and Dance

HISP Language and Culture Studies –

Hispanic Studies

TUTC Tutorial College

HIST History WMGS Women, Gender, and Sexuality

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Your Notes

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Your Notes

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Your Notes