101. Methods of Thinking. ECB writing assessment. (4). (Introductory Composition).
This course has two aims: (1) to improve the student's ability to read with understanding, to think critically, and to write well; (2) to help the student to achieve a better understanding of the nature of intellectual activity and of education. College work is, and should be, different from high school work, requiring different and more sophisticated intellectual skills and techniques. But almost all courses in college concentrate exclusively on their own special subject-matter. A sociology course concentrates on teaching you sociology, a chemistry course on teaching chemistry, and so on. College instructors rarely teach in an explicit and direct manner the intellectual techniques and frameworks necessary for successful college work. They assume that you have these skills already or can somehow pick them up along the way, while they go ahead and teach their own special subjects. University Course 101 attempts to teach these skills directly and explicitly, to make your college career more successful and to sharpen abilities which will be invaluable in later life whatever field you may work in. This is a course for the person who is seriously interested in intellectual activity. It is not a remedial course and it is not an orientation course. Some of the materials which we will discuss will be complex and profound, and a number of the topics lie on the intellectual frontiers of our time.
The topics for discussion will include the following: the nature of argumentation, evaluation of arguments and positions, methods of reading, types of critical thinking; special intellectual problems in the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences – problems such as the relation between theory and reality, bias and subjectivity in the social sciences, the nature and justification of the humanities; questions about education, including morality in education, diverse ideals of the educated person, open admissions, reverse discrimination, academic freedom, and the unionization of the faculty. This course will be taught in small sections of no more than fifteen students each, so that students can receive individual attention. Readings will be assigned covering the above topics. We will proceed by class discussion supplemented by some lectures. There will be a number of writing assignments throughout the term. (J. Meiland)
150. Freshman Seminar. Freshmen; sophomores with permission of instructor. (4). (HU). May be repeated for credit.
Section 002 – HUMANS AND LANGUAGE. This course will cover the nature of language, its use and its influence on humans, individually and collectively. We shall discuss topics such as: how many languages there are, do all languages have grammar, do they change, are some languages or some types of speech better than others and why must Canada have more than one official language. There is no foreign language proficiency requirement, but discussion will include not only English, but other languages, ancient and modern, on a comparative basis. During class discussions, students will be encouraged to draw from their own experiences in the use of language or how language has had an effect on them. In addition, they will be asked to do an in depth study of a topic from among those covered. They will write a term paper based on their readings or on data from a language they have collected. Thus, they will demonstrate to what extent they understand the role of language in our lives and in our communities. (R. Morgan)
Section 005 – THE YOUNG AND THE OLD: AN EXPLORATION THROUGH LITERATURE.
Intensive reading and discussion of a number of literary works – drama, fiction, biography – in which the theme of the relations of youth and age
is central. Works read and discussed will be drawn from the ancient and the modern world. Students will be asked for several sorts of papers: analysis
of a problem as presented by one of the authors; evaluation of its literary
treatment; autobiographical, fictional, or poetic treatment of some generational
conflict drawn from their own experience; a critical review of a work other than assigned reading, as of film, television or stage production. Oral
presentation will be encouraged as a supplement to written work. The reading
list is:
Sophocles, OEDIPUS REX, ANTIGONE, and ELECTRA
Shakespeare, KING LEAR, ROMEO and JULIET
Edmund Gosse, FATHER AND SON
Henry James, WASHINGTON SQUARE
Samuel Butler, THE WAY OF ALL FLESH
Saul Bellow, MR. SAMMLER'S PLANET
Ivan Turgenev, FATHERS AND SONS
D.H. Lawrence, SONS AND LOVERS. (Firebaugh)
Section 006 – COMEDY AS A VIEW OF REALITY. Comedy in the popular mind is
regarded as primarily an entertainment, however, it is somewhat more than that; it is a way of perceiving reality and in the seminar we shall ask
questions concerning the nature of its perception of reality. The seminar
will read representative comedies from Aristophanes to Noel Coward and consider them three ways. The first is hierarchical, that is to say looking at comedy
as a means of describing or attacking the lower part of society or of ourselves.
The second way is to see comedy as a contrast or incongruity; the third
will propose the concept that comedy is an equation and that it tries to
show us the higher and lower as one, the natural (rational) and unnatural
(irrational) as identities. There will be some supplementary reading assignments
in critical theory, but in the study of primary texts will receive major
attention. It will suffice to consider selections of exponents of each approach
- Aristotle who clearly states the hierarchical theory, Hazlitt on the comedy
of incongruence, and Plato who clearly in his Symposium attempts a reconciliation
of the higher and lower. The following is a tentative list of plays to be
considered:
Aristophanes, THE CLOUDS, LYSISTRATA
Jonson, THE ALCHEMIST, VOLPONE
Dekker, THE SHOEMAKERS' HOLIDAY
Shakespeare, TAMING OF THE SHREW, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
Farquhar, THE RECRUITING OFFICER
Congreve, LOVE FOR LOVE
Sheridan, THE RIVALS, THE CRITIC
Molière, THE MISANTHROPE, TARTUFFE
Lessing, MINNA VON BARNHEIM
Hauptmann, THE BEAVER'S COAT
Schnitzler, ANATOLE
Molnar, THE PLAY'S THE THING
Wilde, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Pinero, THE MAGISTRATE
Coward, PRIVATE LIVES
Shaw, PYGMALION (Graf)
Section 007 – CHINA. This is a topics course that studies a collection of important cultural monuments and a number of key events from old and new China. The term is divided into three periods, Bronze Age China, Imperial China, and Modern China. The course is not a history of China. We study in detail the meaning of several events, several writings, and several ways of thought to understand broad general features of China and its people, traditional and modern. Among the watershed events are the rise of the Shang dynasty divination state, the founding of the first great empire, the Yuan dynasty under the Mongols, the coming of the western sea powers, the fall of the last great empire the KMT-CCP civil war, and the Cultural Revolution. Readings are selections of history, philosophy, and the literature from the hands of Confucian, Taoist, Buddhist, and Communist writers. In addition to assigned readings for classes, each student is asked to research an individual topic during the term and develop it into a paper and an oral presentation. (DeWoskin)
Section 009 – CREATIVE WRITING. A workshop in which the student will obtain practice in writing informal autobiographical essays, short fiction and poems. The student's work will be read and discussed in class and will also be discussed in scheduled conferences with the instructor. The student should be prepared to submit about six copies of each written assignment for the use of his classmates. (Squires)
Section 010 – STARPEACE: AN ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM FOR THE FUTURE. We are not thinking either objectively enough or creatively enough about the future. The increasingly destructive potential of nuclear weapons, combined with the faults of man himself, who is still not as yet very evolved philosophically or psychologically, make it clear that the Harvard Nuclear Study Group's conclusion that "we must learn to live with nuclear weapons" is no solution at all. Nuclear weapons will surely be the death of us, if we continue to have them in our world. The problem, obviously, is how to get rid of them, and how to get along with each other once we have done so. This seminar will start with the surprising premise that the destructive force of our nuclear arsenals not only demands, but (even more significantly) will soon produce, a transformed world, in which – assuming that we survive our present problems – the menace of nuclear weapons will be seen as no more than a dangerous and embarrassing episode in our past. Our concerns about nuclear weapons, once resolved, will seem relatively insignificant in comparison with the even greater problems, and even greater challenges and promises, which lie ahead. This course, dealing with the most important concern of our times, will encourage productive controversy. Readings will include selections from the work of major contemporary analysts, futurists, and science fiction writers, as well as from the writings of earlier thinkers such as de Chardin, Einstein, Russell, Marx, and Toynbee. (Spink)
Section 011: RACISM. The content will focus on what is racism. Who is racist? What is personal and institutional racism? What significance does racism really have in American life today? Each student will be required to write a paper on an issue that will help him or her more toward a greater understanding of self-growth and competence in the area of racial and ethnic relations. Grades will be determined by the quality of class participation and paper submitted. (Cash)
Section 012: THE MODES OF FICTION. The pleasure we derive from reading stories
may be deepened by a study of the art of fiction, a phrase which implies
an important set of relations between what is told and the manner of its
telling. This course in THE MODES OF FICTION identifies some of these relations
and shows how they operate in a variety of short pieces of fiction. It establishes
a useful vocabulary of definitions (theme, subject, tone, etc.); it inquires
into the interplay between the elements of fiction; it tries to discriminate
between kinds of fiction and evaluate their effects. Its aim is to create
a community of discourse about literature through a study of how stories
are told. The course begins with two or three introductory lectures; thereafter
analysis and discussion will be the usual class procedure. The course will
also call for short written papers in the first weeks of the term culminating
in a longer term paper. (Steinhoff)
CSP section available. See Comprehensive Studies Program (CSP)section in this Guide.
151. Freshman Seminar. Freshmen; sophomores with permission of instructor. (4). (SS). May be repeated for credit.
SECTION 005 – PLAY, WORK AND CAREER. Readings and discussions in this seminar will be directed toward examining the ways in which individuals, communities and cultures organize activities directed toward the necessities of life and those activities engaged in for the intrinsic satisfactions they offer. Among the kinds of writings reviewed will be, for example, Huizinga, HOMO LUDENS, Marcuse, EROS AND CIVILIZATION, Terkle, WORKING, Freud, PSYCHOPATHOLOGY OF EVERYDAY LIFE. There will be discussions led by the instructor or by class members. Students will be required to make written reports on readings and in response to take-home examination questions. (Bordin)
Section 006 – CURRENT ISSUES IN SPORT SOCIOLOGY. A structured seminar on the current issues, development, and trends in sport sociology. Analyzed from various contributing theoretical and research bases. Critical new developments addressed as they occur. Topics include such disparate elements as status, race relations, ethical values, business life, social deviance, recruiting practices and reward systems. (Vaughn)
Section 007 – PUBLIC EDUCATION IN THE SOUTH FOR BLACKS AND OTHER MINORITIES, 1863-1954. The purpose of the seminar will be to trace the development of elementary, secondary and post-secondary education of Blacks and minorities in the southern states of the United States from the Emancipation Proclamation to May 18, 1954. Particular emphasis will be focused on judicial litigations from the Supreme Court decision of Plessy vs. Ferguson, from which the doctrine of "separate but equal" evolved, to the historic Brown vs. Topeka, Kansas Board of Education of 1954, which upheld the fundamental principle that racial discrimination in public education is unconstitutional. Of special importance will be seminar discussions revealing how Blacks and minorities were instrumental in achieving an education in spite of the barriers with which they were confronted in the states where they resided and by decisions of the courts including the Supreme Court of the United States. Students will be expected to read a number of the classic writings of Black and minority authors such as W.E.B. Du Bois, E. Franklin Frazier, Booker T. Washington, John Hope Franklin and many others. The writings of contemporary Blacks and minorities will be explored as well as books written about Blacks and minorities such as Gunnar Myrdal's AN AMERICAN DILEMMA. Students will be expected to prepare readings, participate in seminar discussions and develop a research topic preferably centered around one of the southern states under investigation by the seminar. (W.G. Palmer)
Section 009 – IDENTITY, ALIENATION AND FREEDOM. The purpose of this seminar
will be to explore the concepts of identity, alienation and freedom as psychological
and philosophical ideas. However, the orientation will be specific and applied
to the normal situations and predicaments that college students experience.
Questions to be considered as special cases of more general psychological
problems will include: Surviving as an individual in a large and often impersonal
University; living up to and/or dealing with the expectations of parents
and teachers; questioning authority in the context of the classroom; trading-off
career pressures and personal goals in setting educational priorities. Of
special importance will be the examination of the sometimes frightening
loss of a sense of identity that accompanies significant alterations in
life style, such as that experienced by students in the transition from
high school to college or, later, in the transition from college to the
"real world." Readings will come from psychological, philosophical
and literary traditions, but students will be encouraged and guided to find
materials most suited to their own interests and needs. The reading list
will include (among others):
Hesse, H. BENEATH THE WHEEL
May, R. MAN'S SEARCH FOR HIMSELF
Cather, W. ALEXANDER'S BRIDGE
Bach, R. ILLUSIONS
Tolstoy, L. THE DEATH OF IVAN ILLYCH
Woolf, V. A ROOM OF OUR OWN.
Regular class meetings will also be scheduled that will involve the viewing
and discussing of feature length movies relevant to the issues of the course.
This movie series will include (among others): Hal Ashby's "Harold
and Maude" Woody Allen's "Zelig" John Badham's "Whose
Life is it Anyway" Bob Fosse's "All that Jazz" Paul Maszursky's
"The Tempest" Godfrey Reggio's "Koyaanisqatsi" In addition
to regular class meetings each student will meet individually with the instructor
every third week at which time the student's individual reading and writing
will be developed and discussed. Grades will be determined by the quantity
and quality of this reading and writing. (Pachella)
CSP section available. See Comprehensive Studies Program (CSP) section in this Guide.
152. Freshman Seminar. Freshmen; sophomores with permission of instructor. (4). (NS). May be repeated for credit.
SECTION 001 – BIOGRAPHIES OF NOTED SCIENTISTS AND QUASI-SCIENTISTS. Carolus Linneaus, Gregor Johann Mendel, Charles Robert Darwin, Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, Sigmund Freud and Margaret Mead. (Jones)
210. Perspectives on Careers in Medicine and Health Care. (4). (Excl).
This seminar is for students who are considering a career in a health-related profession. It is designed to help them acquire perspectives which will facilitate their decision making process. Health care professionals visit the seminar and share their educational and professional experiences. Students become acquainted with the prerequisites for professional schools and spend time with dental, medical, osteopathic, nursing, and public health students. We consider problems of health care delivery, issues of death and dying, and ethical questions related to the health professions. Students are expected to respond in writing and in class to the visitors, to the reading materials, and to films. Three course packs serve as the required texts. All students are responsible for taking definite steps toward the development of their own goals through a self-inventory of their values, skills, and interests and through a term paper in which they investigate a possible career direction. A substantial part of this work will be done on computers. Knowledge of word processing is not essential; however, typing skills will be helpful. Evaluation is based on class attendance and participation in and completion of all assignments. Enrollment by override only: contact the secretary at the Comprehensive Studies Program office at 1017 Angell Hall or Fran Zorn (662-0683). The class will meet on Mondays from 3:00-5:00 p.m. and on Thursdays from 7:00-9:30 p.m. at 2130 Dorset Rd., Ann Arbor. (F.B.Zorn)
342. Ethics and the Professions. (3). (Excl).
This course will introduce students to ethical issues associated with the professions – law, medicine, engineering, nursing, business, teaching, research, and so on. Lectures will be general and introductory. Their main objective will be to provide a framework for thinking about and confronting ethical dilemmas. Outside class assignments will provide different options for students to gain more understanding of one or two professional areas. The course will make extensive use of audio-visual materials, the classics, popular literature, computer conferencing, and other teaching resources. Its main purpose is to foster critical thinking about problems that could become important after graduation. (Steneck)
488. Alternative Futures. (3). (SS).
The object of this course is to increase your understanding of the meaning of the future; in human terms, in social terms, in civilizational terms. The overall purpose is not only a scholarly examination of various conceptions of the future but an attempt to construct a humanly meaningful and ecologically sustainable future for you and me; and the Third World people as well. To examine various forms of the future, that is to say various options which we have as individuals and as society. Within the particular forms of the future, to examine the concept of man, the concept of society, the concept of knowledge, the concept of eschatology (man's ultimate destiny or purpose) and how they relate to each other. To discern what is the meaning of human life underlying various conceptions of the future and how this meaning relates to the meaning of our life. To synthesize the various findings in order to arrive at a sustainable model of the future. Future is you and me and if we make it. Course work will consist of readings, lecture-seminars, class discussions. A particular emphasis will be placed on discussions, for this is basically a seminar course. Three short papers (four-five pages each), and a final paper are the basis for the grade. The final paper is an independent research paper. No specific texts. (Skolimowski)
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