Mini-Courses

Attend a "Faculty GUR Group" mini-course
and expand your general education!
 

Fall 2009

Energy and the Environment

Andy Bunn, Environmental Sciences

The need for carbon-free forms of energy has made the intersection of energy and environment stronger than ever. In this class we’ll talk about energy production in terms of basic physics and environmental impacts. We will cover both conventional and renewable forms of energy production with an emphasis on understanding the pros and cons of different technologies.

• Part 1: Monday 10/12, 10:00 - 11:30, CH 249
• Part 2: Friday 10/16, 10:00 - 11:30, CH 249

 

Media Policy, Media Practice

Brad Howard, Journalism

This media course provides a brief overview of the ways in which U.S. media policy undermines the ability of U.S. journalism to meet the needs of our democratic republic, instead cause it to become an antidemocratic force. It will explore the nature of U.S. media policy debates and the myths that undermine meaningful public participation in those debates.

• Part 1: Monday 11/9, 10:00 - 11:30, CH 249
  
• Part 2: Friday 11/13, 10:00 - 11:30, CH 249

 

Winter 2010 (Times, locations TBA)

The Discursive Construction of Human Rights and the Idea of Asia

Judy Pine, Anthropology

In this course, we will explore the idea of Asia as it has been developed in a predominantly Western discourse. We will consider the variety of ideas about the nature of human beings and identity found within the boundaries of what has been labeled “Asia”, consider the significance of the concept of individual agency with regard to the Western notion of human rights, and consider the implications and assumptions of universalizing human rights policies. Taught by a linguistic anthropologist, this course will pay particular attention to the way in which words and conversations (broadly defined) create and work within ideological frames.

• Part 1: Wednesday 1/27
• Part 2: Friday 1/29

 

Why Do We Do What We Do?

Larry Symons, Psychology

There are many answers to the question "why do we do what we do?" This is because what we do is very complicated. This presentation will examine two suggested answers. First, a description of our evolutionary past and how it affects our current behavior will be offered. Implicit in this explanation is the idea that our behavior is not all that much different than the behavior of most animals. Second, the effects of our social environment will be presented. Here, a more human-oriented explanation is provided. The links between these two explanations will also be explored.

• Part 1: Wednesday 2/24
• Part 2: Friday 2/26

 

Spring 2010 (Times, locations TBA)

Facts and Misconceptions about Natural Selection and Evolution

Ben Miner, Biology

Evolution and the process of natural selection is the most important concept in biology, and arguably one of the most important in all of the natural sciences. Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions about evolution, which are often exploited by people to undermine science education. In this mini-course, we will strip away these misconceptions. First, you will learn about the important discoveries that challenged the dogma of the time, and lead to our current understanding of how evolution by natural selection occurs in nature. Next, you will learn what the exact definition of evolution is, and how natural selection can cause the amazing match between form and function that we see in nature every day.

 

• Part 1: Monday 4/12
• Part 2: Friday 4/16

Good Neighbors at Last?  The Intimate Relations between the United States and Latin America

Ricardo Lopez, History

Why – and how – did Latinos and Latinas become the largest minority in the U.S.? This mini-course offers a historical interpretation to the question by looking at the history of U.S.-Latin American relations since the mid- 19th century when the U.S. began to replace Great Britain as the pre-eminent foreign influence in Latin America. The mini-course will focus on three historical moments – the U.S. Mexican War (c1846-1848), the Spanish American war (c1898) and the Cold War (c1945-1989) – as a way to explain how these two great masses of humanity from the Western Hemisphere, north and south, grew intimately involved in each other’s existence. In so doing, this mini-course will consider the history of Latin America as part of the history of the United States and the history of the United States as part of Latin America.

• Part 1: Tuesday 5/10
• Part 2: Thursday 5/14