WWU / Fairhaven College of Interdiscipinary Studies
100-200 level Spring Courses, 2009
23071 101a Introduction to Interdisciplinary Study
McClure 1 Credit
Prerequisites: Required of all Fairhaven students in their first quarter.
Materials Fee: $13.03
One credit, one credit is all it takes to teach you EVERYTHING you need to know to be a successful, interdisciplinary, revolutionary Fairhaven College student? As you've figured out already Fairhaven College is a different sort of place. That's why you're here. Most of you haven't experienced an educational system quite like Fairhaven. We get to show you the ropes. "We" are Fairhaven's Advising Coordinator, Jackie McClure and a cadre of savvy, skilled Peer Mentors.
We hope you will leave this class understanding more about why you are in college and what you can do with your time here. Fairhaven College students, faculty and staff congregate by virtue of a shared vision of education. We want to help you experience that vision to better understand it. The class structure will include some large group meetings, several small group workshops and your choice of participation in some sort of college community activity. We will spend time de-coding the mysteries of the educational practices we use (Writing Portfolio; Transition Conference; ISPs; Evals...) and sharing essential information you need to participate as an informed member of your new community of Fairhaven College and Western Washington University.
Texts: THE STUDENT GUIDE TO FAIRHAVEN, to be provided.
Credit/Evaluation: This Fairhaven College Core Class is a graduation requirement. Award of credit will be based on completion of assignments, documented participation in the required class meetings and workshops outlined in the syllabus as well as submission of a narrative self-evaluation. We expect your curiosity, your playfulness, your active engagement, your collaboratory spirit.
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200 Independent Study 1-15 credits
By arrangement. Student-initiated studies under faculty sponsorship. Refer to Fairhaven College "Independent Study Guidelines." Independent Study Proposal form (available on-line) required, final version due last day of registration. ISPs should be discussed with faculty member the quarter before the study takes place. Procedure: On-line ISP Proposal required. See Fairhaven web site for ISP instructions.
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23251 201a Critical and Reflective Inquiry
Cornish 5 Credits
Prerequisites: admission to Fairhaven College, required of all Fairhaven students in their first quarter.
Materials Fee: $13.75
Most people think of the mind as something floating in the head, yet studies in physiology tell us that "the mind" isn't centered in the brain but travels the whole body by hormone and enzyme, making sense of the complex wonders we call touch, taste, smell, hearing, sight. We sip a Starbuck's frappuccino, lift our faces to the rain: our senses define the edge of awareness, and we spend our lives in bodies that explore the perimeters. Thoreau took moonlight walks through the fields when the tassels of corn smelled dry. Flaubert wrote of smelling his lover's slippers and mittens, which he kept in his desk drawer. This class considers touch, taste, smell, hearing, vision, and how they relate to culture, to memory, to a notion of the "self." We consider taboos that attach to the senses and examine the consequences of excess. Beyond this, we contemplate how we expand individual, empirical knowledge with the authoritative knowledge of others: whose authority do we accept and how does it alter our perspective?
Texts: A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SENSES by Ackerman; A POCKET MANUAL OF STYLE (4th edition),by Hacker. Others to be announced. Also, students are to compile a notebook of texts they download and print from Blackboard, as well as any handouts.
Credit/Evaluation: Students are expected to make a commitment to the class. Such commitment requires steady effort on one's own work (the timely completion of assigned writing and reading), as well as thoughtful, active participation in class discussion. The class is both reading and writing intensive; rewriting and revising is required of all formal work. Papers include: analytical or reflective responses to readings; an intellectual autobiography; a writing plan; a research paper based on our explorations. Students will also keep a quarter-long journal of more casual writing. Regular, prompt attendance is essential to our class dynamics, as well as to your growth.
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23078 202a Core: Humanities and the Expressive Arts
Larner 5 Credits
Materials Fee: $13.03
The humanities embody the spirit of consciousness, of curiosity about what we are, how we got to be that way. They sensitize us to what we think and feel about our families and communities, and the lives of others. How should we act? What should we be? What makes meaning and value?
This term, still in the first months of a new political era in the United States, we will examine the relationship between justice and imagination, between political challenge and artistic conception. We will respond through experiment with the creative arts, and through critical reading of poetry, fiction, and drama, with possibilities for interested individuals in visual art, music, video, and cyber-arts.
We will take our cues, in part, from national and local situations for critique and creative inspiration. The media will clamor for our attention.
We will examine, and play with, the metaphoring process, the capacity by which we translate the world into words, stories, works of art, frames of mind. Since drama has a striking ability to portray, then to challenge, the gap between seeing and believing, between thought and action, most of our readings and viewings will be of dramatic works of various kinds.
Writing Support: Students will receive support in this course for creative writing, for short, convincing critical reviews and arguments, and for a longer research paper or critical exposition.
Texts: Selected readings in poetry and fiction TBA. Drama readings selected from: ANGELS IN AMERICA, PARTS I AND II, AND/OR THINKING ABOUT THE LONGSTANDING PROBLEMS OF VIRTUE AND HAPPINESS by Kushner. ROCK AND ROLL by Stoppard; TWILIGHT, LOS ANGELES, 1992, or FIRES IN THE MIRROR by Deveare Smith; HALCYON DAYS by Dietz; TWO TRAINS RUNNING or FENCES by Wilson; THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN by Brenton, PRAVDA by Brenton and Hare; ANTIGONE by Sophocles; MAJOR BARBARA by Shaw;. Film versions of most of the plays will be shown in the film-viewing session.
Credit/Evaluation: Students are expected to commit to the work of developing the classroom community, to be there for each class, to come prepared, to participate in discussions and other activities. There will be short response papers and a final project. Particular help is available in the course for improving the sharpness, vividness and precision of expression and argument, and for improving the aptness and clarity of written work.
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23079 203a Social Relationships and Responsibilities
Anderson 5 Credits
Prerequisites: admission to Fairhaven College. Required of all Fairhaven students in their first or second quarter.
Materials Fee: $13.03
This seminar is a critical introduction to modern social theory - the ideas and ideologies on which modern society is based. It examines the historical conditions in which Enlightenment ideas emerged to make a case for greater freedom and equality for men of a certain race and class. It also examines the conditions under which subsequent generations applied Enlightenment ideas to the circumstances of their times to challenge continuing inequalities based on class, race, and gender. We explore social theory as a lens for comprehending how individuals have conceptualized their lives and relationships and how social movements have articulated arguments for changing the social order.
Texts: Selected readings from Baruch Spinoza, John Locke, Mary Wollstonecraft, Thomas Paine, Karl Marx, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, W.E.B. DuBois, Anna Julia Cooper, and others.
Credit/Evaluation: Active and informed participation in class discussion, completion of a reading journal, contribution to a small group presentation, and two analytical papers demonstrating an understanding of theoretical perspectives and their relationship to specific social issues.
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23080 203a Social Relationships and Responsibilities
Jack 5 Credits
Prerequisites: Admission to Fairhaven College. Required of all new students in their first or second quarter
Materials Fee: $13.30
This interdisciplinary seminar draws on perspectives of psychology, history, sociology and social theory to examine how societies construct individual lives and social relationships. Among the questions we explore are: What is a social contract? To understand the foundations of our society, we will read basic theories of Thomas Hobbes, Adam Smith, John Locke, W.E.B. Du Bois, Karl Marx, feminist writings, and a range of others. Since all social theorists base their formulation of the social contract on an implicit understanding of "human nature," we will also examine their underlying assumptions about human nature, comparing them to more recent investigations onto the complex territory of human nature. For example, as Hobbes argues, are humans naturally warlike and aggressive? What do contemporary theorists argue? Further, how has the social contract of our society affected women and minority groups?
Additionally, our class will consider the question, what does it mean to be a socially responsible citizen? How do a range of critical social theorists, including those who have been excluded and who are writing from different standpoints of power and privilege, inform our understanding of social relationships and responsibility? On what understanding of ethics and justice are our social institutions based? You can expect to explore some of the most fascinating questions of our society and of our world.
Texts: Reading selections will be available through Blackboard; you are expected to print them out and bring them to class.
Credit/Evaluation: Regular, informed participation in class discussion. Students will be asked to lead one class discussion. In addition, two reflection papers will be required. Evaluation will be based on demonstrated understanding of multiple theoretical perspectives presented in the readings and on development of analytical skills.
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23081 206a Core: Science & Our Place on the Planet
Tuxill 5 Credits
Materials Fee: $13.75
The Ecology of Eating
Do you know where your food comes from and how it got to your plate? The production of food is the single most important human activity affecting our nation's and our planet's ecosystems, with enormous environmental, economic, and social consequences. How we manage the ecological relationships inherent in growing and gathering food will play a crucial role in determining the health of our environment and the sustainability of our society.
This course will place the ecology of food in a historical context, by exploring how humans have used and managed ecosystems for food production over time. We also will examine the ecology and natural history of selected food species, both plants and animals. Subsequently we will examine and discuss the contemporary ecological impacts of farming, aquaculture, and other intensive ways of producing food, and identify both challenges and opportunities for ecologically sustainable food production and the conservation of biological diversity. Among the subtopics to be covered are organic agriculture, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), integrated pest management, and bioregional foodsheds.
We also consider how ecological dimensions of food sustainability intersect with social relationships, individual responsibilities, the geography of hunger, and inequalities in food production and consumption. The course emphasizes field learning and multimedia investigation of the ecology of eating along with readings.
Texts: THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA by Pollan, and RENEWING SALMON NATION'S FOOD TRADITIONS by Nabhan. Additional materials will be made available electronically.
Credit/Evaluation: Students are required to keep a food log, participate in all class and field activities (including short writing assignments), and complete a group research project and term paper.
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23082 211b The American Legal System
Helling 5 Credits
Materials Fee: $10.50
Meets the following Core Requirement: Required in the Law, Diversity & Justice Concentration
An in-depth look at the American legal system and how it affects individuals and society, with coverage of legal vocabulary, sources of law, the structure of the government, the Supreme Court and the judicial system. We will focus on the structure and evolving nature of the legal system, legal reasoning and the role of courts in government. Case analysis skills will be stressed, including identifying the issue, procedural history, facts, reasoning and holding of each case. We will particularly examine issues of criminal procedure and affirmative action in school admissions to explore lines of precedent. Students will also engage in a mock criminal trial.
Texts: Class manual of case readings prepared by instructor, additional text to be determined; Recommended: any legal dictionary.
Credit/ Evaluation: No more than THREE absences will be allowed. Active and informed class participation will be expected. Assignments will include oral presentations on Supreme Court Justices, weekly case briefs, three papers, and participation in the mock trial.
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23132 218c The Hispano/a- American Expererience
Hazelrigg-Hernandez 3 Credits
Materials Fee: $12.57
This course will examine the socio-political, cultural and institutional structures which have direct bearing upon the Latino/a-Chicano/a-Hispano-a populations within the United States and will provide an introduction to the historical and contemporary development of the Latin@ community. An interdisciplinary approach will be taken as we focus on such topics as education, immigration, economic stratification as well as urbanization. Special emphasis will be given to the evolution of the roles of Chicanas/Latinas, as well as the development of social protest and social change within the barrio setting.
Texts: FROM INDIANS TO CHICANOS: THE DYNAMICS OF MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURE by Vigil; MASSACRE OF THE DREAMERS: ESSAYS ON XICANISMA by Castillo; THE LATINO READER: AN AMERICAN LITERARY TRADITION FROM 1542 TO THE PRESENT by Augenbraum & Olmos (Eds.)
Credit/Evaluation: The course will meet two times a week. Attendance is mandatory unless cleared by the instructor ahead of time or in the case of illness. The course will consist of lectures, discussions, videos and guest lecturers. The course is cross listed with AMST 203 and Fairhaven students will be evaluated in the Fairhaven manner rather than receiving a final grade for the course. Evaluation is based on participation in classroom discussions, two perspective papers, one midterm exam and a group project paper and oral presentation.
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23083 223g Elements of Style
Tag 1 Credit
Materials Fee: $6.85
What is a comma but a claw rending the sheet, the asthmatic's grasp? What is a question mark but what's needed to complete this thought? Punctuation: what is it, after all, but another way of cutting up time, creating or negating relationships, telling words when to take a rest, when to get on with their relentless stories, when to catch their breath?--Karen Elizabeth Gordon
If you care even the least whit about how you write, this is a class for you. We will certainly examine the rules and principles of English composition, including grammar, punctuation, word usage, sentence construction, and strategies for proofreading and revision. But such examinations are sometimes dull, stuffy, self-righteous, and boring. Ours will attempt a more stylish exploration of written style, like trying on hats in a haberdashery, or hounding the hobgoblins from our foolish consistencies, or swinging outward on a swaggering buccaneer's highest rope. Will it be dangerous? Of course! An education should be.
So come all ye word-sick, word-loving, word-puzzled pilgrims. Bring your grammatical contusions and confusions. Your punctuated paralysis. Your fears of saying what you have to say, clearly, directly. Together we will try to unlock the mysteries of writing with style (or at least help decide when to use parentheses--when a dash). We will un-dangle our participles, un-awk our words. All are welcome to take this course. There are no prerequisites, only the requisite openness to go where no Fairhaven course has gone before. This will be a fun and challenging one-credit course, hopefully helping each of us get out of our one-horse towns, tilt at a few windmills, and learn what there is to learn in the wide, wide world of writing well.
Text: A DASH OF STYLE by Lukeman.
Credit/Evaluation: Faithful attendance. Active participation in all in-class writing exercises. Quality and completion of weekly writing assignments. Presentation of a special project, such as a Punctuated Performance, a Grammar Slam, or a Revolutionary Revision Manifesto.
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23085 231n Introduction to Applied Human Ecology: Sustainable Systems
Bornzin 3 Credits
Materials Fee: $13.75
Note: This class will be coordinated by Fairhaven College and/or Huxley students under the supervision of Professor Bornzin. For guidelines for such courses, see the "Student Guide to Fairhaven College."
The field of human ecology explores relationships between human systems and the environment. Such systems may be considered sustainable if they are maintained and renewed through internal processes and external interactions which are non-exploitative and do not rely on non-renewable resources. This class explores the concept and physical reality of sustainability through shared reading, group interaction, and the development of new skills. The class is intended to further students' awareness of their own ecological relationships, and to enable students to live more simply, in greater harmony with the environment. The most basic human activities of growing and gathering food and herbs, creating shelter, restoring and maintaining the natural environment, and developing cooperative communities are examined in light of the principle of sustainability. Consumerism, technology, food, agriculture, and the many faces of change will be addressed and discussed in a comfortable yet challenging group environment. Academic studies, including models of sustainable development and appropriate technology, complement the learning and practice of practical skills such as making compost and growing vegetables using the five-acre Outback Outdoor Experiential Learning Site.
Texts: Discussions will be based on readings available on-line, and on individual student research. Readings vary each quarter according to the interests of the class, but typically include articles such as "Waste" by Wendell Berry; "Four Changes" by Gary Snyder; "Food, Health, and Native American Agriculture" by Gary Paul Nabhan; "Cascadia" by David McCloskey; "The Sustainable Garden" by Dana Jackson; "Split Culture" by Susan Griffin; "A Green City Program" by Peter Berg; and selections from STAYING ALIVE by Vandana Shiva, ONE STRAW REVOLUTION by Fukuoka, IN THE ABSENCE OF THE SACRED: THE FAILURE OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE SURVIVAL OF THE INDIAN NATIONS by Mander, and ECO-JUSTICE: LINKING HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT by Sachs.
Credit/Evaluation: Students are expected to attend regularly and to participate actively in the class discussions, exercises, and outdoor projects. For experiential learning to be successful, students must be present and engaged. Students will also be required to write one five-page research paper on a related topic, or a reflection paper on a service learning experience of their choice, and make a brief presentation of their topic or experience to the class.
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23086 255y Folk Music Experience
Bower 1 Credit
Materials Fee: $7.14
This course combines playing traditional folk music with the study of the contexts in which folk music has evolved. For this quarter, we will focus on songs written about immigration, including, but not limited to, the songs of Africans brought to the United States, the songs the Irish brought to North America, and the songs of Mexican cowboys who settled in Hawaii. Students will be expected to participate in discussions on the book during the first four weeks of the course. In addition, each student will be asked to introduce one song to the class that enriches our knowledge of folk music or the context within which folk music has been written and performed. We will encourage, but will not require, that these songs are related to immigration. Students will write a short, 1 page (single-spaced) research paper that forms the basis for their presentation on the song and its context. Students will also be responsible for learning and practicing the songs that are presented to the class, including practice in small groups. Students are encouraged to gain practice at playing one or more folk music instruments during the course, and are invited to join the course even if they are beginners at playing an instrument or if they prefer to just sing.
Texts: To Be Determined.
Credit/Evaluation: Regular attendance and participation in our weekly sing, informed participation in class discussions, one short research paper and song presentation, and practicing and presenting music in a small group.
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23087 275b Introduction to Digital Video Production
Miller 2 Credits
Materials Fee: $47.34
This class will introduce basic camera use and video editing in the digital medium. Students will script, shoot, and edit 5 assignments using Final Cut Pro. Projects range from a 30-second commercial to a 3-5 minute final video on the student's choice of topic. The assignments are set up to encourage individual creativity & personal editing styles.
Texts: Optional, but recommended, FINAL CUT PRO 5 FOR MACINTOSH by Brennies. Students will need to purchase 5 mini DV tapes at a cost of about $25.
Credit/Evaluation: Completion of assignments, participation in class, attendance, and understanding gained from the class assignments.
...read about the video studio
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23088 275h Audio Recording I
Vita 4 Credits
Materials Fee: $67.74
Audio Recording Techniques I explores the techniques, tools, and technology used in "multi-track" recording. From a beginner's perspective, this course follows the recording process starting with the tracking session, then the overdub session, and through the mix-down session. By examining the various pieces of the recording process students will learn the concepts and skills necessary to use studio equipment such as microphones (their characteristics and placement), mixing consoles (explained in detail), multi-track recorders (analog and digital), patchbays, signal and effect processors, headphone systems, and multi-track punching and bouncing.
Each student is also expected to attend a weekly three-hour small group lab, held in the studio, giving the student a chance to experience multi-track recording in a "hands-on" manner. A detailed manual will be provided to each student so that each concept will be encountered first in independent reading, then in lab, and finally in the regularly scheduled class. In addition to the regularly scheduled lab, the student is also required to sit in and observe ten hours of actual recording being done by advanced students. All time spent in the studio will be documented in the lab manual in a journal entry fashion.
Texts: THE RECORDING ENGINEER'S HANDBOOK by Owsinski
Credit/Evaluation: Students will be evaluated through a combination of attendance (lab and lecture), participation, and understanding gained from the material evaluated from a written and "hands-on" exam.
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23284 275p Playing with Science
Bornzin/Plemmons 2 Credits
This class will be taught by Fairhaven senior Amanda Plemmons under the supervision of Gary Bornzin. For guidelines for such classes, please refer to the Student Guide to Fairhaven College.
Come play with science. You are invited to share moments of discovery and exploration. We will learn to engage diverse audiences in scientific inquiry. Get an introduction to informal education and experience techniques that can bring science alive. We will be reading and discussing but mostly experiencing together. This course will begin with a basic grounding in some educational theory and science philosophy. Then, join us in exploring the challenges and opportunities to invite diverse peoples into conversation about the way science understands the worlds around us. You will have the opportunity to meet and experience informal educators from the community. We will demonstrate our leaning by preparing to share a basic interpretive activity or experience to our community. Students should have an abundant enthusiasm for the natural sciences. Some academic or amateur grounding in science may be assumed.
Texts: Readings are selected from several books including, NON WESTERN PERSPECTIVES ON LEARNING AND KNOWING Meriam and Associates, LEARNING IN PLACES: THE INFORMAL EDUCATION READER by Bekerman, Burbules, and Keller, IN PRINCIPAL IN PRACTICE: MUSEUMS AS LEARNING INSTITUTIONS by Falk, Dierking, and Foutz. There will also be online materials and journal articles.
Credit/ Evaluation: Students will actively participate in and have thoughtful reflections on class experiences and provided reading material. We will meet once a week so physical attendance is crucial to our success as a learning community. I hope to foster a community of explorers who will miss you if you are gone. Much of the material is cumulative and I will be using my best inquiry and interpretive techniques to engage you in learning. So, showing up to analyze and critique my techniques will be important. Students will also develop an engaging activity that explores a scientific topic.
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23301 275q Dreams: Theory and Practice
Wischerth/Jack 4 credits
This class will be taught by Fairhaven senior Grace Wischerth under the supervision of Dana Jack. For guidelines for such classes, please refer to the Student Guide to Fairhaven College.
Why do we dream? Why are our dreams so bizarre and yet familiar? What do dreams mean? Do they mean anything at all? How can we enhance our dreams? How can we use our dreams to enhance our lives? These are some of the fundamental questions that we will explore together in this course, using the lenses of psychoanalysis, neuroscience, Buddhism and more.
In the beginning, we will learn and experiment with techniques to improve, remember & record dreams. We will read Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, and discuss repression, childhood and sexuality. Then we will read Hobson, a prominent anti-psychoanalytic neuroscientist, and discuss brains, evolution, randomness and reality in relation to dreams. Lastly we will read a Tibetan Buddhist dream yogi and discuss karma, consciousness, energy and enlightenment. We will touch on how these ideologies reflect the societies in which they evolved and why they may be so influential.
Clearly there are infinite explanations about dreams' meanings and origins. We will delve into the mysticism, magic and mystery of other dream theories with your personal dream research. There will be two papers or presentations, one in the middle of the quarter and one at the end, in which students chose their own dream theories to research, discover, analyze and play with.
Over the course of this term, we will use our burgeoning understanding of dream theories to guide our own personal dream work. This includes faithfully documenting our dreams in a dream journal, setting intentions for dreaming, dream experimentation, creating dream-inspired artwork, and sharing dreams every week with the class community.
Texts: THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS by Freud, DREAMING: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP by Hobson, THE TIBETAN YOGAS OF DREAM AND SLEEP by Rinpoche, and "DREAM DEBATE: HOBSON VS. SOLMS- SHOULD FREUD'S DREAM THEORY BE ABANDONED?"(film).
Credit/Evaluation: Students are expected to attend regularly, keep up with daily readings, complete assignments set out above (two papers or presentations, dream journaling, various dream art projects), and participate passionately in class discussions and dream sharing sessions.
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23299 275t Straight Talk About Blindness
Moerke/Anderson 4 credits
This class will be taught by Fairhaven senior Jennifer (Jedi) Moerke under the supervision of Kathryn Anderson. For guidelines for such classes, please refer to the Student Guide to Fairhaven College.
Straight Talk about Blindness (STAB) is an opportunity for students to explore the relationship between public attitudes, minority status, and social justice through a unique perspective. We'll begin by examining the place of blindness and the blind in our cultural imagination. We will then explore the affects of blindness stereotypes and attitudes on service to the blind, blindness research, and current public reactions to the blind. Finally, we will take a close look at how the blind perceive themselves, as well as what they have done to further their status in Western societies and beyond.
Texts: BLINDNESS: THE HISTORY OF AN IMAGE IN WESTERN THOUGHT by Barasch; THE STRUGGLE OF BLIND PEOPLE FOR SELF-DETERMINATION: THE DEPENDENCY-REHABILITATION CONFLICT: EMPOWERMENT IN THE BLINDNESS COMMUNITY by Vaughan.
Class activities will include readings and discussions, as well as one-on-one interaction with real blind people.
Credit/Evaluation: Assignments such as homework sets and short essays will gauge student understanding as we embark on our journey together. This class will be of particular interest to those studying applied social science.
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280 Practicum
Learning through practical involvement outside the classroom at a general level, observation, exposure and practical experience with significant field supervision. Specific learning goals and criteria for evaluation are identified in consultation with the faculty sponsor and the field supervisor. Additional documentation about the specifics of this project are available on Fairhaven's website.
