WWU / Fairhaven College of Interdiscipinary Studies
400 Level Courses, Spring 2009
400 Independent Study
Advanced level independent study project. Typically, an independent study at this level builds on significant previous work in this content area or with this topic. With the guidance of a faculty sponsor, the student developed a proposal identifying learning objectives related to the specific topic area. The proposal also described the resources necessary to complete the study and the criteria for demonstration and evaluation of learning. Additional documentation about the specifics of this project are available on Fairhaven's website.
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403a Advanced Seminar- 4 sections (See note)
4 Credits
Prerequisite: Required of all Fairhaven students in their final quarter. Override required.
Materials Fee: $13.75 (see section details below course description)
Taking the time to look back, see what I've accomplished and where I've come from gives me a feeling of completeness; like I've "wrapped the bundle." Something I have really valued about Fairhaven is the process. . . .spending my last quarter reflecting with other seniors is the sweetest farewell! I was delighted to find that Fairhaven was turning loose such educated, wise and creative critical thinkers into the world. The sincere and unique quality of other students' writing and presentations inspired me to speak in an authentic voice; to be honest with myself and others in constructing my summary and evaluation and my presentation.
This seminar provides an opportunity to reflect on your education, to explore in writing, conversations, and presentations what you have discovered and learned along the way, what challenges you faced, what surprised you, what changed your ways of thinking, and what you accomplished, produced, and created. At the heart of this seminar are two final opportunities to express what your education has meant to you:
(1) the writing of the Summary and Evaluation (the infamous S&E), that is, your own story of what happened to you during your educational journey and your reflections on it all, and
(2) a presentation, or the teaching, of something at the heart of your educational experience.
Each seminar develops a different life of its own, depending on the faculty member teaching it and the students who participate in it. Every seminar, though, engages in conversations, listening, writing, and presentations. Class texts provide something common to read, explore, think about, and reflect on. The goal is to create a supportive learning community in which each of you can speak and write honestly about your education. The seminar also offers time to look forward, to consider the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, and to discuss the questions, concerns, and responsibilities that each of you are bringing with you into the wide world beyond Fairhaven.
Expect to do lots of writing. Expect to lead discussions. Expect to work together with your classmates, reading each other's writing, listening to each other's experiences, viewpoints, and insights. Expect to engage fully in helping others construct and share meaning as you reflect critically on your education. Expect to discover something new about your classmates, about the world itself, and about what is possible when a group of people tries to genuinely share with each other what they have really learned.
Credit/Evaluation: Reliable and regular attendance. Active participation in class discussions and activities. Completion of all writing assignments, including the Summary and Evaluation, and a presentation to the class.
*Note: During the course you will be giving copies of your S&E to your concentration committee members, in addition to your classmates and seminar teacher, seeking their feedback and responses, and ultimately their final approval. Students with Western majors need their advisor's signature on the S&E for final approval. Students doing Fairhaven concentrations need signatures from all of their concentration committee members.
403a Advanced Seminar Sections including required text:
23111 403a Montoya-Lewis Section
Texts: THE READER by Schlink and ETHICAL AMBITION by Bell.
23112 403a S'eiltin Section
Text: THE TOUGHEST INDIAN IN THE WORLD by Alexie
23113 403a Tag Section
Text: DREAMS FROM MY FATHER: A STORY OF RACE AND INHERITANCE by Obama.
23252 403a Takagi Section
Texts: Assorted Readings will be available on Blackboard.
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23114 414b Vietnam on Film
Takagi 4 Credits
Prerequisites: Fair 369c or Hist 104 or evidence of familiarity with Vietnam War
Materials Fee: $2.12
Meets the following Core Requirement: Society and the Individual II
This course will examine the involvement of America in the Vietnam War using film as a primary source of documentation. Focusing on the most popular box-office hits about the war, we will analyze the films as transmitters of history and memory, as well as narratives of American masculinity and cultural ideology. The films range from John Wayne's "Green Berets" to Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket," to documentaries such as Barbara Sonneborn's "Regret to Inform." We will be reading a number of books and articles that will provide greater depth and details to the war in Vietnam and will significantly supplement our understanding of the events.
Possible Texts: THE VIETNAM WARS by Young and INVENTING VIETNAM: THE WAR IN FILM AND TELEVISION by Anderegg (ed); Readings on Blackboard.
Credit/Evaluation: Requirements: (8) 2-page analyses that discuss a particular film scene and how it either transmits history, memory, or cultural ideology; 10-12 page final paper that combines oral history (interviews), research, and film analysis. Additional requirements: regular and timely attendance; one class presentation; informed participation in class discussions.
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23115 423k Space, Place and Imagination
Tag 5 Credits
Prerequisites: 300-level Humanities course
Materials Fee: $5.56
Meets the following Core Requirement: Humanities and the Expressive Arts II
If we don't know where we are, we have little chance of knowing who we are, . . . if we confuse the time we confuse the place; and . . . when we confuse these we endanger our humanity, both physically and morally. --Ralph Ellison
There can be no theory of any account unless it corroborate the theory of the earth, / No politics, song, religion, behavior, or what not, is of account, unless it compare with the amplitude of the earth, / Unless it face the exactness, vitality, impartiality, rectitude of the earth. --Walt Whitman
The world offers itself to your imagination. --Mary Oliver
Some questions we will explore in this class: What is the relationship between where we are and who we are? What connects locality to identity, landscape to language, place to self? What is a theory of the earth? How does the world offer itself to our imaginations? What does it mean to have a sense of place? How do particular spaces affect us? What are the possible connections between maps and the places they represent? How else do we, or can we, map or write or document our lives and the contours of our personal and ecological geographies? What happens when we encounter places or spaces that are unknown, unfamiliar, strange to us? How can we represent these questions and the issues they explore through our own words and images, writing and art, ideas and imagination?
This is an advanced level class and it will be challenging, on many levels. We are reading at least two lengthy, thought-provoking books (by Lucy Lippard and Terry Tempest Williams), each of which will demand careful attention, time to think and reflect, and patience. We will be considering theoretical, artistic, ecological, personal, and social perspectives. There will be several field excursions. At the heart of our course will be a six-week project exploring, learning about, and making a creative response to a specific place. Be prepared for an adventurous, intellectual, artistic, and imaginative exploration.
Texts: THE LURE OF THE LOCAL: SENSES OF PLACE IN A MULTICENTERED SOCIETY by Lippard, and FINDING BEAUTY IN A BROKEN WORLD by Williams.
Credit/Evaluation: Faithful attendance. Active participation in class discussions, presentations, projects, in-class writings, field trips, and other activities. Completion and quality of several short reflection essays, a personal essay, an art project, and a six-week project exploring a specific place.
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23117 436n Advance Topics Science: Agroecology
Tuxill 4 Credits
Prerequisites: Fair 206a, 300 level science course or equivalent
Materials Fee: To be determined. See Student Account
Meets the following Core Requirement: Science and Our Place on the Planet II
This seminar will explore the applications of agroecological principles for promoting sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, and foodways. We will undertake critical examination of ideas and concepts from permaculture, biodynamic and organic farming, and food systems theory, with a goal of identifying how to grow and supply food sustainably. Topics of inquiry include: soil properties and nutrient cycling, polycropping and agrodiversity, applied pest management, landscape ecology, biotechnology, foodshed models, carbon budgets, and organic/ecological certification. Student-led inquiry and field learning are both hallmarks of this course.
Texts: AGROECOLOGY: THE ECOLOGY OF SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS by Gliessman. Additional readings will be made available electronically.
Credit/Evaluation: As part of the course, students (working both individually and in groups) will be expected to:
1) Research and present one of the principal course themes, in collaboration with the instructor;
2) Research, write and present a case study applying agroecological principles to analyze some aspect of sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, or foodways.
Regular class attendance and informed contribution to discussions, field trips, and guest lectures is essential. Students also are evaluated on their grasp and understanding of the themes and issues presented in the readings, including ecological principles and theoretical concepts.
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23119 451x Resistance Art of the Indigena
S'eiltin 4 Credits
Prerequisites: Fair 218c or Amst 202 or Fair 399b or Amst 315: and a studio art course
Materials Fee: $18.82
Meets the following Core Requirement: Humanities and the Expressive Arts II
In this class we will examine contemporary art of the Indigenous peoples of North America. The visual and literary arts of native peoples address historical injustice with passion and clarity, while offering hope for the future, and thus provides examples for investigation of related issues such as personal and cultural histories; government and state relations; critique of Euro-American academic values; theories and practices; and the misrepresentation and exploitation of Indigenous peoples in popular culture. We will view and read the contribution of contemporary Native artists whose work challenges the sociopolitical codes used to define Native Identity and explore, as well, the "self" as the site and means for cultural renewal. We will experience the work and philosophy of various artists through the presentation of slides, literature, field-trips to galleries, guest lectures and collaborative art workshops.
Text: THE STATE OF NATIVE AMERICA, GENOCIDE, COLONIZATION, AND RESISTANCE by Jaimes
Credit/Evaluation: The goal of the course is to provide an awareness of and insight to contemporary issues of Indigenous peoples within a global context. Students will be required to create three original works of art that demonstrate their understanding of key concepts and theories covered in the course. Response essays, and a final research paper and presentation are also required and must demonstrate an understanding of class topics.
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480 Internship
Practicum in an area related to student's course of study or concentration with specific roles and responsibilities. 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 in the student's Independent Study Project proposal form.
