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Session IV
Oct. 3, Oct. 10, Oct 17, Make-up Oct 24
Georgia Frank- Professor of Religion
Heaven, Hell, and Everything In-Between
109b East Hall
"What happens to me after I die?" We shall examine some of the ways religious and non-religious thinkers have pondered this question. This course considers what "geographies" of death can teach us about meaning of the afterlife and its implications for how we shall live. We shall examine Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and modern secular perspectives on the fate of the dead through philosophical, religious, and artistic works. No religious background or commitment presupposed.
Everything About Alcohol and Other Drugs That You Didn't Really Know--You Should Know
Jane Jones- Assistant Director of the Counseling Center, Director of Alcohol and Drug Services
208 Persson Hall
Students will access information about common drugs of choice. Through the use of PowerPoint, lecture material and some humor, individuals will come away with a sound appreciation of the effects of alcohol, marijuana and other street drugs. It will include understanding the way that alcohol and street drugs work within the central nervous system from both long-term and short-term perspectives. A review of the addiction process and the common defenses employed by chemically addicted individuals will be discussed.
Watching TV and/or Taking a Walk
Mark Stern- Assistant Professor in Educational Studies
432 Alumni Hall
Description: With DVRs and websites like Hulu, Americans are watching more television than ever before. With brilliant shows like Friday Night Lights, Mad Men, and Parks and Recreation hitting the airwaves, who can blame them? But most Americans think about watching television as a "mindless" activity that we engage with for "entertainment." Audiences tend to think of themselves as passive consumers of a medium they control with a remote. We don't learn things from TV shows, we just watch them to pass the time or for enjoyment.
In this seminar, we are going to think critically about television as an educational space where viewers are engaged in various acts of learning. By taking a close look at a few television shows in particular, from Thomas The Train to Gossip Girl to NewsChannel 9, we'll think about what television teaches viewers about things like race, class, gender, and sexuality. In conversation with a variety of authors coming from feminist, queer, and critical race circles, we'll discuss how television is a productive technology in maintaining certain types of stories about certain types of people.
Last, and in conversation with Bill McKibben's now 20-year-old book, The Age Of Missing Information, we will venture out onto the Colgate Trails and think about the differences between what we learn from television as opposed to what we can learn from going outside and taking a walk.
Learn How to Be a Community Organizer
Rachel DiDomizio- Associate Director of the Max Shacknai Center for Outreach, Volunteerism and Education
109 Lathrop Hall- COVE Lounge
Do you want to learn the skills necessary to strengthen your community and build your skills as a leader? This community organizing course will show you how to do a “community scan”, create a “root cause tree” and explore the intersectionality between various social issues. We will discuss both the assets and challenges of our communities and how we can work together towards positive social change.
Philosophy: Personal Identity Through Time
Julie Wulfemeyer- Visiting Assistant Professor in Philosophy
209 Alumni Hall
The topic of this course is rooted in two subfields of philosophy: metaphysics and the philosophy of mind. Our discussions will concern questions about personal identity through time.
It seems intuitive (even obvious) that you can undergo changes without ceasing to exist. For example, it seems clear that you can cut your hair, learn a martial art, or move to California without ceasing to be you. Though you will be qualitatively different after these changes, you will be numerically identical to—one and the same as—the thing you are now. But exactly how much and what kinds of change can you undergo in this way? What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for your persistence over time? We will look at several philosophical attempts to answer these questions, as well as some problems faced by each view. In the process, we will make use of a series of thought experiments that may seem straight out of science fiction (as well as some that are not so far removed from scientific reality). For example, we’ll consider cases involving memory transfers, cerebral transplants, and brain hemispheric divisions. Science fiction or not, we’ll be interested in these hypothetical scenarios for what they—and the intuitions they generate—may reveal about answers to our central questions.
Climbing the Walls
Michael Savage, Assistant Director of Outdoor Education
Angert Family Climbing Wall- 3rd Floor of Huntington Gym
Have you ever wanted to climb a wall like Spiderman? Take this course and learn how to tie knots, use ropes to belay (hold) other climbers and move up the wall using good technique. This class guarantees great fun and that you will be hungry for dinner!
*Limited enrollment- only sign up if you can reliably attend all three classes. Class operates under different schedule*
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Oct. 31, Nov. 7, Nov. 14, make-up Nov. 28 Christian Schmeider- Colgate Research Consultant
German Culture And Language - Deutsche Kultur und Sprache
107 Lathrop Hall
Over 40 million Americans have German ancestors - that's more than there are Americans with English or Irish ancestors. There's a good chance that some of your great-great-great parents came to the US from somewhere in Germany. Do you want to learn more about Germans and Germany? In this course, we will explore German culture and language. How do kids your age live in Germany? Which sports & games do they play - and what are their favorite foods? We will practice some German, and we will find out why English and German are actually quite similar! We'll also find out about about some Germans you've maybe never heard of before - or did you know the Germans who invented the MP3?
Other Worlds: The Search for Extrasolar Planets
Jeff Bary- Professor of Astronomy & Physics
328 Ho Science Center
Astronomers estimate that roughly 100 billion galaxies or more reside within the portion of the universe that we can see. Within most of these galaxies resides an estimated 100 billion stars or more. Each of these billions of billions of stars represent a potential planetary system harboring planets similar to Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Earth found in our own solar system. With all of this potential for the existence of planets, one may expect our galaxy and the Universe to be teeming with planetary systems. Historically speaking, only recently have astronomers been able to confirm the existence of planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. In this seminar, we will explore the techniques astronomers have used to detect extrasolar planetary systems, discuss their properties and how common they appear to be, and think about how their discovery and existence moves us closer to answering the longstanding question: "Are we alone?"
Modernist Poetry & The Rethinking of the Human
Michael Coyle- Associate Professor of English
310 Lawrence Hall
This seminar will explore poetry by four of America’s most important modernist poets: Robert Frost, T. S. Eliot,Wallace Stevens, and Mina Loy. Each of these poets struggles to come to terms with what it means to be human, and to give form to human experience. What makes this struggle “modernist” is twofold. First, pursuing their work in the wake of Darwin, Nietzsche, and Freud, these poets endeavor to find both meaning and truth but do so knowing these two things are not necessarily synonymous. Second, knowing that meaning and truth are not necessarily the same thing leads them to the conviction that experience can only be modeled in aesthetic terms. Students should leave this seminar with a clearer understanding of not just what these poems mean but also how they mean. You will also have begun thinking about why poetry matters—not just in the terms of the poets we read together but also in our own.
Hip Hop Dance
Yan Kit Pang- professional hip hop instructor, choreographer, guest hip hop teacher at Hamilton College and Colgate University
209 Ryan Studio (First Half of Class)
Alana Multicultural Multipurpose Room (2nd Half of Class)
Explore the fundamentals of hip hop dance. Students will learn how to groove and dance to old school jams as well as to the latest beats. Instruction will include different dance styles such as break dancing, popping, locking, krumping, old school and video dance. This will be a fast pace high-energy class. Students will learn different styles, steps and choreography. No previous dance experience required. Comfortable exercises wear and sneakers suggested.
The Marine Environment: Behavior and Adaptation
John Novak, Professor of Biology (Emeritus)
328 Olin Hall
Using color slides and discussion, five topics will be covered: 1) adaptations of marine invertebrates to their environment, including principles of locomotion, feeding, coloration, etc. 2) the coral reef, including the development sequence of a reef and the ecological relationships of its inhabitants; 3) examination of the crown of thorns, a predatory starfish that is attacking and destroying coral reefs throughout the Pacific Ocean; 4) the effects of the Santa Barbara oil spill on the intertidal zone and the general effects on the ecology; 5) identification, habitat and behavior of seals and penguins.
Visualizing in the Dome
Joseph Eakin- Visualization Lab Director
Visualization Lab, 4th Floor of Ho Science Center
Students will create mini Astronomy shows in a full dome environment using the Digistar 4 system. We will split the students up into groups of 4. The first week we will gather some background information and students will create a short script & narration. The second week we will record and put visuals to the script. The final week we will finish putting them together and will view the final projects.
*Very limited enrollment. Only sign up for course if you can reliably attend all three classes!
Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Feb. 13, make-up Feb. 27
The Politics of International Development: A Case Study of Haiti
Margaret Weher-Lecturer in Anthropology
110 Alumni Hall
How did Haiti, called the “Jewel of the Caribbean” by 16th century European explorers, become the poorest country in the Western hemisphere? Why have decades of development policy and millions of dollars failed to move Haiti from poverty to prosperity? We will analyze the successes and failures of international development in Haiti, including the increasing role of the United Nations, the Red Cross, and other non-governmental organizations. We will develop a list of best practices to move Haiti from grinding poverty to self-empowerment and autonomy.
Climbing the Walls
Michael Savage, Assistant Director of Outdoor Education
Angert Family Climbing Wall- 3rd Floor of Huntington Gym
Have you ever wanted to climb a wall like Spiderman? Take this course and learn how to tie knots, use ropes to belay (hold) other climbers and move up the wall using good technique. This class guarantees great fun and that you will be hungry for dinner!
*Limited enrollment- only sign up if you can reliably attend all three classes. Class operates under different schedule*
Risk and Reward
Beverly Low- Dean of First-Year Students
326 Ho Science Center
We make a variety of choices everyday: which clothes to wear; whether or not
to speak up when we disagree with a parent, friend or teacher; deciding to audition for a play or singing group; trying out for a sports team; selecting toppings for a pizza; resigning from a job or position. For those more difficult choices that come with a higher element of risk, what is the reward? We will discuss risk-taking and courage as key elements of growth, discovery, resiliency, and leadership development.
Acting 01
Simona Giurgea- Visiting Assistant Professor of English
209 Ryan Studio
The fabric of theatre is illusion, however, the transformations of the actors go through are real, palpable, visible. Through games and exercises students have the opportunity to experience the process of creating and performing a role and learn about the task of acting.
*wear clothes that you can move comfortably and freely as well as closed toed flat tennis shoes.
How Life Experience (and Imaginative Literature!) Confirm Major
Assumptions of Psychoanalysis
Barbara Regenspan – Associate Professor of Educational Studies
6 Persson Hall
We’ll explore both our own dreams and behaviors, as well as some marvelous
passages from theory, biography, memoir, and imaginative literature in order
to examine how the idea of the unconscious enriches our lives. (It also makes it
clear that the more we know about the wild workings of our own minds, the more uncertain we are likely to become. How wonderful it would be if everybody were just a little bit sure they knew what was right and/or valuable!) Students must agree to keep a dream journal. This class is not for the “proper” or squeamish.
Happiness, Well-Being, and the Meaning of Live
Jason Kawall- Associate Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies
220 Lawrence
What makes a human life a good one? Is it just a matter of getting as much happiness as possible? Or does a good life require friendships, accomplishments, or other factors beyond happiness? This course will start with an examination of these and related questions about happiness, and will draw on relevant work from philosophy and psychology. In the second half of the course we will turn to questions concerning the meaning of life: What is the relationship between happiness and meaningfulness - can an unhappy life be meaningful? Does a meaningful life require the existence of God and the possibility of immortality? Are there objective standards of meaningfulness or is it subjective? We'll consider the answers of several important philosophers and religious thinkers to these questions - as well as our own!
Crash Course in the Blues
Kara Rusch- DJ/ Cadence/C.I.M.P. Records
308 Lathrop Hall
Interested in the Blues? What kind of Blues? Rural Blues? Chicago Blues? Folk Blues? Electric Blues? You don’t need to choose. We’ll touch on the history of the Blues in this crash course as well as trace the source music of Elvis Presley and Rolling Stones. Most importantly though--we’ll spend time listening to the best in various Blues genres. Explore with your ears and soothe the soul.
Mar. 20, Mar. 27, Apr. 3, make-up Apr. 17
Human Rights and the Art of Letter Writing
Suzanne B. Spring – Senior Lecturer in Writing and Rhetoric
210 Lathrop Hall
We often think of the letter as a very private form, as an intimate exchange between only two people. Yet, the tradition of letter writing is actually as public as it is private, and ordinary people have circulated letters in extraordinary ways, fueling revolutions and movements of great social change. This course will consider three periods in American rhetorical history during which, as reformers agitated for human rights through collective action, letters played a powerful role in shaping public opinion and fostering political change. The course attends not only to the epistolary arguments such reformers made, but also to the rhetorical savvy they employed, with the hope that students will leave with some new rhetorical strategies to fuel their own letter writing. No background in rhetoric necessary.
Wellness for Life!
Christina Amato- MS, CES, Director or Recreation and Chair of Physical Education
110 Alumni Hall
Wellness is the active process through which people become aware of, and make
choices toward, a more successful existence. Class one will be an overview of
the concept of wellness and the eight different dimensions that influence our life,
relationships and personal well-being. Classes two and three will focus specifically on the dimension of physical wellness with an educational and interactive seminar on nutrition and physical activity. Students will actively participate in this seminar to enlighten them on how proper nutrition and exercise can influence their health and wellness throughout a lifetime
In Front of the Classroom: An Insider’s Look at Teaching
Melissa Kaegle- Assistant Professor of Educational Studies
432 Alumni Hall
As students we spend much of our lives in classrooms, but how much do we really know about the educational professionals who are in charge of what we learn and how we learn it? In this class, we will explore the basic tasks of teaching including pedagogy, curriculum planning and instruction, how to assess what students are learning, and managing a classroom. We will reflect on the teachers we’ve experienced and analyze the impacts they’ve had on us. For anyone who’s wondered what it would be like to be on the other side of the teacher’s desk, this class will open up new ways of thinking about teachers, learning and schools.
Are You a Feminist?
Kimmie Garner- Women’s Studies Program Assistant
109B East Hall, Center for Women’s Studies
In this course, we will explore various definitions of feminism from people of diverse gender, racial, socioeconomic, national, and sexual identities. We will also delve into sites of feminist concern and critique, such as gendered representations within the media, sexual violence, and pregnancy and childbirth options. By the end of the course, participants will possess a deeper sense of the meaning and relevance of feminism and whether they identify as feminists. If you're curious to explore your own identity, beliefs, and broad social issues in a comprehensive, meaningful way, then this is the course for you!
East Coast Swing
Cheryl Jonsson- Associate of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing
209 Ryan Studio
This course will have you dancing the basic figures of East Coast Swing in an enjoyable and social manner. During the course you will develop a good knowledge and understanding of the musical requirements in relationship to each step within a dance figure. These will include rhythm and character, time signature, beat value and tempo. Other important aspects of dance to be studied will be Dance Position, Footwork, Lead and Follow.
Exquisite Corpse
Monika Burczyk- Executive Director, Utica Sculpture Space
205 Ryan Studio
Working with images both printed and drawn, this class will explore the tradition of the Exquisite Corpse Surrealist Game to create unique and novel artworks.
Arctic Transformations
Jessica Graybill – Assistant Professor of Geography
326 Ho Science Center
The Arctic is one of the most rapidly changing regions of the world today, environmentally, culturally and politically. Rapid biophysical change occurs here today due to climate change, but equally noteworthy are cultural, social and political transformations experienced by people living and working in the Arctic. Understanding Arctic change requires addressing complex issues related to social and biophysical changes in this region, but which often originate in other parts of the world.
By the end of this course, participants will have greater understanding of three vibrant arenas of Arctic transformation: (1) environmental transformation, (2) cultural transformation of indigenous and local peoples of the North and (3) socioeconomic and political transformation within and related to the region.