Course listings | Case Western Reserve University

Term: Fall 2008

FSNA 103: Energy and Society (100/11699)

TR 01:15-02:30 PM Aug 25-Dec 05, W 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 25-Dec 05

Chottiner, G

This four-credit-hour course provides an introduction to collegiate writing and to various dimensions of academic life, but will focus on the critical appreciation of the world of energy. Currently, most of the world runs on non-renewable resources; this course is designed to help students develop viewpoints about these issues, and to express themselves in a clear, coherent way. The class will involve both literacy and numeracy, and students will learn to become comfortable handling some of the quantitative measures of energy use. The class will be characterized by intense yet open-ended intellectual inquiry, guided by reading, lectures and discussion, and will include practice in written and oral communication individually and in small groups.

FSNA 103: Energy and Society (101/11707)

TR 02:45-04:00 PM Aug 25-Dec 05, W 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 25-Dec 05

Taylor, P

FSNA 104: Archaeoastronomy: Monuments and Ideas (100/11700)

TR 01:15-02:30 PM Aug 25-Dec 05, W 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 25-Dec 05

Luck, R

The unifying theme of this course is how astronomical practice and knowledge is central to ancient civilizations and how that emphasis continues today as manifested through scientific endeavor and also as strongly through the power of unifying myth.

FSNA 107: Culture and Computers (100/11698)

MW 09:00-10:15 AM Aug 25-Dec 05, W 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 25-Dec 05

Berger, M

We live in a world that is increasingly shaped and dominated by computer systems. This seminar will explore ideas about the relationship between culture and computer/information technologies. Topics will range from the historical development of information systems to the shaping of online identities to the relationships between information systems and political ideology and conceptions of a digital future. The class will meet in three dramatically different spaces: our high technology seminar room, a virtual classroom of our own design, and the computer classrooms of the nearby Ashbury Senior Computing and Community Center (ASC-3). This course will have a service component that requires students to work six hours across the semester as teaching aides in the ASC-3 computing classes for senior adults. As students read about theories about information technologies and access, student service work will enable them to analyze these theories within the context of grass roots activism, participating in an adjoining neighborhood's goal to expand access to the "computer revolution." Students at all levels of computer literacy welcome.

FSNA 109: Science and Race (100/11701)

TR 02:45-04:00 PM Aug 25-Dec 05, M 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 25-Dec 05

Greksa, L

This four-credit seminar examines the development and impact of the concept of race. We will first focus on the causes of biological variability in species, leading to an evaluation of whether race is a useful device for understanding biological variability in humans. Second, we will examine how the understanding of race has changed over time within the biological sciences. Third, we will examine how scientific conceptualizations about race have influenced, and been influenced by, cultural beliefs. Through readings and open-ended discussion, we will critically examine the scientific process as it has been (and still is) being applied to the study of human races so that each student will ultimately be equipped to develop a scientifically sound conceptualization of race. Topics which will be covered include Social Darwinism, the eugenics movement, legislation to restrict immigration into the U.S., race-based medicine, and race and intelligence. Students are expected to enhance their skills at critical reading, thoughtful analysis, constructing logical arguments, and improving written and oral communication.

FSNA 110: The Chemistry and Biology of Drugs (100/11702)

TR 10:00-11:15 AM Aug 25-Dec 05, M 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 25-Dec 05

Tochtrop, G

How do drugs work? Using chemicals to alter biological processes has been documented since recorded history began. We ingest various chemicals to alter our mood, cure disease, or simply to make our lives more comfortable, however very few people take the time to ask how these molecules work. This seminar will touch on some historical aspects of how our society has discovered and used drugs in both social and medicinal settings, but will focus on the modern day process by which new drugs are identified.

FSNA 112: Talking Brains: The Neuroscience of Language (100/11703)

TR 02:45-04:00 PM Aug 25-Dec 05, M 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 25-Dec 05

Parrill, F

J speaks both Italian and English. After suffering a stroke, he finds himself switching to Italian in the middle of a sentence, even when he knows the person he's talking to doesn't speak Italian! He can't stop himself no matter how hard he tries. In this discussion-based seminar, we'll use cases like J's to understand how a mass of cells can give rise to something as complicated as human language. We'll use primary source readings from neuroscience to study topics such as the typical organization of language in the brain, bilingualism, sign language, and problems with language resulting from brain injury.

FSNA 116: Cities (Under Construction) (100/11705)

MWF 11:30-12:20 PM Aug 25-Dec 05, W 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 25-Dec 05

Jim, B

Based on the premise that cities are never "finished", and constantly being remade, we will look at the technological and cultural history of cities from the ancient world to the present day. Students will explore the history of building materials---wood, brick, steel, concrete, and glass---used in the construction of cities. We will also trace the development of city infrastructure such as water and sewage systems; streets, bridges, and subways; electricity, telephone and the internet. Specific technological innovations, such as the elevator and the automobile, will receive special consideration. We will move both geographically and temporally to visit the world's great cities, Athens, Mexico City, Tokyo, and New York City. As we do, we will study the examples of significant building projects, such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the Chicago World's Fair, Washington, DC's Metro, and Cleveland's first skyscraper, the Rockefeller Building. The course will cover the history of the professions---engineering, architecture, and urban planning---that have contributed to the construction of cities, and will review the works of these practitioners, as well as that of artists, reformers, and utopians that have imagined new directions for the city. We will also explore first person narratives of the city, the impact of the city on personal and collective memory, and the possibilities and pitfalls of the "virtual" city. Through lecture, discussion, textual analysis, computer simulations, and writing assignments, Cities (Under Construction) will help students gain a deeper understanding of their role in remaking and sustaining the built environment.

FSNA 117: Time (100/11762)

MWF 02:00-02:50 PM Aug 25-Dec 05, W 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 25-Dec 05

Kernan, P

This seminar provides an introduction to academic life with an emphasis on the nature of time. A modern understanding of time may begin from diverse disciplines. These include biology, philosophy, literature, sociology and many others. All of these tend to be complicated by the human experience. In physics, we attempt to abstract away that complication. Yet the modern physical understanding of time is extremely rich and informs alternative views. Some of the questions we will encounter include: Why does time seem to have a direction? Can it end? Do the present, the past, and the future exist? We will learn that these questions are far from settled in physics. As we tour classical Newtonian physics, relativity, thermodynamics, statistical physics, cosmology and more, we will establish the basic facts and issues of time from a physical standpoint. We will connect them to the disciplines wherein human complexity becomes part of the problem. The goal of the course is to advance our ability to evaluate and participate in academic dialogues. We will work to perfect the various means of academic communication: papers, discussions, and talks.

FSNA 118: The Nanotechnology Revolution (100/11706)

TR 08:30-09:45 AM Aug 25-Dec 05, W 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 25-Dec 05

Burda, C

This seminar provides an introduction to various aspects of technological revolutions in general and in particular of the Nanotechnology revolution. It will be characterized by intense research and critical assessment of its components. This course will examine the history, current status, and the outlook of the technological state-of-the-art and how it affects life in our society. The discussions will be inquiry based and guided by reading primary sources from masters in the field. It will also include writing and plentiful oral discussions in groups. The seminar-based course will be lead by experts in Nanotechnology and in English. The goals are to enhance intellectual skills of academic inquiry, such as critical assessment of texts and data, thoughtful analysis, and written and oral presentation. This course will be an introduction to the student on an interdisciplinary topic in between areas of technology, society, ethics, and commerce. It will prepare the student to participate in an ever faster developing technological society and provide a foundation for ethical decision-making in a global and cross-disciplinary academic environment.

FSNA 119: Communicating Technology (100/12073)

TR 02:45-04:00 PM Aug 25-Dec 05, W 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 25-Dec 05

McAfee, L

Scientists and engineers at CWRU make important discoveries that improve our lives, but how do others learn about what we do? This four credit-hour course introduces how technology is communicated to the public. While discussions broadly cover science and engineering, one area of focus is the Center for Layered Polymeric Systems, a NSF Science and Technology Center at CWRU. Field trips and special discussions are used to explore current science and engineering communication activities. Each participant additionally develops a project based on a science or engineering topic of her or his choice. This seminar is characterized by intense yet open-ended intellectual inquiry and guided by reading from primary as well as secondary sources. The goals are to enhance basic intellectual skills of academic inquiry, such as critical reading, thoughtful analysis, and written and oral communication; Introduce basic information literacy skills; provide a foundation for ethical decision-making; encourage a global and multidisciplinary perspective on the learning process; facilitate faculty-student interactions; and provide a supportive common intellectual experience for the first-year students at CWRU.

FSNA 120: The Impact of Materials on Societal Development (100/12143)

MWF 03:00-03:50 PM Aug 25-Dec 05, M 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 25-Dec 05

Lagerlof, P

This four credit-hour Sages seminar provides an introduction to various dimensions of academic life through open-ended intellectual inquiry and guided by reading from primary and secondary sources. The course will require practice in written and oral communications in small groups. A primary focus of the seminar will be to examine the impact of engineering materials of societal development through human history using a few specific materials of interest as examples: concrete, steel, and semi-conductors. At the conclusion of the course, students will be encouraged to explore the impact of other materials on the development of specific technologies as a group project.