Spring 2007
Principles of Food and Resource Economics
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: S
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 0628 | Evan Drummond |
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AEB 3103 is a comprehensive, introductory economics course with emphasis on the economics of agriculture, the food industry and natural resources in a global context. The course includes both microeconomics and macroeconomics. The microeconomic portion of the course emphasizes production economics and the theory of the consumer. The macroeconomic portion of the course deals with the role of government in a domestic and global environment with particular emphasis on agricultural policy and trade. The honors section of this course entails a weekly enrichment session that meets on Fridays at the regularly scheduled time slot. This seminar deals with current events, supplements to course topics, and a case study of a major agribusiness firm. There are no extra tests or exams associated with the seminar. Some extra reading is required. The grade from the seminar is based on attendance and participation. It constitutes 20% of the final course grade. Students in the honors section are expected to complete all requirements of the regular section.
Evan Drummond (a.k.a. The Food Dude) is Professor of Food and Resource Economics and Senior Associate Director of the University Honors Program. His areas of interest include food policy and international economic development. He teaches introductory agricultural economics and is co-author of a book for that course. In his second year at UF he was selected Teacher of the Year by the students of the College of Agriculture and in his first year of eligibility was chosen as the national Teacher of the Year (with more than ten years experience) by the American Agricultural Economics Association.
Biology and Natural History of Fireflies
Writing or Math Req: W - 2000
Gen Ed: B
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 2262 | James E. Lloyd |
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NOTE: This class is located in the Entomology Building on Natural Area Drive near the Performing Arts Center. Please plan accordingly.
This course views the biology/natural history of an interesting family of beetles to present major aspects of organismic biology, including techniques and philosophy, and gives experience in field and lab with useful procedures in biology and natural history, and methods in biology instruction. Studies includes field identification, observation, and quantification of firefly signals; flash signal recording and analysis; basic electronics with circuit development and manufacture; collection and recognition of human and livestock parasites “whose” hosts firefly larvae prey upon; and museum practice including collecting and curating, and the use and development of identification keys.
The primary text is a firefly manual by the Prof, which is a collection of essays and field and lab-project texts and directions, and is distributed over the semester as required. Students purchase a "fireflyer's kit" as described on the first day of class. The kit includes an introductory field guide to insects, stop watch, thermometer, micro-pen, head lamp, and pen light. There will be afternoon and nocturnal field trips, an optional overnight weekend camping expedition, and other weekend trips, if appropriate. Attendance is required on about five evening field trips during the semester.
Final grade will take into account: attendance and punctuality; performance/industry/focus in the lab and on nocturnal and afternoon field trips to firefly habitats; several always announced and carefully described quizzes, both open and closed book as described beforehand; and two short term papers on subjects to be announced. Each student will have a portfolio in the Prof's lab, where quizzes, tests, term papers, and miscellaneous items are accumulated. At the end of the semester the Prof. will evaluate the portfolios for industry in and quality of scholarship, and will subjectively assign a grade. But, note, to quote from the student evaluation by one fireflyer, “Dr. Lloyd kicks ass.”
James E. Lloyd is a graduate of SUNY at Fredonia, University of Michigan, and Cornell University. He served four years in the US Navy as an electronic technician in a patrol squadron. He joined the UF faculty in 1966 and currently is Professor Emeritus of Entomology and Nematology. During his tenure at UF he has taught several undergraduate and graduate courses and served on the graduate committees of some 50 graduate students. He has studied fireflies in the field for 43 years in North America, Jamaica, southern Mexico, Thailand, Colombia, and New Guinea, and has published about 100 scientific papers and book chapters, and about 50 book reviews and editorials; has given 90 invited lectures at universities in the US and elsewhere; organized and edited several published symposia on behavioral ecology; identified about 15,000 preserved firefly research specimens for museums and other institutions and individuals; and his photographs of fireflies and other insects appear widely in text books and magazines. Prof. Lloyd has for several years been preparing a natural history/taxonomic monograph on fireflies, a study manual for firefly natural history/biology courses, and a field guide to North American fireflies.
Half the Horsemen
Writing or Math Req: W - 2000
Gen Ed: S, I
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 4569 | Evan Drummond |
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Two of the chronic problems facing our global village are hunger and disease. This course will deal with these two topics in depth. Different points of view as to the causes and remedies will be explored. The main text for the course is Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. Several smaller texts will also be used. Grades will be based on two exams, one paper, and one classroom presentation.
Evan Drummond (a.k.a. The Food Dude) is Professor of Food and Resource Economics and Senior Associate Director of the University Honors Program. His areas of interest include food policy and international economic development. He teaches introductory agricultural economics and is co-author of a book for that course. In his second year at UF he was selected Teacher of the Year by the students of the College of Agriculture and in his first year of eligibility was chosen as the national Teacher of the Year (with more than ten years experience) by the American Agricultural Economics Association.
Honors History of the American Presidency
Writing or Math Req: W - 2000
Gen Ed: H
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 3829 | David Colburn |
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Prerequisite: 3 hours of history
This course provides students with a historical introduction to the American Presidency. Special attention is given to the vision of the Founding Fathers for the office, the evolution of the office in the 19th and 20th centuries, and changing public expectations of the office and the people who hold it. The course is arranged both topically and chronologically so that students develop a broad perspective on the office and its increasing prominence nationally and internationally. Topics include: the role of the president in domestic and foreign affairs, the establishment of the party system, presidential campaigning (including the campaign leading up to the election of 2000), the relations between the president and the media, and the president and the legislature. Students are encouraged to take an active role in each class through dialogue, questions, and debate.
Dr. David Colburn is professor of history, director of the Reubin Askew Institute on Politics and Society, and provost and senior vice president emeritus. He is author or editor of thirteen books on politics, race and ethnicity in American society. He is currently a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians and has spoken widely in the United States and Europe. He has twice been named teacher of the year and also named outstanding graduate teacher in the history department. He contributes columns on a regular basis to the Orlando Sentinel on state and national politics.
Anthropology of Modern Africa
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: S, I
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 6289 | Anita Spring |
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This course studies African cultures, focusing on rural and urban societies in the modern period in terms of contemporary problems and trends. The course covers the following topics:
• Conceptions and misconceptions about Africa
• Classification schemes old and new (geographic, Africanity, civilizations, triple heritage)
• Kinship and family
• Rural and urban economies
• Environment and natural resource management
• Gender issues, women in development
• Religious and philosophical systems
• Ethnic conflict and the new states
• Bureaucracies and corruption
• Refugees, human rights
• South Africa: end of apartheid and contemporary problems
• Health, sexuality, HIV/AIDS
• Entrepreneurship and business
• Interconectivity and gloablization
To benefit from this course, it is necessary that students become fully involved in it. The course will be taught using multimedia techniques, lectures, audiovisual materials, and student participation. The reading assignments are an integral part of the course and should be completed before coming to class.
Anita Spring is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology. For information about her professional experience and research interests, please see her website at http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/aspring/.
Introduction to Forensic Science
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 2543 | Jason Byrd |
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| 4503 | Staff |
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This course addresses the various disciplines within the forensic sciences. Specifically, this course will focus on the application of the medical and natural sciences to forensics. The development of the medical examiner, coroner, and crime laboratory systems within the United States will be discussed as well as the scientific and non-scientific methods used to establish human identity, and the pathological conditions commonly found in forensic casework. This is a three-credit course designed to familiarize the student with the application of science to law and the courtroom.
Dr. Byrd is a Board-Certified Forensic Entomologist and is a past Chairman of the American Board of Forensic Entomology. He has conducted over 100 workshops specializing in the education of law enforcement officials, medical examiners, coroners, attorneys, and other death investigators on the use and applicability of arthropods in legal investigations. He has published numerous scientific articles on the subject of forensic entomology, and has also published two books dealing with the use of insects in legal investigations.
Beginning Chinese 2
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 3873 | Cynthia H. Shen |
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Prerequisite: CHI 1130 (grade of C or better, or S), or the equivalent
This is the continuation of Beginning Chinese 1. It teaches Chinese speaking, listening, reading and writing abilities with an emphasis on everyday spoken language. By the end of this semester students will have been introduced to most of the important grammatical structures of spoken Chinese. Aspects of Chinese culture will also be introduced in relation to the language taught in the class. The class will be conducted with a communicative approach with many interactions between students and the instructor. The instructor will create different situations guiding students to use the target language in conversation and role plays. The training is vigorous and provocative. There will be daily assignment, weekly quizzes and tests. Students will also be expected to present two Chinese skits in groups after the mid-term and final examinations, in which they will demonstrate their acquired Chinese competence in combination of interesting performance. Active and substantial participation is expected.
Cynthia Hsien Shen is a native Chinese speaker. She grew up in Taipei, Taiwan. She was awarded a B.A. degree from National Taiwan University. She pursued her graduate studies in the U.S. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Cincinnati and Cornell University. She taught and served in various positions at the Gainesville Chinese School before she joined the Department of African & Asian Languages and Literatures as a lecturer.
Honors General Chemistry
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: P
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 7201 | Gardiner Myers |
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Corequisite: CHM 2046L. CHM 2051 is an Honors alternate to CHM 2046.
This course is available to any student who has an "A" midterm or final grade in CHM 2045 at UF. Many of the students in the course will be Honors Program students, but this is not a requirement. The course is open to any student who has demonstrated a high level of potential in chemistry, as indicated by performance in CHM 2045. The instructor for CHM 2051 will be Dr. Gardiner Myers, who has extensive experience teaching in the CHM 2045-2046 sequence. Questions concerning the course may be directed to him at gmyers@chem.ufl.edu. CHM 2051 will cover the same basic topics that are studied in CHM 2046, indeed using many of the same course handouts Dr. Myers uses in the regular course. The principal difference will be the smaller class size and a level of discussion appropriate to the audience. We will also complete several computer spreadsheet exercises which are designed to teach some of the data analysis skills that one needs to use in a life of science. In the latter few weeks of CHM 2051 we will replace some of the usual descriptive inorganic chemistry with several special topics: atmospheric chemistry, polymers, and proteins. Students who are qualified and wish to enroll for CHM 2051 may simply register for this as for any other course, using section number 7201. If the system gives you any difficulty contact the Honors Office (Honors Program students) or Dr. Myers (other students). Students in CHM 2051 should also register for any regular section of CHM 2046L.
One-Semester Organic Chemistry
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 0779 | Staff |
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Prereq: CHM 2046, CHM 2047 or CHM 2051; CHM 2046L or CHM 2047L, or permission of instructor. Please contact Dr. Keaffaber in the chemistry department (Flint Hall room 251, jjk@chem.ufl.edu) if you would like to register.
CHM3217 is a relatively small class that focuses on problem solving based upon understanding of structure and reaction mechanisms. This course is the first part of a CHM 3217-3218 organic/biochemistry class. These two classes together satisfy both organic chemistry and biochemistry requirements for CLAS, IDS, and microbiology majors. It is not accepted by food science or pharmacy. It is accepted by the Junior Honors Medical Program, most Medical schools (State of Florida, Harvard, Chicago, Hopkins, etc.), graduate programs, Vet school, and Dental schools, except the Dental school at the University of Florida.
Bioorganic Chemistry
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 3523 | Staff |
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Prereq: CHM 3217 or CHM 2211, or permission of instructor.
An introduction to the basic concepts of biochemistry and molecular biology from the structural and mechanistic perspective of organic chemistry.
Athenian Democracy
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: H, I
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 2030 | Andrew Wolpert |
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Participatory democracies appeared in ancient Greece some 2,500 years ago, flourishing for two centuries, until they were replaced by monarchies and oligarchies and incorporated into kingdoms and empires. Many centuries later, democracy was reinvented, but philosophers and political theorists continued to view ancient democracy only negatively because of the extent to which ordinary Athenian citizens were able to set political policy. Ancient Athens was thought to be an example from the past that had to be avoided at all costs. Finally in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, scholars began to view ancient Athens quite differently as many sought to make modern democracies more inclusive and as democracy began to be so universally accepted that even dictatorships and totalitarian states sought legitimacy under the banner of democracy. Still, ancient Athens continues to this day to be a source of contention in debates on the global impact of democracy. By stepping out of the modern world and looking at ancient Athens, we can better understand the strengths and weaknesses of democracy.
Given that ancestral practices often went unquestioned, the radical transformation of the Greek political landscape is most surprising. What caused restrictive forms of government to yield to popular pressure and become democratic in spite of elite opposition? What impact did democracy have on art and literature? Was ancient democracy based on slave labor, the exclusion of resident aliens, and the restrictions imposed on Athenian women? How have our notions of democracy changed over the centuries? What lessons does Athens offer as we seek to balance freedom and security?
This course examines the political, social, and cultural institutions of the Athenian democracy. Emphasis is on primary sources and the reading of a broad range of texts in translation, including Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristophanes, Plato, and Aristotle. Topics include the origin and development of the Athenian democracy; political organizations and social and economic structures; war and imperialism; freedom of speech and intellectual dissent; gender, sexuality, and citizenship; democratic discourse and ideology; and democracy and the arts.
Andrew Wolpert (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is an Associate Professor of Classics. Before joining the faculty of the University of Florida in 2006, he first taught at Harvard University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of the Classics from 1996-1998 and then at the University of Wisconsin in the Departments of Classics and History as an Assistant Professor from 1998-2003 and an Associate Professor from 2003-2005, where he also served as Associate Chair and Director of Undergraduate Studies of History. His primary research and teaching interests are in ancient Greek history, with particular attention to classical Athens and questions concerning democratic discourse and ideology, Athenian political culture, law and society. For further information, please see www.clas.ufl.edu/users/wolpert/index.html.
Ancient Greek Medicine and Literature
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: S, H, I
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 9197 | Bruce Kraut |
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Ancient Greece, the birthplace of western civilization, gave us a foundation not only for democracy, law, mathematics and literature, but also for medicine. The medical treatises of Hippocrates offer a unique perspective on the emergence of rational medicine and are just now being fully appreciated as the great milestones of human thought which they represent. The literature of ancient Greece teems with material on death, disease, healing, and the human condition. The Hippocratic corpus helps to shed new light on these texts. This course will review some of the great literary works of ancient Greece, beginning with Homer, Hesiod, and Herodotus, then focusing on the fifth century B.C.E. (the Golden Age) with the dramas of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Students will also be provided with numerous excerpts from other contemporary writers, including dramatists, philosophers and historians. Our discussions will navigate back and forth between the works of these literary masters and the medical treatises in elucidating ancient perspectives on health, philosophy and life.
Students will gain an understanding and appreciation of Greek literature as well as of various aspects of ancient medical thought and medical practice. There's no need to have any preparation in classical languages or in science and medicine, but each student is expected first and foremost to keep up with reading assignments and also to participate fully in class discussions. There will be periodic short presentations by each student based on material from the readings and a term paper of the student's choice at the end of the course.
Bruce Kraut received his Ph.D. in Classical Philology from Princeton University and his M.D. from Emory University. He is a former Assistant Professor of Classics at the University of Georgia and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Classics at the University of Florida and a Pediatrician in private practice. His special interests include Greek drama, Greek papyri, and ancient medicine.
Fiction Writing
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: C
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 2269 | Staff |
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Prerequisite: CRW 1101
This course will continue instruction in basic techniques of voice, plot and character, while also introducing advanced ones. Students read a lot of good stories and write a few themselves. Samuel Johnson said, "No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money." Juniors or seniors who have not taken CRW1101 or 1301 must have strong composition skills.
Honors Poetry Workshop
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: C
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 1644 | William Logan |
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No Prerequisite
“I suppose you want me to go to night school and read poems.”
—James Cagney, “The Public Enemy”
The University of Florida has one of the strongest creative writing programs in the country, and graduate faculty sometimes offer a beginning workshop for honors students. The best students will afterwards be eligible for upper-division workshops. Poetry demands close attention to the meaning and music of language. The best poetry has an understanding of psychology, botany, religion, philosophy, and how much French fries cost at the mall. No one can be a poet without reading. The beginning workshop is in part a course in poetic literature.
Poets will write one poem a week; and these poems will form the basis of workshop discussion, along with poems of the past and present. Field trips may be possible—no year in Gainesville is complete without a visit to alligators. Students are not expected to have written poetry before but must have strong language skills (you can't manipulate the language effectively without grammar and spelling). Please don't take this course if you don’t know the difference between an adjective and an adverb, or the correct usage of it’s and its, lay and lie, and who and whom. Students who don’t know what complete sentences are will be asked to drop the class.
Reading List (tentative):
Norton Anthology of Modern Poems
Seamus Heaney, Field Work
Elizabeth Bishop, Complete Poems
Gjertrud Schnackenberg, Supernatural Love: Poems 1976-1992
Anthony Hecht, Collected Earlier Poems
James McAuley, Versification
William Logan is the author of seven books of poems, most recently Macbeth in Venice (2003) and The Whispering Gallery (2005). His criticism has been collected in four books, including The Undiscovered Country (2005), winner of the National Book Critics Circle award in criticism. He has also won the Randall Jarrell Award in Criticism, the Corrington Medal for Literary Excellence, and the Allen Tate Prize.
Urban Economics
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 7112 | David Denslow |
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Prerequisites: ECO and ES majors with ECO 2013 and ECO 2023, or B or better in ECO 2013 and ECO 2023
The course will consider the economics of various urban issues including housing, transportation, taxes, infrastructure, and schools. A standard text (yet to be selected) will be used, and a paper will be required. Below is a link to a typical course in urban economics, the one at Brown, which will give you an idea of the topics covered. But we’ll rely more on a text and less on articles.
http://www.econ.brown.edu/faculty/henderson/courses/ec241.pdf
Dr. David Denslow, Jr., Economic Analysis Program Director in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research and Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Economics, is best known at the University of Florida as the effective and popular professor of the televised course Basic Macroeconomics.
Speaking and Writing for Engineers
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: C
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 8075 | Dianne Cothran |
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Note: This course will substitute for ENC 2210, Technical Writing.
This course has been expressly designed for engineering students to equip them for speaking and writing assignments associated with undergraduate coursework and careers in the field of engineering. Students will learn valuable techniques and tools that will help them become effective communicators of technical material, capable of organizing and expressing ideas to satisfy the demands of both general and specialist audiences. Writing and speaking assignments will mirror actual tasks in school and in the field. In the process, students will learn how to become critical evaluators of their own communication skills by commenting on and evaluating the spoken and written work of peers in class. The primary writing assignments include a résumé and a cover letter, a procedural manual, and a final team design proposal. Oral assignments include an interview supporting the cover letter and résumé, a presentation of the team proposal, and role-playing as peer reviewers of other team projects.
Speaking and Writing for Premed Students
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: C
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 2524 | Kellie Roberts |
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Medical professionals have a special obligation to communicate without ambiguity, either in the written or spoken word; they depend on their communication skills to interact productively with other medical experts, their colleagues, clients and their families, and the public at large. This team-taught course will provide students with the opportunity to participate in a range of activities: researching, processing, and sharing medical information with others. Students will learn to do research using medical databases and other research tools, as well as discovering how best to organize and present their findings to other medical professionals or patients. The physician must often act as intermediary between the specialized world of scientific research and the more pragmatic world of the general public; consequently, we will also investigate how best to present technical medical information to the layperson. This course is predicated on the idea that the ability to write and speak clearly are learned skills, not innate talents, which means that better communication can be learned by practice. Students will experiment with a range of communication strategies in class: lectures will be followed by focused written and oral activities that allow students to put theory and strategies into practice. We will read and dissect examples of both good and bad writing in order to learn from them, in addition to examining several types of medical writings: written patient instructions, technical/research papers, case reports, and patient records. Students will also participate in a variety of speaking assignments in class, ranging from impromptu to prepared presentations. We will discuss techniques for improving public speaking, interviewing and listening skills, and patient-doctor communication.
Kellie Roberts is an advisor for the Honors Program and Associate Director for the Center for Written and Oral Communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She also coaches the nationally competitive UF Speech & Debate Team.
Writing for Prelaw Students
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: C
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 2530 | Creed Greer |
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In courts of law people's lives depend on the character of words, and the livelihood of lawyers depends on their ability to put language to its most productive ends. It is with these ideas that we take up the subject of writing and law. Lawyers are notorious for producing impenetrable documents. On the other hand, some of the most eloquent writing about our society has been set down by attorneys and judges. Our job will be to learn what we can from those well-stated arguments and opinions and to avoid what makes legal writing so notoriously difficult to read. This course is designed to be, in large part, a practical workshop on the most common forms of legal writing. It is also a consideration of the character of legal communication in general. To these ends, we will write three documents: a legal brief, a legal memorandum, and an analytical essay. In writing the first two, we will become familiar with legal research and law library resources. In the analytical essay we will examine how common perceptions of legal institutions are played out in popular venues, such as film or theater, as well as in the media. In all of the writing we will develop the rhetorical skills of argument and persuasion while mastering the basic elements of style. Several field trips, including at least one to the county court and one to the law school's moot court, will show how speaking is integral to this discipline. Hence, our course also has an oral communications component wherein students will learn the basic skills of legal debate.
Creed Greer is Associate Program Director and Senior Lecturer in the Humanities for the Dial Center for Written and Oral Communication. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 1989. Dr. Greer's specialties include professional and technical communication, composition, and recent literary theory. Since joining the Dial Center in 1995, he has conducted research in and developed disciplinary writing courses for undergraduate and graduate-level work in law, engineering, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and business administration.
Advanced Exposition
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: C
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 9202 | Marie Nelson |
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Prerequisites: junior or senior standing and two 1000- or 2000-level English courses
This special section of ENC 3310 presents opportunities to write about some of the ways that language works and sharpen your writing skills in the process. Writing about Language, the single required text (available at University Copies and More), presents topics that range from the acquisition of writing and of language itself to the sounds of language, to ways words and sentences get put together, to questions about what we actually do with words, and to the use of language in varying social contexts. Selections now included (and I welcome additions) are taken from sources as diverse as J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring, Arthur Miller’s Crucible, Jane Goodall’s In the Shadow of Man, Steven Pinker’s The Language Instinct, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s Metaphors We Live By, Gerald Graff’s Clueless in Academe, William Gibson’s Neuromancer, Newsweek “My Turn” essays, William Safire’s “On Language” columns, and Bob Thaves’ “Malaprop Man” series.
This is the plan: Each of the twelve WL chapters ends with a short list of writing possibilities. You will be writing a response to at least one possibility for each chapter or to a related possibility that you wish to add. These responses will be carefully read and promptly returned to you with comments intended to be helpful, and, along with occasional additional exercises to be written in class, will serve as possible “starts” for three 3-5 page papers. The first paper will be a further development of a “start” written in response to a writing possibility from one of the first four WL chapters. The second, due a little bit after the middle of the term, will be a further development of a topic introduced or suggested by selections from WL chapters 5-8, while the third will be a development of a possibility from chapters 9-12.
There will be no tests or quizzes. Grades will be based on your participation in the work of the class and on the three required papers. Questions or suggestions? Please e-mail me at marienel@msn.com.
Marie Nelson received her Ph.D. from the University of Oregon in 1973. She has published two books on Old English poetry and a number of essays on Old, Middle, and Modern English literature, and served from 1995 to 2000 as the Director of the University of Florida Linguistics Program.
Pop Music and Cultural Perspectives
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: S
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 2003 | Timothy Fik |
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GEO 2426 is a course that highlights the geographic origins and diffusion of "pop music," focusing on historical underpinnings and the dynamics of popular music in American culture. Emphasis is placed on analyzing music innovation, trends, and movements in relation to social geopolitical change and the expressions and sounds of people and places. Discussions and Power Point presentations will trace the roots and lineage of various music styles/genres, identify pioneering artists and trend-setting regions and cities, and describe the diffusion of musical ideas over time and space--across regions and geographic boundaries. The course will examine the importance of music and lyrics as modes of expression and the role of artists as agents of change. More importantly, the course will examine the broader social, economic and cultural implications of the evolution of popular music and alternative counterculture music scenes.
Emphasis will be placed on the evolution of popular music and the emergence, development and proliferation of various musical styles and genres. For example, the course will examine the influence of folk, rockabillly, bluegrass, country and swing, blues, boogie-woogie, and rhythm & blues (R&B) in the manifestation of a musical genre that became known as "rock 'n roll." The course will highlight the importance of black music and the contribution of black artists (with emphasis on Delta and Chicago blues, Piedmont blues, R&B, urban soul and funk, big-city jazz, swing and jump blues, reggae, and Gospel). Discussions will also focus on the disco-dance phenomenon, the new age and world music scenes, heavy metal, punk and post-punk movements, cross-over artists, folk-rock and blues-rock revivals, the Latin influence, corporate rock, new wave, British-based goth and glam, American shock-rock, rap and hip-hop, techno and dance, and various musical hybrids. In addition, the course will examine the restructuring and organization of the music industry in spatial and economic terms. Discussions will include an analysis of the impact of technology, the effects of competition, the role of radio, the Internet and digital music, the rise of independent artists and labels (Indies), and the manufacturing and marketing of commercial artists.
Timothy J. Fik is an Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Florida (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences). He earned a Master of Arts in Geography from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Ph.D in Geography & Regional Development from the University of Arizona (College of Social and Behavioral Sciences). Author of several books and numerous articles in the field of economic geography, his research interests include regional development, globalization, spatial statistics and quantitative methods, price competition, real estate and market area analysis, interaction models, and pop music culture. Dr. Fik’s e-mail address is fik@geog.ufl.edu.
Intensive Beginning German 2
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 2343 | Christina Overstreet |
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Prerequisite: GER 1130 (grade of C or better, or S), or the equivalent
This is a technology-driven language course. Your materials, texts, exercises, homework, quizzes, and tests are provided in form of web pages. This not only saves you money, but it also creates an unlimited flexibility for your instructor to provide you with the most current materials by using the Internet as a source of information. However, you are by no means learning the language in isolation. You will meet with your instructor and your classmates five times per week in a computer lab. During class time, we will work together to discover both the German language and the culture of its native speakers. We will engage in meaningful activities on-line and off-line to facilitate the acquisition of both linguistic and pragmatic aspects. In other words, it is not enough to know what is grammatically correct to effectively communicate with a native speaker. You will also learn how to appropriately use language in specific situations. The teaching and learning resources are provided by VISTA.
Christina Overstreet, Ph.D. is a lecturer in the Department of Germanic and Slavic studies. She is a native speaker of German and trained in Foreign Language Pedagogy and Second Language Acquisition. Ms. Overstreet has directed the Summer Program at the University of Mannheim and has extensive experience in teaching German language and culture on the beginning and intermediate levels. She has been instrumental in developing and teaching web-based courses that present language in the context of culture. Her research interests include the effective integration of new technology into the foreign language classroom. In her free time, Ms. Overstreet enjoys walking at the beach and traveling.
Representations of War in Literature and Visual Media
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: H, I
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 3776 | Eric Kligerman |
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This interdisciplinary course is designed to explore shifting cultural representations of war in the 20th century, focusing primarily on European history, culture and politics. Drawing upon poetry, drama, prose fiction, journalism, painting and film, we shall examine the crisis of representation surrounding war in the 20th century: World War One, World War Two, terrorism of the 1970s, Vietnam and the Gulf Wars.
Eric Kligerman is an Assistant Professor of Germanic and Slavic Studies. His field of work focuses on 20th Century German literature and visual culture, Holocaust Studies and critical theory.
Planetary Geology
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 4482 | Kyle Min |
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GLY 2042 is an introductory course that focuses on various geologic aspects of planets and their moons in the solar system. Formation, evolution and nature of the solar system, and its large solid bodies, can be inferred directly from meteorites and indirectly from a wide range of data obtained from spacecrafts. To understand other planetary bodies, it is essential to understand “geologic processes” occurring in Earth and Earth’s moon, therefore a brief overview on these processes will be given during the beginning stage of the course. The course will also cover smaller planetary bodies such as asteroids and comets which are important components of the solar system.
Kyoungwon Kyle Min recently joined the geology department at UF as an Assistant Professor. He trained as a geochemist at the University of California at Berkeley (Ph.D), University of Wisconsin at Madison (Scientist) and Yale University (Scientist). His research interest is unraveling thermal histories of terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials using various radiogenic isotope systems. He works on constraining timing and rates of shallow-depth crustal processes which are critical in geomorphology and neotectonics. Kyle is also interested in understanding evolutions of meteorites to better explain diverse planetary processes, such as changes in internal structures and heat budgets, igneous activities and shock-induced impact metamorphism of asteroids or planets.
Modern Korean History
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: H
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 5194 | Sarah Kovner |
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This course focuses on the particular episodes that have shaped the ways in which Koreans understand their twentieth-century past. Students examine themes including Japanese Colonial Rule, the Korean War, American Military Occupation, Communist Rule in the North, Military Dictatorship in the South, and the Korean Community in the world. Students will read selections from classic literary texts and view contemporary films.
Sarah Kovner is assistant professor in the Department of History. She received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in East Asian History.
Western Humanities 1
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: H, I
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 9203 | James Hodges |
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This section of Honors Humanities is a survey of Western culture from ancient Greece through the Renaissance, with readings from literature, philosophy, and religion. In addition to selections from the Bible, the course includes The Iliad, plays from Sophocles and Euripides, Plato's Republic, The Aeneid, Dante's Inferno, Machiavelli's The Prince, and Shakespeare's King Lear. Readings about and viewings from classical, medieval, and renaissance architecture, sculpture, and painting are also part of the curriculum. There will be a series of reaction papers required on the assigned readings and a cultural event report.
James Hodges is a Professor Emeritus of English. In addition to his thirty-three years on the faculty at UF, Dr. Hodges has also taught at the Sewanee Military Academy (Tennessee), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and East Tennessee State University. He holds degrees from Vanderbilt University (B.A. and M.A.) and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Western Humanities 2
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: H, I
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 9204 | James Hodges |
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This section of Honors Humanities is a survey of Western culture from the Eighteenth Century to the present, with readings from literature, psychology, and philosophy. The course includes Voltaire’s Candide, Goethe’s Faust, Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, Dostoyevski’s Notes from Underground, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and other plays, T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and other poems, Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, and Sartre’s No Exit and other plays; also included are Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents and Jung’s Man and His Symbols. Readings about and viewings from architecture, sculpture, and painting are also part of the curriculum. There will be a series of reaction papers required on the assigned readings and a cultural event report.
James Hodges is a Professor Emeritus of English. In addition to his thirty-three years on the faculty at UF, Dr. Hodges has also taught at the Sewanee Military Academy (Tennessee), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and East Tennessee State University. He holds degrees from Vanderbilt University (B.A. and M.A.) and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Business & Leadership Writing
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: H, C
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 4428 | Vikram Rangala |
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Writing in the world of work is not done for a grade or praise, but to inspire action and create relationships. Therefore, a professional writing course cannot focus only on technique. It must also consider the processes and contexts within which an individual document gets written. Much of leadership, in business or anywhere, consists of creating or altering perceived contexts, and guiding others along healthy, meaningful processes. For example, a manager who has repeatedly acted in ways that lessen trust and create resentment cannot write a peppy memo to the troops and reasonably expect it to unite and cheer them. It is likely to backfire unless she remains aware of the other ways in which she has influenced them. Writing assignments will include personal and analytical essays, as well as business documents such as memos. While this is not a technical writing course, careful attention to grammar, word choice, and spelling are ways in which writers show care, professionalism, and competence. I will therefore grade written assignments both for technical excellence and for the way in which they show understanding of people, situations, and likely results. Our readings will include topics such as the psychology of persuasion, ethics, and how organizations foster excellence, as well as the writings of successful leaders in a variety of positions and times.
Vikram Rangala is the Honors Writing Coach. He received his B.A. from Rice University and his M.F.A. in creative writing from UF. He has been named Honors Professor of the Year and also teaches Professional Writing for the Warrington College of Business graduate programs.
Magic and Witchcraft
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: H, I
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 6668 | Judy Ann Turner |
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"Magic and witchcraft, the fear of daemons and ghosts, the wish to manipulate invisible powers--all were very much a part of life in the ancient world." --Georg Luck, Arcana Mundi, p. xiii. The occult, folklore, mystery cults, oracles, and superstition--the 'darker side' of religious experience--impacted the lives of average Greeks and Romans much more than did the Olympian or 'civic' gods. Yet this significant feature of ancient religious practices receives little attention in scholarship. This course is an effort to lessen the void in topics of ancient religion available to students. Through the use of film, lecture, reading of ancient (in translation) and modern sources, the course will examine origins and practices of ancient magic, witchcraft, mystery cults, demonology, astrology, alchemy, religious 'possession'and other occult subjects. We will explore continuity or resurgence of some ancient occult practices, and if schedules permit, there will be some guest speaker talks on course topics.
Judy Ann Turner (Ph.D. in Ancient History, University of California) was the Andrew Mellon Research/Teaching Fellow at the University of Southern California '84- '85 and taught at Cal Poly State University '85-'89. In Florida, she taught at SFCC (Humanities, '90-'93) and at U.F. (Honors Program and Classics Dept.) since '93. She has been an officer in the Archaeological Institute of America, Gainesville Society for more than a decade. Her publications include articles on sacerdotal women in the Linear B tablets and and articles on Greek Priesthoods. She is writing a book on Greek priestesses and ancient cults.
Spirituality and the Health Sciences
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: H
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 0915 | Lou Ritz and Barbara Welsch |
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This course is intended for undergraduate health science majors, particularly pre-medical students, who are interested in exploring the interface of spirituality and the health sciences.
Interest in the intersection of spirituality and health is rapidly growing in our society, as we seek deeper meaning in our lives and a more holistic approach to our health challenges and wellness. The instructors are founding members of the University of Florida Center for Spirituality and Health (for more information on this program, see
http://www.spiritualityandhealth.ufl.edu).
The course will consist of weekly presentations and discussions led by the course instructors and by members of the UF Spirituality and Health group. Student group dialogue and exchange will be emphasized. Topics typically include:
• Spirituality: Its Nature and Varieties
• Health: An MD's Perspective
• Health: Viewpoints from Religions
• Alcoholism and the AA Program
• Research on Prayer and Health
• Meditation and Wellness
• Mindfulness and Stress Management
• Wisdom in Aging; Death and Dying
• Care for the Soul: Living the Healthy and Spirited Life
• Stories that Heal
Students will write six 3-page papers chosen from the 7 different class topics. In addition, a final paper (5 pages) and a final class presentation (10 minutes) will reflect your understanding and appreciation of the relationship between spirituality and health sciences.
Dr. Lou Ritz is an Associate Professor of Neuroscience, within the College of Medicine and the McKnight Brain Institute. His research interests that have been funded by the National Institutes of Health are concerned with spinal cord injury and repair. He is the course director for Medical Neuroscience, taken by all first year medical students, and for Functional Human Neuroanatomy, taken by a diverse group of graduate students from around the University. Dr. Ritz is an Associate Director of the University of Florida Center for Spirituality and Health. He is also a co-director of the John Templeton Spirituality and Medicine Award for incorporating spirituality, cultural diversity, and end-of-life issues into the UF medical school curriculum. Questions about the course can be sent to: ritz@mbi.ufl.edu.
Barbara Welsch was formerly an associate professor at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine where she specialized in internal medicine and neurology of large animals. Currently she works full-time as a psychologist at the UF SHCC; she also practices small animal veterinary acupuncture, teaches Chilel™ Qigong, teaches for the Psychology Department a course in consciousness "The Non-local Mind", and welcomes the occasional opportunity to teach the Psychology of Personal Growth. Dr. Welsch's chief interest is in the area of mind-body-spirit medicine. Her therapy practice is multimodal and includes Depth Oriented Brief Therapy, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy), hypnosis, biofeedback, neurofeedback, energy psychology (Thought Field Therapy) and group therapy.
The "Hot Zone:" Biology, Society and American Popular Culture
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: S, B
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 9165 | Betty Smocovitis |
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Anyone following the news has seen how much the development of modern biological science is making front page news. From stem cell research, to intelligent design/evolution, genetic engineering to animal experimentation and global warming, and even to the most fundamental questions such as "what is life," when does it begin and end, biological science has emerged as one of the most celebrated, yet one of the most contentious sciences in the history of science. This course is designed to explore that interface between biology and society as it is revealed not only in scientific and scholarly works but also in American popular culture. Sources that will be explored include not only scholarly reference works about science but also a diverse set of media where the class can evaluated and analyze the various social dimensions to scientific controversies. The design of the course will be seminar-based, and emphasize classroom discussion based on selected readings, appropriate writing assignments, and where necessary viewings of videos and films.
Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis is Professor of the history of science at the University of Florida. She teaches courses in two units, Zoology and History. Her background training was in botany, ecology and evolutionary biology, and in the history of science. Her area of expertise is the history of biological science, with a focus on the history of evolutionary biology. She has taught at UF for 18 years and has received the University "teacher of the year," teaching award in 1997, along with three College-level awards, departmental awards as well as gaining recognition for her teaching nationally. Her courses place heavy emphasis on interdisciplinary engagement between the sciences and the humanities and demand reading, writing and seminar style discussion.
Writing & Love
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: H, C
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 2540 | Vikram Rangala |
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| 2552 | Vikram Rangala |
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Writing and loving are similar disciplines requiring similar decisions: a willingness to put aside one’s self, careful attention to detail, a willingness to see people and things as they are and value them, relentless sincerity, a modicum of grace, a sense of humor. Writing and love are both sometimes painful. Both must be done even when we don’t feel like it, even without inspiration. Both are likely to make us embarrass ourselves. This is not a lightweight course, not a support group, not a course in romance fiction, not really about romance at all. Love, in this definition, is not romantic love. It is not a feeling, not something to fall into. It is a verb, a practice, a way of engaging the world; it is a willful action. Most of the problems we face, together and individually, are ultimately problems of how to love: they require us to make better decisions about what to say to each other, how to see each other and ourselves, about what is important, about how to better give of ourselves. Writing is about precisely those decisions. Students will write personal essays weekly. They will also be required to practice writing every day for 10 to 30 minutes. There will be regular, though short, reading assignments, but in this course, the students themselves are the primary text. Whereas in other courses you study a subject, in this course we study ourselves. Weekly essays will be graded rigorously for grammar and style. Students will also be asked to get physical exercise, at their own level and pace, for 30 minutes three times a week.
Vikram Rangala is the Honors Writing Coach. He received his B.A. from Rice University and his M.F.A. in creative writing from UF. He has been named Honors Professor of the Year and also teaches Professional Writing for the Warrington College of Business graduate programs.
Age of the Blockbuster
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: H
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 7082 | Dana Peterson |
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This course examines American popular culture in the Age of the Blockbuster. Beginning in the mid-1970s--Steven Spielberg released Jaws on June 30, 1975; Stephen King published his first novel, Carrie, in 1974; George Lucas launched Star Wars in May 1977--the Age of the Blockbuster heralded America's current obsession with bigger, louder, and richer. This section of IDH 3931 will ask students to think critically about American popular culture in the last quarter of the twentieth century. Students, therefore, should be interested in learning more about who "we" are, and in turn, be willing to consume as much "culture"--i.e., movies, books, TV, music, sports, advertising--as they can. Students will also be expected to share these experiences in classroom discussions and presentations. Course requirements include a series of reading responses/journals and a group project.
Dana H. Peterson is on parole for a variety of offenses committed on his (unfortunately under-publicized) nationwide 1985 crime spree that ended just outside Dollyland in Tennessee. He currently teaches at the University of Florida under his mother's maiden name, Staff. Highly regarded for the level of expertise he brings to a variety of subjects, Dr. Staff also directs the AIM Program, the university's initiative to help disadvantaged students succeed at UF. Though Dr. Peterson died at the end of 2004, he still continues to teach this course as part of his penance for how he lived his life. He also continues to answer e-mail, so feel free to contact him at peterson@clas.ufl.edu.
American Cultures: Constructing the American Nation
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: H
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 6200 | Esther Romeyn |
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Ever since the United States became a separate nation, writers, intellectuals and artists have attempted to define the distinctiveness of American culture. Throughout the 19th century and into the 20th century, many considered the frontier a key factor in the shaping of a unique American national character. The frontier evokes a number of images: Native Americans, Cowboys; the West; desert landscapes; wilderness; savagery. In this course we will examine various texts, dating from various periods, in which the frontier has an important place. These texts range from 19th century historical romances (such as J.F. Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans), to Native American novels (such as Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony), to landscape painting and photography and films (the Western; Pocahontas; Dances with Wolves). We will discuss how these texts imagine the American nation, or national character, in relation to the frontier, the West, Native Americans, race, the natural landscape, and new immigrants.
Esther Romeyn received her Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Minnesota. She taught in the Interdisciplinary Humanities Program at Arizona State University from 1998 until 2005. Her main interests lie in Ethnic Studies, Cultural Studies, Performance Studies, Jewish Studies, Urban Studies, and cross-cultural psychology. Her publications are concerned specifically with immigrant acculturation as a process of cultural “translation” (or “mistranslation”); the performance of ethnic identity (in daily life, festivals, parades, and theater); and the shifting boundaries of “race” in American culture.
Chinese Diaspora: A Global-Historical Perspective
Writing or Math Req: W - 4000
Gen Ed: S, I
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 2974 | Ed Tennant |
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Who are the Chinese? Are they all the same? What is ‘Chineseness’? Where do the Chinese live today? These are just some of the questions approached in this course. The ethnic Chinese living outside of China (aka the Chinese Diaspora, Overseas Chinese, Chinese Overseas, Chinese abroad, etc.) represent one of the largest cultural groups in the world today. However, researchers are finally realizing that the ‘Chinese’ are an incredibly diverse group of people. This is partially a result of the ethnic diversity encountered historically in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. In addition, the cultural blending and new identities created when Chinese interact with other groups abroad has also increased this diversity.
This class will look at the recent historical movements of the Chinese outside of mainland China (1800-present). In addition to North America (US and Canada), we will explore every other inhabited continent. This includes Hakka Chinese in Panama and Jamaica, Chinese from Macau in 19th century Peru, Chinese Transnationalism in Britain, South African Chinese, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, problems of human trafficking today, etc. etc. Grades for the course will come from one mid-term exam, class attendance and participation, and one 15-20 page research paper. Students are urged to enroll early as the instructor expects this course to fill up quickly.
About Ed Tennant: I consider myself a historical anthropologist who draws on ethnography, archaeology, and applied anthropology. I am especially interested in how ethnic identity is maintained, changed, and actively generated in the modern era. My Ph.D. research focuses on ethnic idenity among the Chinese overseas through comparativce research in South China and New Zealand. I believe that studying material culture with an ethnographically-informed framework is one of the best methods for understanding this process among non-European peoples whose history has been largely silenced through colonialism.
I have personally conducted research on the Chinese overseas in the US, Europe, South America, and Australasia. In addition, and often to pay the bills, I have taken part in archaeological projects in Alaska, New York, SE US, Norway, and New Zealand. I have strong faith in holistic approaches, and applaud students and researchers who step outside of their disciplines to engage the real-world. You can learn more about me at my website: www.little-yeti.com
Contemporary Moral Issues in Biotechnology and Regenerative Medicine
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: H
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 8905 | Gayle Brown |
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This course is designed to introduce students to some of the central issues of biomedical ethics. Ethics addresses questions such as:
How should I act?
How do I decide whether one way I could act is morally better than some other way?
Are different ethical systems equally acceptable, or are some people's values just wrong?
Biomedical ethics addresses these questions in the context of patient care and the distribution of medical attention, and seeks to determine which actions or options in medical practice are obligatory, which permissible, and which impermissible. By the end of the course students will be familiar with the major ethical theories relevant to medical practice, and be able to apply these theories to current issues in biomedical ethics. Specific topics include: abortion, physician-assisted suicide, genetic engineering, reproductive technology, patient confidentiality, HIV/AIDS, and race and gender issues in the allocation of scarce resources.
G.M. Brown has taught a wide variety of courses in philosophy in both the Honors Program and the Philosophy Department at UF, including ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, the philosophy of religion and the philosophy of science. She also teaches the popular Tao of Star Trek course. In addition to philosophy, her academic interests include poetry, literature, archeology, theology, theoretical physics and evolutionary biology.
Critical Issues in Contemporary Africa
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 4026 | Todd Leedy |
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Africa in the 21st Century faces numerous challenges, many of which are inter-related. How these challenges are addressed by local citizens, African states, and the international community will shape the future of the continent. This seminar-style course is designed to familiarize students with a variety of perspectives on conflict resolution, economic development, environmental management, food security, governance, international assistance, public health, etc. In addition to providing a deep exposure to contemporary Africa, the course will further students' essential skills in written analysis, discussion, and debate.
Todd Leedy (Ph.D. History, University of Florida, 2000) is Associate Director and Lecturer in the Center for African Studies. He completed his B.A. (honors) and M.A. degrees at Michigan State University. During his undergraduate training, he spent an academic year at the University of Zimbabwe which provided the motivation for his subsequent research on the intersection of religion and politics with agricultural improvement schemes. Leedy received a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support his fieldwork in Zimbabwe during 1997-98. He presently coordinates the UF study abroad programs in Botswana and Tanzania. In 2005, he developed the ongoing Lombardi Scholar summer enrichment program in South Africa with cooperation from the UF Honors Program.
Engineering and Astronomy of the Ancients
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 9462 | Jonathan Walz |
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Have you ever wondered...how and why Egyptians constructed pyramids? Why Plains Indians made complex calendars and observed celestial events? Or, whether meaning or function empowers an Aboriginal boomerang? During the semester, we explore ancient technologies and ideologies through archaeology and other sources. Whether you’re interested in the Seven Ancient Wonders or the origins of tools 2.6 million years ago, this course seeks, quite explicitly, to challenge the technology/ideology dichotomy of our modern world. My intent is to force a reconsideration of the cultural and historical roots of human technology, construction, travel, time-keeping, and religion.
Jonathan R. Walz is a Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology at UF. His current interests range from the archaeologies of Africa to the interface between ideologies and technologies and from ornithology to classical music. University studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, UF, and the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) inspired his passion for teaching and learning.
Ethics: Theory and Practice
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: H
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 4951 | Gayle Brown |
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The aim of this course is to help you reason more clearly and effectively about moral issues. The subject matter of the course can be divided roughly into two parts. First, we want to explore general issues about morality: what is morality? Is there a systematic way of understanding our moral judgments? What principles should we use to decide difficult moral issues? The second and main part of the course consists of an examination of difficult moral problems. Specific topics include as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, affirmative action, welfare reform and privacy.
Our focus shall be three-fold. First, we want to see how different moral theories may lead to different conclusions about what the right response is to these problems. Second, we shall aim to be as precise as we can about the arguments supporting these conclusions. Third, we want to critically evaluate these arguments--that is, we want to determine whether they are good arguments or bad arguments. It is important to realize that philosophy is not fundamentally about imparting information; it is about learning to reason more carefully and thoroughly. Thus, the main objective of the course is to improve students' skills in understanding and evaluating arguments.
G.M. Brown has taught a wide variety of courses in philosophy in both the Honors Program and the Philosophy Department at UF, including ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, the philosophy of religion and the philosophy of science. She also teaches the popular Tao of Star Trek course. In addition to philosophy, her academic interests include poetry, literature, archeology, theology, theoretical physics and evolutionary biology.
Figures of the "In-Between"
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 0983 | John Murchek |
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This course will examine literary and cinematic representations of figures of the “in-between:” ghosts and angels, vampires and virtual realities. Poised between life and death, substance and insubstantiality, the earthly and the otherworldly, and the natural and the technological, such “in-between” figures allow the texts in which they appear to explore these uneasy conceptual border territories. As they do so, they invite their readers to reflect on problems of memory, mourning, fantasy, desire, hallucination, imagination, and ideology. Moreover, at the same time that the “in-between” figures occupy liminal conceptual spaces, they frequently appear in imaginative works that are attempting to mediate fears and anxieties arising out of troubled social and political relations. We will try to engage as many of these issues as time permits through meticulously close readings of novels, poems, plays, and films selected from amongst those I list below. We will assume throughout that fiction, drama, poetry and film are not only forms of entertainment (though they most certainly are that), but also forms of thinking that struggle tenaciously and rigorously to articulate conceptual impasses and cultural dilemmas they may be unable to resolve. There will be a number of brief writing exercises to make sure that students are keeping up with the assigned reading, and two essays.
Course Objectives
• To provide students with the opportunity to enhance their skills as critical readers of literary and cinematic texts. If you are not interested in detailed critical analysis of texts, you may want to reconsider enrolling in this course.
• To provide students with the opportunity to enhance their skills as writers--particularly their skills as writers of brief arguments about literature and cinema.
• To give students the opportunity to reflect upon and explore the issues identified in the course description above.
Texts
Primary readings will be drawn from amongst the following texts:
Michael Cunningham, Specimen Days
Carolyn Forché, The Angel of History
William Gibson, Neuromancer
Henry James, The Turn of the ScrewNeil Jordan (dir.), Interview with the Vampire
Tony Kushner, Angels in America
Toni Morrison, Beloved
William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Wallace Stevens, The Palm at the End of the Mind & The Necessary Angel
Bram Stoker, Dracula
Wachowski Bros. (dir.), The Matrix
John Murchek received his Ph.D. in English from Brown University in 1993. He taught in the English Department at UF between 1990 and 1999, and returned to the English Department in 2002 to take up the position of Coordinator of Student Affairs, in which capacity he advises English majors. As well as being interested in poetry as a genre, he is interested in English Renaissance literature and culture, critical theory, and cultural studies. Among the courses he has previously taught for the Honors Program are "Shakespeare and Metamorphosis," "What Can Words Do? Acts of Language in Philosophy, Literature and Public Life," and "Figures of the In-Between: Ghosts and Angels, Vampires and Virtual Realities."
Globalization, Civil Society, NGOs and Grassroots Development in Central America.: Six Case Studies from Nicaragua
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: S, I
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 2539 | Tim Fogarty |
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Students today confront a rapidly changing global economy in an increasingly socio-economically stratified world. Efforts at international development seek to address issues of socio-economic injustice. Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) encourage North Americans to become personally involved in transnational grassroots development activities in other parts of the world. University Students, among other citizens, are invited as members of civil society to become personal channels for transnational solidarity between the global North and the global South. This course will expose students to a variety of NGOs which operate in Central America and provide a theoretical framework by which to analyze NGOs as social change agents. By introducing NGOs actually working in Nicaragua this course provides background for and raises research questions for a study-abroad course of field work in Nicaragua during Summer A 2007, but can be taken as a stand-alone course.
Specific objectives of the course include to:
1. Introduce the concept of globalization in its manifestations as transnational organizations or networks of the market, the state, and civil society.
2. Introduce the concept of development as the process of popular classes accessing the resources necessary for a life of dignity.
3. Introduce, through case studies, several grassroots development NGOs which work with the popular classes (peasants and those in the informal economy) in Central America.
4. Provide an overview of the pre-history, history and current events of Central America, with a particular emphasis on the relationship of the United States and Nicaragua as a context for contemporary development efforts in a global neo-liberal economic climate.
5. Provide a framework for analysis and critique of NGOs agents of social change and grassroots development in Central America.
6. Provide initial exposure to the culture of Nicaragua.
7. Formulate questions concerning grassroots development and international solidarity that can be researched in a subsequent study abroad field work experience with NGOs in Nicaragua (Summer A 2007).
About Tim Fogarty: I have a BA in philosophy, an MA in Religion, and Ph.D. in Anthropology (2005 University of Florida). My research is in development anthropology, a sub-field of socio-cultural anthropology. My research program is to understand how solidarity forms between North Americans and Central Americans across national, social class, ideology and life style differences.
I have participated in over 20 different short term small group tours to Nicaragua and other countries in Central America, accompanied by North Americans who travel there to do something helpful in the midst of the second worst poverty in the Western Hemisphere. These trips have been hosted by small non-governmental organizations and often go to remote and isolated rural communities as well as the typical tourist attractions. I am planning to take UF honors students to Nicaragua for a summer experience of cross-cultural communication. Multicultural communication would be a good preparatory course for such a journey.
Introduction to Forensic Anthropology
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: S
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 4505 | Jason Byrd |
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Forensic anthropology, an applied subfield of biological anthropology, is a science that utilizes methods developed in skeletal biology, archaeology, and other forensic sciences to solve cases of medico-legal significance. This course is a three-credit class designed to present how forensic anthropologists help resolve modern and historic crimes both in the laboratory and the field. Students will be introduced to the techniques that forensic anthropologists use to recover and identify individuals who died as a suicide, homicide, accidents and mass disasters.
Dr. Byrd is a Board-Certified Forensic Entomologist and is a past Chairman of the American Board of Forensic Entomology. He has conducted over 100 workshops specializing in the education of law enforcement officials, medical examiners, coroners, attorneys, and other death investigators on the use and applicability of arthropods in legal investigations. He has published numerous scientific articles on the subject of forensic entomology, and has also published two books dealing with the use of insects in legal investigations.
Lepidoptera Biology
Writing or Math Req: W - 2000
Gen Ed: B
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 4508 | Mirian Hay-Roe |
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NOTE: This course meets in the far southwest corner of campus near 34th street. Please plan accordingly.
This course will be taught in the conference room of the McGuire Center of Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Natural History Museum. The course covers the biology of an interesting group of insects from the order Lepidoptera, which includes butterflies and moths. Various aspects of their biology will be presented including their general taxonomy, their interactions with their host plants and their natural enemies, predators, parasitoids, chemical defenses, communication mechanisms, migration and conservation. Some collecting and curating practices will also be discussed. Grades will be based upon completion of assigned readings, class attendance, small quizzes and a final term paper.
Dr. Mirian Medina Hay-Roe is a postdoctoral fellow at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity. Her research interests include the ecology and biodiversity of butterflies from Central and South America, with special emphasis on insect-plant interactions, as well as behavioral and chemical components involved in this interaction. She has worked with Museum collections for many years and has travelled to Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama to conduct research.
Music and Health
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: H, I
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 0924 | Miriam Zach |
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We will explore the relationship of music and medicine via readings, recordings, lectures, discussions, and musical experiences, investigating the history, theory, and practice of the creative power of music in health care settings. In addition to reviewing music therapy research in the medical literature, we will study the work of musicians-physicians, medical problems of perfoming artists, medical histories of composers, and music in hospitals. Students are expected to listen to musical compositions of various styles and genres, be able to identify them by composer, historical context, stylistic and aesthetic characteristics, and their potential use as treatment in clinical application. There will be two tests and a research paper/creative project presentation. Required readings include: Joseph Machlis and Kristine Forney's The Enjoyment of Music, chronological version, 9th edition with accompanying CD's; and Randall McClellan's The Healing Forces of Music.
Miriam Zach, Ph.D. (minerva@ufl.edu or http://www.womencomposerslibrary.org) is Assistant Professor in the Honors Program at the University of Florida. She holds degrees from Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. Aside from teaching courses on music history, and music and health, she maintains her own music studio in Gainesville giving lessons in piano, harpsichord, and pipe organ. In 2003 she became co-principal with her husband Dr. Mikesch Muecke in the design/build architectural practice misumiwaDesign ( misumiwadesign.com). Last year she published For the Birds: A Women Composers’ Music History Speller with Culicidae Press (http://www.culicidaepress.com). In 1998 she recorded the CD Hidden Treasures on the Princeton University Chapel organ, and plans to record future CDs of music by women composers on her new house organ, designed and built by A. David Moore in 2005.
Music, Literature, and Their Intersections
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: H
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 9459 | Mark Mitchell |
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This seminar will examine aspects of the relationship between classical music and literature, and will therefore require careful listening as well as careful reading. The most obvious fruits of the relationship between music and literature are the art song and opera, but these will form only a part of our study, the main focus of which will be on the ways in which literature makes use of music.
The texts we will examine will be drawn from both fiction (possibly Willa Cather's "A Wagner Matinee," E. M. Forster's A Room with a View, Thomas Mann's "The Wunderkind," Frank Norris's The Pit, Tolstoy's "The Kreutzer Sonata") and poetry (Robert Browning's "A Toccata of Galuppi's," T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets, D. H. Lawrence's "Piano," James Merrill's "The Victor Dog," Wallace Steven's "Peter Quince at the Clavier"). These will be supplemented with a selection of relevant non-fiction texts. Listening to the musical works which appear in, form the subject of, or provide the occasion for these writings will help us to consider how music and literature may function together. We will also look at at least one contemporary opera based upon an American literary work--Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, or Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire--in order to ask ourselves an age-old question about the form: is drama, or at least a dramatic situation, more dramatic when sung than when spoken (or read)?
Over the course of the semester, each student will be asked to keep a notebook wherein to record his or her responses to the assigned reading, as well as any references to music he or she may come upon in other reading and other courses. The major writing assignment will be a term paper analyzing the role of music in a significant literary work. A list of possible titles will be made available to those students who do not find a work that intrigues them on their own. This written work is not more important than steady and informed participation in the seminar discussions.
Mark Mitchell has written or edited – alone or in collaboration – ten books, most recently Moriz Rosenthal In Word And Music: A Legacy Of The Nineteenth Century (Indiana University Press). He is a 2006-2007 Guggenheim Foundation Fellow.
Newspapers for Nonmajors
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 2249 | Angela Brammer |
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Learn the parts of a newspaper and what goes into putting it together each and every day. We will take a critical look at newspaper content and composition in the context of legal, ethical and financial constraints, as well as the almighty deadline. This course is for nonmajors with an interest but little to no experience in journalism.
The print edition of The Gainesville Sun will be discussed frequently in class. You will be expected to bring a copy of the daily paper to class, and you should be familiar with each day's paper before you arrive.
Major projects will include a mid-term research project/presentation and a clip book in which you will collect specific examples of journalistic principles in action. You will also be expected to complete a series of smaller weekly assignments, including short (one-page) response papers and other creative work. Attendance, participation and punctuality will be reflected in your final grade.
Angela Brammer teaches high-school journalism at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School here in Gainesville. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism and her master's degree in entomology from UF. She has worked for the Seattle Times, the Winston-Salem Journal, and yes, even the Independent Florida Alligator.
Race, Class, and Schools
Writing or Math Req: W - 4000
Gen Ed: S, I
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 3011 | Regan Garner |
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American schools, as products of a democratic society, symbolize the degree of success or failure of social, political, economic and moral customs. This course will analyze the school as a social system and the cultural contexts that shape educational systems in the United States and abroad. In particular, how do the politics of race and class complicate the attainment of the equality of educational opportunity?
Films and reading assignments will facilitate class discussion, and students will be expected to participate. Grading will be based on short weekly response papers, a final research paper (5 pages) and class attendance and participation.
Regan has a BA in Classical Studies and a M.Ed. in Social Foundations from UF. Her research interests are desegregation and the socioeconomic and racial components of the American public school experience.
Staging Three Fantastic Playwrights
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| DEP-X | Sidney Homan |
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Please note: This course is by audition only (see below).
Eight to ten students will form an acting company, directed by Professor Homan, who will stage three productions during the spring semester at the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre: An Evening with William Shakespeare, An Evening with Tom Stoppard, and An Evening with Harold Pinter. Each will run roughly two-hours, have one, possibly two performances, and will be a collage of famous scenes from the playwright. Students will rehearse both on their own when learning lines and later with Professor Homan. Since some acting experience and ability is required, students interested in the course should contact Professor Homan early in the fall semester (shakes@ufl.edu, or 378-9166), well before the registration period for the spring semester, to arrange an audition.
Sidney Homan is Professor of English at the university, and the author of some ten books on Shakespeare and the modern playwrights. He also works in professional and university theatres as an actor and a director.
Sustainability and the Integrated Bottom Line
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: S
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 0887 | Dedee DeLongpré |
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This course will expose students to the global trends towards sustainability seen among governments, businesses, and other institutions; how personal lifestyle choices can contribute to or detract from sustainability goals; and how successful businesses and governments are implementing sustainability in ways that enhance their bottom lines. The goal of this course is to learn about the interconnectivity of human and natural systems and how to manage them to create positive change.
On an average day anyone may take an innocent drive to a coffee bar to grab a latte-to-go. The day may pass without any realization of the effects of this trip: the resources used to fuel the vehicle, the emissions created in the process, the economic imbalance manifested through cultural dynamics, the environmental and social impacts of food production systems, and the consequences of our dependence on disposable consumer goods. Students will be exposed to emerging global approaches and challenged to identify personal local applications.
Course topics will include:
• The dubious rewards of consumption
• The ethics of sustainability
• Leadership toward change
• Demographics of the sustainability revolution
• Climate change and ecological sustainability
• Social equity in a flattened global economy
• Zero-waste and carbon neutrality
• Sustainable agriculture
• Socially responsible investing
• Indicators of progress
• Ecological economics
• Natural Capitalism
• Frameworks and tools for implementing sustainability
• The value of ecosystem services
• Renewable energy strategies
• Water wars
• Community sustainability
• Sustainability and the built environment
Principles and practices of sustainability will be presented through guest speakers, in-class exercises, and case studies. Grading will be based on weekly reflection papers, group projects with presentations, quizzes, and in-class participation.
Dedee DeLongpré is the director of the University of Florida’s Office of Sustainability. She has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California and a master’s of business administration with an emphasis in sustainable management from the Presidio School of Management in San Francisco. She has experience in nonprofit management, primarily in the areas of education and the environment. DeLongpré served as executive director of the community non-profit, Sustainable Alachua County. Previously, she developed curricula for graduate-level courses in sustainability while working as an associate for Natural Capitalism Solutions. She was a program administrator for Fauna & Flora International and a development director for Presidio Hill School and Dunn School. DeLongpré serves on the boards of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education as well as the Council for Sustainable Florida.
The Application of Statistical Analysis
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 4009 | Jeremy Dale |
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This course provides an introduction to statistics for non-majors and majors alike. The class is designed to familiarize students with the concepts of independent and dependent probabilities, related events, expected values, and mathematical-based decision making. The game of Texas Hold’Em as well as other games of chance (dice, flipping a coin, etc.) will be used as a medium in the pursuit of teaching these statistical concepts. No prior knowledge of these games is required. NOTE: This class in no way advocates gambling.
Jeremy Dale is a graduate student in the Warrington College of Business Masters of Science in Finance program. He received his B.S. in Finance and B.A. in Economics from the University of Florida in 2006.
The Tao of Star Trek
Writing or Math Req: W - 6000
Gen Ed: H, I
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 7605 | Gayle Brown |
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Our general aim in this course is to explore various philosophical issues through the medium of science fiction. We will be spending the semester in the place where philosophy and science fiction intersect. Science fiction affords us an excellent venue for philosophical exploration. Some of the best philosophy is driven by thought-experiments-imaginary scenarios that are designed to illuminate some difficult philosophical questions. For example, we might imagine that you and I were to switch brains, or that a transporter mishap results in the fusion of two people into a single person, and then we might ask ourselves what our thoughts about such bizarre circumstances contribute to our understanding of who and what we are.
Philosophy is the exploration of the concepts we employ to understand ourselves and the world around us. We want to examine how we think. Sometimes, upon examination, our pre-theoretical notions turn out to be inadequate. How then shall we respond? What are we to say? Science fiction writers have always looked to philosophy as a fertile source of ideas. Many episodes of the various incarnations of Star Trek are inspired by issues in philosophy, while films such as A Clockwork Orange, The Matrix, 12 Monkeys and others borrow from philosophy in more ways than can easily be counted. Philosophy and science fiction are kindred spirits, for they are both animated by a sense of wonder and by the seemingly limitless possibilities that lie before us.
G.M. Brown has taught a wide variety of courses in philosophy in both the Honors Program and the Philosophy Department at UF, including ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, the philosophy of religion and the philosophy of science. She also teaches the popular Tao of Star Trek course. In addition to philosophy, her academic interests include poetry, literature, archeology, theology, theoretical physics and evolutionary biology.
Visual Literacy
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: H
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| 2312 | Daniel Stepp |
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Visual imagery acts as a means of communication independent of spoken or written language. Through images, sequential relationships, signs and symbols humans express themselves creatively and profoundly with a language rooted in a primary response to the sense of sight.
Painters, sculptors, filmmakers, photographers, comic artists, and graphic designers have created works of art that speak visually and we will explore all of them throughout the course. Students will observe and write criticism on visual mediums as well as produce work of their own. Throughout the course we will go to museums, watch films, read comics and look at pictures to learn the vocabulary of visual literacy and attempt to understand the languages of human expression and it capacity to capture the human experience.
This class is not predicated on innate artistic ability but rather a desire to investigate and describe the world visually.
Students are encouraged to be inventive, curious, courageous, and prolific.
Daniel Stepp has taught painting and drawing at the University of Florida since 1998. He received his MFA from the New York Academy of Art and has exhibited in Florida, New York, and Canada. His current paintings have been described as American genre with a focus on tools and technology, sex roles in labor, corporate branding, initiation, ritual, the transference of myth and archetype onto genre activities, and the conflict created by contrived culture imprinted onto evolved, long-standing traditions.
Professional Development Strategies
Writing or Math Req: None
Gen Ed: None
| Section | Instructor | Times | Locations | ||||||
| DEP-X | Sheila Dickison |
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