HP 1000-01 and 02: “Intellectual Communities” 1 cr.
R 3:10-4:00pm and (02)W 3:10-4:00, Honors House. (I) Intellectual Com. Credit, Instructor: Dr. Duncan Harris
HP 2151-01: “Wyoming Walkabout” 3 cr. CRN 11944
M 6:00-9:00PM ; Instructors: Paul Taylor and Peter Shive
About 30,000 years ago, in Europe and the Middle East, the last of the Neanderthals were witnessing the advent of the Cro Magnons. Rock paintings and other artifacts document this transition, but both of those cultures were long ago extinguished and overwritten by multiple waves of Neolithic and more recent migrations. In Australia, however, living men and women can trace an unbroken cultural link 60,000 years into the past. Some of these people still live according to the laws set down at that time. They are repositories of a priceless gift – they bear witness to what it was like to be human before the last Ice Ages. There is no one left to tell us what the Lascaux paintings mean, but Australian Aboriginal people can tell us what their rock art means. In this course students will come to understand what it means to be indigenous, not so much by reading or hearing about it as by participating in the indigenous experience on an individual personal basis. Students will create modern analogs of important Aboriginal traditions, and learn to honor the importance of ritual and ceremony which is so important in the lives of all indigenous peoples. We expect that this course will provide important lessons for our students, such as how to live in harmony with the natural world, how to find an appropriate balance between independence and interdependence, and how to live with a fulfilling sense of purpose.
HP 2151-02: Modern China: 3 cr; (CH), Cultural Humanities, (G), Global and A&S Non-Western; CRN: 13868;
TR 11:00am-12:15pm Instructor: Dr. Tyler Fall
This course is designed as a broad, and admittedly selective, survey of Chinese culture and Chinese history from the decline of the Ming Dynasty in the 1500s to the present day. Our survey will delve into China’s political history, its cultural productions, the role of non-elites, and its interactions with the rest of the world, particularly with the West. Through close attention to these themes, we will examine the development of modern China, assess the tension between tradition and outside influence, and consider both the challenges and possibilities facing China in the future.
HP 2151-03: Modern Japanese Society and Culture; 3 cr.; A&S Non-Western, Humanities (CH), Global (G), 3 cr. CRN: 15309
MWF 11:00-11:50am, Instructor: Noah Miles
This course is designed to introduce Japanese society and culture. The class will take a thematic approach to the study of Japan. We will integrate history and literature from the Jomon to the Edo periods, covering a diverse range of topics including: language development, the introduction of Buddhism, poetry, classical and modern literature, traditional arts and holidays concluding with the development of popular culture.
HP 3151-01: Panpipe and Steel Pan: Music and Identity in Peru and Trinidad; 3 cr; Cultural Arts (CA), Global (G) W 3:10-5:45; CRN: 12493; Instructor: Dr. David Romtvedt
This course will include studying the history and social place of panpipe and steel pan music in Peru and Trinidad as well as learning to play these musics. We will begin with steel drum, step back in time to build PVC tamboo bamboo and learn to play them, go to panpipes, and, to end the term, head back to steel pan. Class will meet once a week for three hours. The texts for the course will be Moving Away from Silence: Music of the Peruvian Altiplano and the Experience of Urban Migration by Thomas Turino and Music from Behind the Bridge: Steelband Spirit and Politics in Trinidad and Tobago by Shannon Dudley. Other readings will be drawn from Unheard Voices: The Rise of Steelband and Calypso in the Caribbean and North America by A. Myrna Nurse.
HP 3152-01: Race and Racism; 3 cr.; Cultural Social and Behavior Science (CS), Diversity (D); CRN: 15308; MW 10:00-11:20; Instructor: Dr. Steven Bialostok
This course is framed by a simple contradiction. Race is real, yet it is a myth. Racial categories are very real social and cultural phenomena. They are rooted in history and culturally constructed through laws, the media, and various institutions. These categories are reproduced, subverted, and sometimes changed by people through socialization, media consumption, interaction, dialogue, protest, and political participation. Yet, what makes race real, animates it with so much power, and fosters its tenacious hold on much of the Western world’s collective psyche? It is the fact that people largely believe that race has something to do with nature, biology, or rational science. Ironically, it is biology and so-called rational science that provides the best evidence that there is no valid basis to organize people by racial categories.
In this course, we will focus on the disciplines of anthropology and sociology and their role in shaping the cultural politics of race. We will explore both its historical construction and its contemporary manifestation as a crucial aspect of American culture and an integral component of people’s identity.
HP 3152-02: Mind Bind; 3 cr; Social Science (CS); CRN: 16223;
TR 9:35-10:50am; Instructor: Prof. Karen Bartsch
Some of the most important psychological developments concern the realization of one's own limitations in the areas of perception, memory, reasoning, and judgment. This seminar-style course will draw on literatures from developmental, cognitive, social, and abnormal psychology, as well as related material from philosophy, anthropology, and literature, to explore the limitations of human knowledge acquisition and how to overcome them.
Topics will include developmental advances in meta-cognition, epistemological advances in adulthood, new perspectives on conceptual development that focus on naive theories ( including the development of a "theory of mind"), moral reasoning and development, cultural constraints on cognitive development, categorization and stereotyping, functional-fixedness, perceptual biases and development, and decision-making. The aim of the course is to enhance awareness of the psychological constraints on human information processing, explore ways to circumvent them, and thus foster critical and creative thinking.
HP 3152-03: Game of Sports; 3 cr.; CRN: 16244; TR 1:20-2:35pm; Instructor: Jeremy Weaver
Sports make a lasting impact on everyday culture and society. Whether we participate in athletics, competitions or merely watch them, we are exposed to sports. As a cultural value, sports have come to dominate American minds progressively over the last 100 years. This course will look at the relationship between the cultural aspect of sports and American society using a sociological perspective. Concepts relating to gender, ethnicity, economics, politics, health, education and sports will be examined throughout the course utilizing writing, discussion, media and hands on observation
HP 3153-01: Investigating Cultural Diversity; 3 cr.; Cultural Arts (CA), CRN: 16228; TR, 1:20-2:35pm, UW Art Museum; Instructors: Diane Panozzo and Wendy Bredehoft
This course is for students who wish to explore, study, and research how
individuals form their cultural identities through the expression of art
(painting, writing sculpture, photography, etc.). Students will explore and
experiment with their own personal and cultural identities through the making
of any art/project/writing of their choosing.
Note: No prior art classes or training are necessary.
HP 4151-01: Spirituality of the Hunt; 3 cr.; CRN: 16230,
R-2:00-5:00pm, Instructors: Joel Pontius and Jess Ryan
In this interdisciplinary, humanities-based course, we will explore connections between hunting, spirituality, culture, food, and place. We will initiate an inquiry into these topics by juxtaposing literary, spiritual, philosophical, visual, and cinematic texts, along with experiences in the local landscape. Class sessions will be interactive, discourse-based, and experiential in nature.
HP 4151-02: What Computers Can Do; 3 cr.; CRN: 16231,
MWF 10:00-10:50am, Instructor: Dr. Ruben Gamboa
This course surveys both classic and modern artificial intelligent (AI) programs, with the intent of uncovering precisely how they work. You will learn the rudiments of programming in Scheme, a dialect of LISP, one of the earliest computer languages, and also implement a few programs that capture the essence of classic AI systems. Thus you will gain an understanding of exactly what computers can do and how they do it.
HP 4152-01: HIV/AIDS: Disease and Dilemma; 3 cr.; Social Sciences (CS), CRN# 10740; F, 2:10-5:00pm;
Instructor: Prof. Robert Kitchin
Since its description in 1981, half a million Americans have become infected with the HIV virus and died of AIDS. HIV/AIDS is the most dramatic, pervasive, and tragic pandemic in recent history. HIV/AIDS infection has provoked a reassessment of society’s approach to public health strategy, health care, resource allocation, medical research, and sexual behavior. Fear and discrimination have affected virtually every aspect of our culture. Both the medical challenge and, in particular, the social challenge will continue in the foreseeable future. This course will explore the basic biology of the HIV virus and its effects upon the human body, the magnitude of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, prospects for treatment of those with the disease, and social, political, economic, and legal issues associated with HIV/AIDS disease.
HP 4152-02: Society, Space, and Future; 3 cr.; Social Sciences (CS), CRN: 13260; TR 2:45-4:00; Instructor: Jeremy Weaver
This course will examine how the current social condition interacts with questions concerning the future of society and the debate over the continuation of space travel. Discussion will involve both real and potentially real issues concerning what society could look like through the lenses of science fiction, critical issues concerning the space program and historical experience. All will contribute to the exploration of the "human social condition" and what this concept potentially means for future generations. We will outline and explore the role of space exploration including the history, social and political impacts and how it will influence the future of society.
HP 4152-04: Nanotechnology, 3 cr.; Social Sciences (CS); CRN: 15112; W 12:10-2:50; Instructor: Dr. Christopher Rothfuss
Cancer cures, space elevators, quantum computers and stain resistant ties... nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is the control, manipulation and fabrication of matter at the molecular scale – about 1 to 100 nanometers – to take advantage of unique physical phenomena. It is estimated that by the year 2015 nanotechnology will account for over $1 trillion in the global marketplace. The US Government invests $1 billion per year on nanotechnology research and development. Nanotechnology is seen by many as the next great technological revolution. So what does all that mean? What will nanotechnology do for me? How will it influence the world of the future? What research is being done today? This course will take a broad look at the development of nanotechnology; including the history, the science, the applications, the social and political impacts, and its influence on the future. All majors and disciplines are welcome!
HP 4152-05: American Criminal Justice: Past and Present; 3 cr.; CRN: 15307; TR 9:35-10:50; Instructor: Jeremy Weaver
Social issues such as crime and deviance are not new issues within the last 100 years. Social responses to these social issues have been written, re-written and modified based on the mindset of society’s inhabitants. This course will look at society, crime, deviance, law, punishment, policy and the criminal justice system from pre-colonial times to today. Gain an understanding of how influential individuals are in shaping policy, how often policy changes and a first-hand look into how the criminal justice system works. The perspective used is an integrated approach combining sociology, criminology and political science.
