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Major Topics, Mini Classes
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Parents who recall large lecture
classes during their first year of college probably will envy
their students the chance to take First Year Seminars, a project
by the College of Liberal Arts that is entering its second full
year this fall. First Year Seminars, limited in size to 15 students, are taught by some of the University's major professors. The seminars, offered for one or two semester hours of credit, are designed to confront vital topics in interesting ways. The goals are to develop a student's ability to interact well with a professor and other students, and to develop a passionate interest in learning and scholarship as soon as they arrive on campus. Some of the seminars may give students a first crack at their intended major. Professors teaching the course range from anthropologists to microbiologists, from political scientists to ethnic historians, from economists to English professors to an Episcopal priest who teaches drama. Students can examine languages from the point of view of a professor of linguistics or a professor of anthropology. Or they can try "Visualizing the Nearly Infinitesimal" with a professor of chemistry. Some seminars teach old subjects in new ways. For example, a seminar on "Mathematics and the Real World" teaches why mathematics is useful in understanding the world-from medical testing to games of chance and computer security questions. Two political scientists teach students how to analyze what forces influence Congressional decisions. Many of the seminars reach out to new students as they negotiate the biggest change of their lives to date. One is called, "Mastering the Slippery Slope: Stumbling Into Adulthood." Another, taught by a communication studies professor, examines "Communication and Relationships in a Large University." |
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