AAD 199
Transformative Desires and Transhuman Culture
Doug Blandy
 Freshman Seminars have provided me with the opportunity to speculate in partnership with students on issues central to making and appreciating art in these times.
Artists have long imagined ways to exceed normal human capability. Our favorite stories and images often involve human experience combined with exceptional physical and intellectual capability. The precedents for these transhumanist ideas are found in the intersections among the arts, science, philosophy, and religion among other fields of study. In this seminar we will explore the controversial ideas and creations of people who believe that human physical and intellectual capability can be amplified. Homo sapiens emerge as Techno sapiens. |
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ANTH 199
Crossing International Borders
Marcela Mendoza
 Why would you want to learn about international immigration during your first semester at the university? First, because immigration is in the foundation of the United States. Our country has been built on the successive integration of different peoples, who have dealt with the Native Americans and with one another in their own ways. Second, because we are experiencing again a peak of immigration flow—like the one that might have brought your great-grand-parents to this land—but this time a large number of the immigrants have entered (or remained in the country) without their entrance being documented or recorded by customs. While many employers benefit from this situation, it turns to be a handicap for the subjects and creates economic, politic, and moral concerns for citizens.
The readings and discussions of this seminar will expose you to how countries in North America, Europe, and Asia handle people who cross international borders. You will study different approaches to immigration and citizenship, and will evaluate facts from various points of view because this seminar—as any other introduction to the social sciences—is an opportunity to use critical thinking, listen to various perspectives, and come up with an informed opinion.
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ANTH 199
Consuming Agendas: Food and Social Action
Geraldine Moreno
 I enjoy teaching Freshman Seminars because they give me an opportunity to work closely with students and use more nontraditional forms of participating in the learning process.
This class, Consuming Agendas, allows me to explore new ways of thinking about my professional interests. Food and the study of how people think about food, produce food, eat and cope with food insecurity and how we can overcome food insecurity are some of my passions. Food is vital to our lives yet we often overlook the impact it has on us. Food is transformative - we ingest it and it becomes part of us. Food is also deeply embedded in our culture - when we consume food we make statements about ourselves, our beliefs, our politics. Eating is a way of establishing physical unity with the environment and fellow humans. The ability of food to move outward from an individual or group and extend a bond through its transference is an attribute widely manipulated in different societies. In this class we will explore some of the social issues and activism relating to the food we eat.
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ARH 199
Buddhism through Art
Ben Brinkley
 The opportunity to talk about ideas in a small group is rare in undergraduate education, even though it is the best way human beings have found to learn and work together.
I’m especially interested to teach a Freshman Seminar during Fall quarter, since students are just beginning to learn what will be expected of their reading, writing, thinking, and speaking skills. The study of religion and the study of art are fun because they allow us to use many methods, including those of history, literature, philosophy, and sociology. If the course introduces students to both the pleasures and challenges of undergraduate education, it will have been successful. |
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ART 199
InSight - Visual Literacy
Robin Cushman
 Fall of freshman year is a time of tremendous change, challenges and growth. I love the energy of new beginnings and the excitement students bring to class – it’s inspiring! Freshmen are in the process of discovering and defining themselves academically and personally. What better time than this to study and critique the visual field that informs our lives? As a class, we will explore the ways in which images influence our collective culture and our individual lives. Through critical inquiry, we’ll deconstruct students’ favorite forms of visual media to discern how this influence works.
Freshman Seminars are small enough to build a close-knit academic community in which to explore group discussion and presentation, improve writing and speaking skills, and discover campus and community resources. Along with standard academic practices, they allow for nontraditional approaches to learning. Expect some intriguing creative assignments and interesting field trips! For the final assignment, students will take all we have discovered about creativity and communication to create a compelling visual story to present to the class. |
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ART 199
Design Think Tank
Brian Gillis
 Having the opportunity to work with students in the capacity of a Freshman Seminar is truly invaluable to everyone involved. Beyond the benefit that ingenuitive topics, focused critical inquiry, and intimate class sizes affords students, I am just thrilled on a selfish level that I get to be a part of a think tank!
Design Think Tank is an introductory level studio art course that uses history, theory, and practice to investigate what affect collaborative design has, has had, and could have on issues that are important to society. This course will survey the fundamentals of design and collaboration, while addressing pertinent social issues through a series of projects that incorporate reading, discussion, research, design, and presentation. Though the format and much of the content will be generated by the instructor, students will be responsible for a great deal of the information that is mined, filtered, and manufactured. The ultimate objective is to use design within a collaborative problem-solving environment to respond to important social issues.
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CH 199
Weird Science
John Donovan
 The Freshman Seminar offers me an opportunity to provide undergraduates with an essential appreciation for how humans discover knowledge through challenging our natural intuitions. This critical process is fundamental to all fields of scholarship and is a core component of any university education. Scientific discovery and knowledge is a collaborative and social human endeavor, which works similar to but differently from other human activities. Normally this method of obtaining knowledge is learned "at the elbow" of a practicing scientist, but this course will enable all students to utilize this historically revolutionary process in both their careers and their personal lives, and to gain a greater critical understanding of the basis our technological society.
I personally find the joy of critical thought combined with the often surprising and unintuitive beauty of nature (as discovered by science) to be a wonderful adventure for life. I am eager to attempt to share this appreciation and awe of the natural universe with those starting to learn just how large and complex the human perceived universe really is. Learning how to separate the possible from the improbable is part of that wonderful journey. |
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ENG 199
Science Fiction: A New Mythology
Margaret McBride
 I like the small elective class, the chance to teach science fiction, and the enthusiastic students. Science fiction is my main field of research: I am actively involved in three professional organizations dealing with speculative fiction. I mostly teach writing so the Freshman Seminar gives me a chance to teach and talk about the literature I am most interested in. By narrowing the focus to science fiction that uses mythology also plays to different interests of students. |
GEOG 199
You are HERE: How Mapping is Changing the Planet and Your Life
Nicholas Kohler
 I look forward to teaching this class because of the interaction with students and flexible learning environment the Freshman Seminar format provides. This allows for a stimulating exploration of the newly available tools that let us map the world in increasing detail, let us know precisely where we are, and let us know how to make connections to other places. These abilities, based on the use of satellite technology and internet connectivity, are transforming the ways in which we exploit the worlds’ resources and the ways in which we imagine ourselves in the world. In this class we will see how common tools such as cell phones and internet browsers are changing the way we understand and relate to places and to each other.
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HIST 199
Soccer and Society in Modern Latin America
Carlos Aguirre
 Teaching a Freshman Seminar on Latin America is a wonderful opportunity to nurture the growing interest among our students in the history and culture of the region. I have done it twice in the past, with wonderful results, but I always wanted to teach a Freshmen Seminar on a theme that is very fond to me: the history of soccer and its connections to the larger societies in which it has developed. Soccer, like any other popular pastime, is not only a form of entertainment and a collective passion. It also reflects the multiple tensions, social arrangements, and changing socio-cultural structures of a given society. This course uses soccer as a window to explore some of the most important aspects of contemporary Latin American societies: the development of various forms of political culture, the formation of regional and national identities, the forging of popular cultures and traditions, and the impact of global economic and cultural trends. Students in this seminar will be able to deepen both their understanding of Latin American societies and (I hope) their appreciation for soccer and its fascinating history.
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INTL 199
Childhood: Theories, Stories, and Movies
Kathie Carpenter
It is always a joy to teach this course. Freshmen bring so much energy and excitement into the classroom - it's contagious! In this seminar we use novels and films about childhood, along with scholarly accounts of influential Western theories of childhood, to explore beliefs about the relationship between childhood and adulthood. I find that the topic generates a lot of interest and discussion because although parenting is very important, most students have never been asked to critically analyze their views on it before.
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J 199
Travel and Adventure Writing
Melissa Hart
My favorite activities involve traveling and then writing fun and evocative essays about the trip. So you can see where I got the idea for this course. As a professional writer, my travel and adventure essays have appeared in Orion, High Country News, Hemispheres, Horizon Air Magazine, and The Los Angeles Times. In addition, I’ve written extensively about training owls at Eugene's Cascades Raptor Center (www.eraptors.org) - which will be one of our fieldtrip destinations. In my spare time, I love to run, hike, and backpack throughout Oregon. Check out my website at www.melissahart.com. |
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TA 199
Reinventing Yourself
Sandy Bonds
 Having taught freshman seminars for several years, I continue to find pleasure in building on what the students bring to the class and adding to their knowledge in a field where they already hold passionate interests. This year, I am changing the nature of the course from an exploration of the function and aesthetics of contemporary dress to looking into the past for the same qualities. The more we are surrounded by modern technology, the more it appears that we turn to our history for innovation and intrigue. For those who delight in Renaissance Faires and re-enactments, this course will offer a window into the lives of the original residents of these worlds and their attire. We will engage in both scholarly and creative pursuits to re-imagine the past through research and reproduce it with our hands by patterning and sewing authentic garments. |
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