First-Year SeminarLearning to Blaze Your Own Trail

FYS 151, Section 01 (GDR: SS2)Tues/Thurs9:35-10:50 amSCI D230Betsy Barrett

FYS 151, Section 02 (GDR: SS2)Tues/Thurs11:00 am-12:15 pmSCI D 216Betsy Barrett

FYS 151, Section 03 (GDR: SS2)Wed2:00-4:30 pmCCC 205Christine Gould

FYS 154, Section 01 (GDR: HU2)Mon/Wed9:35-10:50 amSCI D216Cheryl Brickner

FYS 154, Section 02 (GDR: HU2)Mon/Wed/Fri11:00-11:50 amCCC 232Mary Bowman

FYS 154, Section 03(GDR: HU2)Mon/Wed/Fri12:00-12:50 pmCCC 232Mary Bowman

FYS 154, Section 04 (GDR: HU2)Mon/Wed2:00-3:15 pmCCC 206Cheryl Brickner

Raising the Wellness Bar

Raising the Wellness Bar

What’s Normal Anyway?

A Literary Journey into Cultural Divides

From Private Obsession to Global Phenomenon: The Story of The Lord of the Rings

From Private Obsession to Global Phenomenon: The Story of The Lord of the Rings

A Literary Journey into Cultural Divides

Registration will take place during UWSP’s Freshman Orientation this summer.

Health starts in our families, in our schools and workplaces, in our playgrounds and parks, and in the air we breathe and the water we drink. The choices we make are shaped by the choices we have available to us. Resource‐poor neighborhoods lack the tools and opportunities we need to make healthy lifestyle choices (e.g., regular physical activity, healthy eating patterns, managing stress, avoiding smoking and drugs, getting enough sleep, practicing safe sex). We will explore the strategies being implemented in communities across the country to give all Americans a fair-play opportunity to choose good health and wellness.

Same as above

Take a literary ride on the short bus as we read and discuss Jonathan Mooney’s book, The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal. In grade school, Jonathan Mooney was identified as dyslexic and profoundly learning disabled. His school experiences led him to feel that he was “less than” the other children. After graduation, he bought his own short bus, traveled around the United States, and met thirteen fascinating people with disabilities. In this seminar, we’ll read about each of the thirteen people, learn about the ways in which they’ve solved the puzzle called life, and discuss the fundamental question: What Is Normal, Anyway? Special Fee: $25.00 field trip fee for this course.

Where do preconceived ideas about cultural differences come from? Through various forms of literature this course will examine the force of society which oppresses “the other” and in turn creates cultural divides. We will study cultural divides from the mid‐twentieth century to the present, focusing on the Holocaust, the African American and Hispanic American experience, and the Afghan culture in contemporary America.

You’ve probably seen the movies. You may have read the books. But do you know where The Lord of the Rings originated? Have you ever thought of Tolkien as an environmentalist? Or The Lord of the Rings as “profoundly Christian”? (as Tolkien considered it.) Would you be surprised to know to that some scientists study and teach his work? Come learn how Tolkien’s personal life and professional career shaped his fiction, explore the complex world he created, and consider the effects of translating his work to the medium of film.

Same as above

Same as FYS 154, Section 01 above

Course/ TItle Description (All courses are 3 credits)Instructor

These small 3-credit seminars, created by faculty members from across campus especially for first-year students, address questions every student needs answered to thrive at UW-Stevens Point.

• Explore topics essential to human life, culture and society • Learn skills to help you succeed in college • Engage in hands-on activities such as discussions, research projects and field trips• Plan your education around your interests, abilities and goals • Earn credit toward graduation and other general degree requirements

First-Year SeminarFall 2012

FYS 158, Section 01Tues/Thurs 9:00-10:15 amCCC 231Todd Good

FYS 158, Section 02Tues/Thurs9:35-10:50 amCCC 324Thomas Leek

FYS 158, Section 03Tues/Thurs11:00 am-12:15 pmCCC 231Arnold Lelis

FYS 158, Section 04Mon/Wed/Fri11:00-11:50 amCCC 231Nancy LoPatin-Lummis

FYS 158, Section 05Mon/Wed/Fri 12:00-12:50 pmCCC 224Camarin Porter

FYS 158, Section 06Mon/Wed9:35-10:50 amCCC 126Shanny Luft

FYS 160, Section 01Tues/Thurs9:35-10:50 amSCI D216Jeana Magyar-Moe

How Does Soccer Explain Britain?

The Brothers Grimm

The DNA of Sex, Migration, and Language

The Band That Changed the World

Percy Jackson: The Boy-Hero, the Greek Myths, and the Publishing World Legend

A Very Special Christmas Seminar

The Pursuit of Happiness

This seminar will use the history of soccer in Britain as a window to examine significant elements in British history from the late 19th century to the present. Among the issues examined will include class in Victorian Britain and the role of “public” schools, imperialism, the role of institutions, the impact of trade unions, the roots of hooliganism, Britain’s relationship with Europe, the role of Britain in the global economy and sectarianism. Far from being only a simple past-time, we will explore how soccer provides a window to understand contemporary Britain.

Everybody knows that several Disney films are based on tales lifted from the work of the Grimm Brothers. Fewer know that over many years the Grimms likewise edited their tales to placate critics and parents. Why, then, do we think of their tales as the originals? In this seminar we will address topics around the Grimms, the perception and utility of folklore, popular stories, and the cultural space that fantastic stories occupy. We will investigate how folklore is created, discover what motivated the first collectors of folktales and attempt to recreate those conditions through writing experiments. You will learn that the logic of the marvelous is more than just imagination.

Modern genetics research, such as mtDNA and Y-chromosome studies, has opened up undreamed-of possibilities for investigating both the human past and the present. We will explore what this new data can tell us about evolution, about thousands of years of human migration worldwide, about the formation of cultures and languages, about the role of war and social dominance in human reproduction – and about your own family history!

This seminar explores the phenomenon of The Beatles in Great Britain and the “British Invasion” which transformed U.S. social and cultural norms for young people. The story of how four lads from Liverpool, ushered in a revolution in music, popular culture, social and religious values, business practice and changed history is the topic of this seminar. The class will explore “Beatlemania” through a variety of materials from the history, art, film, poetry, eastern religious studies, business practices and political engagement, and, of course, music, in order to fully understand how The Beatles were more than the greatest rock band ever, but one which truly “changed the world.”

This course adopts Percy Jackson, star of Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief, as a launch pad into the world of classical Greek history and culture and contemporary societies’ fascination with it. We will become students of Greek history, geography, culture, literature, warfare, technology, political theory, economics and ethics; engage in a critical discussion of what seems “familiar” to us about Greek culture in our own society, and what customs distinguish the ancient Greeks from us as a social and cultural “other”; dig deeper into the Greek literary tradition, and discuss classical understandings of fate, interactions between the gods and humans, and how Percy measures up compared to the Greek literary archetype of hero; and examine Riordan’s book series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus, and the adaptation of The Lightening Thief into a 2010 film at the level of modern marketing.

Christmas in America is inescapable. Beyond cherished experiences in homes and churches, Christmas is hailed through advertising, shopping centers, and politics, and permeates television, movies, and radio in December. This seminar will introduce you to the academic study in the humanities by exploring how scholars across disciplines have shed light on the history and practice of Christmas. By approaching Christmas through lenses of religion, literature, culture, media, and history, we will gain a deeper understanding of how the holiday has developed over time, and why some Christmas controversies reappear every year. More broadly, exploring the ubiquitous winter holiday in an academic context will introduce you to some of the ways that a liberal arts education helps provide insight into our contemporary experience.

Note: This section is reserved for Freshman Interest Group (FIG) participants only. Students interested in participating in the FIG program should contact Mary Duckworth at mduckwor@uwsp.edu

“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” is one of the most famous phrases in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and is considered by some to be part of one of the most well-crafted, influential sentences in the history of the English language. Although the pursuit of happiness is considered an inalienable right, many do not know how to enhance their experiences of happiness, well-being, engagement, and satisfaction with life. In this seminar, we will explore what happiness entails, participate in strategies for enhancing well-being, and discover ways to find more engagement and satisfaction in life via capitalizing upon our strengths in college, in the world of work, relationships and beyond.

(Warning: this course may cause smiling, laughter, feelings of gratitude, random acts of kindness, tears of joy, a sense of awe, inspiration, optimism, and hope.)

Course/ TItle Description (All courses are 3 credits)Instructor

FYS 160, Section 02Mon/Tues/Thurs3:00-3:50 pmCCC 212Edwin (Jed) Herman

FYS 160, Section 03Mon/Wed2:00-3:15 pmCCC 232(Interior ArchitectureStaff Member)

FYS 160, Section 04Mon/Wed3:35-4:50 pmCCC 308(Interior ArchitectureStaff Member)

FYS 160, Section 05Mon/Wed12:35-1:50 pmSCI D314Inne Choi

FYS 160, Section 06Class: Mon/Wed/Fri1:00-1:50 pmNFAC 201Film Lab: Fri2:00-3:30 pmNFAC 201Linda Schubert

FYS 162, Section 01(GDR: HU1; NW)Tues/Thurs8:00-9:15 amCPS 326Kathe Julin

FYS 162, Section 02(GDR: HU1; NW)Tues/Thurs9:35-10:50 amCPS 304Kathe Julin

Are Numbers Real?

Frozen Music – When Buildings Become Architecture

Frozen Music – When Buildings Become Architecture

Hormones, Behavior, and Evolution

What Does Jesus Sound Like: “Jesus Films,” Meanings, and Music

The World is Your Classroom – So Travel!

The World is Your Classroom – So Travel!

From an early age, we are indoctrinated with numbers. We are taught to count apples, then to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, use fractions and decimals and even square roots. These actions have practical value in our society, but are they the only way to think about numbers? We start by examining different historical and cultural views about numbers, looking at notation and counting but also thinking about language itself. Some languages do not even have words for numbers greater than two! How would you view numbers if you grew up in such a society? We will then turn our attention to creating new number systems – some quite different from our traditional “real” numbers – by changing the rules we use in subtle ways. Some of the systems we develop might not make sense at first, but some may give us a new perspective and help us decide if some numbers are more real than others.

Every day we experience and are surrounded by the built environment (homes, schools, retail stores, high-rise commercial buildings, churches and synagogues). What motivated the architects who designed them, why did they decide to have this particular building appear and function in this specific way, which buildings are simply structures and which become great architecture? In this seminar you will learn how to consider and analyze contemporary architecture. Iconic buildings from around the world, such as the new MAXXI National Museum in Italy, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, or the Linked Hybrid complex in Beijing, will be the starting points from which we will discover how architects think, what influences from the past have impacted their ideation, and ultimately how they determined the designs for their buildings.

Same as above

The seminar will explore the innate (or the genetic) basis of our behavioral patterns, and how these biological bases, in conjunction with our cultural practices, influence our behavior. For example, why do we love salty and fatty foods? Why do certain diseases occur in higher frequency in some population than in others? Are female and male brains really different? Why do we feel so good when we are in love? Why do we find some people more attractive than others? Utilizing evolutionary biology we will explore various aspects of human behavior, evolutionary theories, and issues regarding human evolution. The topics will include sex differences of brains, hormones and pheromones, mating strategies, evolution of disease, aesthetics, perspective on death, and deceptions.

Whether or not you follow a particular faith tradition, it is worth asking how films and their music have influenced the images you hold of important historical and/or religious figures such as Jesus. Music is of vital importance in creating these images and in guiding, or manipulating, your response to them. In this course we will explore the music and other aspects of some of the best-known “Jesus films,” including Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ and Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. By the end of the semester we will better understand how music and images work together to create powerful, sometimes conflicting, portraits of Jesus—dramatically effective images that have influenced how many think about one of the most important individuals for Western culture.

Come explore a variety of ways to travel and learn in an international, global context (as a student, volunteer, or professional) and plan out several options for your own travels (based on time and budget). A virtual tour of the world highlighting several unique places will help you discuss and prepare for your own personal journey. Modern and ancient architecture, cultural and social aspects, and activities of a variety of cities (Western and non-Western) will be examined. This course will inspire you to follow Mark Twain’s advice on travel. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.”

Same as above

Note: This section is reserved for Freshman Interest Group (FIG) participants only. Students interested in participating in the FIG program should contact Mary Duckworth at mduckwor@uwsp.edu

Course/ TItle Description (All courses are 3 credits)Instructor

For more information on these courses and how to register, visit the FYS website at www.uwsp.edu/fys