ISP 101 Sec203 Course# 20847 -- A Focus on Climate
Sara Melford, LPC MWF 9:40-10:40
The central theme for this focal point seminar is climate change, the delicate physical balance that exists between "ice age" and "greenhouse" climate conditions, and the social or other consequences that could accompany significant climate changes. Approximately a third to a half of the course will involve the scientific study of climate change and will use primary literature to try to assess our present condition. Colleen McCullough's book: A Creed for the Third Millenium will be used to start the discussion of the human side of climate change in the vein that On the Beach and Alas, Babylon started a past generation thinking about the human consequences of a nuclear conflict.

Throughout the course, the students will be asked to write short papers primarily addressing the book and scientific papers. In a final, longer paper, the student will be asked to reflect upon how his or her thinking has changed because of the book and/or discussion about climate change. Small group oral presentations concerning historical, psychological, social, ethical, religious or other approaches to potential consequences of climate change will be the third major tool for student evaluation in this course.

ISP102 Sec 801 Course#21836 -- Alternative Film in Chicago
Deborah Tudor, LPC TH 5:45-9:00

ISP 101 Sec 214 Course# 20856 -- American Character: The Presidency on Film
Dean Corrin, LPC TTh 8:30-10:00
For decades, popular motion pictures have both reflected and directed the ways in which Americans and the world define the character of the United States. This course will explore what has changed and what remained consistent in the definition of "America" by focusing on the way in which presidents and the presidency have been portrayed by in popular American films (especially during the final quarter of the 20th Century). The class will analyze the depiction of presidents in a selection of popular American films, considering the context of the time the films were made, their cultural significance and contemporary responses to the films, the historical record, the conventions of dramatic construction, and the form of myth. This discussion will be grounded in a look at the history of the presidency and the significant developments in the administrations of several prominent presidents.

Assuming the perspectives of various members of the film industry (executives, critics, directors, marketing specialists, writers and actors) the class will reflect on how the images in these films reflect and shape our feelings about the presidency and, through that, our identity as Americans. From this understanding of past portraits of the presidency, the class will culminate in an exploration of how a contemporary portrayal of the presidency might be created to reflect or challenge our current perceptions of America and ourselves.

ISP 101 Sec 211 Course#20854 -- American Ideal Communities
Noreen Cornfield, LPC MW 3:10-4:40

ISP 101 Sec 216 Course#20858 -- Andy Warhol and Popular Perception
Robert Tavani, LPC Th 9:00-12:00

ISP101 Sec 218 Course#20860 -- Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas
Susanna Pagliaro, LPC TTh 10:10-11:40
At the Intersection of Race, Sex and American Politics: The Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas Hearing will critically examine the dynamic clash between racial and sexual politics within the context of the 1991 Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearing. The course will proceed by asking a series of critical questions that will attempt to reveal the social, political and historical relationships among sex, race and power in late 20th century America. What happens when racial and sexual politics meet with competing interests or agendas? What kind of political space is created? What hierarchies result? What fuels the divide historically, politically and socially? How is sexual harassment itself a politically, historically and socially constructed phenomenon?

At the Intersection of Race, Sex and American Politics: The Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas Hearing will draw on feminist theory, race theory, philosophy, and political and social theory. The majority of class meetings will engage students in discussion of the texts. Students will do extensive writing throughout the quarter. In addition, students will be responsible for formal group presentations. Students will learn how to engage in university-level critique, be sensitive to the multiple perspectives from which a complex issue can and must be viewed, and be aware that diverse political and social agendas exist and may be as important as their own. Primary objectives of this course include the development of critical reading, writing, thinking and speaking skills.

ISP 101 Sec 206 Course#20849 -- Apartheid
Clement Adibe, LPC MWF 10:50-11:50
As we reflect upon the past century from the vantage point of the beginning of the 21st century and a new millennium, apartheid stands out as one of the most intriguing and oppressive political ideas and practices of the twentieth century. Developed by the Afrikaners of South Africa, apartheid emphasized the "separateness" of races as the organizing principle of social, religious, economic and political life in a multinational state. For nearly half a century, apartheid was enforced through a combination of laws, religious indoctrination, socialization and, above all, the pervasive use of coercion. In 1994, following several decades of sustained domestic and international opposition, the policy and practice of apartheid officially ended in South Africa.
This course will focus on two important areas of inquiry. The first is how to explain the emergence of apartheid as the predominant form of political organization in twentieth-century South Africa. The second focus of the course will be on the lessons humanity can draw from the apartheid experiment as we continue our prolonged quest for meaningful and harmonious co-existence of peoples and cultures within the framework of one political entity.

ISP 101 Sec 207 Course# 20850 -- Archaeology of Chicago’s Transportation System
William Middleton, LPC MWF 1:10-2:10
During the century beginning in the late 1820's, American transportation underwent a series of major revolutions culminating in an industrialized, multi-modal transportation network. Chicago was a focal point and key player in the development of this complex, network, both reflecting and driving changes occurring at the national and local levels. By playing a leading role in the development of key transportation modalities, particularly rail, Chicago created its position as the mid-continental metropolis. While the movement of goods such as grain, meat, lumber, industrial raw materials, and other freight was a vital element of Chicago's economic development, the transportation of people, at both the regional and local levels, also has played a crucial role in the development of Chicago as a city.

The class explores the development of transportation in Chicago and the role the city played in larger regional patterns of development and the creation of the national transportation network as well as examining the development of local modes of transportation. The "L" in particular provides useful classroom for understanding the history of local transportation. At over 100 years old, the "L" still is a viable and vital element in Chicago's transportation infrastructure, yet its history and the role it has played in the development of Chicago's local development is little appreciated. Class activities will include field trips, readings, lectures, and class discussions leading to individual class presentations and papers. Field trips will focus on different transportation modalities, including local and interurban rail and maritime transportation. Readings will be drawn from the writings of William Cronen and other geographers/historians and William Middleton (another William Middleton) and other transportation historians. Lectures will provide a unifying framework. Class discussions will be geared towards aiding the students' understanding of the historical interconnections between transportation, economics, and urban development.

ISP 101 Sec 804 Course#21849 -- Archaeology through Film and Television
Jane Baxter, LPC T 5:45-9:00
Indiana Jones, the dashing and daring adventurer in search of lost treasure, is the most recognizable and most enduring image of an archaeologist in America today. Since the 1940s movie and television viewers have been entertained by diverse images of archaeologists at work. While films and television are largely responsible for the increase in public awareness of archaeology, the quest to provide lively entertainment has often resulted in misrepresentations and distortions of archaeological research. These characterizations of archaeology as presented to the public provide a fruitful arena to examine the realities and misconceptions that surround the practice of modern archaeology in America today. In this course the viewing of popular films and television episodes that feature archaeologists will be paired with topical readings from professional archaeological literature. Students will be required both in class discussions and a variety of writing assignments to explore such issues as archaeology and nationalism; relations between archaeologists and indigenous peoples; archaeology and public education; Gender, race, and the practice of archaeology; and archaeological ethics.

ISP 101 Sec 238 Course#21410 -- Artistic Influences in Contemporary Mural Art
Mark Elder, LPC Th 1:10-4:10
This Focal Point class will concentrate on Mural painters and their influence on the Art World in history. Mural making has been around as long as humankind. This class, in a general sense, will explore the influences that effected the great mural painters such as Giotto, Rapheal, and Michelangelo. In turn the student would see how these works influenced later artists such as Benton, Siquieros, and others. Finally it can be shown as to how these influences had an effect on present day artists (both local and international) such as Weber, Wyland, Gude, and others.
This course can be presented by these methods: Slide lecture, Films, Discussion, Field Trips to Mural sites, Small Projects Evaluation will be a culmination of the following: Journal entry reflections, Mid-term and Final, Small Projects

ISP 101 Sec 242 Course# 21834 -- Chess Culture
Bill Martin, LPC MW 1:10-2:40
There is a great deal of interesting culture surrounding the game of chess, and it is beneficial for critical thinking to learn to play the game of chess and to improve one's play. No chess experience is required for taking this course. We will undoubtedly have students in the course at all levels of play (including some who may be better players than the instructor), or no even no level. In the first week we will learn the basics of the game, and we will help each other to improve throughout the quarter. We will spend the first part of each class meeting playing chess, and working on chess problems, notation, etc. In most classes the instructor will present a brief lecture on some aspect of chess and its relation to culture and to philosophical and other theoretical questions. In the third part of each meeting we will deal with literature, film, painting, poetry, and music that are either about chess or that take their inspiration from chess. Among the theoretical issues we will deal with are the question of gender in chess; chess, computers, and artificial intelligence; and analogies between chess and military strategies.

ISP 101 Sec 232 Course#21441 -- Chicago Blues and Jazz
Caleb Dube, LPC TTH 1:30-3:00
Great black migration of the 1940s brought over five million African American from the South to the North. Chicago was a main port of entry. The entire cultural and politics of the city was forever changed. The city was transformed into a cultural capital for music, and the city itself changed the musical forms that had been born in the rural southern America.
Today, many of the working class communities that sustained blues on the southwest sides of the city are gone, few like Artis and Lee’s Unleaded remain. Black musicians mainly play blues to predominantly “white” audience on the northside of the city. Like our city, jazz has also been segregated, giving way to different musical expressions. However, both blues and jazz musicians and the music scene continue to be a place of exchanges and dialogue in the city.

This course aims to understand the history of Chicago, it demographics, race relations and place in the world today through a study of the history of its music, specifically blues and jazz. Question’s of race, politics, and community development will be looked at through music. Students will be introduced to a series of books written by musicians. In addition, we will spend time at the Blues archives of the Harold Washington library and in conclusion students will conduct a research project about the state of musicians in the city. Throughout the quarter we will go out to the various clubs and walk through the neighborhoods.

ISP 101 Sec 221 Course# 20863 -- Child Health
Kim Amer, LPC TTh 10:10-11:40
This course explores the genetic, biological, psychological and societal influences on children’s health. A variety of frameworks will be explored to analyze the strength of influences on children’s health. Healthy People 2000 and 2010 will be used as the focus of synthesis for the multiple aspects of children’s health issues. Frameworks which will be used to explore influences on children’s health include social ecology, family stress and coping models, the culture of poverty, and developmental theory. The conceptualization of health in children will be presented using a holistic view of the complex interactions of biological, psychological and social influences. Health promotion models will be analyzed in regard to the complexity of designing models for promotion of children’s health. The student will participate in evaluating the ethical and moral issues related to providing societal support structures which promote health in children.

ISP 101 Sec 225 Course#20866 -- Chinese Art
Curt Hansman, LPC TTh 11:50-1:20
Sometimes the questions asked by one individual and the paths and patterns of that individual's life reflect those of an entire generation or an era or even a culture. One such individual is Su Shih - Confucian scholar, imperial official, dissident, philosopher, art theorist, poet, painter, husband, father, friend, lover, intellectual, traveler, - whose life spanned the middle decades of the Song dynasty (960-1279) one of the richest and most intellectually creative periods in Chinese history. In this course we will explore Su Shih first as an individual - his birth, family, training, political career, poetry and painting - and then as a member of the society in which he lived. We will engage the major issues of Song political, social, intellectual, and artistic history through the political writings, poetry, painting of Su Shih and his contemporaries.

The following are among the issues we will address: what political structures allowed the Song emperors to rule? What was the nature of Song society? What were the major areas of disagreement among writers and thinkers of the period? What place did men, women, peasants, scholars, merchants, Chinese, foreigners, among others play? What would it have been like to live in the capital city or any provincial city during the period? What would one have eaten, worn? What languages might one have spoken? What place did education play? Who was afforded an education? How?

ISP 101 Sec 231 Course#21440 -- Coming Out
Claude Dufour, LPC TTH 1:30-3:00
The main object of study for this course is the process of COMING OUT (CO). Participants will investigate and study various forms and dimensions of the "coming out" process. Conceptually, the process of CO is not reserved to persons declaring identification with same-sex desire. CO can be compared to a "coming of age" process or the "growing up" process. Although it is often associated to sexual identity liberation, CO can pertain to a variety of identity affirmation. Broadly conceived, "coming out" is a political strategy of revelation and affirmation, a process of empowerment—as opposed to a strategy of suppression and concealment.

ISP 101 Sec 806 Course#25264 -- Confrontations with Mortalit
David Krell, LPC Th 5:45-9:00

ISP 101 Sec 212 Course#25260 -- Dao:From the Way of Lao-tzu to the Tao of Pooh
Angelika Cedzich, LPC MW 3:30-5:00

ISP 101 Sec 213 Course#20855 -- Darwin Evolution and Society
George Michel, LPC TTh 8:30-10:00
Ever since its initial presentation, Darwinian notions about evolution have engendered much controversy in western societies. This course compares Darwin's notions with those evolutionary notions prevalent before Darwin. Also, we examine how Darwin's notions lead to the Eugenics movement started by his cousin Galton and were adopted by Herbert Spencer for use in his theory of social organization (social Darwinism). Early in the 20th Century, Mendel's genetic theories were rediscovered and incorporated into a Darwinian framework to create the modern Synthetic Theory of Evolution. This theory lead to several "biological" theories about human nature. For example, Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology seek to integrate social and biological sciences by treating many aspects of human psychology (e.g., violence, racial attitudes, intelligence, altruism, gender differences in values and behavior, homosexuality) and culture (e.g., incest taboos, marital customs, crime, religion, racial, sexual, and ethnic discrimination) as products of naturally selected genetic programs. The common assumptions of the Synthetic theory (that natural selection underlies all directed evolutionary change and that it acts on genes) are critically examined. Alternative accounts to Darwinian theory that rely on creationism notions are also examined critically. Finally a biological account is presented and examined that is consistent with Darwinian notions, but is not reductionistic and deterministic.

ISP 101 Sec 237 Course#21648 -- Disability Culture
Karen Meyer, LPC TTh 3:10-4:40
This course will focus on the mosaic movement of the 1990’s, which are people with disabilities. This segment of our populations is the largest and fastest growing minority group in the nation. Disability is one culture that anyone can be a part of at anytime. In order to understand this, the course will explore a variety of disability related topics. Each week a major theme will be addressed, a theme designed to teach individuals about aspects of the disability movement, one which represents every race, ethnic, religion, age and socio-economic group.

ISP 101 Sec 208 Course#20851 -- Dissident Writers in the 20th Century
Regina Hahn, LPC MWF 1:10-2:10

ISP 101 Sec 217 Course#20859 -- Endangered Species
Dennis Meritt, LPC TTH 10:10-11:40
This course will work to develop a definition of endangered and see how well the definition works as it applies to a range of life forms, including plants, animals, and natural habitats. The course will explore the probably causes of endangerment, consider the impact of our own species as well as that of natural occurrences, discuss possible solutions, and explore ways people can become involved and affect a long-term solution. Students will take periodic quizzes and examinations, write a major term paper, and give an oral presentation

ISP101 Sec204 Course# 25259 -- Endless Knots and Twilight
Christina Gschwandtner, LPC MWF 9:4-10:40

ISP 101 Sec209 Course#20852 -- Evolutionary Biology at the Movies
Ron Edwards, LPC MWF 2:20-3:20
The course addresses movies as representatives of human concerns. Students are required to watch films as homework, and course time is reserved for analysis through discussion, responsive writings, presentations, and peer review. The main activity of the class is to research and present the connections between a specific set of biological information with a specific set of films.

All narrative (story-telling) concerns, values and inherent conflicts among people; these values and inherent conflicts arise from the confluence of nature and culture. This course provides a means to investigate that confluence using a specific form of narrative (cinema) and a specific model for human behavior (sociobiology, evolutionary psychology). Both of these terms, "human nature" and "culture," are often mentioned but rarely used critically. In this course, they are given close, disturbing scrutiny. The goal is to move beyond the traditional and non-productive construction of Nature/Nurture and for the students to begin the life-long process of individually constructing how biology and values are intertwined in the context of culture.

ISP 101 Sec 801 Course# 20870 -- Fairy Tales
Guillemette Johnston, LPC MW 5:15-6:45
With a strong emphasis on a literary approach, this course proposes to analyze fairy tales of diverse cultures in light of their pyschological significance. Using theoretical perspectives developed from Jungian and Freudian psychology, we will bring out on the one hand the basic role of fairy tales in portraying the development of individual maturity, and on the other hand the typical though universal themes found repeatedly in tales from different cultures.

ISP101 Sec 802 Course#20871 -- German Cinema
Joseph Suglia, LPC T 5:45-9:00
The cinema is far too rich a of a medium to be limited to entertainment. During the German Festival for Short Films in 1962, twenty-six young German filmmakers composed the Oberhausen Manifesto, which declared that a new cinema had come into being, the purpose of which was to unsettle one’s established notions of how art, society, and culture function. This seminar will focus on orignins and development of this "new German cinema." The course will be conducted exclusively in English. No knowledge of German is required.

ISP 101 Sec 235 Course#21445 -- Globalization
Alex Papadopulos, LPC TTh 3:10-4:40
The concept of "globalization" builds on the intellectual tradition of the study of the world economy as a system. This structural interpretation of worldwide economic activity recognizes that some parts of the world constitute a "core" (about 15% of the world’s population), in which reside critical financial, technological, and managerial resources. Other regions make up a "periphery," which is significantly dependent on inputs from the "core" and thus in many ways contingent, subservient, and vulnerable. This theoretical kernel has many visible manifestations in how people run their lives today, from New York’s financial district to the flood-prone lowlands of Bangladesh, and from the garment sweatshops in the Honduras to the post-industrial "green" cities of the European Union.

Ultimately, the dominance of capitalist modes of production and consumption internationally, the hypermobility of finance capital across national borders, the emergence of New York, London, and Tokyo as primary "global cities" and command, control, and communication centers of the world economy, the erosion of national sovereignty and its measured replacement by intergovernmental and supranational regional cooperation, as well as the advent of extraordinary and accessible information technologies, have increasingly enabled the unification of national economies, cultures, societies, and polities in an unprecedented manner. The "MacDonaldization" of the world, as globalization critics call this restructuring trend, is highly controversial. Since the core regions tend to dominate trade, technology, capital, and increasingly culture, resistance has been growing: consumer advocate groups, environmentalists, worker-rights groups, and states that belong to the "periphery" are challenging globalization entities like the World trade Organization and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to amend their procedures and cushion the vulnerable periphery from what they see at the predatory tactics of the core upon the planet’s poor and the environment. In this course we will explore the mechanics of globalization and investigate the claims of its discontents.

ISP 101 Sec 228 Course#21408 -- Homelessness in America
Thomas O’Brien, LPC TTh 11:50-1:20
This seminar will investigate homelessness in America, from the standpoints of historical precedents, economic, social, political and psychological causes and implications both for the homeless and for the rest of society. We will also ask how society has responded to the homeless and their needs and how we think society should respond to them, both from religious and nonreligious standpoints. Running throughout the course will be a consideration of the various ways we can and have understood homelessness--as a crime, as individual moral failure, as a sickness, as a societal failure, as an inevitable element in complex modern societies. Along the way we will also consider issues of gender, race, age and class as they play a role in homelessness and in our response to it.

ISP 101 Sec 504 Course# 21850 -- Human Development in India and China
Ashok Batavia, LPC TTh 10:10-11:40
This course focuses on the world’s two most populous countries and the role of religion, politics, and culture on their economic development. We will discuss how education, health, population, poverty, and economic growth impacts human and social development. We will also examine the many differences between China and India in:
1.Their economic systems
2. Their political systems
3. Their culture and religion
4. Their ethnic groups
The course will examine the methods used by both countries for human development that incorporate their respective values and beliefs.

ISP 101 Sec224 Course#20865 -- Irish Myth and Politics
Jason Winslade, LPC TTH 11:50-1:20
From Guiness to Leprechauns to Riverdance, Irish culture has become quite a commodity. Yet the troubled history of the Emerald Isle, with its constant invasions and colonizations, is often glossed over and romanticized. This course will examine the connections between Irish myth and history and contemporary Irish politics, in several multidisciplinary methods. We will examine the early medieval Irish king, Brian Boru, through primary sources and novelizations, and examine why his dream of unity still creates so much conflict in Ireland today. In doing so, we will explore the presence and function of myth in contemporary Irish culture through storytelling and music, history, current political events, and popular “Celtic” culture.

ISP 101 Sec Course# -- Jewish Culture in America
R.J. Isackson, LPC MWF 12:00-1:00
The greatest immigration of Eastern European Jews to America occurred between 1880-1920. They brought with them the joys and sorrows of a Jewish culture, incorporating and influencing literature, music, art, theater, film, food, and comedy. As a group/class working together, we will attempt to understand the journey that created a cultural perspective and how a culture is influenced and influences current society. Course evaluation will be based on a reading log, reading responses, a midterm, final, and concluding with a bagel-eating contest.

ISP 101 Sec205 Course#20848 -- The Legend of La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) in the United States
Alesia Garcia, LPC MWF 10:50-11:50
The Legend: "During the colonial period in Mexico, a young, unmarried mestiza (mixed blood woman) is abandoned by her Spanish lover. Left to fend for herself and her illegitimate children, the woman, desperate and ashamed, takes revenged upon her lover by drowning the children in a ravine. Upon her death, her spirit is condemned to endlessly roam the earth in penance for her crime of infanticide. For centuries, where ever Mexicans and people of Mexican descent live, her spirit can be heard late at night, in desolate waterways, in rainsoaked alleys, and along steep ocean cliffs. Since her death, Mexicans and Chicanos have recounted stories of La Llorona, the weeping woman. They tell of her bloodcurdling wailing and sobbing; of her cry "aye, mis hijos!" ("oh, my children"). Her spirit wanders aimlessly throughout the Americas, terrifying all who cross her path." This brief narrative represents the "classic" version of the Legend of La Llorona. For centuries, it has been a transcultural legend and cautionary tale that inscribes a submissive role for Mexican women and Chicanas in a patriarchal culture. More recently, La Llorona has emerged as a positive feminist icon for women. In this focal point seminar, students will be introduced to several versions of the Legend from oral tradition, in short stories, artwork, music, and performances by Chicanos and Chicanas, or people of Mexican descent, living in the United States. A key factor that will help students understand the Legend in its historical, cultural, colonial, and postcolonial contexts will consist of comparisons of this "New World" Legend to legends of goddesses from pre-conquest Mexica culture, goddesses from Greek and Roman mythology, and female characters from classic Greek and Roman drama. This is a writing-intensive course. Students will write weekly papers, take a midterm and final, and give a group presentation. Attendance and participation will be mandatory and graded heavily.

ISP 101 Sec 202 Course# 20846 -- Lourdes Belief
Rosemary Bannan, LPC MWF 8:30-9:30
How does a personal religious experience- without witness- become a social fact shared by millions of people? Well, this actually happened in France, 1858, when Bernadette Soubirous, a poor, Catholic, not very bright farmer's daughter said she had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A preposterous belief! It was challenged by hostile officials, clergy, family and friends. She died not knowing that her visions were accepted by the Roman Catholic Church. She was canonized a saint.

This course studies Bernadette's life and experiences based on a novel. Students are introduced to a variety and level of texts and disciplines while investigating many different non-Christian belief systems with the aid of theology, metaphysics, cosmology, and science. Yes, natural scientists have their belief systems, their followers, their saints, and mysteries wherein the ordinary social, psychological and physical events of existence occur within the context of the extraordinary, the visible as well as the invisible.

ISP 101 Sec 805 Course#25263 -- Martin Luther King
Christina Rivers, LPC T 5:45-9:00
For most Americans, Martin Luther King Jr. symbolizes the non-violent struggle to overcome racial injustice not only in the South, but across the nation and throughout the world. While King was indeed relentlessly committed to racial equality, his views on how to achieve that goal were far more complex than most Americans wither realize or remember. In order to appreciate King and his legacy, we must familiarize ourselves with the full scope of his views on race – a scope that extends well beyond what he expressed in his most widely known speeches and writings. This course will concentrate on the evolution and breadth of King’s thinking on race during the short-but-significant period between the early 1960s until his death in 1968.

ISP 101 Sec 233 Course#21442 -- Bio-Terror and Communication
Kurt Wise, LPC TTh 1:30-3:00
This course focuses on the bioterror attacks in our nation during October of 2001. The course begins with a review of the events of October 2001, when the anthrax attacks became headline news. We will then explore the events from different perspectives including the perspectives of politicians, public health agencies, and reporters/columnist working for the news media. Among other topics, we will examine how various governmental agencies have approached their communicative tasks concerning bioterror. We will also consider how the media has communicated the bioterror story to viewers/listeners/readers. Finally, we will conduct research to learn how specific groups of people view the bioterror threat and how they formed their opinions about bioterror.

ISP 101 Sec 229 Course#25262 -- Non-Euclidean Geometry
Jerry Goldman, LPC TTh 1:30-3:00
Focal Point Seminars are intended to introduce first-year DePaul students to the nature and scope of intellectual inquiry through concentration upon a single topic and its subsequent elaboration. In this seminar we focus upon the discovery of the first non-Euclidean geometry and explore some of its ramifications. By the eighteenth century, intellectuals were confident that mathematics and science offered approaches to complete understanding of the universe. Many believed that Nature was mathematically designed and that mathematics, particularly the over 2,000 year old constructs of Euclidean geometry, was the foundation and key to this understanding. Around 1829, a revolutionary mathematical discovery completely shattered the conviction that there was only one possible geometry. We examine some steps in the evolution of thoughts which associated the theorems of Euclidean geometry with "truth" and the reactions when the absolute truth viewpoint collapsed. Along the way we will study some technical material, but no prerequisite except a willingness to work is necessary.

ISP 101 Sec503 Course#21873 -- Platonic Love
David White, LPC TTh 1:30-3:00
This course consists in a close reading of the two Platonic dialogues analyzing the nature of love-the SYMPOSIUM and the PHAEDRUS. The approach to love developed in these dialogues will be contrasted with parallel expressions in the lyrical poetry of Sappho on love, loss of love, and individual emotions, as well as modern poetic statements concerning these themes by Amy Lowell and Emily Dickinson. The purpose of the course is to present a powerful and influential philosophical perspective on love and to compare that perspective with evocative and penetrating poetic visions of the same reality. The primary topics covered will be: the place of sexuality in love, the importance of communication through discourse between the lover and the beloved, and the status of emotions in the love-relationship. The popular notion of "Platonic love" will also be closely scrutinized by reading the dialogues from which this notion was distilled and determining just how "Platonic" the notion of "Platonic love" really is.

ISP 101 Sec 240 Course#21449 -- Pop Theater
Carlos Murillo, LPC MW 3:30-5:00
This course explores the evolution of popular music performance through the lens of theatre practice and theory. Popular music, in its various forms, has made an indelible impact on world culture, shaping perceptions of age, gender, race, sexuality, politics, economics and art on a scale and with a force of impact only dreamed of by theatre practitioners. Yet, the theatre has had a profound impact on the medium of pop music, particularly in the realm of live performance, providing inspiration to some of the most forward thinking and enduring works in the age of mass culture. POP THEATRE is an inquiry into the symbiotic relationship between the recordings, live performances and personas of ground-breaking artists working in the idiom of popular music and the stage productions, manifestoes and theoretical writings of leading theatre visionaries.

ISP 101 Sec 222 Course#20864 -- Pseudoscience
George Michel, LPC TTh 11:50-1:20
We live in the most technologically advanced society in the most technologically advanced time in history. Yet, "weird" beliefs and superstitions are widespread. Many people believe in mind reading, past-life regression therapy, abductions by extra-terrestrials, witches, ghosts, and other supernatural notions. Although science is the foundation of modern technological achievements, many eschew real science in favor of pseudoscience notions such as "scientific creationism", "scientific evidence of racial superiority", "recovered memory syndrome", "alternative medicine". Such supernatural beliefs are prevalent among people of all occupations and every educational and income level. In this course, the student examines several well-understood, psychological processes such as, 1) our sensitivity to coincidence, 2) penchant for developing rituals and habits to counteract feelings of anxiety or impatience when filling time or when marking expected changes in lifestyles, 3) a fear of failure, 4) attempts to cope with uncertainty, and 5) a need for control of our destinies that often result in irrational beliefs and superstitious and erroneous behavior. The student will discover exactly how superstitions, erroneous decisions, and weird beliefs are a result of common thinking patterns invoked by attempts to cope with the complexity and uncertainties of life (especially the social aspects of life). Many of these thinking patterns are close to good norms of rationality, whereas others depart sharply from them. Since the good and poor thinking patterns co-exist, we are simultaneously both rational and irrational. The student is introduced to, and encouraged to use, the methods of skepticism to counteract the twin mental positions of cynicism and gullibility that result from the typical application of our typical thinking patterns as coping techniques.

ISP 101 Sec 210 Course# 20853 -- Rousseau
Guillemette Johnston, LPC MW 1:10-2:40
The eighteenth-century Swiss writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau has had a tremendous impact on several areas of modern life. His writings helped in bringing about the French Revolution, laying the foundation for developmental psychology, providing a theoretical base for the rise of anthropological inquiry, and stimulating the growth of self-expression in literary works of the Romantics. In this class we will read some of Rousseau’s autobiographical writings (passages from The Confessions and The Reveries of a Solitary Walker), analyzing his experiences to see how his emotions and sentiments influenced his views and helped stimulate the diversity of his interests.

Because this course is a seminar, its organization will differ from that of standard lecture courses. Rather than concentrating on secondary or textbook interpretations of the significance of Rousseau’s work, we will focus exclusively on Rousseau’s own writings. This will let us share our views on Rousseau’s life and the complexity of his ideas. Students will have the opportunity to interact directly with the professor and the class, exchanging views on the readings. They are expected to come to class having read the material and written a few provocative questions to stimulate debate. Additionally, they will write short papers in response to the readings, which will from a journal of their experiences in reading Rousseau. This close examination of the life and emotions of a major contributor to modern life will hopefully inspire us to look at our own lives.

ISP 101 Sec 227 Course#25261 -- Slavery Around theWorld
Heidi Nast, LPC TTh 11:50-1:20
Slavery has existed for millennia in various forms around the world. But has it always and everywhere served the same purposes or meant the same thing? For example: Were the situations and powers of women who were royal concubines in African empires the same as those of African women working on southern United States or Caribbean plantations? Can we compare the experiences of male slave physicians in the Roman Empire and Mamluk slave military leaders to male slaves in ancient Athens or nineteenth-century Brazilian plantations operated by the Portuguese?
This course explores different cultures of slavery from around the world at different periods in history, along the way examining why slavery was created at all. We will focus on five questions: 1) How did slaves become slaves in the first place? War? Inheritance? Purchase? 2) What were the kinds of labor tasks that slaves carried out in different geographical and cultural contexts? Did all slaves do the same kind of work? 3) Were there social hierarchies within slave groups themselves or can we say that all slaves everywhere were equal? 4) Can we point to different cultural expressions of slavery and, if so, do these expressions point to differences in the ways various social groups give meaning to their lives and to their actions? 5) Can we say that there were different kinds of slave bodies and, if so, how were these different bodies created and/or distinguished?

To explore these questions, we will read or hear from guest speakers about slavery in a variety of contexts, beginning in ancient Rome and Greece and ending with plantation slavery in the Americas. Wherever possible, we will work on two scholarly fronts: First, we will examine the "objective" conditions of slavery using what are called secondary sources, that is, research works by scholars who study slavery. Secondly, we will examine the "subjective" or personal conditions of slavery through exploring fictional accounts of slave lives written in the first person by scholars who study slavery. To help us in our endeavors, a number of guest lecturers with expertise in different geographical areas will speak with us, and we will view several slave-related films. One field trip is required: You will visit Chicago's Field Museum (it? a freebie every Wednesday) to study and take notes on the Africa and African slavery exhibit (this exercise will be discussed in more detail in class).

ISP 101 Sec 223 Course#21407 -- Sport in America
Kimberly Moffitt, LPC TTh 11:50-1:20
This course fosters a discussion about the American sports industry in relation to issues of power and ideology. Through a reading of print media and participation as a sports spectator, students will have the opportunity to view the multiple aspects of sports beyond its entertainment value. In particular, the course will utilize the concept of "ultimate meritocracy" to investigate its manifestation in the American sports industry. "Ultimate meritocracy" can be defined as "if given the chance, anyone can make it on his ability, with no remedial aid or special compensation, on a level playing field" (Early, 1998). Sports are seen as the one aspect of life in which fair play, equal opportunity, and colorblindness sit at the center of its existence. In other words, sports are deemed part of an industry in which other arenas of society could learn issues of acceptance and tolerance because the focus does not lie in the difference of the individual (race/ethnicity, gender, class, ability or sexual orientation), but in fact, relies solely on the performance and talent of the athlete.

ISP101 Sec 236 Course# 21448 -- Television
Camillia Fojas, LPC TTh 3:10-4:40

ISP 101 Sec 220 Course#20862 -- Terrorism: Theory and Practice
Anna Layton, LPC TTh 10:10-11:40

ISP 101 Sec501 Course#20868 -- The Creation of Frankenstein
Sara Cordell, Loop MW 3:30-5:00
"It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils." So begins one of the most famous stories of all time, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Only nineteen years old when she penned Frankenstein, Mary Shelley was often asked how such a young girl could conceive such a "hideous" idea. This course will consider answers to that question. We will examine the key events presaging Shelley’s Promethean brainchild, including the author’s unusual childhood and education, her sensational affair with and marriage to one of England’s most famous Romantic poets, certain scientific notions of Shelley’s day, in particular the idea that dead tissue might be "galvanized" or shocked into life, the Swiss holiday that culminated in the novel’s creation, and the strange dream that inspired the novel’s most well known scene. We will also examine the novel’s most influential literary sources, as well as its ongoing implications for education, parental and social responsibility, science, and art. Finally we will examine the novel’s enduring cultural legacy, particularly in the areas of film, graphic art, and science fiction.

ISP 101 Sec803 Course#20872 -- The Future Film
Robert Garfield, LPC T 5:45-9:00
Predicting the future has always been a human obsession. Film, more than any other medium, has the ability and power to envision times and places that have never, or never yet, existed. These two facts are the basis of this course. We will study the nature of film, to see how and why things appear on the screen as they do and how writers and directors present their vision through the medium of motion pictures. We will then view films (one per week) to see how the future has been envisioned in this medium. We will try to understand the contemporary social, political, cultural and economic realities within which the films were made, to see how these existing realities affected visions of the future. We will be concerned only with the future Earth and its people; there will be no spaceships, no monsters (except the human variety) and no interstellar battles.

Students will read lengthy passages concerning film techniques and about the films they will see. They will write an analytical paper each week on the film seen, and will write a extensive and comparative paper at the end of the course. Each week will also have an extensive discussion period, in which students are expected to seriously discuss and analyze the films seen and the broader topics of the course. Discussion, weekly papers and final paper will be the basis of the course grade.

ISP 101 Sec 201 Course# -- The Little Ice Age: Charting the Uncertain Future of Global Climate
John Thompson, LPC MWF 8:30-9:30
In this course we will explore Earth’s changing climate with emphasis on the question of whether or not human activities have altered or will alter climate. We will also explore the potential impacts of human-induced climate change on the natural and human environment, and investigate alternative ways of producing and using energy that may reduce our impact on Earth’s climate and, at the same time, alleviate other environmental problems. Finally, we will reflect on how our relationship with nature has changed as a result of global-scale environmental problems.
Following is a representative, but not exhaustive, list of topics for the course: the physics and chemistry of Earth’s climate, reconstructing past climates from fossil evidence, computer models of climate, ecological impacts of climate change, societal impacts of climate change, "green" sources of energy, energy conservation, and preservation versus development. This course has a strong science content and will aim to develop students’ writing, analytical reasoning, and quantitative skills.

ISP 101 Sec234 Course#21444 -- The Middle East and Beyond, Tina Chanter
**************THIS SECTION HAS BEEN CANCELLED*************

ISP 101 Sec230 Course#21409 -- The Trial and Death of Socrates
Michael Naas, LPC TTh 1:30-3:00
This course will focus on one of the most important trials, and, indeed, one of the most important events, in Western history and culture--the trial and death of Socrates. As a multi-disciplinary course combining philosophical, literary, and historical materials, we will look at the trial of Socrates from a variety of different perspectives--that is, as an historical event, as a drama at the center of some of the most beautiful and significant works of art in Western culture, and as the origin and inspiration for philosophy itself.

ISP 101 Sec215 Course#20857 -- Use of Animals in Science
Dorthy Kozlovski, LPC TTh 8:30-10:00

ISP 101 Sec 239 Course#21438 -- Work in the Movies
Doug Cellar, LPC Th 4:50-8:05
The course is designed to provide students with scientific and practical knowledge related to industrial/organizational psychology and then to view popular films, and ultimately make their own videotape from that perspective. A primary emphasis of the course will be the connection between the science and practice of industrial psychology and popular movies. Students are required to attend the viewing of the films and to write weekly papers related to the readings and the film in addition to making their own videotape.

ISP 101 Sec 243 Course# 21835 -- The Body: Pleasure/Power/Sexuality
Tina Chanter, LPC 3:10-4:40
The body—how we eat, how we dress, our daily routines and rituals is the medium of culture. The body is a powerful symbolic form upon which are written the rules, customs, and power relations of a society. These power relations are inseparable from the way the body’s pleasures and pains are felt and expressed. In this way the body is the practical locus of social and political control. This Focal Point Seminar will examine the discipline and control of the body, specifically in regards to the notions of pleasure and pain.