Seminars, HASS Subjects and Special Topics Offered in ESG: Spring 2004

Here's the Academic Resources page with all Undergrad Seminars at MIT.

• SP.240 Composing a Life: Exploration of Self through Photography, Art and Writing
  Graham Ramsay, Experimental Study Group
  Dr. Holly Sweet, Experimental Study Group
  Units: 2-0-4 [P/D/F]
  Meets in 24-619. First meeting time: Tuesday February 3rd 2-4 p.m.
  A Detailed Syllabus is now online.
  In this interdisciplinary seminar we will explore in a hands-on way a variety of tools for self expression. Through lecture, discussion and related exercises and assignments, students will learn to utilize a variety of media to create a cohesive narrative of self. Assignments will focus on nuance and interplay of written and visual elements, with special focus on photography. Representations of self will include personal history, who we think we are, how we experience the world, and the way in which we choose to represent ourselves to others. No prior experience with photography or artwork is required. Students will work toward completion of a hand made book or journal that will include pre-existing or original artwork, photography,and writing. Students will be invited to submit final projects for an exhibition open to members of the MIT community.

• SP.241 Introduction to Poetry
  Cancelled!: too little, too late. If you're interested in this seminar for a later term, contact Kaia Dekker.
  The structure of this seminar is pretty simple: each week we read a few pieces by a different poet, and then we sit around and drink cocoa and talk about the poems. Also, about every other week (or more, if you feel like it) seminar participants will bring in a piece of writing, either responding the work or their original poetry. Most of the poets we'll look at are fairly well known, though I plan to pick selections that people are unlikely to have seen in a standard high school literature course.
  It should be a lot of fun and a pretty low-key way to get 6 units.

• SP.242 Gender Issues in Academia
  Kayla Jacobs and Laurel Ruhlen, Experimental Study Group
  Dr. Holly Sweet, seminar supervisor, Experimental Study Group
  Units: 2-0-4 [P/D/F]
  Meets in 24-619. First meeting time: Wednesday February 4th 7-9 p.m.
  Does it matter in education whether or not you've got a Y chromosome? You bet it does! In this seminar we will explore why males vastly outrank females in math and science and career advancement, and why girls get better grades and go on to college more often than boys. Do the sexes have different learning styles? Is secondary education unfriendly to boys? Are women denied advanced opportunities in academic and the work place? How do family life and decisions affect careers for both men and women? While much of the material will deal with issues of girls and women in academics, boys' experiences will also be addressed. We will also look at how MIT specifically is addressing gender concerns in its educational and research programs. Our discussions will be based on excerpts from books and articles, including Reviving Ophelia, Raising Cain, and Failing at Fairness (approx 40 pages/week).

• SP.243 Images of Romantic Love in International Films
  Nadezhda Belova, Experimental Study Group
  Dr. Holly Sweet, seminar supervisor, Experimental Study Group
  Units: 2-0-4 [P/D/F]
  Meets in 24-619. First meeting time: Tuesday February 3rd 7-9 p.m.
  In this seminar we will view movies from different cultures which depict aspects of romantic love particular to a specific culture. Through watching movies and class discussion, we will explore participants' interpretations of the depictions of romantic love shown in the films, and what they attempt to say about love in that culture. Later discussions will focus on comparisons of views on love in different cultures as presented in the films. Films will be shown from the following countries: Russia, France, Argentina, China, India, Sweden, Japan, Spain, Israel, Iran, Germany, Britain, and the United States.

• SP.244 Identity and Personality
  Anna Holt, Experimental Study Group
  Dr. Lee Perlman, Experimental Study Group
  Meets in 24-619. First meeting time Thursday February 5th 7-9 p.m.
  This seminar will be a mixture of interactive activities and Socratic- seminar style discussion. We will look at the psychological development of human identity and personality and apply these theories to popular culture. Among the topics to be covered: How valid are personality tests? What defines group identity? How has the internet changed our perceptions of ourselves? We'll be applying theses theories to answer such questions as: Does character creation (a la creative writing or RPGs) alter your self-identity? Does your score on the Meyers-Briggs test really determine who'll you'll date or what career you'll choose? Activities include: taking these personality tests, making up anonymous AIM names and trying to identify our classmates, watching popular movies about identity, taking magazine quizzes and much more.

• SP.245 Awareness
  Dr. Lee Perlman, Experimental Study Group
  First meeting time: Friday February 6 2-4 p.m.
  In this seminar we will delve into various conceptions of the self both through reading and through experiential exercises such as meditation, dream journaling, and interpersonal exercises designed to help us discover who we happen to be right now, and who we aspire to be. We will explore the issue of human excellence, asking questions about the nature of courage, kindness, true honesty, and love of truth, and will also investigate the blocks to such excellences, such as fear, anger, envy. In all cases, philosophical reflection will be accompnaied by structured personal reflection.

• SP.246 Current Events and Social Issues
  Claudia Gold, Jocelyn Rodal, Experimental Study Group
  Dr. Lee Perlman, Staff advisor, Experimental Study Group
  Meets in 24-619. First meeting time: TBA
  We will spend the first half of each class discussing current events that happened that week. The second half of each class will focus on a larger issue, including systems of political thought, discrimination and affirmative action, the Bush administration and the war on terrorism, the drug war, abortion, the death penalty, and euthanasia, the AIDS crisis in Africa, sexual rights, gay issues, the Arab-Israeli conflict, environmentalism, what "just wars" are, free trade and globalization,and civil liberties. Discussions will be supplemented by regular readings and various speakers who represent a wide range of opinions on these topics.

• SP.270 Japanese Animation: Still Pictures, Moving Minds
  Sean Leonard, Experimental Study Group
  Dr. Peter Dourmashkin, seminar supervisor
  Units: 2-0-4 [P/D/F]
  First meeting time: Wednesday February 4th 3:30-5 (room TBA)
  Explores Japanese animation (anime) in terms of media theories, aesthetics, and institutions. The seminar is taught in English. Students debate over the global and local reception, including fan culture growth and function. They will also compare the anime form to other artistic works and connect anime with contemporary and historical trends in Japan. They examine works by specific directors (Oshii Mamoru, Ishiguro Noboru, Miyazaki Hayao) and studios, supplemented with readings, screenings, and guest speakers from the US and Japan. In addition to the Monday discussion from 3:30-5 p.m., mandatory screenings of anime will be held from 7-10 p.m. on Mondays (room TBA). For complete schedule information and syllabus, please go to the web page.

• SP.272 Integrating Anthropology and Technology: A Hands-on Approach
  Heather Jones and Christina Laskowski, Experimental Study Group
  David Custer and Dr. Peter Dourmashkin, seminar supervisors, Experimental Study Group
  Units: 2-2-2 [P/D/F]
  Meets in 24-621. First meeting time: Thursday February 5th 7-9 p.m.
  A very detailed schedule is at Detailed Schedule.

• SP.287 Kitchen Chemistry (at ESG)
  Dr. Patricia Christie, Department of Biology and Experimental Study Group
  Units: 2-0-4 [P/D/F]
  Meets in the ESG kitchen and adjoing area. First meeting time: TBA
  This seminar is designed to be an experimental and hands-on approach to applied chemistry (as seen in cooking). Cooking may be the oldest and most widespread application of chemistry and recipes may be the oldest practical result of chemical research. We shall do some cooking experiments to illustrate some chemical principles, including extraction, denaturation, and phase changes.

• SP.292 Creative Writing
  Rax Dillon
  Units: 2-0-4 [P/D/F]
  Meets in 24-619.
  That's right, kids! After this term I am going to up and vanish in no way reminiscent of a loaf of pumpernickel bread, so if you want to take my class, this is the time to be doing it.
  For those of you not familiar with my class (Hi freshmen!), it's SP.292, Creative Writing Seminar. It's a six-unit seminar, pass/fail, in which we mainly read and discuss student work, though occasionally review the works of published authors with an eye to what we can learn from their writing (and what mistakes they may have made!) to improve our own. We focus on poetry and prose because that is where I have the most knowledge, though last year someone brought in drama and ended up winning a contest with it!

  Here are good reasons to take my class:

  • Six units for a low-intensity class.
  • Encourages you to actually write, without forcing you to write specific things. (I'll give suggested assignments and the occasional exercise, but if you're working on your novel, and want to use this class as a motivator, we can totally work that out.)
  • Lots of fun! I mean, really, in what other class do you sit around discussing the anthropomorphization of noses with old and new friends? (Maybe "Drugs, Politics, and Culture," I guess.)
  • I'm a good teacher! Well, that's the idea, at least. I get good reviews, this will be my fourth time teaching the class, and I've been writing for a long long time. To see examples of my writing, you can go to my website at rax's page and get an idea of what sort of work I do.

  Here are bad reasons to take my class:
  

  • You are a zombie, forced to roam the earth feeding on the living.

  The class will likely meet on Mondays or Wednesdays from 3 to 5 PM, though thanks to ESG (thanks, ESG!) there is some flexibility on time. If you are interested, preregister NOW for SP.292 , ask for six units, and email me with your name and schedule and tell me that you preregistered.
  If you don't know who I am, all the better. Take my class.
  If you have any further questions, email me and I'll be glad to answer them.

• SP.293 Lego Robotics - Not Offered Spring 2004
  Colin Dillard, Experimental Study Group
  Dr. Peter Dourmashkin, Staff advisor, Experimental Study Group
  Lego Robotics uses Legos as a fun tool to explore robotics, mechanical systems, electronics, and programming. Primarily a lab exerience, this seminar provides students the resources needed to design, build, and program functional robots made from Legos and a few other parts, such as motors and sensors. As a class we will also explore other topics of interest to the students, perhaps including digital logic, modern robotics, or artificial intelligence. Absolutely no experience with Lego, robotics, programming is needed. Lego Robotics is a great way to try out new ideas, play with Legos, and learn some basic engineering.

• SP.294 Special Topics in Mathematics
  Dr. Jeremy Orloff and Dr. John Lewis, Experimental Study Group
  Units: 2-0-4 [P/D/F]
  Meets in 24-619. First meeting Wednesday February 4th 3-5 p.m
  A Syllabus is available from the above link.
  This seminar is intended for anyone with a strong interest in mathematics. It will cover a wide range of topics in mathematics - anything from levels of infinity and other very large numbers to the mathematics beyond computerized speech recognition. The exact topics will depend on the the interest of the participants and outside speakers. There will be two sections of this seminar. One section will consist of talks by professors and graduate students about their fields of research. The goal of this section is to expose students to the beauty, depth, and breadth of current mathematics. We hope that something will grab student interest as an area of potential undergraduate research. The second section will be talks by each student on a topic of his/her choice. We will provide a list of suggestions but students are free to choose their own topics. Presentations will give students the opportunity to learn new material and teach it to other participants which should be a fun and valuable experience.

• SP.298 The Art of Color
  
  Dr. Peter Dourmashkin, Experimental Study Group
  Meets in 24-611. First meeting time: TBA
  More Information Available, including a summary.
  This studio seminar will meet twice a week (1 1/2 hour class). The principles of visual design will be reviewed at the beginning of the semester. The seminar will then introduce, through studio projects, the basic principles regarding the use of color in the visual arts. Projects will include the Familiarization with Colors; Color and Value Balance; Color as Expression, Color as Impression, Searching for Tension: Color Squares, Color as Construction, Warm-Cold Colors, the Interaction of Color: Final Project. Each student will be asked to work on one large color project that may include multi-media use of color.

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