FYS COURSE PROPOSAL FORM 2016-17
Please submit electronically to Diane Burnham by February 5, 2016
Instructor’s Name(s)
Department Code
FYSE
Course Number
Course Title
Semester Offered
Has this course been offered before? If so,
list the course number and semester
previously taught.
NOTE: If you would like guidance on structuring your FYS, you might begin by considering the following learning goals
(for students) proposed at the December 2014 faculty meeting by the Educational Affairs Committee, and currently under
discussion by the full faculty. Many topics would give students the opportunity to achieve these goals; the FYS program
includes the goals here as they may be helpful for your choice of topic and of the kinds and amount of material to cover in
your seminar. You are encouraged to add goals of your own for your particular seminar.
1.
2.
3.
4.
to learn what is expected intellectually and ethically for college-level work in the Liberal Arts;
to engage seriously with the topic to which one’s seminar is devoted;
to develop skills in widely accessible yet scholarly presentation (written and oral), involving observation,
analysis, argumentation, research, and the use of sources;
to become (with the help of advising) active in exploring academic and professional interests, and to find
rewarding ways to participate in intellectual life in the Liberal Arts.
If you are teaching a FYS for the first time, please note that the FYS program will be scheduling a course planning session
during J-term for new FYS instructors, and you may wish to wait until then to submit this form. Veterans planning new
courses will be welcome. You are also welcome to contact the Director of the FYS program, James Berg
(berg@middlebury.edu), at any time, for individual consultation.
In the space below, please provide exact catalog copy of no more than 100 words describing goals of course,
subjects covered, approach to subject matter, sources to be used, etc. * Then please provide brief answers to the
questions that follow.
1.
If you have already identified specific learning goals for your students beyond those listed in the gray box above,
please state them here.
2.
Please explain briefly how the teaching of writing and speaking will be integrated into the content of your
seminar. How will you make sure that the students are getting practice on these skills even as they are learning
the “content” you are teaching?
3.
Do you plan to incorporate training in research and/or the use of primary sources into your seminar? If so, how?
(Please note that teaching research and the use of sources often affords a good opportunity to address the issue of
academic integrity.)
*
For catalog copy, the Curriculum Committee suggests using serial commas, and to replace phrases such as “This course
will” with phrases, “In this course we will…”
4.
What student work do you propose to use to assess the students in the seminar (eg. papers, exams, quizzes, class
participation)? Note: we suggest that marks on at least three separate major papers or presentations constitute a
substantial portion of the grade.
5.
What 30-character (including spaces and punctuation) computer abbreviation do you want used for this seminar
(this title will appear on student transcripts)?
6.
Because First Year Seminars must already accomplish a great deal in a limited time, each seminar is typically
limited to ONE academic distribution tag. Please suggest the academic distribution tag (LIT, ART, PHL, HIS,
SCI, DED, SOC, or LNG) that you believe most appropriate for your seminar. If you would like the Committee
to consider other academic distribution tags, please list them in order of priority.
7.
If you believe your seminar should have Cultures and Civilizations tag please suggest ONE (NOR, AAL, EUR,
or CMP) for consideration by the Curriculum Committee.
8.
Each seminar may also have a resource team supported by CTLR and LIS: a peer academic mentor to work with
students on writing, speaking, and project management and an LIS liaison for library research and technology
skills. Would you like a resource team assigned to your seminar?
9.
Budget: Each FYS has a course enrichment budget of $250. The program also provides $100 for social
interactions with seminar students. Please indicate whether and how you might use this budget.
I. ACADEMIC CATEGORIES
1. Literature (LIT): Literature has been a central form of expression for many societies. Analysis and
appreciation of literary texts give students insight into the minds and lives of other human beings, both their
own cultural predecessors and people of different traditions, and into the process whereby human experience
is imaginatively transformed into art. By studying literature in English and in other languages, students also
sharpen their ability to express their own ideas with grace and precision.
2. The Arts (ART): The understanding of the history, theory, and practice of the arts is an integral part of a
liberal arts education. Courses in this category emphasize either the creative process through the making and
performing of works of art (ranging from paintings and sculpture to plays, dances, creative writing,
film/video, and musical compositions) or the place of such works of art within a particular historical,
cultural, or aesthetic context
3. Philosophical and Religious Studies (PHL): Courses in this category examine philosophical systems
and religious traditions from a variety of viewpoints, including analytical, systematic, historical,
sociological, anthropological, and phenomenological perspectives. Some courses deal with specific
philosophical problems or theological issues; others trace the history of philosophy or of religious traditions;
still others examine philosophical schools of thought or religious traditions during specific periods of
history.
4. Historical Studies (HIS): History is that branch of knowledge that seeks to account for the diverse ways
in which human beings in different cultures and societies have all responded to temporal change. Courses in
this category study the development of societies and cultures over time.
5. Physical and Life Sciences (SCI): Courses in this category study inductive and deductive processes of
science. Emphasis is on the methods used to gather, interpret, and evaluate data critically, and the placement
of this information into a larger context. Fundamental principles of each discipline are discussed in a manner
that illustrates the evolving relationship of science, technology, and society.
6. Deductive Reasoning and Analytical Processes (DED): Courses in this category deal with one or more
of the following: (a) basic principles of reasoning and the axiomatic method; (b) statistical methods for
analyzing and interpreting data; (c) key mathematical concepts; and (d) abstract symbolic manipulation or
reasoning.
7. Social Analysis (SOC): This category deals with the analysis of the individual in society. Courses
involve the systematic study of human behavior and the processes and results of human interaction through
organizations and institutions, both formal and informal. Social analysis can be undertaken from a variety of
perspectives: inductive (using data to make generalizations about human behavior), deductive (using
principles to search for and develop new theories), and normative (using values to recognize important
questions and evaluate alternative answers).
8. Foreign Language (LNG): Speaking, listening, reading, and writing in a language other than one's own
exercise and expand the mind. Because of the close interdependence of language and culture, study of a
foreign language helps one gain insights into other societies and ultimately one's own. Courses in this
category include those taught in a foreign language or focused on texts in a foreign language.
II. CULTURES AND CIVILIZATIONS
1. AAL-courses that focus on some aspect of the cultures and civilizations of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle
East, and the Caribbean.
2.CMP-courses that focus on the process of comparison between and among cultures and civilizations, or courses that
focus on the identity and experience of separable groups within cultures and civilizations.
3. EUR-courses that focus on some aspect of European cultures and civilizations.
4. NOR-courses that focus on some aspect of the cultures and civilizations of northern America (United States and
Canada)