First-Year Seminars Fall 2014
GSBA 199.01
Ben Postlethwaite
Entrepreneurship 101: Startup Workshop: Are you an entrepreneur? Are you passionate about generating
new ideas and solving real-world problems? Do you want to learn how to start a new business? If you
answered YES, this may be the first-year seminar for you. By participating in this workshop-style course, you
will gain hands-on experience starting a new venture. Working in teams, you will create, launch, and operate a
web-based business. In the process, you’ll learn the fundamentals of web analytics, search engine
optimization, and internet marketing. You will also be introduced to technology entrepreneurship through
case studies, readings, film, and interviews with company founders and investors.
GSCL 199.01
Carolyn James
Global Political Awareness: What does it mean to be politically aware? The purpose of this course is to
provide students an unfiltered, non-partisan look at governance. “Political Awareness” will look at all levels of
politics and how they come together to influence aspects of everyday life from drinking water to elections to
international relations. This course will take a unique look at the four levels of politics (local, state, federal and
international) and how they operate, specifically considering all the people working behind the scenes to
influence domestic and international decisions. Specific topics include elections, the media, foreign policy and
religion and politics. As a class, we will have several informal debates on a broad range of topics taken from
the world around us.
GSCL 199.02
Joanna Stimmel
Jews and Germans Then and Now: This course is an overview of the cultural and intellectual history of
German-Jewish relationship from the Enlightenment through the modern period and to after the Holocaust.
We will investigate the roots of anti-Jewish stereotypes in German culture and explore how German-speaking
Jews dealt with the blows of religious and political prejudice as well as the pseudo-scientific, racial antiSemitism of the modern era. The second part of the course will focus on how contemporary Germans engage
with the historical and contemporary Jewish “Other” in light of the catastrophic end to the German-Jewish
“symbiosis.”
GSCO 199.01
John Watson
Why Sports? Understanding Its Impact on Society: Experts conservatively estimate the sport industry at $400
billion a year making it one of the top 10 industries in the nation. This course is an overview of the social,
political, economic and moral impact of sports on modern society. It will predominantly focus upon sports in
the United States over the past 100 years, but will survey its history and influence internationally. The course
examines the athletes and coaches; owners and community recreation leaders; the sporting goods industry;
corporate sponsorships; the media; city sports commissions; education; etc. There will be extensive discussion
of recent events that have brought either praise or condemnation to those involved in the sports community
and their perceived impact on society.
GSCO 199.02
Susan Salas
Finding Meaning in Your Hero’s Journey through Narrative Film: What trials unite not only Harry Potter,
Katniss Everdeen and Frodo Baggins, but many of literature and film’s most interesting heroes? And what do
ordinary people have in common with these heroes? What do you have in common with these heroes? In this
course, we will examine the characteristics and qualities of film heroes and their heroic acts in order to gain a
better understanding of our own hero’s journey. We will share our “calls to adventure” and how these have
shaped who we are today. This investigation can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves and to a
deeper appreciation of our lives and our relationships with others. Additionally, we will explore the differences
and connections between career goals and vocational goals for life.
GSEN 199.01
Elizabeth Dillon
American Language and Culture: Students refine their use of idiomatic English through the study of the mass
media and literary selections, discussion, computer-assisted instruction, sentence combining, and modeling.
The course promotes cross-cultural understanding and develops the ability of non-native speakers to think and
communicate clearly. Must be taken concurrently with ENG 100. Satisfies the first-year seminar general
education requirement.
GSHU 121.01
Cyndia Clegg (Great Books Colloquium)
Great Books Colloquium I: Students who enroll in Great Books I are automatically enrolled in the Great Books
program, which consists of four integrated seminars devoted to the study of Great Books from ancient Greece
to the present day. In Great Books I, students consider works of philosophy, literature, religion, and political
thought of the ancient world. Authors include Homer, Greek tragedians, Plato, Aristotle, and Virgil. The course
is discussion-based and involves close reading of texts and intensive writing. Each seminar is limited to 16
students. Prerequisite: Eligibility for entry in English Composition 101. (GE) Great Books I fulfills the First Year
Seminar Requirement, and completion of the four-course sequence fulfills five general education
requirements.
GSHU 121.02
Michael Gose (Great Books Colloquium)
Great Books Colloquium I: Students who enroll in Great Books I are automatically enrolled in the Great Books
program, which consists of four integrated seminars devoted to the study of Great Books from ancient Greece
to the present day. In Great Books I, students consider works of philosophy, literature, religion, and political
thought of the ancient world. Authors include Homer, Greek tragedians, Plato, Aristotle, and Virgil. The course
is discussion-based and involves close reading of texts and intensive writing. Each seminar is limited to 16
students. Prerequisite: Eligibility for entry in English Composition 101. (GE) Great Books I fulfills the First Year
Seminar Requirement, and completion of the four-course sequence fulfills five general education
requirements.
GSHU 121.03
Paul Contino (Great Books Colloquium)
Great Books Colloquium I: Students who enroll in Great Books I are automatically enrolled in the Great Books
program, which consists of four integrated seminars devoted to the study of Great Books from ancient Greece
to the present day. In Great Books I, students consider works of philosophy, literature, religion, and political
thought of the ancient world. Authors include Homer, Greek tragedians, Plato, Aristotle, and Virgil. The course
is discussion-based and involves close reading of texts and intensive writing. Each seminar is limited to 16
students. Prerequisite: Eligibility for entry in English Composition 101. (GE) Great Books I fulfills the First Year
Seminar Requirement, and completion of the four-course sequence fulfills five general education
requirements.
GSHU 121.04
Paul Contino (Great Books Colloquium)
Great Books Colloquium I: Students who enroll in Great Books I are automatically enrolled in the Great Books
program, which consists of four integrated seminars devoted to the study of Great Books from ancient Greece
to the present day. In Great Books I, students consider works of philosophy, literature, religion, and political
thought of the ancient world. Authors include Homer, Greek tragedians, Plato, Aristotle, and Virgil. The course
is discussion-based and involves close reading of texts and intensive writing. Each seminar is limited to 16
students. Prerequisite: Eligibility for entry in English Composition 101. (GE) Great Books I fulfills the First Year
Seminar Requirement, and completion of the four-course sequence fulfills five general education
requirements.
GSHU 121.05
Tuan Hoang (Great Books Colloquium)
Great Books Colloquium I: Students who enroll in Great Books I are automatically enrolled in the Great Books
program, which consists of four integrated seminars devoted to the study of Great Books from ancient Greece
to the present day. In Great Books I, students consider works of philosophy, literature, religion, and political
thought of the ancient world. Authors include Homer, Greek tragedians, Plato, Aristotle, and Virgil. The course
is discussion-based and involves close reading of texts and intensive writing. Each seminar is limited to 16
students. Prerequisite: Eligibility for entry in English Composition 101. (GE) Great Books I fulfills the First Year
Seminar Requirement, and completion of the four-course sequence fulfills five general education
requirements.
GSHU 121.06
Michael Gose (Great Books Colloquium)
Great Books Colloquium I: Students who enroll in Great Books I are automatically enrolled in the Great Books
program, which consists of four integrated seminars devoted to the study of Great Books from ancient Greece
to the present day. In Great Books I, students consider works of philosophy, literature, religion, and political
thought of the ancient world. Authors include Homer, Greek tragedians, Plato, Aristotle, and Virgil. The course
is discussion-based and involves close reading of texts and intensive writing. Each seminar is limited to 16
students. Prerequisite: Eligibility for entry in English Composition 101. (GE) Great Books I fulfills the First Year
Seminar Requirement, and completion of the four-course sequence fulfills five general education
requirements.
GSHU 121.07
Tuan Hoang (Great Books Colloquium)
Great Books Colloquium I: Students who enroll in Great Books I are automatically enrolled in the Great Books
program, which consists of four integrated seminars devoted to the study of Great Books from ancient Greece
to the present day. In Great Books I, students consider works of philosophy, literature, religion, and political
thought of the ancient world. Authors include Homer, Greek tragedians, Plato, Aristotle, and Virgil. The course
is discussion-based and involves close reading of texts and intensive writing. Each seminar is limited to 16
students. Prerequisite: Eligibility for entry in English Composition 101. (GE) Great Books I fulfills the First Year
Seminar Requirement, and completion of the four-course sequence fulfills five general education
requirements.
GSHU 199.01
Stella Erbes (Keck Research Seminar)
Discovering the Secret of Inspirational Teaching: Why does a particular teacher or learning experience stand
out above others from your academic career? What factors contribute to the making of an effective teacher?
What innovative methods can teachers implement to connect with students in today’s classrooms? These are
just a few of the questions that can be explored in this research seminar. This course focuses on what is
revealed through current educational research. Students will be able to: 1) Understand major areas of research
in curriculum and instruction; 2) Evaluate a variety of professional articles and studies in terms of validity,
methodology, findings, and conclusions; 3) Synthesize research articles and studies into a coherent and
appropriate literature review; and 4) Propose an original research study related to the field of education which
may be submitted for funding. Select studies will be eligible for participation at research conferences and may
even lead to journal publications.
GSHU 199.02
Garrett Pendergraft
Thinking Well: Thinking well pays off: it helps you succeed in college, and it helps you live a fuller, more
rewarding life. So this course is designed to strengthen your thinking skills. It won’t teach you what to think
(what to think will be up to you), but it will show you how to think clearly and deeply about important issues—
issues involving knowledge, freedom, and justice. Together we’ll discover and sharpen some vital intellectual
tools and then apply them both to big ideas and to specific real-world situations. This course will pay dividends
in almost any field, but should be especially useful to students interested in law school or other study at the
graduate level.
GSHU 199.03
Tomás Bogardus
The Meaning of Life: What is the world like and what is our place in it? We’ll consider the three dominant
answers: Naturalism (only what’s physical is real), Supernaturalism (God determines what’s true), and
Postmodernism (truth is a “social construct”). By the end of the course, each student will be in a better
position to understand, state, and defend her own worldview. At the same time, each student will develop a
deeper sympathy and appreciation for those views she does not accept. Our conversations of each view will
focus on the existence of God, the nature and value of life, what makes us human, what grounds morality, and
what the goal or purpose of life is. So, this course will be particularly useful for students interested in medicine,
law, religion, or philosophy.
GSHU 199.04
Mason Marshall
What Actually Matters: What make life good—in other words, what matters enough to shape your life around
it—and how can you tell? Major thinkers over the years have had a lot to say in response to these questions.
We will consider their various answers, weigh the evidence, and together try to figure out what the correct
answers are. The course will be heavy on joint discussion and light on lecture, but all our conversations will be
informed. They will take us into issues as diverse as whether there is a God, what the relation between the
body and the mind is, and how to decide whom to marry.
GSHU 199.05
Bryan Givens
The European Witch Hunt: 'The European Witch-Hunt' will examine the European witch-hunt in the period
from 1400-1700. While the subject of witchcraft will obviously be addressed, this class is not about witchcraft
but rather of the historical phenomenon surrounding the investigation and prosecution of witchcraft in Europe
in the late medieval and early modern periods. It will, therefore, discuss the rise of witchcraft prosecutions in
the fifteenth century; the development of scholastic demonology and the inquisitorial procedure in those
prosecutions during the sixteenth century; the period of the witch-craze’s greatest intensity in the early
seventeenth century, and the causes leading to the end of the witch-hunt in Europe in the late seventeenth
and early eighteenth centuries. This course will use that history as a means by which to analyze and discuss
the broader subjects of marginalization, persecution, scapegoating, the development of law and judicial
institutions, the collapse of religious and ideological uniformity in Europe, the role of the educational system in
ideological construction, changing conceptions of the supernatural, and the relationship between popular and
elite culture during the early modern period. Hopefully, the discussion of these issues in a historically remote
period will prompt a more informed understanding of related issues today.
GSHU 199.06
Bryan Givens
The European Witch Hunt: 'The European Witch-Hunt' will examine the European witch-hunt in the period
from 1400-1700. While the subject of witchcraft will obviously be addressed, this class is not about witchcraft
but rather of the historical phenomenon surrounding the investigation and prosecution of witchcraft in Europe
in the late medieval and early modern periods. It will, therefore, discuss the rise of witchcraft prosecutions in
the fifteenth century; the development of scholastic demonology and the inquisitorial procedure in those
prosecutions during the sixteenth century; the period of the witch-craze’s greatest intensity in the early
seventeenth century, and the causes leading to the end of the witch-hunt in Europe in the late seventeenth
and early eighteenth centuries. This course will use that history as a means by which to analyze and discuss
the broader subjects of marginalization, persecution, scapegoating, the development of law and judicial
institutions, the collapse of religious and ideological uniformity in Europe, the role of the educational system in
ideological construction, changing conceptions of the supernatural, and the relationship between popular and
elite culture during the early modern period. Hopefully, the discussion of these issues in a historically remote
period will prompt a more informed understanding of related issues today.
GSHU 199.07
Darlene Rivas (Keck Research Seminar)
Telling Lives—History and Biography: Do tell. Other peoples’ lives fascinate us, and biographies are top
sellers in non-fiction writing. Yet given the complexity of our world, can an individual life story transcend
“gossip” and “idle curiosity” to help us answer significant questions about our history and society and about
what makes a life meaningful? What varied approaches might we choose to tell others’ lives that will show
why a particular life matters? And whose lives do we tell: the hero, villain, victim, creative genius, ordinary
person? In this course, students will examine life narratives of twentieth century Americans and learn skills
required to participate in scholarly biographical research and writing. They will collaborate to identify people
whose lives they demonstrate need telling and will develop compelling projects grounded in local/regional
archives. Students will have the opportunity to pursue original scholarship through the seemingly simple act of
telling life stories.
GSHU 199.08 James Thomas
Poetry for Non-Poetic People: This seminar concentrates on de-mystifying poetry and making it accessible to
all readers. The assumption underlying this course is that the best and most enduring poetry is not
pretentious, esoteric, or obscure. We will examine poems from all time periods that treat classic themes like
love, war, grief, politics, and poetry itself. The course will emphasize poems that exemplify clarity, originality,
and social concerns--such as works by former U. S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins, the unconventional poet E. E.
Cummings, and the late Maya Angelou. Students will write a number of short essays, will take tests and write
essays at midterm and on final examination day, and will be invited, but not required, to share original poetic
works.
GSHU 199.09 Paul Contino
Human Happiness: We all seek to be happy. But what is happiness? What experiences or actions help persons
to flourish most fully and joyfully? How important is the practice of virtue? Which virtues are most important?
What is the role of faith? In this seminar, we will read authors from the classical tradition -- Homer, Plato,
Aristotle, and Virgil as well as some from the Judeo- Christian tradition – who grapple with these questions in
story, philosophy, and scripture. We will discuss their ideas with an eye toward their relevance to your own
experience as a contemporary college student at Pepperdine University.
GSHU 199.10 Paul Contino
Human Happiness: We all seek to be happy. But what is happiness? What experiences or actions help persons
to flourish most fully and joyfully? How important is the practice of virtue? Which virtues are most important?
What is the role of faith? In this seminar, we will read authors from the classical tradition -- Homer, Plato,
Aristotle, and Virgil as well as some from the Judeo- Christian tradition – who grapple with these questions in
story, philosophy, and scripture. We will discuss their ideas with an eye toward their relevance to your own
experience as a contemporary college student at Pepperdine University.
GSHU 199.11 Katherine Frye
Inventing Modern Childhood: Beginning with the Industrial Revolution and continuing through the twenty-first
century, this class will study dominant constructions of modern childhood. In so doing, we will examine
historical sources, medical and childrearing discourse, and representations of childhood in poetry, prose, and
film.
GSHU 199.12 Katherine Frye
Inventing Modern Childhood: Beginning with the Industrial Revolution and continuing through the twenty-first
century, this class will study dominant constructions of modern childhood. In so doing, we will examine
historical sources, medical and childrearing discourse, and representations of childhood in poetry, prose, and
film.
GSNS 199.01
Laurie Nelson
Becoming a Physician: Getting into medical school is a challenging but not impossible goal. This course is
designed to provide information to pre-medical students about requirements for medical school and get them
started on the correct course of action to achieve their goals. Course activities include speakers, service
learning in the medical field, leadership gaming, discussion of ethical issues, team building activities and films.
Every student will complete a four-year plan for his or her academic subjects and extracurricular activities for
his or her desired major and intended career.
GSNS 199.02
Stephen Davis (Keck Research Seminar)
Plant Adaptations to California’s Stressful Environment: Summer drought and frequent wildfires are
characteristic of southern California’s stressful environment. Native plants that blanket the hillsides of
Pepperdine’s campus in Malibu are uniquely adapted to survive, and even thrive, under such stressful
conditions. But there are limitations to these adaptations. This seminar will investigate the biological
mechanisms by which native plants adapt to survive recurring summer drought and periodic wildfire. Research
by students in this course will address one of the most pressing issues concerning our future well-being, will
plant adaptations be sufficient to withstand the onset of climate change to southern California, characterized
by increasingly hotter, drier weather and more frequent wildfires. As stated in the most recent report of the
International Panel on Climate Change “climate change is happening, there are big risks for everyone, and no
place in the world is immune from them.”
GSRE 199.01
Doug Hurley
Discovering Your Strengths: Stop focusing on your weaknesses and take some time to explore what you are
really good at. This class will take students on a journey of self-discovery through studying such topics as
vocation, leadership, and goal setting. Also, students will take two personality inventories to learn more about
who God created them to be and discover some of their talents and strengths.
GSRE 199.02
Tabatha L. Jones Jolivet
“Let Justice Roll …”: Frederick Buechner posits, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep
gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.” Students who want to critically explore this intersection of faith,
identity, calling, and social justice will throughout the course: engage in experiential practices that foster
introspection, retrospection, and discernment; explore a Biblical vision of liberation, justice, and community;
develop an awareness of contemporary forms of oppression (e.g., human trafficking, genocide, educational
stratification, and gang violence, etc.); and participate in three community engagement experiences outside of
class. The course is designed to foster paideia (“deep education”), which takes seriously the ancient maxim,
“Know Thyself” and the prophet’s challenge, "But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an
ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24).
GSRE 199.03
Chris Doran (Faith and Reason Colloquium)
Faith and Reason: In this course, students will read, discuss, and write essays on some of the world’s greatest
thinkers who are asking life’s biggest questions. What is the purpose of the human existence? Why is there
evil and suffering in the world? How do we know what we know about God? Why does it seem that prophets
always shake up the world on their way to Truth? Have you ever wished you could gather a group of friends
for serious discussion of important questions? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to put Plato, the
biblical writers, Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Flannery O’Connor together in a room to find
out where the conversation would go?
GSRE 199.04
Rich Little
Fashioning a Christ-Shaped Life: This course helps to prepare you for a life-long commitment to Jesus Christ
through the discovery and practice of the spiritual principles and disciplines he taught and modeled. You will
learn to discern God’s movement in your life, his intention for your spiritual journey, sustainable habits to aid
in your spiritual growth and the role of the spiritual community in shaping your spiritual identity. This seminar
is highly dialogical and experiential, allowing you to practice the principles you’ll learn during the semester
while using the course as a personal lab for your own spiritual formation.
GSRE 199.05
Mark Davis
Preparing for a Life of Purpose, Service and Leadership: This course will examine how people find purpose in
life, with special emphasis on how Christian beliefs inform this search. We'll also relate the philosophical
search for meaning to practical everyday ethics in lively class discussions. You'll be encouraged to cultivate an
ethic of service and discern God's call to use your gifts in leadership. Readings include classic texts such as
Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning and C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, as well as the national bestsellers
Tuesdays with Morrie, The Purpose-Driven Life, and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
GSRE 199.06
Ronald Cox (Keck Research Seminar)
Coins of the Holy Land: We will study ancient coins minted in the Holy Land to discover the stories of money,
power and religious conviction these coins have to tell. The Holy Land has been at the cross roads of civilization
since, well, since before there was civilization. Just in the thousand years from the fall of the first temple (586
BC) to the rise of Islam in the 7th century AD, the Holy Land saw the conquests of Alexander the Great and his
followers, a century of Jewish independence, the rise of the Roman Empire, the building of one of the wonders
of the ancient world that was the second Jewish Temple and then its destruction, two Jewish rebellions, the
fall of Rome, and of course the coming of Jesus Christ and the spread of his message. With coins on loan from
the John Wilson Coin Collection and state of the art imaging equipment and software, this seminar affords
students the chance not only to hold evidence of this sweeping history in their hands but to do original
research that will be of value to historians, archaeologists, art-historians, political scientists, economists, and
biblical-scholars for years to come.
GSRE 199.07
Chris Heard
A Flood of Noahs: Genesis 6–9 Through the Centuries: From brightly-colored children’s nursery furnishings to
Darren Aronofsky’s grimdark post-apocalyptic film, the story of Noah’s ark pervades Western culture. In this
seminar we’ll discover what the story of Noah has meant to readers from antiquity to the present, with special
emphases on Jewish and cinematic interpretations.
GSSO 199.01
Jason Blakely
Pop Social Science: How Armchair Theories Came To Rule The World: We are bombarded in popular media
with the supposed science behind our everyday actions and beliefs. Demographics are said to predict how
we'll vote; chemicals in our brain how we'll date; game-like scenarios how we'll spend our money; and genes
how we'll think. This course examines some of the most popular recent attempts to provide a science of our
everyday lives--including bestsellers by Malcolm Gladwell, Richard Dawkins, and Steven Pinker. We will also
look to history to see how pop social science became dominant, reading excerpts from some of the classics of
modern social science, like Max Weber and Emile Durkheim.
GSSO 199.02
Emily Scott-Lowe
Interpersonal Relationships and Communication: Students will develop a working knowledge of the
characteristics that have been identified through research as being important in effective and healthy
relationships. The challenges in relationships are also studied. Various kinds of relationships are examined,
including friends, roommates, parents and family members, professors, work relationships, romantic
relationships, as well as characteristics of lasting marriages. Through this course, students learn the skills and
attitudes that are essential for developing and maintaining healthy relationships. Opportunities are provided
to experiment and practice effective relationship skills.
GSSO 199.03
Connie Horton
College Mental Health—Understanding Challenges and Developing Healthy Coping: This seminar will
introduce students to the literature regarding college mental health. Readings, videos, class discussions and
other activities will encourage academic understanding and personal application of the issues. Students will be
encouraged to develop healthy coping habits, including integration of psychological principles and faith, for
their university years and beyond.
SAAJ 121.01
Jeff Banks (Social Action and Justice Colloquium)
Social Action and Justice Colloquium I: A seminar focused on issues of social justice. Students examine how
each of the following has affected social justice in the United States from the 18th century to the present: the
social construction of racial identity; the role of gender in social equality, and the influence of socioeconomic
background. The seminar actively promotes the development of academic and “real world” skills such as
critical thinking, research, writing, oral presentation, and use of technology. Students explore strategies for
promoting social justice and engage in service-learning experiences.
SAAJ 121.02
Lorie Goodman (Social Action and Justice Colloquium)
Social Action and Justice Colloquium I: A seminar focused on issues of social justice. Students examine how
each of the following has affected social justice in the United States from the 18th century to the present: the
social construction of racial identity; the role of gender in social equality, and the influence of socioeconomic
background. The seminar actively promotes the development of academic and “real world” skills such as
critical thinking, research, writing, oral presentation, and use of technology. Students explore strategies for
promoting social justice and engage in service-learning experiences.
SAAJ 121.03
John Peterson (Social Action and Justice Colloquium)
Social Action and Justice Colloquium I: A seminar focused on issues of social justice. Students examine how
each of the following has affected social justice in the United States from the 18th century to the present: the
social construction of racial identity; the role of gender in social equality, and the influence of socioeconomic
background. The seminar actively promotes the development of academic and “real world” skills such as
critical thinking, research, writing, oral presentation, and use of technology. Students explore strategies for
promoting social justice and engage in service-learning experiences.
SAAJ 121.04
David Holmes (Social Action and Justice Colloquium)
Social Action and Justice Colloquium I: A seminar focused on issues of social justice. Students examine how
each of the following has affected social justice in the United States from the 18th century to the present: the
social construction of racial identity; the role of gender in social equality, and the influence of socioeconomic
background. The seminar actively promotes the development of academic and “real world” skills such as
critical thinking, research, writing, oral presentation, and use of technology. Students explore strategies for
promoting social justice and engage in service-learning experiences.