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FTS 100-055: Animals and Society
Fall 2007
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays: 9:00am – 9:50am
Classroom: SSC 203
Professor:
Patricia Costello, Ph.D.
(You can call me Dr. Costello or Professor Costello)
Phone:
E-mail:
Office:
(507) 933-7518
pcostell@gac.edu (best way to reach me)
SSC 24
Office hours:
Mondays 1:30 – 3:30pm
Thursdays 1:00pm – 3:30pm
Also by appointment
Required Texts:
Grandin, T. & Johnson, C. (2005). Animals in translation. Orlando:
Harcourt, Inc.
Lovenheim, P. (2002). Portrait of a burger as a young calf. New York:
Three Rivers Press.
Lunsford, A. (2005). The everyday writer. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s.
Course Website:
Moodle.gac.edu
Writing Center Website: www.gac.edu/oncampus/writingcenter
FTS General Description: The First-Term Seminar introduces entering students to the
challenges of the academic conversation they will share with their peers, faculty, texts and
traditions for the next four years. They will encounter enduring questions of values and--as
they learn to respond with critical thinking, writing, and speaking--learn to recognize and
evaluate their own values. In a small, highly interactive class at the beginning of their college
experience, students will develop both the skills and the attitudes they need to engage fully in
the liberal arts-based curriculum
Five Main Components of the FTS:
 Critical thinking: Participation in the First-Term Seminar will develop in students the habits
of critical thinking that are central to the liberal arts: the ability to identify and question
underlying assumptions, to consider a number of contexts in which statements are made,
to analyze implications, to propose alternative perspectives.

Writing: First Term Seminars offer students intensive practice in the primary medium for
intellectual discourse, writing. Students engage in brief formal writing exercises (usually
from three to five separate assignments), which develop useful writing processes for such
tasks as summary, analysis, reasoning, persuasion, and library research. First Term
Seminars also qualify as WRITI (Writing Intensive) courses.
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
Speaking: First-Term Seminars offer all students a small, discussion-oriented class and
acquaint them with college as a place for active participation in discussion. Students will
also make brief formal presentations.

Values: First-Term Seminars encourage students to reflect on the values inherent in a
particular body of knowledge, to recognize the social, moral and ethical implications of
that knowledge, and to move toward intellectual, emotional and relational commitments.

Advising: First-Term Seminars serve as first-year advising groups. Faculty will help
students plan coherent general education programs, advise them in exploring possible
majors, and direct them to advisors in their proposed majors as necessary. First-Term
Seminars could also appropriately encourage students to see that the College has
concern for more than required courses and grades by engaging the class in discussion of
campus events and issues.
Animals and Society Course Description: This course explores the spaces that animals
occupy in human social and cultural worlds and the interactions humans have with them.
Central to this course will be an exploration of the ways in which animal lives intersect with
human societies. We will spend some time talking about animal-related careers
complimented by a veterinarian visit and a K9 visit. This course also provides an opportunity
to explore in greater depth some issues related to the exploitation and the liberation of
animals. We will examine the phenomenon of keeping animals for entertainment purposes.
We will also examine the phenomenon of killing animals for food, considering some of the
justifications made for these practices. We will also discuss animal activism and other related
issues such as farming, exotic pets, breeding and puppy mills.
Course Goals:
 Develop critical thinking skills
 Discern your values and ethics surrounding controversial topics
 Enhance and expand written communication skills
 Increase oral communication skills
Course Objectives:
 Develop an appreciation for animals and their role in our society
 Be able to speak intelligently about animal-related issues
 Be inspired to become active in animal-related community events
Attendance: Attendance and participation are part of your overall grade. Attendance will be
taken daily. Please let me know if you anticipate missing class.
On work submitted late: All work is expected to be handed in on time. Late work will lose
10% of the assignment's credit point value starting after the class period ends. Each day late
beyond that will reduce the value by 10%, etc. All assignments are due IN CLASS.
Assignments are considered to be late if they are handed in or emailed after class ends.
Accommodating Disabilities: Students with documented disabilities are invited to see me
as soon as possible to discuss your needed accommodations. Students without documented
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disabilities who feel they may have difficulty with this course also are invited to see me to
discuss what we can do together to help you succeed.
Course Methods:
Lectures – A small part of class time will be used to present lecture material to elaborate on
the readings.
Discussion – Most of the class will be conducted in a discussion format. Some days a student
will be picked to lead discussion, other days random students will be called upon to
contribute. A lot of the discussion will take place in small group format. Discussion topics and
methods will vary to keep things interesting!
Course Grading Details:
Exams: There are two exams, both take home. Each exam is worth 15% of your grade (for
30% total).
Attendance and Discussion: Together, both active contribution to discussion and
attendance count 10% towards your final grade.
Research paper: More information to follow in class. There are three components of the
research paper: rough draft (5%), peer review (5%) and the final, updated paper (20%) for a
total of 30% of your grade.
Oral presentations: There are two oral presentations. The first one is an informal
introduction of a classmate. The second is a formal presentation of your research paper (10%
total).
All other assignments and papers: this includes in class writing assignments, library
assignments, short response papers, Nobel paper, and other misc assignments. In total, they
are worth 20% of your grade.
GRADING SUMMARY
Exams (2):
Attendance and discussion:
Research paper:
Oral presentation:
Other assignments:
30%
10%
30%
10%
20%
Grand Total:
100%
BASIC GRADING SCALE (%)
A 93-100%, A- 90-92%, B+ 87-89%, B 83-86%, B- 80-82%, C+ 77-79%, C 73-76%, C- 70-72%, D+ 67-69%
D 60-66%, F <60
Points are awarded for all assignments and converted to the percentages discussed above.
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Student Academic Conduct:
Every student is expected to act responsibly and honestly. Misconduct is considered
sufficient grounds for the designation of a failing grade in the course. Examples of
misconduct include but are not strictly limited to the following:
 Copying answers from another student’s exam paper during an examination.
 Permitting another student to copy your answers.
 Consulting notes of any sort during a closed book examination.
 You will receive a “0” on the exam or quiz if you are caught cheating
 You should be familiar with and abide by the Gustavus Adolphus College Honor Code
(see: http://www.gustavus.edu/deanofstudents/gustavusguide/honorcode.pdf )
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Course Schedule
(Subject to change)
Date
Topic
Readings/Assignments Due
Course introduction / Class
interviews
Meet the class; How animals
perceive the world
Mon Sept 10th
Animal feelings
Chapter 1 “Animals in
translation”
Ch 2 “Animals in translation”;
Oral presentation of
classmates
Ch 3 “Animals in translation”
Wed Sept 12th
Animal aggression
Ch 4 “Animals in translation”
Read “A case study of pit bull
owners” and “Troublemakers”
Mon Sept 17th
Animal aggression / Discuss
library visit
Library visit
Wed Sept 19th
How animals think
Fri Sept 21st
Career Center Visit
Read Ch 6 “Animals in
translation”
Meet in Career Center
Wed Sept 5th
Fri Sept 7th
Fri Sept 14th
Mon Sept 24th
Animal genius
Wed Sept 26th
“Portrait of a burger as a
young calf”
“Portrait of a burger as a
young calf”
Writing tutor visit; writing, info
on research paper assignmt
No class - Nobel
conference
“Portrait of a burger as a
young calf”
Peer Assistants visit
Fri Sept 28th
Mon Oct 1st
Wed Oct 3rd
Fri Oct 5th
Mon Oct 8th
Fri Oct 19th
“Portrait of a burger as a
young calf”
“Portrait of a burger as a
young calf”
“Portrait of a burger as a
young calf”
“Portrait of a burger as a
young calf”
Academic Advising visit
Mon Oct 22nd
Reading Day – no class
Wed Oct 10th
Fri Oct 12th
Mon Oct 15th
Wed Oct 17th
Read Ch 7 “Animals in
translation” Library
assignments due;
Read intro, Chapters 1 & 2
Chapter 3
Look through “The Everyday
Writer”
Research paper topics due;
Chapter 4
Nobel assignment due;
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Midterms handed out
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Wed Oct 24th
Fri Oct 26th
Mon Oct 29th
Wed Nov 31st
Screening of “Fast Food
Nation”
“Fast Food Nation” continued
“Portrait of a burger as a
young calf” finale
The Food Revolution &
Factory Farming
Meet in library basement
Meet in library basement;
Midterm exams due
Chapters 9, 10 & epilogue
Fri Nov 2nd
The Food Revolution
Introduction, Ch 9, Factory
Farming handout; Reaction
papers to the movie due
Chapters 11 & 12
Mon Nov 5th
Dining services visit
Centers visits papers due
Wed Nov 7th
Individual advising meetings
Fri Nov 9th
Individual advising meetings
Mon Nov 12th
Individual advising meetings
Wed Nov 14th
Baker Lawley visit
Meet in my office at
designated time
Meet in my office at
designated time
Meet in my office at
designated time
Read “Shooting an elephant”;
Elephants
Read “An elephant crack up?”
Mon Nov 19th
Careers with animals
Rough draft of papers due;
Readings on Moodle
Wed Nov 21st
No class - Thanksgiving
Fri Nov 23rd
No class - Thanksgiving
Fri Nov 16th
Mon Nov 26th
Animal research
Wed Nov 38th
Animal research
Fri Nov 30th
Pets
Mon Dec 3rd
Peer reviews in class
Wed Dec 5th
Pets
Fri Dec 7th
Oral presentations
Mon Dec 10th
Oral presentations
Wed Dec 12th
Oral presentations
Fri Dec 14th
Read “Systems of meaning in
primate labs”, other
PETA, ALF, animals rights
Read “Anthropomorphism &
the human-pet relationship”;
Dog essay
Research thesis mini paper
due
Peer reviews due; Puppy
mills
Wrap up day
Final exams due
Final papers due (bring to
my office by 10am)
Final papers due