LSFY 103 Course Descriptions
Spring 2015
The Power of Music
Section 01
Section 09
MWF 1:00-2:15 pm
MWF 2:30-3:45 pm
Instructor: S. Keehn (Music)
Bergendoff 163
Bergendoff 163
Music is a unique facet of humanity that has long been a part of daily life. This class will examine the use of music as a
tool: one that inspires, creates unity, and creates disparity. More specifically we will look at the role music has played in
selected 20th – 21st century wars, presidential election campaigns, and social activism movements in the form of
propaganda, protest, and art. This class will reach far beyond the traditional role of music as entertainment and explore
such issues as: What power did a musician hold in a WWII concentration camp? Can music influence someone's political
opinions? Is music used as an interrogation tactic considered torture? Can communal singing or music making together
genuinely bring people together despite other fundamental differences? What is the responsibility of the maker and the
consumer of music? No musical background is necessary for this course.
Think Globally, Eat Locally?
Section 02
MWF 8:30-9:45 am
Instructor: C. Strunk (Geography)
Swenson 210
Where does our food come from? In recent years, Americans increasingly have become concerned about the source of our
food and more likely to support farmers' markets and local produce. Despite these shifts, the global food system remains
highly unequal and continues to have negative social and environmental impacts. In this course, we will develop a critical
analysis of industrial agriculture, focusing on its impact on the environment, the health of workers and consumers, and the
welfare of animals involved in the production process. We also will learn research techniques that examine the food
accessibility in the city and will take part in local efforts to construct alternative food systems in the Quad Cities through
service learning projects at Augie Acres and the Rock Island Urban Gardeners
Creating Gay & Lesbian Community
Section 03
TTh 12:30-2:20 pm
Instructor: T. Bengtson (Mathematics)
Olin 302
The course will study the development of the gay and lesbian community in the United States after WW II. We will
examine ways that that the community created itself and the ways it tried to make the world a better place for sexual
minorities. We will look at ways that community worked to change societal attitudes towards homosexuality. The major
paper of the course requires the student to select an institution with significant relevance to this process of change,
examine its history, and evaluate its effectiveness. Our primary sources will include popular novels, films, and short
videos.
The Soul of Harry Potter
Section 04
MWF 2:30-3:45 pm
Instructor: R. Priggie (Campus Ministries)
Old Main 223
This course will consider the soul transformation that Harry Potter undergoes and that readers themselves experience
while reading the Harry Potter books. Special focus will be upon the final book in the series, Harry Potter and The
Deathly Hallows. We will read the primary text of that novel alongside an excellent interpretive work, The Deathly
Hallows Lectures, by John Granger. A special feature of the class is a weekend retreat, April 1-3, 2016. Each student will
choose a controversial issue in the interpretation of the Potter books and will write a major paper on that theme.
Notes:
1. Because the class discussion assumes a familiarity with the Potter series, all seven books must be read prior
to the beginning of the course.
2. Because the Class Retreat is one of the course requirements, attendance is mandatory. Students who cannot
arrange to be present for the entire retreat, Friday evening, April 1, through Sunday mid-afternoon, April 3,
should not register for this course.
Urban (School) Legends? Examining Conditions in Inner City Schools
Instructor: M. Egan (Education)
Section 05 TTh 12:30-2:20 pm, plus a required volunteer commitment on Tuesdays from 3:00-5:00
Old Main 5
In this course, students will engage with challenging questions related to urban schooling in America via academic study
(reading, discussion, library research) and direct experience (volunteer work in a west Rock Island elementary school,
communicating with south Chicago teenagers, visiting urban schools). Issues we’ll explore include continuing concerns
about segregation, disparities in the distribution of material resources across schools, disparities in access to challenging
curricula, problematic notions of educational opportunity, challenges posed by immigration, and proposed yet unproven
“solutions” to urban school problems. Students will focus their studies on a specific issue and produce a qualitative
research paper integrating arguments from the literature with original data gleaned from their own work in urban
schools. NOTE: This section of LSFY 103 carries Augustana's official service-learning course designation. A weekly
volunteer commitment on Tuesdays from 3pm-5pm is a course requirement. Transportation to and from the volunteer site
will be provided. Contact the instructor for more information.
Wax Dolls and Wrecking Balls: Gender and Sexuality in Scandinavia and the US
Instructor: B. Mier-Cruz (Scandinavian)
Section 06
TTh 2:30-4:20 pm
Sorensen 270
In your final sequence of LSFY, we will explore the question “How do we embrace the challenges of our diverse and
changing world?” In this particular course, we will survey the trajectory of diverse representations of gender and sexuality
in Scandinavian culture, public policy, and politics that reflect society today. We will then use the Nordic countries as a
point of reference for our study of gender and sexuality in the US. The Scandinavian countries comprise an historically
progressive region that champions gender equality within their individual social welfare states, but the region is not
without its gender troubles. This course will thus juxtapose American and Scandinavian primary sources (and one Polish
source) in a way that compares traditional and contemporary socio-cultural approaches to the body, sex, and expressions
of gender. For example, we will explore feminist and misogynist responses to Europe’s turn of the century “Woman
Question”; non-heteronormative narratives of lesbian, gay, and transgender identities; and, finally, drag queens and the
performativity of gender.
Candidates, Campaigns, and Cinema
Section 07
Section 12
MWF 8:30-9:45 am
MWF 11:30 am-12:45 pm
Instructor: J. Plume (Political Science)
Olin 208
Sorensen 114
This course asks students to contemplate a set of inquiries at the heart of democracy and democratic theory beginning
with, how are political candidates presented for public consideration? Students will examine scholarly literature and
campaign materials as well cinematic productions (films, documentaries, and political commercials) which will serve as
the primary vehicle for better understanding the campaign promises, election mechanisms, and implications resulting from
the "packaging" of candidates for public approval. Therefore, students will investigate public perceptions but also how
political consultants and strategists optimize their resources. In short, the "front line" of politics is the focus of our studies
and analysis.
Welcome to the Anthropocene
Section 08
TTh 8:30-10:20 am
Instructor: J Burnham (Geography)
Swenson 211
This course attempts to tell the story of how one species changed a planet. We’ve entered a period in Earth’s history that
some scientists are calling the Anthropocene – a new geologic epoch in which human activity, more than any other force,
steers change on the planet. Fueled by coal and oil, the industrial revolution connected the far corners of the world.
Medical discoveries saved millions of people and extended lives. Artificial fertilizers and modified planting regimes
meant we could feed more people. Never have so many people had so much; yet, one billion people on the planet are
malnourished. Thousands of species are threatened and endangered. Sea level is rising. The world is losing biodiversity.
Can the same inventiveness and ingenuity that initiated this cycle help us find our way out? For all of the Anthropocene
topics we discuss, we will ask ourselves “Is it worth it?
Morality and Artificial Intelligence
Section 10
TTh 8:30-10:20 am
Instructor: D. Gould (Philosophy)
Old Main 132
Machines are becoming more advanced every year, and so are developments in artificial intelligence. For decades,
researchers from a wide variety of disciplines have written about some of the metaphysical and epistemological
implications of artificial intelligence. However, scholars have only recently began to seriously approach the connection
between morality and artificial intelligence. In this class, we will examine some of the recent, interdisciplinary questions
that this topic raises. For example, Could a machine ever be a moral agent? and, What can the challenge of
programming artificial moral agents tell us about human morality?
Disability Studies
Section 11
Instructor: A. Haskill (Communication Sciences and Disorders)
TTh 12:30-2:20 pm
Olin 305
In Disability Studies, students will explore political, psycho-educational, historical, and cultural aspects of disability.
Principles of normalcy also will be explored. Students will have the opportunity to interact with individuals in the
disability community through service learning.
A Conversation on Race between Paris and the US
Section 14
MWF 1:00-2:15 pm
Instructor: C. Chambers-Samadi (French)
Sorensen 112
I propose to prepare you to engage in an academic argument focusing on the cultural and literary legacy of Civil Rights.
We will first question the concept of Race as its understandings diverge in France and the U.S. “Black Paris” is born in
the 1920’s with Josephine Baker and Jazz Music, highly influenced by the Harlem Renaissane.The exchange continues
with American writers such as James Baldwin and William Gardner Smith moving to the French city in the 1950’s and
1960’s. The First Black intellectuals Congress is held in Paris. We will underline how this cultural exchange affects our
vision of ethnic and cultural differences as we discuss contemporary racial issues in both countries. Although the course is
designed to underline the connections and the differences between the emancipation movements in France and in the
United States, you may choose to focus on America, France or both.
HANDS OFF MY MUSIC! Music and Ownership
Section 15
MWF 8:30-9:45 am
Instructor: T. Oliver (Music)
Old Main 22
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, innovations made possible the mass distribution of printed works. By the
eighteenth century, laws were in place, such as the United States Constitution’s “copyright” clause (Article 1, Section 8),
to protect the creators of such works by granting them the exclusive rights to own their ideas and benefit from their
creations. These sorts of laws and other copyright protections have expanded over time to cover all manner of intellectual
works, including works of music. The practical result for us today is that most music you see in print, see on television,
hear on the radio, or stream online is protected somehow or owned by someone. But is this a good thing? Should rules
based on technology from the Renaissance and developed in the 1700s even apply to music today? Have the rules gone
too far? And who should own and profit from a musical creation anyway: the writer, the performer, the distributor,
nobody? This class examines the notion of musical ownership as it exists today, how we got here, and how society is
moving forward.
Self, Community and Identity in Multi-Ethnic America
Section 18
MWF 10:00-11:15 am
Instructor: U. Al-Wazedi (English)
Old Main 117
In this course we will study the idea of multi-culture, and cultural encounters of the second/third generations in texts
written by Asian Americans (a graphic novel, a film), Mexican Americans (an autobiography), and Arab Americans (a
novel). The texts will be of a more or less autobiographical nature; some are deeply rooted in the author’s life experiences,
and others are fictionalized histories and personal narratives. One common theme among these writers is that they are
trying to figure out their individual position as well as what that position means to others outside their own community.
Soccer as World Phenomenon
Section 19
MWF 8:30-9:45 am
Instructor: N. Dobson (Classics)
Old Main 329
In this course we will use a wide variety of perspectives to study the evolution of soccer into the world’s most popular
sport. Topics of interest will include: Origins and spread, politics and nationalism, fan culture (hooliganism, songs,
identity issues), economics, Game Theory, crime and corruption, US exceptionalism, and gender issues. We will NOT be
watching soccer matches, discussing game tactics, or assessing individual players, except as they fit into the categories
above.
Views of American Wealth and Poverty
Section 20
TTh 12:30-2:20 pm
Instructor: I. Davis (Communication Studies)
Sorensen 112
Are you middle class? How do you know? We see it in others just as others see it in us . . . the clothes we wear, the types
of music we listen to, even the words we use define our class status. But class is rarely understood as a form of social
diversity in America. In 2016, the ranks of the poor and the rich are growing as the middle shrinks. How do differences of
wealth influence our perception others? How do media help us construct these class differences? This course examines
views of American wealth and poverty by paying attention to how class is both experienced and represented. While
exploring problems stemming from America's yawning wealth gap, we will look at news reporting on class issues,
personal accounts of class and explore our own class backgrounds as valuable and unique experiences of American life.
Post-Apocalyptic Visions
Section 21
Section 25
MWF 10:00-11:15 am
MWF 8:30-9:45 am
Instructor: F. Marklevits (English)
Old Main 21
Old Main 230
From natural disasters that show us real scenes of cities in wreckage to fictional visions of the aftermath of pandemic
outbreaks, in the last few decades Americans have been bombarded and/or fascinated by “post-apocalyptic” visions. Even
if we somehow take these stories off the table, predictions of climate change and the dire consequences of various
domestic and foreign policies make imagining a small group of humans struggling in a devastated land all too easy.
Despite their emphasis on destruction, these stories are, like all stories, fundamentally about people. Why are we on this
planet? How should we treat one another? Or are these stories just entertainment for the relatively safe and comfortable?
This class will investigate interest in post-apocalyptic stories and what these stories can and can’t teach us about human
relationships, social structures, and our relationship with the natural world. We’ll analyze and discuss nonfictional and
fictional representations of destruction, as well as critical responses to catastrophes, both real and imagined. Our goal is to
read closely and critically to frame and refine an investigation into and a claim about how and why we imagine our
collective ends.
Our Words, Our Selves: Writing and Citizenship in the Digital Age
Section 22
Section 24
Section 27
TTh 12:30-2:20 pm
MWF 1:00-2:15 pm
TTh 8:30-10:20 am
Instructor: B. Biebel (Communication Studies)
Old Main 303
Denkmann B5
Old Main 230
From FDR’s fireside chats to Reagan’s television broadcasts to Obama’s use of social media, technology has long had an
impact on national politics. Some argue that social media and emerging technologies have helped increase participation
in the democratic process. Others, however, believe that the online word contributes to polarization and hurts our ability
to engage with perspectives different from our own. How has digital technology impacted citizenship? How has it
impacted how we see ourselves as individuals and as participants in a democracy? This course attempts to answer these
questions by looking at the connections between innovation and political decision-making. By examining literary, artistic,
and historical examples, students will be ask to reflect on the ways they use technology in their own lives and on how this
use might impact broader, public decision-making.
Education 2.0: The Past, Present, and Future of Technology in Education
Section 23
TTh 12:30-2:20
Instructor: M. Scarlett (Education)
Evald 212
Is Google making us stupid? Will YouTube replace teachers? What does it mean to learn in an age of limitless
information? How is technology redefining what schools are for? While technology has made our lives easier, allowed us
to live longer, connected diverse peoples, and kept us entertained, it has also unleashed a myriad of unintended
consequences, particularly in education. The past ten years has seen a proliferation of new technologies that have
fundamentally disrupted traditional schooling. From Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to virtual classrooms, the
nature of what it means to “go to school” is likely to be very different in the very near future. This course is designed to
explore the many tensions and dilemmas created by evolving technologies in education, specifically, and examine
generally the impact of technology on our diverse and changing world.
The Quest for Identity: Self/Other Dynamics in Modern Japanese Literature
Section 26
MWF 11:30-12:45 pm
Instructor: M. Nagase (Japanese)
Denkmann B2
This course will examine identity formation as represented in selected modern and contemporary Japanese fictions. Our
discussion will encompass issues of various identities, including social, national, cultural, gender, and individual
identities. This course especially focuses on the relationship between self and other as they influence each other in
constructing identity. We will analyze the process of a fictional character’s identity building and consider how it relates to
a particular theme of the literary work. Through analysis, students will be encouraged to reflect on their own identities.
America Is What It Eats
Section 28
MWF 10:00-11:15 am
Instructor: B. Leech (History)
Old Main 22
Many of us walk into the grocery store, pick a few items off of the shelf and then go home to cook. But how much do we
consider the origins of these vegetables, meats, and grains? Or do we normally consider what the food we purchased says
about us? Using food as a window into challenges facing the United States today, this course will encourage students to
look deeper into food commodity chains through an environmental, social, and cultural studies approach. We will start
with an examination of the end of the food commodity chain with which we are most familiar: consumption. We will
consider whether what we eat explains our ethnic, national, or racial identity. Does “American” food even exist? Next,
we will consider the other end of the food chain: food production. The course will investigate the global market that
transports bananas and rice as well as the environmental effects of food production.
“browngirlworld”: Coming of Age in America
Section 30
TTh 12:30-2:20 pm
Instructor: T. Pomales (Anthropology)
Sorensen 326
“browngirlworld is home and heartbreak.” So begins the story of Leah, a young Sri Lankan-American woman standing at
the threshold of adulthood, torn between the person her parents want her to be (“a bleached-out American,” in her words),
the person others want her to be (“a hot Latina,” for example) and the person she wants to be (“a revolutionary sista
outsidah” in the spirit of Audre Lorde). For Leah, browngirlworld describes that uncomfortable place where everything
you (think you) are is suddenly and unexpectedly brought into question. It is also a way of talking about the cross-cultural
experience, and challenge, of living in between identities. Feeling lost, out of place, or halfway home is a struggle that
many young people in this country face. For young people of color, and young women of color especially, that experience
is complicated by socio-cultural inequities. This course will offer students an opportunity to think more deeply about
growing up in America. It will focus on important themes that we all deal with as we grow up – identity, racism, gender,
sexuality, and family.
Mindfulness: A personal exploration and critical analysis of interdisciplinary research on mindfulness practice
Instructor: J. Romaniello (Reading and Writing Center)
Section 31
MWF 2:30-3:45
Hanson 103
Socrates may have said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” However, it could also be suggested that the unlived
life is not worth examining. Have you ever felt like you were on auto-pilot, just going through the motions, and not really
there? In today’s high paced world, where multitasking is a necessity of survival, we are becoming more and more
disconnected, even from ourselves. Mindfulness practice is a way of reconnecting mind and body. Connections such as
these are being made in and across varied disciplines, from sports performance to business leadership. This course will
explore the connection of mindfulness, specifically, in relation to three major academic disciplines.
First and foremost, this class will take a direct, experiential approach to learning through participating in an 8-Week
curriculum based on the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Clinic. In addition to participating in daily formal
and informal mindfulness practice of the MBSR curriculum, students will research mindfulness through several
interdisciplinary lenses: religion, neuroscience, and education. Students will be invited to explore their own individual
experience and analyze it in light of what current academic research and modern trends suggest about mindfulness
practice.
Food, Glorious Food?!?
Section 32
TTh 12:30-2:20 pm
Instructor: P. Trotter (Chemistry)
Hanson 402
Do eggs and trans-fats cause heart disease? Does high fructose corn syrup cause diabetes and obesity? Are 1/3rd of
Americans really obese? Is raw food always better for you than cooked food? How do you decide what is “good” for
you? Is our food supply contaminated? Are genetically modified (GM) foods safe? Do McDonald’s and Monsanto dictate
our diet? Does the government subsidize junk food? There are a myriad of questions that come up when you think about
the food you eat and where it comes from. This course will consider important controversial issues and myths about food
and eating in modern America. We will also discuss pitfalls commonly made in thinking and evaluating the messages
presented to us, such that we can make more informed decisions about our diet.