Course Descriptions of Topical Seminars

Spring 2012

IS 201: Power Computing in All Disciplines (Dick Brown)  WRI

Developments in the field of computing now allow undergraduates to create effective and innovative applications of powerful computing techniques in any target discipline, but few non-computer science faculty are aware of these opportunities. This seminar brings computer science (CS) students together with an equal number of students in target (non-CS) disciplines. Together, they will create interdisciplinary software applications involving modern high-performance computing that are useful for teaching and/or research in those target disciplines. 

IS 214: Music in Film (Justin Merritt)  ALS-A, ORC

Igor Stravinsky said that film music should have “the same relationship to the film drama that somebody’s piano playing in my living room has on the book I am reading.” Students encounter an art that can have devastating emotional impact while often remaining unnoticed. In this seminar, students will achieve a broad understanding of the history of music in cinema, encounter and critique a wide repertoire, and create new film music in team-based collaborations.

IS 218: Chronicles of the American Immigrant Experience

In this seminar, students will consider how immigrants work through their national, ethnic, or racial heritage to contribute to the creative and spiritual life of their new nation, and ways in which this collection of voices creates harmony and/or dissonance. We will read novels, short stories, and poems, and study private writings (letters and diaries), films, artworks, and other artifacts, in the context of the history of American immigration and of issues facing current immigrant groups. (ALS-L, HWC, WRI)

 

Interim 2012

IS 219: Collaborative Design

Students in this seminar will use design process as a technique to creatively and efficiently tackle large projects in a group setting. We will focus on the construction of a working Rube Goldberg Machine, a whimsical and creative yet complicated and demanding task, using the design process. Students will examine formal techniques for identifying goals, brainstorming ideas, establishing timelines, prototyping ideas, and creating formal presentations. Hands-on skills will also be taught and utilized throughout the construction process. A background in science is not necessary; it is in fact one goal of this seminar to bring together science and non-science majors in creative collaboration. (IST, ORC)

 

Fall 2011

IS 204: Ethics and Global Service

Orphans, HIV/AIDS, abuse, poverty; many Oles want to address these global issues directly. Students study and apply ethical reasoning to decisions about serving abroad. Vocations of service invite the examination of motivation, values, needs, faith stances, and privilege. Through the lenses of Christian, multicultural, and feminist ethics and concepts of vocation, students sharpen their thinking about "helping" in another cultural context. Designed particularly for students interested in global careers in health, ministry, social welfare, education and community development. Open to juniors and seniors from any major. (Prerequisite: BTS-T) (GE: EIN)