Academic writing is based on reading, listening, thinking and writing. Respectful of your views and other’s views, academic writing is grounded in reason and evidence – what you think, and why; what others think, and why. This emphasis allows for a range of views - what is common is the appeal to reason. We will work on developing your own “voice” as well as respectfully writing about others’ voices, in the context of writing about public issues.

With live drumming we will learn dances that originated in Africa and migrated to Brazil during slavery. We will dance to the driving, rapturous beat from Brazil known as samba. For the people of the villages surrounding Rio de Janeiro, samba is considered their most intense, unambivalent joy. In addiiton, we will dance and sing to contemporary cross-cultural beat from Bahia: Samba-Reggae and the Candomble religious dances of the Orixas. We will also learn dances from other regions of Brazil such as Baiao, Frevo and Maracatu.

There are so many people and environmental problems because we control our food supply. Population growth accelerated as the last ice age waned and agriculture emerged, separately, in the Middle East, East Asia, southern Mexico and the Amazon basin. We will study the world at that time and the evidence for agriculture’s beginnings, drawing on archeology, geology, palaeobotany, geochemistry and climatology, and watch the project we began come to be today’s world. "This is an upper division course." Please note: The text Climate Change in Prehistory: The End of the Reign of Chaos by William James Burroughs (ISBN-13: 9780521824095 | ISBN-10: 0521824095) will not be available in the bookstore. It is available online from a variety of sellers and must be purchased independently by students in time for the first class.

In this course, students will study the life, legacy and impact of Alexander the Great on world history and culture. We will use Arrian’s account of Alexander’s campaigns and Michael Wood’s video series In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great as entry points for the study of the geography and cultural diversity of southwest Asia, as well as Alexander’s vision, leadership and megalomania.

Topics in this course will include functions (linear, polynomial, and exponential), modeling, statistical reasoning and introductory trigonometry. Functions will be explored verbally, graphically, algebraically, and numercially. The mathematics is presented in a context-based, problem-solving format. Collaborative learning is emphasized. This course is a good introduction into college-level mathematics.

American writers produced some of the most important texts in American literature during a span of only ten years. Even if we have never actually read them, these books have shaped the way Americans think about ourselves and about our culture. Beginning in 1850 with The Scarlet Letter, followed by Moby Dick in 1851, Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852, Walden in 1854, Leaves of Grass in 1855 the writers we’ll read dealt with issues of American identity, the changes brought on by the Industrial Revolution, and the place of women, men, and children as members of American society. Underlying all was the central debate of the century– that over slavery. Students in this program will read the classic texts, participate in seminar discussion of the works, and address the historical and cultural contexts from which they came. They will also explore the ways that these books changed the history and culture of the nation.

In this course, students will learn basic finger spelling, vocabulary, conversation sign and ASL grammar. Introduction to deaf culture includes invitations to participate in the Thurston County Association of the Deaf’s activities.

Students will focus on broadening their vocabularies, conversation skills and using appropriate and accurate ASL grammar, with emphasis on the non-manual aspect of communication. There is a continued study of deaf culture and invitations to deaf events in this area.

Eastern philosophy focuses on the internal development of human qualities to help one comprehend the reality of phenomena and transform reactive thoughts and destructive emotions. These theories describe a systematic framework of intellectual development encompassing the reality of matter, nature of mind/emotions and the advanced state of transcendental wisdom, acquired through detailed analysis and experientially-based practice. Students will also be introduced to traditional forms of logic-based analysis and debate. This course will provide opportunities not just to obtain mere intellectual understanding of these philosophical tenets, but also to integrate them into daily life.

In this year-long course, students will learn the Arabic alphabet, and to read and write in modern and classical Standard Arabic, the language spoken in all of the 22 Arabic states and many Islamic countries (all Muslims have to pray in Arabic). By the end of the year, students will learn to speak at a novice level. Students will also learn about Arab culture, as well as some short poems and stories, and learn some conversational Arabic.

In this year-long course, students will learn the Arabic alphabet and to read and write in modern, or classical standard Arabic, the language spoken in all 20 Arab states and most Islamic countries. Students will learn to speak at a novice level using short poems and stories.

Doing well while doing good is the challenge. Whereas some kind of help is the kind of help that helps, some kind of help we can do without. Gaining wisdom to know the paths of skillful helping of self and others will be the focus of this four-credit course. We will explore knowing who we are, identifying caring as a moral attitude, relating wisely to others, maintaining trust and working together to make change possible.

This interdisciplinary class will explore the art and art history of mosaics. An ancient art that combines practicality with beauty, the mosaic medium is currently having a renaissance as contemporary artists explore its uses in architectural design and outdoor sites. In studying the history of mosaics, we will concentrate on three eras when mosaic art flourished: the Roman, Byzantine and Medieval periods; the Arts and Crafts Movement and the Art Nouveau style that grew out of it; and the contemporary mosaic art field. Students will be guided in a process for making both two-dimensional and three-dimensional mosaic artworks and will also have writing projects, research assignments and workshops to help them to more critically write about and talk about art.

This program explores the intersection of art history and spirituality during the late Medieval and Northern Renaissance periods. It continues from fall quarter but accepts new students during winter. We will extend our study of the frauenmystic, the women’s experience of mysticism by continuing to learn about the Beguine mystics and how their vernacular approaches helped to popularize and radicalize spirituality while bringing it closer to the people. Both mystic and artist were ‘seers’ – seeing beyond the physical into the transcendent and metaphysical – which impelled them into visionary realms. We will learn how their visions were expressed in the exquisite oil paintings of Flanders, while we also study German Renaissance sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, the beginning of printmaking, and the problem of witchcraft. Turning from theory to practice, we will incorporate art projects relevant to the era we are studying, for example, creating a handmade book using the Coptic stitch and painting.

Focusing on hand drawn, photographic and stencil silk-screen techniques, this course will allow students to intensely study and practice the fine art of silk-screening. Students will print on paper only. Over ten weeks, students will create a professional portfolio highlighting concept, craft and technique. Students will learn and apply a variety of stencil-making techniques, refine registration and composition skills, and experiment with color theory in ink-mixing exercises. Participants in the class will learn half-tone techniques using Photoshop and create transparencies printed with an Epson 4000. The class will conclude with a print exchange.

This course will familiarize students with advanced techniques in multi-track analog and digital audio recording. It will also focus on audio production techniques and aesthetics. Students will become familiar with the 16-track recording studio and its related equipment. There will be lectures on technical subjects. Recordings will be made in class and as part of homework assignments. Reading, research and written homework will also be part of students’ work.

This course will continue to work with analog and digital multitrack recording. It will focus on the technical and creative aspects of recording and using the recording studio as part of the process of producing and composing. Students will complete two recording projects in addition to reading and written assignments. Class time will be spent on lectures and recording exercises and students will have weekly lab times to work on assignments.

This is the first of a three-quarter sequence in which students are introduced to the subject of audio production and its relation to modern media. Fall quarter will focus on analog mixers and magnetic recording with some work in digital editing. The main topics will include field recording, digital audio editing, microphone design and application, analog multi-track recording and audio console signal flow. Students will have weekly reading assignments and weekly lab times.

The second quarter of this two-quarter sequence will continue the study of audio production. Students will continue their work with analog recorders and mixing consoles while starting to work with computer-based multitrack production. Additional topics will include acoustics, reverb and digital effects processing. Class time will be spent on lectures and recording exercises. There will be weekly lab assignments outside of class.

You are the most powerful and versatile tool you have. How can you use your presence as an instrument of change? How do you know who you are and what you evoke/provoke in others? How do you move in the world with awareness of your authentic self? The ability to communicate and influence is crucial to our effectiveness as we move through many systems. This two-quarter program is designed for students who want to develop skills of self-knowledge and “use of self” as an instrument of social change. We will use acting to assist us to observe carefully the nature of human feelings and interaction, and to use our observations to create insight in our audiences and ourselves; singing to make art out of breathing, to literally tune ourselves to the subtlest vibrations our bodies are capable of; songwriting to imagine words, rhythm, and melody together and to put forth our imagination into public space; and human development theory to give us a frame for understanding self in context.