"O Godiva, I could be bounded in a nympholepsy and count myself a kingfish of infinite spacemen." —Hamlet

Mathematical principles can provide the basis for creative writing, from the chance operations that generated the quote above to plot structures, themes, content, and even style. Author Italo Calvino views writing as a combinatorial game, an all but random process of associations and layers of implications that can lead to great works of literature as surely as nonsense. Calvino and others reveal that writing guided by abstract principles, particularly mathematical concepts and constraints, can lead to some of the most wondrous, original, and provocative work. Jorge Luis Borges's stories provide numerous examples. In The Aleph, the narrator attempts to describe a location from which all places can be seen simultaneously: "Mystics, faced with the same problem, fall back on symbols: to signify the godhead, one Persian speaks of a bird that somehow is all birds; Alanus De Insulis, of a sphere whose center is everywhere and circumference is nowhere; Ezekiel, of a four-faced angel, who at one and the same time moves east and west, north and south." Works like The Aleph not only reflect mathematical concepts but also give them flesh, rendering those abstractions poetic and tangible.

Informed by the work of writers such as Borges and Calvino, we will construct fictional narratives that reflect or are governed by mathematical concepts. In the fall quarter, students will be introduced to a wide range of mathematical and literary principles and practices. Using those tools, students will produce works rigorous in their literary content and thorough in their mathematical precision and depth. In the winter quarter, the primary focus will be on a major writing project, along with the study of computer programming as a tool to aid further investigation of the potential interplay between mathematics and literature. The regular work of the program will include book seminars, short papers, and workshops in literature, writing, mathematics and computer programming, as well as the aforementioned writing project. Readings will introduce students to relevant historical and philosophical ideas, numerous examples of writing that fuse math and literature, and provocative mathematical concepts. Coursework will emphasize foundations and skill development in mathematics, creative writing, critical reading, argumentative writing, literary theory, and computer programming.

We will explore the medieval and early modern influences on western science. In doing so, we will study the development of European culture between approximately 1100 to 1750 through the prism of astronomy, botany, medicine and natural philosophy. We will also examine the influence of Christianity on early scientific understanding of the world.

This program investigates the following questions. How did classical pagan philosophy and Christianity shape the way medieval and Renaissance Europeans interpreted and represented the world? How did humanism, the rise of science and changing technology transform the way Renaissance Europeans made sense of the world? In what ways, if any, do these earlier forms of understanding nature inform our current practices in art and science? How does the emphasis on the rational, scientific approach to knowing influence our life today? How does our understanding of the natural world influence our beliefs about our spiritual existence? And, finally, how does one comprehend and relate to historical epochs with a set of beliefs and practices that seem, at first glance, very foreign to our own way of understanding and interacting with the world?

In the fall, we will develop a grounding in the precipitating factors, cultural and scientific, that led to the Middle Ages. We will study Greek, Roman and Arabic thinkers such as Hippocrates, Aristotle, Dioscorides, and Avicenna who influenced natural philosophy. We will also examine selected philosophical and theological issues that vexed scholars in Medieval monasteries and universities. Finally, we will examine the practice of European ethnobotany through herbals, horticulture, and medical history. Students will begin a book arts project that continues through winter quarter.

In the winter, we will address the emerging humanism of the Renaissance and its influence on the study of nature, especially in the areas of botany, astronomy and medicine. During the Middle Ages, these sciences were heavily shaped by Christian values and beliefs. With the establishment of institutions of higher learning and numerous translations of classical pagan works, the seeds for a new scientific enterprise were planted. New technology, global exploration, and artistic movements also contributed to the scientific revolution that took place in the early modern period.

City Life is about urban people and their work. What happens when at least a thousand people come together in an area to form a place of trade and accommodation? Think about more than 8 million people coming together in New York City! A lot happens with architecture, cuisine, music, dance, photography and cinema, and with people living, loving, and working. Cities are centers of culture, architecture, employment, social change, tourism, and environmental concern and innovation. What is it about urban environments that promotes open, positive and creative attitudes, and yet can burden people with negative and stifling complexities? Cities are about special advantages, special group identities, and special problems.

This program is for students who are eager to inquire about a vast range of city offerings and concerns. Thinking about cities engages interdisciplinary learning through history, urban studies, specific arts (visual, movement, music, film), literature, cultural studies, and social movements. Students will need to work deliberately with both the designed curriculum and with their own curriculum, which will tailor the program to individual urban interests. Our studies will include an array of subject matter that will emerge as we engage in authentic inquiry as a community of learners.

In the fall, we begin by reading Witold Rybczynski's historical narrative about the environmental, social, economic, and technological factors that have come to define American cities, and then venture into Magdalena Tulli's work of fiction about the human idealism and dreams of an unnamed city, entering the lives of the stones from which the buildings and monuments are historically constructed. We'll also consider conceptions of the "city" in the history of cinema and in the context of dance. We'll take different academic looks at specific American cities: A walking tour of our own Olympia, a museum look at Seattle, a look at the politics of race and authenticity in Blue Chicago: The Search for Authenticity in Urban Blues Clubs, and we'll compare perceptions of New York City by E.B White and Paul Auster. Reading Jane Jacobs's The Nature of Economies will inspire students to represent the many variables of cities with visual display formats and graphs. Students will use that skill in individual city research projects. In winter quarter we'll move from local to global to consider life and work in international cities. The work of fall and winter leads to an individual spring field study in a specific city selected by each student-could be Portland, could be Prague! Students will present their city field studies to the program during the final weeks of spring. To plan for this city experience, students will identify field study sites by the end of fall quarter.

We will examine the different ways in which the notions of imperialism and colonization can be understood broadly as well as in specific geographic and historical contexts. Focusing on the historical experiences of people of color in Africa, the Middle East and the Americas, we will explore the ways in which imperialism and colonization served as tools for conquest and domination as well as subjugation and exploitation. We will examine the context in which these tools were, and continue to be, employed and the resistance of different kinds with which they have to contend. One context that will be explored throughout the two quarters is the role of schooling in colonialism as well as how some schools work toward decolonization.

One purpose of the program is to make distinctions and identify similarities between the imperialist practices of the past and those that are at work now. Exploring the role of image, representation and knowledge—incentives for their production, and the prospects for their distribution—will be significant elements of the program. Quite often the critique of orientalism will guide us. Another purpose is to explore the resistance offered by the colonized and subjugated people to the colonial and imperial forces. Such resistance has manifested itself in diverse forms and it continues to evolve in creative ways.

To accomplish the learning geoals, students will read course materials both to understand the authors' perspectives and relate their own perspectives to the authors'. Students will also work collaboratively, learning to discuss ideas with people who hold different perspectives and life experiences from their own. We expect to accomplish these goals through frequent writing assignments and active student participation in seminar facilitation, introduction of films and documentaries and leadership in organizing discussions. Among the writing assignments will be short weekly papers based on the readings and a longer paper on a relevant topic selected by the students. The readings will include such classical texts as Aimé Césaire's Discourse on Colonialism as well as more recent works like Linda Smith's Decolonizing Methodologies.

The goal of this program is to lay a firm foundation for advanced work in computer science. Our work will emphasize knowledge of the fundamentals, including discrete mathematics, program design, algorithms and data structures, and computer architecture. Individual and collaborative problem-solving will also be stressed.

The content of this program will be presented in an integrated and synergistic manner that strengthens connections among the various ideas and skills, enabling more rapid progress through immersion.

Program content will be structured around three interwoven themes. The computational organization theme will begin with object-oriented programming in Java and the organization of hardware and software into a functional system. The discrete mathematical theme will develop the mathematical tools and abstract ideas that support problem solving in computer science. The history and social implications of technology theme will explore the context in which quantitative and computerized tools have been developed and applied.

Contemplative education...infuses learning with the experience of awareness, insight and compassion for oneself and others through the practice of meditation and contemplative disciplines ...contemplative education experiments with another way of knowing through joining of rigorous liberal arts training and the disciplined training of the heart. -- http://en.wikipedia.org

Contemplative Studies offers opportunities for highly motivated students to create a learning community in support of their own contemplatively oriented course of study and research. Classroom activities may include weekly seminars, a yoga nidra/iRest studio practice and research project, and presentations by students and guests. Independent work may include research, internships, community service, field study, study abroad or travel options.

This program is especially appropriate for students with interests related to the themes and activities developed fall and winter quarters in the program Made for Contemplation (see program web site for addition details http://academic.evergreen.edu/curricular/madeforcontemplation/). Appropriate areas of inquiry include: contemplative arts and education, creative process, cultural studies, feminist theory, somatic studies and consciousness studies. The development of students' independent work will be guided by the following questions:

1) Do you have a question to be answered?

2) What is your method of inquiry?

3) How will your work connect with others who have asked (or are willing to ask) a similar or related question?

4) Is there an outcome that matters?

This program is intended for advanced psychology and human services students interested in clinical work with children and families. We will focus on deepening our understanding of the processes of smooth emotional development, and then study the disruptions to normal development that are evident when lives of children and families come to the attention of therapists, court workers, teachers, CPS caseworkers, etc. We will study the systems of care children and families get involved in, and explore a cross section of interventions in these contexts.

In Fall quarter, we will review relevant texts in attachment theory, psychological development and family patterns, as well as explore film and written material that present the issues we are studying. Outside of seminars, students will observe children and families, and use writing- as well as photography, music and art if they wish- to present their understanding of the worlds of children and families. Beginning in the fall and throughout the year, we will look at the autobiographical contexts of our own lives that shape encounters we have with other people in any capacity: as evaluators, teachers, therapists, or family members. We will consider how can we do a better job in recognizing biases about role, power, class, gender, ethnicity, and race so often unknowingly acted out in assumptions as we learn about children and families.

Winter quarter will focus on how to understand and intervene in the disruptions in children's lives, and the role of trauma, of disabilities, of failures in the systems that surround them. Readings will cover a variety of assessment and treatment modalities, and include current diagnostic guidelines, as well as introduce a variety of intervention concepts. Students who are intent on internships in the spring will work with faculty to develop connections to possible sites. Other students will explore areas of particular academic interest, e.g., children in care, adolescents in juvenile facilities, and parents in need of ongoing support, and prepare presentations or papers on their areas of interest. There will be opportunities to meet with experienced professionals to hear what pathways exist for future involvement.

Spring quarter will have a different structure. Students will be expected to have 15-hour/week internship and to be active in a 3-hours/week seminar focused on understanding and supporting work in a variety of behavioral health internship settings. Readings for this quarter will be specific to the particular settings in which students are involved. Students will be expected to keep journals and logs that track the work in their internship, and to write a final integration paper at the end of the quarter, as well as regularly attend seminar meetings.