Catalog: Fall 2007 - Spring 2008

2007-08 Catalog: D

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Data and Information: Computational Science

Cancelled

Fall quarter

Faculty: Judy Cushing (computer science)

Major areas of study include history and philosophy of science and mathematics, introduction to programming, and information technology and modeling.

Class Standing: This all-level program offers appropriate support for freshmen as well as supporting and encouraging those ready for advanced work.

Prerequisites: It is strongly recommended that students be able to manipulate algebraic expressions, as from high school algebra or pre-calculus. Some experience using spreadsheets or programming or study in the sciences would also be helpful.

For all sciences, whether field-based or where a significant body of theory exists, or in engineering where best practices have been determined, information technology and computational methods help suggest hypotheses, make predictions, or build artifacts. Many scientists and engineers face issues involving the conditions under which scientific models hold, as in ecology, computational chemistry, astronomy, weather prediction, or bridge building. Even scientists whose work is primarily in the laboratory or in the field spend time searching for information on the Web or in data archives, and using predictive models when analyzing and visualizing data and comparing their own data with data collected by others.

Similarly, many computer scientists and mathematicians work on real-world scientific problems that cannot easily be solved using off-the-shelf software or by formulaic mathematical scripts. The scientific domains hold many interesting examples of these problems. This program will bring together students in the sciences, computer science and mathematics around real world problems in science. It will provide an introduction to the practice, history and process of using information technology and modeling in ways applicable to further study of the sciences, or of the computer and mathematical sciences.

Science students will gain a general understanding of how information technology and computational methods are transforming the study and practice of science. Computer science and math students will learn how to collaborate with scientists and learn about scientific computing. Freshmen and others prepared and motivated to begin studies in computer science or mathematics will prepare for entry-level programs in those areas, e. g. , Computer Science Foundations to be offered winter and spring.

Total: 16 credits.

Enrollment: 24

Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in computer science, applied mathematics and the physical sciences.

This program is also listed under Programs for Freshmen.

Program Updates
05.02.2007:
This program has been cancelled. For an alternative program see the description for Logical Foundations of Science and Computing.

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Designing Languages

Spring quarter

Faculty: Susan Fiksdal (linguistics, French), Judy Cushing (computer science), Brian Walter (logic, mathematics)

Major areas of study include linguistics, language design, and computer science.

Class Standing: This all-level program offers appropriate support for freshmen as well as supporting and encouraging those ready for advanced work.

Have you wondered about the ways languages work? Do you think about how thoughts get translated into language? Have you explored differences between natural languages (such as English or French) and artificial languages (such as computer programming languages)? Do you know in what ways computer languages are similar to natural languages and the ways in which they differ?

In this program, we will explore these questions by studying natural and artificial languages, learning a computer language, and designing a language. Specifically, students will study the structure and function of human language through an introduction to the field of linguistics. This will involve a study of phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, discourse, metaphor and pragmatics. Students will learn Logo, a computer language that makes pleasing designs using simple geometry in a step-by-step process. We will work on the connections between natural and artificial languages, and consider the implications of language design. We will explore some specific issues in case studies including, for example, scientific nomenclature and Esperanto. We will also explore the functions of language and the intersection of culture and language. Finally, students will work collaboratively on a language design project.

Total: 16 credits.

Enrollment: 72

Special Expenses: Approximately $15 for final project expenses.

Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in linguistics, languages and computer science.

This program is also listed under Programs for Freshmen and Culture, Text and Language.

A similar program is expected to be offered in 2010–11.

Program Updates
02.06.2008:
Brian Walter has joined the faculty team of Designing Languages. The program narrative, major areas of study and enrollment have been adjusted to reflect Brian's areas of expertise and additions to the program.

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Digitizing Movements

New

Spring quarter

Faculty: Jules Unsel (History)

Major areas of study include political history, communications theory and digital media.

Class Standing: This all level program offers appropriate support for freshmen as well as supporting and encouraging those ready for advanced work.

How is the World Wide Web affecting the structure and function of today's political and social movements? How are strategies for political organizing and social protest changing in a technological environment and a globalizing media culture that are themselves rapidly changing? These and related questions will be at the heart of this spring quarter program, which will explore the both the history and current status of selected political and social movements in the U.S and abroad.

The analytical emphasis in this exploration will be on the role of communications media in the formation and function of mass movements. The program will combine readings in the history of social movements and social media with instruction and practice in web research and web publishing. Students will structure their own intensive research projects on a cause or organization of their choosing.

This program structures an opportunity for students and faculty to place contemporary political and social movements on the web into their historical context. It will allow us to examine what worked and did not work within mass movements in the past, how digital technologies are affecting contemporary movements, and what we may learn about our own times to make online activism successful now and in the future.

Total: 16 credits.

Enrollment: 25

Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in politics, education and the digital humanities.

This program is also listed under Programs for Freshmen and Culture, Text and Language

Program Updates
02.13.2008:
This is a new program for Spring 2008, not listed in the catalog.

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Digitizing Movements

New

Spring quarter

Faculty: Jules Unsel (History)

Major areas of study include political history, communications theory and digital media.

Class Standing: This all level program offers appropriate support for freshmen as well as supporting and encouraging those ready for advanced work.

How is the World Wide Web affecting the structure and function of today's political and social movements? How are strategies for political organizing and social protest changing in a technological environment and a globalizing media culture that are themselves rapidly changing? These and related questions will be at the heart of this spring quarter program, which will explore the both the history and current status of selected political and social movements in the U.S and abroad.

The analytical emphasis in this exploration will be on the role of communications media in the formation and function of mass movements. The program will combine readings in the history of social movements and social media with instruction and practice in web research and web publishing. Students will structure their own intensive research projects on a cause or organization of their choosing.

This program structures an opportunity for students and faculty to place contemporary political and social movements on the web into their historical context. It will allow us to examine what worked and did not work within mass movements in the past, how digital technologies are affecting contemporary movements, and what we may learn about our own times to make online activism successful now and in the future.

Total: 16 credits.

Enrollment: 25

Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in politics, education and the digital humanities.

This program is also listed under Programs for Freshmen and Culture, Text and Language

Program Updates
02.13.2008:
This is a new program for Spring 2008, not listed in the catalog.

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Discovering Darwin

New

Spring quarter

Faculty: Charles Pailthorp (philosophy)

Major areas of study include philosophy and humanities.

Class Standing: This lower division program accepts freshmen and sophomores.

Faculty Signature: Entry into this program is by faculty signature only. Program faculty will meet with students at the Academic Fair, March 5, 2008 to discuss program organization and student interest. For more information, contact Charles Pailthorp.

No thinker has had greater impact than Darwin on how we understand nature and human nature. Darwin's empirical and theoretical work sets out fundamental challenges and opportunities to reconsider who we are and where we fit into the natural order, no less so today than in 1859, when he published On the Origin of Species. Darwin's impact in the field of biology is only where all this begins. Far beyond biology, Darwin's work has led to paradigm shifts in seemingly every field of inquiry, from the psychological and social sciences to philosophy, theology and the arts. It would be difficult to overestimate the impact of Darwin's work on Western thought and culture.

In this satellite we will read selections from Darwin's major works. He is an engaging and clear writer. We will study what he did and how he went about his work. We will read essays that both oppose and support Darwin's methods and conclusions. In addition, we will read other works that have sought to extend or curtail Darwin's influence beyond biology. We will try to understand why, of all the great and revolutionary thinkers of the last 200 years, Darwin should have remained the most controversial and, to many, the most dangerous.

Much of our reading will be drawn from Philip Appleman, Darwin: A Norton Critical Edition (third edition, December, 2000). We will also spend time in the field, gaining a sense of what Darwin mastered as a naturalist. Students will help plan the details of our studies and our work in practicum.

 

Total: 8 credits. Students wishing to register for a 16 credit program should register for Knowing Nature and choose Discovering Darwin as their 8 credit option within the program.

Enrollment: 23

Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in philosophy, humanities.

This program is also listed under Programs for Freshmen and Culture, Text and Language

Program Updates
02.27.2008:
This is a new offering for spring 2008. It is offered as a part-time offering to interested students, or as part of a 16 credit offering called Knowing Nature.

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