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Fall Semester
FT 05-A Making It in the Performing Arts
Larry Bennett, Department of Music, TTh, 2:40-3:55
What preparations and conditions pave the way for a successful career in the performing arts? Why do some careers continue to thrive, even after decades, while others falter? In this tutorial, we will examine the changing circumstances and personal qualities that influence the curves of performers’ careers. Students will investigate the struggles, successes, and failures of outstanding classical musicians (Joshua Bell, Lang Lang, Placido Domingo) actors (Uma Thurman, Sean Penn), pop stars and groups (Josh Groben, Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead) and cross-over artists (Bobby McFerrin, Philip Glass) past and present, the famous and not so famous. Students interested in sports may also consider the careers of well-known athletes (Nolan Ryan, Magic Johnson, Lance Armstrong). Insights from playwrights, directors, and film composers like Neil Simon, Clint Eastwood, and Tan Dun, respectively, will shed light on the lives and trials of well-known artists. Aspects such as stress management and dealing with performance anxiety will also be considered. This tutorial will include readings from personal accounts by renowned artists, viewing of pertinent films, and attendance at live performances. At the end of the course, each student will interview a professional performer.
Credits: 1
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FT 05-B Design
Preston Bost, Department of Psychology, TTh, 9:45
What makes a thing beautiful? What makes it functional? Is it possible to achieve these two ideals at the same time? In this course we will examine the principles by which designers craft objects, buildings, and spaces that are not only pleasing to the senses, but also serve an intended function. Major units of the course will focus on automotive, architectural, and landscape design. As the semester progresses, we will consider the design not only of the man-made, but also the natural. How does the design of organisms permit their survival? How does the design of molecules permit the engineering of new materials and structures? Along the way, we will hear from a number of professors about the concept of “design” in their disciplines: art, physics, psychology, math, biology, and chemistry. Students will engage in frequent applied work, analyzing and creating designs. The semester will also include a field trip to Columbus, Indiana, a city famous for its stunning and significant architecture.
Credits: 1
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FT 05-C All The News That’s Fit to Print
David Hadley, Department of Political Science, TTh, 2:40
Whether or not you agree that The New York Times lives up to its motto (“All the news…”) or its claim to be the nation’s “newspaper of record,” The Times opens a big window into current events, politics and government, the economy, science, literature and the arts, sports, fashion, entertainment, and opinion. It is also a window into history. We will use The New York Times, both daily and achieved issues, as our text and see where it takes us. We will use The Times to become better readers, develop capacities for critical thinking, understand and appreciate what constitutes effective writing, stimulate class discussion about important issues, make connections between your other Wabash courses and the contemporary world beyond the campus, become more informed and effective citizens, and to increase your awareness and understanding of where we fit into the global community.
Credits: 1
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FT 05-D Science Fiction and Philosophy
Cheryl Hughes, Department of Philosophy and Religion, TTh, 9:45
Science fiction is always a kind of thought experiment, inventing new worlds that are often inhabited by something alien or other, or extending our current science and technology into an imagined future full of tough moral dilemmas, or simply playing with some of our most challenging ideas such as the nature of space and time, the possibility of artificial intelligence, or the problems of personal identity and free will. Philosophy, too, often proceeds by using thought experiments to question what we might otherwise take for granted, to explore familiar problems in new ways, or to construct ideas and ideals and test their possibilities. Thus science fiction can be an excellent way to introduce philosophical issues. Consider Stephen Spielberg’s 2002 film, Minority Report, for example, with its precogs who can predict future crimes and its Pre-Crime Unit of the police department charged with apprehending criminals before they commit murder. Here is a story that at least sketches out the thorny problem of freedom of the will: do we freely choose and freely act on our choices or are we simply another thing in the world subject to very complex causes and effects and therefore not free at all? In this course, we will use science fiction novels, short stories, and films as well as philosophical essays to explore such topics as the limits of knowledge, relationships between appearance and reality, the nature of intelligence, the paradoxes and logical problems in the idea of time-travel, problems of memory and personal identity, and various social and moral issues. Science fiction authors may include Isaac Asimov, Ursula LeGuin, Octavia Butler, Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein, Brian Aldiss, Stanislaw Lem, Aldous Huxley, and Kurt Vonnegut.
Credits: 1
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FT 05-E Medievalism and Middle Earth
Karolyn Kinane, Department of English, 9:45 TTh
Before J.R.R. Tolkien was an author of fiction, he was a well-respected scholar specializing in Old and Middle English languages and literature. In writing The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien drew on his scholarly knowledge of early Germanic cultures to form the world of Middle-earth. We will frame our investigations this semester with two central questions: What is the relationship between Tolkien’s fictional work and his academic work? And why has Tolkien’s medievalism (and other popular medievalisms) found such a prominent place in our popular imagination? We will approach these questions in two parts. For the first half of the course, we will read medieval works which Tolkien himself studied, as well as some of his scholarly essays. In the second half, we will read and view The Lord of the Rings, comparing the book and the film to each other, and to the materials from the first part.
Credits: 1
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Paul LePlae, Department of Chemistry, 9:45 TTh
It would seem that everyone has an opinion on global warming, but what do we really know? In this tutorial we will sample the available information concerning global warming. Through a variety of books, articles, videos, discussion papers, and presentations, we will learn the difference between testable theories and nonsensical beliefs. It is hoped that by the end of the term each student will have developed his own informed opinion concerning global warming. Readings will include fiction and nonfiction such as Michael Crichton’s most recent novel State of Fear. Although a work of fiction, State of Fear has been accused of arguing that the scientific evidence for global warming is weak and that people concerned about global warming follow a herd mentality, failing to critically examine the data. Spencer Weart’s critically acclaimed work of nonfiction, The Discovery of Global Warming, will also be read. This book begins as a sort of detective story, describing how a few scientists became obsessed with the mysteries of climate change. By the end it becomes an epic tale where entire governments, national publics, and communities of scientists press upon one another.
Credits: 0
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FT 05-G Komodo Dragons and Purple Rain; Environment and biodiversity
Peter Mikek, Department of Economics, TTh, 9:45
The course will explore two important and tightly interrelated aspects of modern life: the decreasing quality of our environment and the increasing number of endangered species. Growth of the human population is shrinking the habitats for many species and therefore threatens the diversity and normal functioning of our ecosystems. Furthermore, the production of goods and services has strong side effects that damage our environment. Both the disappearing biological diversity and the degradation of the environment bring into question the paradigm of our civilization and set forth serious threats for our future well-being. Is it time to rethink our attitude toward the environment? Can our society reshuffle its value system before we are dramatically pushed to do so in order to survive? An eclectic variety of readings should provide a good basis for examining the facts and for fostering critical thinking about the environment and society.
Credits: 0
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FT 05-H Men and Masculinity
Warren Rosenberg, Department of English, TTh, 1:10
What does it mean to be a man in our society? We will look at the array of cultural messages beamed at us from birth that have shaped our gendered identities. Our main purpose will be neither to celebrate nor denigrate maleness (although both will occur), but rather to examine the conflicting definitions and demands of masculinity so that we can more freely choose the kind of men we wish to be. The underlying assumption of the course is, therefore, that men are not born but culturally created—but that is an assumption we will probably be arguing about. We will read books like A Separate Peace, Shane, Black Boy, Maurice, see films like A Bronx Tale, Born on the Fourth of July, Unforgiven, High Fidelity, discuss television and music, and share experiences on a variety of subjects central to the male experience: growing up, sports, friendship, parenting, war, love, and work.
Credits: 1
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FT 05-I Telling Lives
Thomas Stokes, Department of Modern Languages, TTh, 9:45
“Telling Lives” centers on autobiography and memoir, which are among the most interesting and varied literary forms of our time. Writing about one’s own life is a venerable and time-honored pursuit. Examples of it exist from the ancient world, from the Middle Ages, and from the Renaissance, but modern autobiographical writing found its true model in Rousseau’s Confessions. We will read several books together in this tutorial. Maxine Hong Kingston’s memoir of life as a Chinese-American girl, The Woman Warrior, and James McBride’s book, The Color of Water, about his Jewish mother who married an African-American man, are stories about strong women and their struggles for identity against their own cultural norms. Kien Nguyen’s memoir, The Unwanted, is the story of a Eurasian child from Vietnam who found his way through prejudice to a successful life in America. Paul Monette’s Becoming a Man is the story of a gay man who experienced social and emotional difficulties similar to Nguyen’s. Primo Levi, an Italian Jew who was a chemist before World War II, writes about his ancestors and about his own experience using the metaphor of the chemist’s periodic table. Wadysaw Szpilman’s memoir, The Pianist, long banned in Poland, tells the story of how music allowed him to remain sane during the persecution of Jews during World War II. Into Thin Air recounts Jon Krakauer’s personal experience of disaster on Mt. Everest. In the tutorial, we will explore what it means to write about one’s own experience. “Tell all the Truth, but tell it slant/Success in Circuit Lies,” Emily Dickinson wrote. That is a good starting point for considering such issues as lies, truth, candor, self-understanding, and memory in the accounts which writers of autobiography and memoir give of themselves.
Credits: 1
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FT 05-J Man and Machine
Will Turner, Department of Math/Computer Science, TTh, 9:45
In 1920, Karel Capek’s play R.U.R. introduced the word “robot” to the world, and robots and computers have captured our imagination ever since. The information superhighway has changed the way we live, and we dream of machines with artificial intelligence that act human. In this tutorial, we will explore the interaction between humans and these machines. Through works of both fiction and nonfiction, we will seek to understand various facets of how computers affect the way we live and think and the inherent difficulties in creating this artificial intelligence for which we long.
Credits: 0
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FT 05-K Legal Drama: An Intersection between the Courtroom and the Theater
Dwight Watson, Department of Theater, TTh, 9:45
Connections between the legal world and the world of theater were made early in the life of drama. Oral arguments, for example, were scripted in Aeschylus’ The Eumenides as Athena summons, “Litigants, call your witnesses, have ready your proofs....” During Shakespeare’s day, law students at the English Inns of Court performed plays and enacted moot court “trials” as part of their training. Today, the courtroom as a theater in which trials are witnessed or viewed publicly is a common occurrence. Similarly, courtroom drama with its tightly woven plot, strict focus on tension and mounting suspense, sensational double twists, and a gallery of colorful characters is widely popular in novels, television, films, and on the stage. Often famous court cases are dramatized for the stage with varying degrees of historical accuracy. The class will investigate a docket of courtroom dramas, along with films, celebrated court cases, historical and theatrical materials related to this genre. We will study Lawrence’s and Lee’s Inherit the Wind, Saul Levitt’s The Andersonville Trial, Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men, Emily Mann’s Execution of Justice, and John Logan’s Never the Sinner.
Credits: 1
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FT 05-L Christianity and Popular Culture
Stephen Webb, Department of Philosophy and Religion, TTh, 9:45
What is the relationship between Christianity and popular culture? Christian churches used to try to keep some distance from popular culture, but now many of them embrace it. When rock and roll was born, for example, churches preached against it, but now the most successful churches use guitars and drums for worship, and contemporary Christian music is the fastest growing segment of the music industry. We will study the way Christian churches use film, contemporary music, and other aspects of popular culture to reach out to nonbelievers. One topic we will focus on is the relationship between religion and sports. Why have sports teams and athletic heroes become so important for church growth? We will also look at the early history of Christianity and its relation to the Roman Empire in order to better understand the nature and mission of the Christian faith.
Credits: 0
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FT 05-M Strange Bedfellows: Popular Culture and Education
Tammy Turner-Vorbeck, Department of Teacher Education, TTh, 9:45
Television as teacher? Harry Potter as course text? Cyberspace as classroom? Using the perspectives of cultural studies and sociology, this course will explore the interrelationship of our popular culture, youth culture, and education. We will examine the ways that adolescence and the experience of school are portrayed in various forms of media as well as how artifacts of popular culture influence and are used in education. Cultural studies provides us with a perspective for examining the cultural messages and practices we use to define ourselves as individuals and the world around us. Sociology provides us with a perspective for considering the complex relationships among people and our social institutions. Course readings, films, discussions, and guest speakers will inform us as we define popular culture, share our experiences of it, and cast a critical eye on the larger forces at work in our society, forces of which we are often unaware.
Credits: 1
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Spring Semester
FT 05-N In the Future We Will Play: The Art and History of Electronic Gaming
Michael Abbott, Department of Theater
In 1903, anthropologist W.H. Holmes reported: “The popular notion that games are trivial in nature and of no particular significance as a subject has given way to an adequate appreciation of their importance as an integral part of human culture.” Playing is not reading. Yet, increasingly, videogames are challenging us to reassess the ways we think about storytelling, authorship, and representation. Aside from their obvious popular appeal, recent games such as “The Sims,” “Fable,” and the “Final Fantasy” series test our current ways of understanding semiotics and engagement with the reader/player. Increasingly, video gaming can be seen a convergence point, where media as diverse as film, literature, art, music, and design meet and coalesce to form a new, unique art form ... one that fits squarely and comfortably within the Humanities. We must develop a methodology for “reading” videogames that affords this new medium the regard it richly deserves. This tutorial will explore a variety of ways to accomplish this—borrowing, adapting, and revising familiar methodologies, and proposing new strategies for seeing and critically comprehending videogames. To this end, we will play, analyze, discuss, research, and write about videogames as a modern emerging art form.
Credits: 1
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FT 05-O Frank Lloyd Wright: Architecture as a Way of Life
David Blix, Department of Philosophy and Religion
If you were going to design your own house, how would you do it? How does the way we live “create” the space of a house, and how does a house fit in with its natural environment? How does architecture affect the way people live together in society? These are some of the questions that we will try to answer in this tutorial by studying the life and work of the great American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959). By the time Wright died in 1959, he had revolutionized the way people built buildings all around the world, whether houses, churches, office buildings, or even banks and gas stations. We will look at several things: Wright’s dramatic life, his revolutionary designs for the Prairie house and the Usonian house (as well as various public facilities), his interest in Japanese art, his breakthroughs in balancing engineering and aesthetic form, and his efforts to create an American architecture that reflected the values of freedom and democracy. We’ll study pictures and blueprints, watch videos, and read and discuss several books and articles (both primary and secondary). The requirements for the course will include class discussion, a couple of quizzes and short papers, and a final project. We’ll also take a couple of field trips, touring Crawfordsville and the Wabash campus, and visiting Wright houses in Chicago and perhaps Fallingwater in Pennsylvania.
Credits: 1
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FT 05-P Fathers and Sons
Doug Calisch, Art Department
From Oedipus and Laius to Cal Ripkin junior and senior, to the Bush Presidents, the relationships between fathers and sons throughout history are charged with intensity and passion. Love/hate, competition/caring, respect/irreverence, presence/absence, and the coming of age/fear of growing old are dichotomies that can characterize this relationship between males. This class will examine the variety of ways that fathers and sons are depicted in our culture through film, literature, and art. Our journey will involve looking at cultural stereotypes, human nature, and personal experiences. In addition, students will reflect through journal writing, interviewing, papers, and discussion on their roles in this powerful and ever changing relationship. The course, like all Freshman Tutorials, will focus on improving communication skills. The theme of Fathers and Sons will be our vehicle to develop critical observation skills, while cultivating talents as readers, writers, and speakers.
Credits: 1
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FT 05-Q From Observation to Understanding – The Role of Models in our Thinking
Scott Feller and David Maharry, Department of Chemistry and Department of Math/Computer Science
When we think of an atom, with protons and neutrons in the center and electrons surrounding it, we are using a model to help us understand the physical world. We are often aware of our models when we think of scientific ideas but we are also using models when we talk of our national economy or of red states and blue states in elections. The development of such explanatory models to describe the world around us is thus a central goal of inquiry. Features of these models may include real objects representing a complex system or some aspect of it, mathematical formulae representing the system in terms of a set of numerical values, representational systems such as maps or diagrams, and conceptual descriptions that may not include any quantitative relations whatsoever. At the most basic level, however, a model is simply an idea that allows us to create explanations of how we think some part of the world works. This development of models is very much a human endeavor, dependent on the creativity of the mind and its ability to recognize patterns, but also subject to prejudices and the limits of our sensory inputs. In this course we will look at the construction and application of a wide variety of models with the goal of obtaining a deeper understanding of the process of discovery.
Credits: 1
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FT 05-R The Vietnam War in History, Literature, and Film
Tobey Herzog, Department of English
Although the American combat role in Vietnam had terminated two years earlier, the Vietnam War did not end until April 30, 1975, with the fall of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), South Vietnam. After a few years of silence in the mid and late 70s, Americans have been talking and writing ever since about the “national trauma” of American involvement in Vietnam, including most recently during the U.S. military action in Iraq. Thus, 30 years after the end of “America’s Longest War,” this Vietnam experience remains a dominant moral, political, military, and artistic touchstone in the American cultural consciousness. In this tutorial taught by a Vietnam Veteran, we will study the history of this war as detailed in George C. Herring’s America’s Longest War, and we will read about the experiences of the participants—soldiers, veterans, anti-war protesters, supporters of the war, families of soldiers serving in Vietnam, POWs, and North Vietnamese soldiers. In addition to the history text, our sources of information will be documentaries, films, and literature. Some of the texts we will read will be Philip Caputo’s A Rumor of War, James Webb’s Fields of Fire, Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, and Bao Ninh’s The Sorrow of War. Films will include The Green Berets, Apocalypse Now, Heaven and Earth, and The Deer Hunter. Class activities will include oral reports, class discussions, student panels, research projects, videos, in-class written responses to the movies and books, four 3-4 page papers examining themes in the books and films, and a final project chosen by the student.
Credits: 1
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FT 05-S Into the Wild: American Writers on Wilderness
Marc Hudson, Department of English
In the wilderness, travelers encounter the unexpected—new species of animals and trees, new species of thought, new possibilities. The wilderness is other— that “other civilization” opposite to the human, as Thoreau thought of it. After a sojourn there, the traveler returns to the human city transformed, perhaps a little more thoughtful. In this tutorial, students will read some of the literature of the American wilderness—some Thoreau, Muir, and Leopold, but mostly late twentieth century writings such as Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire, Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac, and Seth Kantner’s Ordinary Wolves. We will also read Roderick Nash’s study of the development of American attitudes toward the wilderness, Wilderness and the American Mind. In these and other texts, students will explore the many meanings Americans writers have attached to wilderness and the sorts of encounters that have occurred there. Class activities will include short papers, a group investigation of some wilderness issue, and a creative project. The course will include a couple of trips into the wild—or, at least, our local Indiana version thereof—Shades State Park.
Credits: 1
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FT 05-T Scientists and Their Discoveries
Robert Olsen, Department of Chemistry
In this course we will examine some of the important discoveries in science focusing on the lives of some famous scientists and the experiments and observations they performed. We will try to answer such questions as: Who discovered what, and why? What was so important about the discovery? What difference did the discovery make in the history of science? Along the way we will encounter some unusual figures: the astronomer with the golden artificial nose, the physicist who claimed to communicate with the dead (and claimed to have the photographs to prove it!), and the geologist whose favorite snack was grilled mice on toast. By the end of the semester, in addition to learning lots of interesting factoids, we will have clarified our ideas about how science and scientists work. Where possible we will go into the laboratory and try to repeat some of that work ourselves. Class work will include papers, both short and long, oral reports and laboratory work. No background in science or mathematics beyond that required for Wabash admission is needed. Hopefully, however, enrollment will signify a willingness to experiment.
Credits: 1
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