My courses in Spring 2009 are:
LSP 121: Math and Technological Literacy II
In this course we learned how to work with many forms of quantitative data, including how to operate SPSS and Microsoft Access. We used descriptive statistics to describe and compare various data sets and Access to create databases. The instructor for this LSP 121 course, an important component of the First Year Program, was Maryam Ramezani.
LSP 320: Peer Education Theory and Practice
The goal of this course is to further interview as well as prepare students who aspire to be Chicago Quarter Mentors. In the class we learned about group and peer education theory on top of learning how to manage a classroom. We discussed many aspects of the Chicago Quarter Mentor role, and even designed our own lesson plans and presented them to the class. Although not everyone from the class was offered the actual mentor role, it was a learning experience for all.
ENG 228: Introducing Shakespeare
This English elective entails the reading and dissection of five Shakespearean texts. Students read Richard III, Henry IV Part One, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and King Lear on their own at various points throughout the quarter. Class time is then used for discussion and analysis rather than actual reading. Film versions of the plays are used to supplement student's understanding, and the broader history of Shakespeare's life in relation to his plays is also incorporated.
BIO 122: Introduction to Paleobiology
This science elective focuses on paleobiology, or paleontology, which is the study of extinct organisms. We have covered much of Earth's natural history and science in general, but the focus of most of the quarter is on what we know about ancient and even some existing organisms through the collection and study of fossils. The class also included an individual trip to the Field Museum where students visited and wrote a paper about the Evolving Planet exhibit.
ANT 102: Cultural Anthropology
This course is an introduction to cultural anthropology, one of the four branches of anthropology. In this course, students contemplate and compare various human cultures in order to establish greater understanding of other people as well as of themselves. The course includes a large ethnographic project which requires individual as well as group work and gives students a feel for what it is like to be an anthropologist.