Section Choices: Fresh Focus Fall 2009

FOC 101-210 Fresh Focus: The Human Voice in Speech and Song (*meets 11:00 - 11:45 TTH)
Dr. Irwin Ray, Director of Musical Activities

An introduction to the basic anatomy of the human larynx and its use in the craft of speech and the art of song. Elements will include posture, breath pressure, phonation, diction and tone which will be applied in simple vocalizations and vocal solos. The class will include both observation of professional and amateur performers and personal application. Required for members of University Singers. Open to any interested student.

FOC 101-211 Fresh Focus: Russian Revolution, 1917, In Fact and Fiction
Dr. Ronald Bobroff, Assistant Professor of History

The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 was one of the pivotal events of the twentieth century. With the sweeping away of the remnants of the old regime, the new country became either inspiration or nemesis for observers around the world. But exactly who participated, with what goals, and how the events developed have been remembered in conflicting ways. In this course we will analyze the different accounts offered by participants, filmmakers and historians.

FOC 101-212 Fresh Focus: ¡Sí, Amigo!: Getting to Know the Spanish-Speaking World
Dr. Mario Chandler, Associate Professor of Spanish

This Fresh Focus course will provide students with a thorough introduction to the diverse communities of Spanish-speaking peoples as well as the unique worlds that they occupy around the globe. From Spain, to Africa, to the Americas (North and South) there are more than 400 million people that claim Spanish as a native language. Students will learn about many Hispanic or “Latino” communities and their connections to our society and to the world. Students will also have opportunities to interact directly with Atlanta’s Hispanic community through local visits and organized trips.

FOC 101-214 Fresh Focus: Live Theater Appreciation
Pete Cutter, Manager and Technical Director of Conant Performing Arts Center

This course is designed to assist new students as they transition into Oglethorpe University. In addition to helping students take advantage of those services the University offers that might be advantageous to them and help to ensure their success while in college, the course will invite them to consider those college opportunities that can help them to achieve their long-range career and life goals. The course will also acquaint students with live theatre both on and off campus. The importance of their role as responsible audience members will be explored in an effort to improve their experiences with live entertainment. Opportunities to attend theatrical events on and off campus will be a regular feature of the course. Students will be required to see no less than three specific performances from a selection of productions by the Oglethorpe University Theatre Department, Capitol City Opera Company, Georgia Shakespeare, and Actor’s Express. Additional, optional opportunities will be provided, including the Center for Puppetry Arts and student productions by Rehearsal Room C.

FOC 101-215 Fresh Focus: Siege of Atlanta
Dr. Bruce Hetherington, Professor of Economics

The outcome of the American Civil War was not yet decided during the spring of 1864. Grant was bogged down up in Virginia and the Northern Press had labeled him “The Butcher.” With the election of 1864 just a few months away, Lincoln’s re-election was also not certain. The capture of Atlanta, Georgia was going to determine the outcome of both events—the war, and the election. The siege of Atlanta becomes one of the most important events in American history.

FOC 101-216 Fresh Focus: Optimal Health and Vitality: Strategies for Success (Transfer Students Only)
Leanne Henry-Miller, Counseling Center Director

This section, designed for transfer students will explore how optimal physical wellness, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, interpersonal, social and environmental well-being play a role in college success and beyond. Personal testimonials will be used to offer new insights into the college experience of making healthy and safe lifestyle decisions particularly concerning sexual health, alcohol and drug use. Students will also learn how to take advantage of the many curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular opportunities at OU and learn about the various resource offices on campus.

FOC 101-217 Fresh Focus: The Rhetorical Presidency
Dr. Joseph Knippenberg, Professor of Politics

The contrast between our often tongue-tied former president and his often eloquent successor calls our attention to the role of rhetoric and eloquence in democratic political life. We will examine great presidential speeches from Washington and Lincoln through Roosevelt, Kennedy, Reagan, and Obama, seeking to identify what makes a speech and its speaker great.

FOC 101-218 Fresh Focus: Getting the Most out of Oglethorpe (Transfer Students Only)
Lisa Littlefield, Assistant Dean and Director of Career Services

This section, designed for transfer students, seeks to acquaint them with the opportunities and services available to them as students at Oglethorpe. Among these are (1) learning how to take advantage of the many curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular opportunities at OU; (2) learning about the various offices on campus; (3) networking with alumni for career/graduate school exploration; and (4) exploring the skills transfer students will learn in and outside Oglethorpe’s classrooms that will become the foundation for choices after graduation.

Learning communities - First YEAR SEMINAR Sections

FYS 101-225 First Year Seminar: The Poet in Asia
Dr. Robert Steen, Associate Professor of Japanese

Reading non-Western poetry can inspire us to develop new ways of seeing. "The Poet in Asia" provides an introduction to poetry from four Asian countries. We will read selections from The Ramayana (India), the T’ang period poetry of Li Po and Tu Fu (China), the poetry of Rumi (Persia), and Basho’s Narrow Road to the Deep North (Japan). We shall see what we can learn about the ways of seeing that produced such extraordinary works and writers. Readings and discussions will be coordinated with Narratives of the Self. This course is part of the Learning Community. Enrollment in COR 101-245 is required to take this course.

FYS 101-226 First Year Seminar: Creative Problem Solving (recommended for science students)
Dr. Michael Rulison, Professor of Physics

Most of us are linear thinkers when it comes to solving problems, whether they are math problems, logic problems, social problems, decision-making situations . . . you name it. Often, this linear problem solving approach is appropriate, but enlarging your toolbox of thinking strategies enables you to approach problems in unique, creative, and fruitful ways. You will find this skill valuable no matter the area of application. This course is part of the Learning Community. Enrollment in COR 101-110 is required to take this course.

FYS 101-227 First Year Seminar: The Written Word Endures (littera scripta manet)
Anne Salter, Director of Philip Weltner Library

This course provides an eclectic overview of scholarly resources and their development while providing opportunities to explore in-depth online research tools of the 21st century. Students will become aware of the development of the printed word with special focus on the book. Investigations and assignments will be constructed around the Oglethorpe University Archives and its contents, the facsimile edition of the Book of Kells, and online digital initiatives. This course is part of the Learning Community. Enrollment in COR 101-156 is required to take this course.

FYS 101-228 First Year Seminar: Road Stories
Dr. Nicholas Maher, Associate Professor of History

In this course we will explore Road Stories in literature and film. Road Stories, with their departure-and-return, escape-and-discovery and protest-and-heal frameworks, allow us to examine the relationship between the individual and society. If we accept that any journey in search for national, regional, or individual identities is a “road story,” we will be able to use these narratives as a way to organize and guide our own individual and group trips around the city of Atlanta in search for insights into how we define ourselves and how we understand the larger communities within which we live. Finally, we will look at how the final act of the road story is not the “return home,” but is in the Telling of the story. This course is part of the Learning Community. Enrollment in COR 101-111 is required to take this course.

FYS 101-229 First Year Seminar: The Future of Humankind: Culture, Technology, and Exploration
Dr. Jeffrey Collins, Director of Study Abroad and Lecturer in Art History

This course will explore the future of humankind, based in futurist studies, not science fiction. Based in readings and discussion from generalists’ texts dealing with AI, space exploration, robotics, virtual reality, nanoscience, and genetics, this course examines the coming revolutions that will ultimately transform humankind. Our discussions will focus on the role these nascent technologies will play in global, cultural, and biological transformations of what it means to be human. No previous coursework in any of these fields is required. Laptops are essential, but sharing is permitted. This course is part of the Learning Community. Enrollment in COR-104-210 is required to take this course.

FYS 101-230 First Year Seminar: Out of the Inferno: Dante’s Divine Comedy
Dr. John Nardo, Associate Professor of Mathematics

The flowering of knowledge called the Renaissance had powerful roots in Italy, and it has had repercussions in almost all fields of modern academic life. In this course, we will explore the first volume of Dante’s epic poem The Divine Comedy. Our close reading of Inferno will be an excellent companion, counter-point, and laboratory for exploring the issues raised in Narratives of the Self. We will have a class field trip to the High Museum to see art work from the Italian Renaissance period. Readings and discussions will be coordinated with Narratives of the Self. This course is part of the Learning Community. Enrollment in COR-101-146 is required to take this course.

FYS 101-231 First Year Seminar: The Civically Engaged Reader
Tamara Nash, Director of the Center for Civic Engagement

In this seminar we will explore numerous ways to make a difference by meeting with Atlanta’s nonprofit, corporate, education and civic leaders who have dedicated their lives to helping others. We will also visit one of Atlanta’s historic landmarks which illustrates examples of leadership through service. This course is part of the Learning Community. Enrollment in COR-101-112 is required to take this course.

FYS 101-232 First Year Seminar: Disease In Our Times
Dr. Karen Schmeichel, Assistant Professor of Biology

We are constantly bombarded by news reports regarding the latest disease outbreaks and medical breakthroughs, but how do we navigate through this information making sensible choices for ourselves and those around us? What national and international agencies and policies are in place to assist us in managing the diseases that are seemingly resistant to current scientific technology? In this section, we will explore the history of public health and compare the practice of public health in the United States with other, less affluent countries. We will explore the basics of infectious diseases (e.g., HIV-AIDS) and understand how certain chronic diseases (i.e., non-infectious diseases like many cancers) are of growing concern for populations across the world. Because Atlanta is “home” for some of our country’s most influential public health organizations (e.g., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The Carter Center), we will have ample opportunity to explore the work being done in “our backyard” to address questions pertaining to disease in our times. This course is part of the Learning Community. Enrollment in BIO-101 and satisfaction of mathematics prerequisites are required to take this course.

Fall 2009 Seminar Selection Preference Form