Freshman Seminar Program

Program Overview

Fall Quarter 2013 Enrollment Information:

This website provides seminar descriptions, contact information for professors, and specific meeting dates during the enrollment period. Freshman Seminars are open for enrollment first to Freshmen at the beginning of the freshmen enrollment period. Early enrollment is encouraged due to the small class size.

Seminar enrollment takes place in Tritonlink.

First-year Freshmen with Sophomore-standing should visit this page for pre-enrollment instructions.

Seminars are open to Sophomores about a week after Freshmen enrollment started if spaces are available.

Students must have undergraduate status to enroll in Freshman Seminars.

Thank you for visiting the Freshman Seminar quarterly listing and hope you enjoy the course offerings!

Please use the campus Virtual Advising Center, VAC to contact advisors and this listing to find the name of an advisor, Undergraduate advising office contact information

Department of Anthropology

Indigenous Peoples of Latin America: Whose Visions, Whose Voices?
ANTH 87 A00
Section ID: 788829
Postero, Nancy  (Email: npostero@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

What does it mean to be indigenous in present-day Latin America? Stewards of the rainforest? Political activists? We'll look at anthropological accounts, documentaries, and websites to make sense of the mosaic of Indian images and voices. We will focus on Bolivia, where an indigenous-led government is making revolutionary changes to society.

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Division of Biological Sciences

Earth's Fragile Biosphere
BILD 87 A00
Section ID: 790026
Saier, Milton  (Email: msaier@ucsd.edu)
Location: BIO  1129
Tuesdays, 1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-10

This seminar will address the consequences of human activity on the Earth's biosphere. Topics include species extinction, global warming, habitat destruction, individual responsibility to future generations, and human values/morals.

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Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Chemistry in the Industrial World
CHEM 87 C00
Section ID: 788850
Albizati, Kim  (Email: kalbizati@ucsd.edu)
Location: NSB 3211
Tuesdays, 9:00 a.m. to 9:50 a.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-10

The course will discuss an overview of the Chemistry-Industrial Complex, including the basics of the chemical value chain, the pharmaceutical industry, chemical producers, energy producers and small biotech and cleantech companies. Career path options will be discussed and compared to academia and government-based science organizations.

Crime Scene Investigations: Fact and Fiction
CHEM 87 B00
Section ID: 788830
Weizman, Haim  (Email: hweizman@chem.ucsd.edu)
Location: NSB  3211
Thursdays, 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

The science behind criminal forensics will be explored in this course. Subjects will include chemical analysis, DNA typing, firearms identification, and others.

Teaching Science: The Challenge
CHEM 87 A00
Section ID: 784278
Czworkowski, John  (Email: jczworko@ucsd.edu)
Location: NSB  3211
Thursdays, 3:30 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 2-7

Why do so many students seem unable or unwilling to learn science? Is this due to ineffective instruction, or are the difficulties inevitable? How can teaching make science intrinsically stimulating for all students? How can a teaching career be fulfilling and rewarding?

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Department of Cognitive Science

How Humans Read Other Minds
COGS 87 B00
Section ID: 788832
Pineda, Jaime  (Email: pineda@cogsci.ucsd.edu)
Location: CSB  003
Mondays, 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

The existence of mirror neurons in the brain explains unique processes such as mindreading, the ability to make inferences about the actions of others. Mirroring provides a rational basis for the study of empathy, theory of mind, and other social behaviors.

What is Mathematics? A view from Cognitive Science
COGS 87 A00
Section ID: 788831
Nunez, Rafael  (Email: nunez@cogsci.ucsd.edu)
Location: CSB  003
Mondays, 9:00 a.m. to 9:50 a.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

What is mathematics? Why is it so effective? Is it the ultimate universal language? Does it exist out there in the universe? Or is it invented by humans? If yes, how? This seminar introduces students to the question of the nature of mathematics through the perspective of cognitive science the multidisciplinary scientific study of the mind.

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Department of Computer Science & Engineering

Computing and the universe
CSE 87 B00
Section ID: 789303
Papakonstantinou, Yannis  (Email: yannis@cs.ucsd.edu)
Location: EBU3B 3217
Fridays, 4:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-10

Imagine a powerful computer that behaves as a human. Is it conscious? Imagine a computer simulating a universe. Could it be our universe? If so, is God a programmer?! Starting from articles & classic sci-fi movies, we ponder how computing may shape the future and our approach to big questions.

The Science of Casino Games
CSE 87 A00
Section ID: 788833
Pasquale, Joseph  (Email: pasquale@cs.ucsd.edu)
Location: CENTR 204
Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. to 7:20 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-10

How do casino games work? Who has the advantage (you or the house), by how much, and why? Is there a way to play optimally, and do "betting systems" work? In this seminar, we explore the science - in terms of mathematics, computation, and even physics - behind popular casino games.

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Eleanor Roosevelt College

God, Satan, and the Desert Encounter ($95 Fee)
ERC 87 B00
Section ID: 781610
Herbst, Matthew  (Email: mtherbst@ucsd.edu)
Location: ERCA  201
Tuesdays, 12:00 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

This seminar offers an introductory examination of the desert in religious and cultural traditions. The desert has been viewed as a wasteland and the abode of the devil, but also a source of life, enlightenment, and holiness. This course includes a weekend overnight trip to the desert (a $95 fee is required).

God, Sex, Chocolate: Desire and the Spiritual Path
ERC 87 A00
Section ID: 781609
Herbst, Matthew  (Email: mtherbst@ucsd.edu)
Location: ERCA  201
Mondays, 3:00 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

Who shapes our desire? Who suffers for it? Do we control our desire or does desire control us? When we yield to desire, do we become more fully ourselves or must we deny it to find an authentic identity beneath? How have religious & philosophical approaches dealt with the problem of desire?

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Film Studies

Cult Films of 1950s-2000s
FILM 87 B00
Section ID: 788835
Havis, Allan  (Email: ahavis@ucsd.edu)
Location: MCC  221
Mondays, 12:00 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-9

Cursory look at enigmatic cult film classics from 1950 to today. Basic aesthetics and ideas of cult films will be celebrated. Films include PSYCHO, WICKERMAN, ROAD WARRIOR, BLADE RUNNER, REPO MAN, HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH, HAROLD & MAUDE.

Fantasy, Sci Fi, & Horror the Last 60 Years
FILM 87 C00
Section ID: 788836
Havis, Allan  (Email: ahavis@ucsd.edu)
Location: MCC  221
Mondays, 1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-9

An entertaining and analytical survey from the 1950s to today of memorable and strange feature films including THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, PSYCHO, BARBARELLA, ROAD WARRIOR, BLADE RUNNER, REPO MAN, DARK CITY, and THE RING. Technical achievement, visual power, and personal nuance will be emphasized.

What Film Can Teach Us About Life
FILM 87 A00
Section ID: 788834
Rahimi, Babak  (Email: brahimi@ucsd.edu)
Location: MCC 221
Mondays, 10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-8

This seminar is about how film can reflect and change our lives. We will discuss movies such as: I Love you, Beth Cooper,American Beauty, Sliding doors, Seventh Seal, Happiness, La Dolce Vita, Taste of Cherry, Do the Right Thing, Christmas Story and others.

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Department of History

Ming China in Short Stories
HITO 87 B00
Section ID: 788838
Schneewind, Sarah  (Email: sschneewind@ucsd.edu)
Location: HSS  3086
Thursdays, 1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

Reading 5-10 short stories from the Ming period (1368-1644), stories meant to be both amusing and moralizing, we will discuss what they reveal about Chinese society, government, religion, economy, and ideology. We will meet emperors, officials, and beggars; wives, prostitutes, and go-betweens; monks, nuns, and Daoist mystics; and gods and ghosts.

Only Yesterday: 1920s and Today
HITO 87 C00
Section ID: 788851
Monteon, Michael  (Email: mmonteon@ucsd.edu)
Location: HSS  4025
Mondays, 2:00 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

Compares 1920s to today. The 20s had everything: a belief in free markets, poor government, illegal drugs (alcohol), gangs related to illegal drugs, horrifying poverty, cultural wars, and wild music. Students will compare the '20s to their own youth before and after the Crash of 2008. F.L. Allen's classic, Only Yesterday, short, free, and online.

Piracy in Popular Culture
HITO 87 A00
Section ID: 788837
Hanna, Mark  (Email: m1hanna@ucsd.edu)
Location: HSS 4025
Mondays, 3:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 2-5

The course explores the depiction of pirates and piracy in the United States in both literature and film following the Age of Sail in the late nineteenth century. We will trace the transformation of piracy from a real terror to American society to the subject of children's stories and dramatic comedies.

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Judaic Studies

What is Judaic Studies?
JUDA 87 A00
Section ID: 790192
Lampert-Weissig, Lisa  (Email: llampert@ucsd.edu)
Location: LIT 237
Thursdays, 1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-10

Judaic Studies encompasses many fields including language, literature, film, history, anthropology, sociology and archaeology. Students will learn about Judaic Studies and its development as a discipline as well as specific opportunities for study, research and travel through Judaic Studies at UCSD.

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Department of Literature

Facebook America
LTWL 87 A00
Section ID: 788839
Rahimi, Babak  (Email: brahimi@ucsd.edu)
Location: LIT  237
Mondays, 4:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

This seminar looks at how Facebook is changing the way Americans interact on social media sites and the complex ways in which such interaction is leading to new forms of sociability. The focus here is on communication and how new discursive practices on sites like Facebook are reconfiguring American national identity.

Zombies: An Unnatural History
LTWL 87 B00
Section ID: 788930
Lampert-Weissig, Lisa  (Email: llampert@ucsd.edu)
Location: LIT  237
Tuesdays, 1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-8

Why are zombies so popular right now? Is the current craze just mindless fun or are there political and social subtexts to -consider? We'll examine the origins of the zombie figure, zombie films of the 1930s and 40s, George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Walking Dead and World War Z. More information at www.talesofthenight.org

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Department of Mathematics

Math in the Movies
MATH 87 B00
Section ID: 788434
Bunch, James  (Email: jbunch@ucsd.edu)
Location: APM  6402
Wednesdays, 3:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-4

Does studying math lead to mental instability and madness, or to social awkwardness and nerdiness? We will view four films and discuss the portrayal of math and mathematicians in them.

Teaching Math: The Challenge
MATH 87 A00
Section ID: 788433
Harel, Guershon  (Email: harel@math.ucsd.edu)
Location: APM  7421
Tuesdays, 12:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-4

Why do so many students seem unable or unwilling to learn mathematics? Which of the difficulties students have in mathematics are due to ineffective instruction and which are inevitable? How can teaching make mathematics stimulating for all students? How can a teaching career be fulfilling?

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Muir College

Exploring Contemporary Issues with Graphic Texts
MUIR 87 A00
Section ID: 788840
Wastal, Carrie  (Email: cwastal@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

This seminar will study and employ simple graphic design as a means for communicating ideas about contemporary issues in culture and society. Prior experience in drawing or graphic design is not needed; however, students may choose to use a free app like Comic Life.

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Department of Music

Musical Games
MUS 87 A00
Section ID: 788841
Dubnov, Shlomo  (Email: sdubnov@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

We will learn about music principles and do some improvisation by creating games with musical materials. Students will learn basic musicanship through playing, interacting and conducting. Some computer examples will be shown as well. No musical knowledge or preconceptions are assumed.

Webern, Wolpe, Feldman: New forms and new sounds for piano
MUS 87 B00
Section ID: 788842
Karis, Aleck  (Email: akaris@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

An in-depth examination of piano music by Anton Webern, Stefan Wolpe and Morton Feldman. These modern masters approached the the piano in a forward-looking way, creating new sounds and fresh colors, with an experimental approach to musical form. Works will be performed in class.

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Department of Philosophy

Individual Liberty and its Limits
PHIL 87 A00
Section ID: 788843
Doppelt, Gerald  (Email: jdoppelt@ucsd.edu)
Location: HSS  8025
Mondays, 4:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Week 1-9

This seminar will examine John Stuart Mill's defense of individual liberty as the basis of legitimate government, ON LIBERTY. We will explore the use of law to regulate pornography, racial hate speech and recreational drug use. Four essays will be read on Mill's theory in light of current controversies.

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Department of Political Science

Power in Fiction
POLI 87 A00
Section ID: 788854
Strom, Kaare  (Email: kstrom@ucsd.edu)
Location: SSB  107
Tuesdays, 10:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-5

Power is a critical but complex part of politics. This seminar will first discuss how power is understood by political scientists. Students will then read and discuss works of fiction that explore the nature, pursuit, use, and abuse of power in different countries and settings.

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Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Volcanoes: An Introduction
SIO 87 A00
Section ID: 788844
Cook, Geoffrey  (Email: gwcook@ucsd.edu)
Location: YORK  3030
Thursdays, 10:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Seminar will meet Week 1-5

Students will be introduced to the fascinating world of volcanoes using a combination of hands-on activities, analogue demonstrations, and a wide variety of multimedia including videos, photos, and computer simulations.

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Department of Sociology

Globalization and the Exploitation of Children
SOCI 87 A00
Section ID: 788852
Evans, Ivan  (Email: ievans@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

This course examines the plight of children in different parts of the world. An examination of slavery, child soldiers, sexual slavery and prostitution raises questions about societal values and the treatment of children in both developing and developed countries.

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Department of Theatre & Dance

Dance Movement Exploration
TDGE 87 A00
Section ID: 788845
Rincon, Patricia  (Email: princon@ucsd.edu)
Location: DANCE 1
Thursdays, 2:00 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 2-5

An introduction to dance movement and understanding your body; a contemporary approach to dancing and its many genres as an expressive medium and form of communication. No dance training necessary. Prerequisites: none

Theatre in Performance
TDGE 87 B00
Section ID: 788846
Rouse, John  (Email: jrouse@ucsd.edu)
Location: GH  254
Tuesdays, 12:30 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.
Seminar will meet Week 2; and Weeks 4-10

We will attend selected departmental productions and hold open forums with the directors, designers, actors, and others involved. Through these examples, we will consider how theatre is made and how each artist contributes.

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Thurgood Marshall College

Representation in Theory and Practice
TMC 87 A00
Section ID: 788847
Desposato, Scott  (Email: swd@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

Representation -what exactly is it, and what types of policies can lead to a system where everyone is represented? We will explore the central definitions of representation, then apply them to current controversies of representation, including the representation of ethnic groups, gender identities, indigenous groups, and minority interests.

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