Freshman Seminar Program

Fall Quarter 2012 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 important registration 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!

Undergraduate advising office contact information

Department of Bioengineering

Articular Cartilage and Intervertebral Disc: Damage and Degeneration
BENG 87 D00
Section ID: 758479
Sah, Robert  (Email: rsah@ucsd.edu)  &
   Masuda, Koichi  (Email: komasuda@ucsd.edu)
Location: PFBH  391
Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 9:50 a.m.
Seminar will meet Sept 28; Oct 5, 19; Nov 2, 16, 30

Damage and degeneration of articular cartilage and intervertebral disc occur frequently and lead to osteoarthritis and back pain. We will discuss research on the causes of deterioration of these skeletal tissues. In addition, one session will introduce microCT imaging.

Biomaterials for Tissue Repair
BENG 87 A00
Section ID: 755810
Christman, Karen  (Email: christman@bioeng.ucsd.edu)
Location: SCRM 1013
Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.
Seminar will meet October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, November 7, 14, 28 (Bldg. Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine)

A new generation of biomaterials are being designed to encourage endogenous healing instead of being permanent prostheses. This course will explore the use of biomaterials for the regeneration and repair of a variety of tissues including the heart, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue.

Engineering the Heart
BENG 87 B00
Section ID: 755811
McCulloch, Andrew  (Email: amcculloch@ucsd.edu)  &
   Omens, Jeffrey  (Email: jomens@ucsd.edu)
Location: PFBH  291
Thursdays, 2:00 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

Explore the function of the remarkable human heart in health and disease as seen through the eyes of engineers. How do bioengineers at UCSD measure, analyze and model heart structure and function? What new insights into heart diseases and therapies for the ailing heart has bioengineering produced?

Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Bioengineering
BENG 87 C00
Section ID: 755812
Schmid-Schoenbein, Geert  (Email: gwss@bioeng.ucsd.edu)
Location: PFBH  291
Wednesdays, 4:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

Overview of recent developments in Bioeng. nationwide,and in the State of Calif. Technological developments,recent conceptual approaches,and new topics in bioeng. Advancement in professional practice in bioeng. with application to modern medical problems. Social implications of bioeng. advancements.

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Division of Biological Sciences

Earth's Fragile Biosphere
BILD 87 A00
Section ID: 755813
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

Crime Scene Investigations: Fact and Fiction
CHEM 87 A00
Section ID: 755814
Weizman, Haim  (Email: hweizman@chem.ucsd.edu)
Location: NSB  3211
Thursdays, 3:30 p.m. to 4:50 p.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.

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Department of Cognitive Science

Gesture & Nonverbal Communication
COGS 87 A00
Section ID: 755815
Coulson, Seana  (Email: scoulson@ucsd.edu)
Location:  
Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

Why is talking on the phone different from video chat? Phone conversations lack nonverbal aspects of communication. This seminar will address how we understand gestures. Discussion topics include gender & cross-cultural differences, gesture in the blind and the deaf, and whether primates gesture.

How Humans Read Other Minds
COGS 87 B00
Section ID: 755816
Pineda, Jaime  (Email: pineda@cogsci.ucsd.edu)
Location:  
Mondays, 9:00 a.m. to 9:50 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.

How Minds and Groups Make Religion and Superstition
COGS 87 C00
Section ID: 758481
Deák, Gedeon  (Email: deak@cogsci.ucsd.edu)
Location:  
Thursdays, 2:00 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

Why do humans, individually and in groups, attribute natural events to supernatural agents? How does the human brain accept religious beliefs, even in the face of contradictory evidence? We will examine how cognitive, developmental, and cultural factors work together to cause humans to believe in the supernatural.

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Department of Computer Science & Engineering

Introduction to Robotics
CSE 87 A00
Section ID: 755817
Kastner, Ryan  (Email: rkastner@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

This class provides an introduction to robotics. The class is centered around programming a simple robot to perform a variety of tasks. It will describe how different sensors and actuators function, and how to use them in concert to execute various jobs.

Smart Phone Programming
CSE 87 B00
Section ID: 755818
Kastner, Ryan  (Email: rkastner@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

This seminar provides an overview of mobile phone programming using the AppInventor programming environment. Students will perform a series of hands on projects on their own or provided Android phones. No previous programming experience is required.

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Eleanor Roosevelt College

God, Satan, and the Desert Encounter ($95 trip fee)
ERC 87 B00
Section ID: 755820
Herbst, Matthew  (Email: mtherbst@ucsd.edu)
Location: ERCA  201
Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.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: 755819
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: 755821
Havis, Allan  (Email: ahavis@ucsd.edu)
Location: MCC 221
Tuesdays, 3:30 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-8

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 A00
Section ID: 755851
Havis, Allan  (Email: ahavis@ucsd.edu)
Location: MCC  221
Tuesdays, 4:30 p.m. to 5:20 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-8

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.

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Department of History

Che Guevara: Myth, Icon, Message
HITO 87 C00
Section ID: 
Widener, Daniel  (Email: dwidener@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

Ernesto "Che" Guevara is one of the most visible symbols of the turbulent 1960s. This course examines Guevara as a figure and an icon, examining his youth, his role in the Cuban revolution, and his transformation into a global icon.

Piracy in Popular Culture
HITO 87 A00
Section ID: 758093
Hanna, Mark  (Email: m1hanna@ucsd.edu)
Location: HSS  4025
Wednesdays, 1:00 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

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.

Rasta and Resistance
HITO 87 B00
Section ID: 
Widener, Daniel  (Email: dwidener@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

This course traces the development of Rastafarianism, from its 1930s origins as a rural Jamaican folk religion through its development into an anticolonial force, its linkages with reggae music, and its diffusion into contemporary "world" culture.

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Department of Linguistics

How To Create a Language
LIGN 87 A00
Section ID: 755823
Goodall, Grant  (Email: goodall@ling.ucsd.edu)
Location: APM  4301
Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

Students will get started on constructing their own language, will explore the structure of some existing constructed languages (e.g. Esperanto, Klingon, Na'vi), and will learn to have basic conversations in these languages.

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Department of Literature

Jane Austen's World
LTEN 87 A00
Section ID: 
Johnson, Sara  (Email: sejohn@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

This class explores the social world and legacy of Jane Austen. Through a study of historical biography, film, and Austen's novels Pride and Prejudice and Lady Susan, we examine life in England during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Our focus is on social hierarchies, the expected role of women, and public etiquette.

Reading Television
LTCS 87 A00
Section ID: 755824
Wesling, Meg  (Email: mwesling@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

How does television shape our world? What are the social and personal effects of commercial television and advertising? What kind of world does television depict, and to whose benefit? We will study gender, race, and sexuality in family drama, sitcom, TV news, and reality TV.

Vampires on Film
LTWL 87 A00
Section ID: 755825
Lampert-Weissig, Lisa  (Email: llampert@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

We will examine the portrayal of vampires in films ranging from Murnau's 1922 classic Nosferatu to Twilight. How has the representation of vampires changed over the years? More information at www.talesofthenight.com.

Zombies: An Unnatural History
LTWL 87 B00
Section ID: 755826
Lampert-Weissig, Lisa  (Email: llampert@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

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: 755828
Bunch, James  (Email: jbunch@ucsd.edu)
Location: APM  6402
Wednesdays, 3:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct 3, 10, 17, 24

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: 755827
Harel, Guershon  (Email: harel@math.ucsd.edu)
Location: APM  6218
Tuesdays, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct 2, 9, 16, 23

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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Department of Music

Forbidden Music, Hidden Language
MUS 87 A00
Section ID: 755829
Narucki, Susan  (Email: snarucki@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

Oppressive political regimes have attempted to silence musicians and ban their works. Many continued despite enormous personal risk, creating music that transcends time and circumstance. We will examine several works including some written during the Holocaust in defiance of the Nazi regime.

Frank Zappa: Incomparable Son of El Cajon
MUS 87 B00
Section ID: 758094
Narucki, Susan  (Email: snarucki@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

Frank Zappa was a rock music icon, and leader of the band The Mothers of Invention. He was also a composer of classical contemporary music played by symphony orchestras, and an outspoken critic of American culture. This seminar takes a look at the life, times and music of El Cajon's incomparable son.

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Department of Philosophy

Individual Liberty and its Limits
PHIL 87 A00
Section ID: 755830
Doppelt, Gerald  (Email: jdoppelt@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

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 Physics

From Quarks to Cosmos
PHYS 87 A00
Section ID: 755831
Fuller, George  (Email: gfuller@ucsd.edu)
Location: SERF 329
Tuesdays, 4:00 p.m. to 4:50p.m.
Meeting Dates: TBA

A fascinating interplay of the very small and the very large has governed the evolution of the universe. The stuff we are made of was cooked in the early universe and in the hellish interiors of massive stars. The lion's share of the matter and energy in the universe is in unknown forms that must have bizarre properties

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Department of Political Science

Power in Fiction
POLI 87 A00
Section ID: 755832
Strom, Kaare  (Email: kstrom@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

Power is a critical part of politics. This seminar will 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

Exploration and Discovery
SIO 87 A00
Section ID: 758095
Stegman, Dave  (Email: dstegman@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

Seminar focuses on how human nature is exemplified by intrepid adventurers who have journeyed into the most remote and harsh environments in the name of scientific discovery. Pushing the frontiers of human knowledge requires confronting unknown lands, oceans, and beyond.

Volcanoes: An Introduction
SIO 87 B00
Section ID: 755835
Cook, Geoffrey  (Email: gwcook@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

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

Childhood in America
SOCI 87 A00
Section ID: 755836
Klatch, Rebecca  (Email: rklatch@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

This seminar includes discussion of issues affecting childhood in contemporary American society such as the effects of consumer culture on childhood, the socialization of race and gender during childhood, and the new pressures and disappearance of childhood compared to the past.

Globalization and the Exploitation of Children
SOCI 87 C00
Section ID: 755838
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 Structural Engineering

Smart Structures: Reality, Potential and Challenges
SE 87 A00
Section ID: 755834
Lanza Di Scalea, Francesco  (Email: flanza@ucsd.edu)
Location: New Bldg SME 
Thrs, Fri, Mon, Tues, Wed, see dates below to
Seminar will meet R (9/27) : 1:00-2:50pm F (9/28): 1:00-2:50pm M (10/1): 1:00-2:50pm T (10/2): 1:00-2:50pm W (10/3): 1:00-2:50pm

Overview of "nerves" (sensors), "muscles" (actuators), and "brain" (processing) that make a structure actively respond to the outside world.

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The Study of Religion

Beginning Meditation and the Four Noble Truths
RELI 87 A00
Section ID: 758484
Verdicchio, pasquale  (Email: pverdicchio@ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Date and Time: TBA
Meeting Dates: TBA

During this seminar we will study one of the basics Buddhist text, the Four Noble Truths, and embark on an exploration of meditation in the context of what is regarded as the Buddha's first teachings.

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Department of Theatre & Dance

Dance and Society
TDGE 87 C00
Section ID: 755840
Rincon, Patricia  (Email: princon@ucsd.edu)
Location: DANCE 2
Tuesdays/Thursdays, 4:00 p.m. to 5:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 2-5

This seminar will explore the dynamic, artistic symbiosis between dance-theater, society, and authentic movement vocabulary to reflect the subject matter of "community." Students will be led through movement-explorations, discuss current social topics, and view performances. No dance training necessary.

Production Process: Glengarry Glen Ross
TDGE 87 A00
Section ID: 758096
Porter, Lisa  (Email: ljporter@ucsd.edu)
Location: GH  144
Tuesdays, 4:00 p.m. to 5:20 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 1-6

This introduction to the theatrical production process will use the La Jolla Playhouse production of Glengarry Glen Ross as an explorative case study into performance and collaboration. Students will discuss how creative expression varies in different mediums and the intricacies of live performance.

Theatre in Performance
TDGE 87 B00
Section ID: 755839
Rouse, John  (Email: jrouse@ucsd.edu)
Location: GH  144
Wednesdays, 12:00 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Weeks 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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