First-year Seminar Program

Fall Quarter 2005 Enrollment Information

First-year Seminars are open first to all first-year students including first-year freshman with sophomore standing during the first-year student enrollment period. Incoming first-year students with sophomore standing should use the campus Course Pre-Authorization system to be cleared to enroll in a seminar and then use WebReg to enroll in seminars during your enrollment time.

Early enrollment is encouraged due to the small class size.

Visit the Schedule of Classes to see enrollments (select all departments and 87.) Use WebReg to enroll in seminars during your enrollment period.

Sophomores may enroll directly in first-year seminars by using WebReg after the freshman enrollment period and if seats are available.

Please use the campus Course Pre-Authorization system if you have an enrollment question.

Please use the Virtual Advising Center, VAC to contact the advisor of the department or program offering the seminar for all non-enrollment questions.

Chimpanzees
ANLD 87 A00
Section ID: 545816
Moore, Jim (jjmoore@ucsd.edu)
Location: SSB 105
Thursdays, 12:30 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 22, 29; Oct. 13, 20, 27; Nov. 3, 10, 17.

Chimpanzees are more closely related to humans than they are to gorillas. They are endangered in the wild, used in show business and biomedical research (and pets) in captivity, and some have said their hope for survival is in zoos. This seminar will look at the status--biological, conservation, and ethical--of wild and captive chimpanzees.

Global Citizens or Global Consumers? Linking your Wallet to your Conscience
SOCL 87 B00
Section ID: 545845
Linton, April (aplinton@ucsd.edu)
Location: SSB 101
Wednesdays, 4:00 p.m. to 5:40 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26; Nov. 2.

This seminar will activate or enhance students' awareness of issues surrounding global trade, development, and inequality by looking at where the foods and clothes we consume come from and how they get to us.

Indigenous Peoples of Latin America: Whose Visions, Whose Voices?
ANLD 87 B00
Section ID: 545817
Postero, Nancy (npostero@ucsd.edu)
Location: SSB 105
Fridays, 10:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 23, 30; Oct. 7, 21; Nov 18.

What does it mean to be indigenous in present-day Latin America? Stewards of the rainforest? Impoverished victims? Political activists? We'll look at anthropological accounts, first person testimonies, media documentaries, and internet websites to make sense of the mosaic of Indian images and voices.

Multiracial Identities in America Today
SOCL 87 A00
Section ID: 545844
Evans, Ivan (ievans@ucsd.edu)
Location: SSB 102
Wednesdays, 1:00 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26; Nov. 2.

As more Americans identify themselves with their multiple--African, Asian, Latino and European—ancestries, the cultural politics of race in America has changed significantly. Drawing on recent movies and from the experiences of students, this seminar explores the emergence and significance of this development.

Department of Bioengineering

Bioengineering of Red Blood Cells
BENG 87 B00
Section ID: 545819
Sung, Amy (amysung@bioeng.ucsd.edu)
Location: PFBH 391
Thursdays, 12:00 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 22, 29; Oct. 13, 20, 27; Nov. 3, 10, 17.

How red blood cells are generated from the embryonic stem cells or hematopoietic stem cells. How molecules are produced and assembled into complexes and network. How mutations in hemoglobin and membrane skeletal proteins result in diseases of hemolytic anemia.

Bioengineering Opportunities in Basic and Clinical Cardiovascular Research
BENG 87 A00
Section ID: 545818
Giles, Wayne (wgiles@bioeng.ucsd.edu)
Location: PFBH 291
Wednesdays, 2:00 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 28; Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26; Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30.

This seminar will explore opportunities for multidisciplinary research and training in cardiovascular research. Discussions will include broad questions such as: What is a cardiac pacemaker device? What is an ion channel? What opportunities for research, education, and employment are available in 2005 and beyond?

Division of Biological Sciences

Animal Behavior: Why do animals do what they do?
BILD 87 A00
Section ID: 545820
Marchetti, Karen (kmarchetti@ucsd.edu)
Location: BIO 1103
Mondays, 12:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 3, 17, 31; Nov. 14, 28.

This course will use BBC video series on animal behavior to introduce students to the behavior of animals in the wild. The different behaviors, and mechanisms explaining the evolution of behavior will be discussed in light of the content of each week's video.

Earth's Fragile Biosphere
BILD 87 B00
Section ID: 545821
Saier, Milton (msaier@ucsd.edu)
Location: BIO 1129
Tuesdays, 2:00 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 27; Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25; Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22.

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.

Cinematic Arts and Film Studies

Fantasy and Science Fiction Films of the 1970s/80s
FILM 87 A00
Section ID: 545826
Havis, Allan (ahavis@ucsd.edu)
Location: MCC 221
Tuesdays, 4:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 27; Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25; Nov. 1, 8, 15.

A select look at imaginative and nuanced movies from thirty years ago. Visual power and personal directing statements will be highlighted with such titles as: ERASERHEAD, REPO MAN, THE HUNGER, ROAD WARRIOR, TERMINATOR, DUNE, ALIEN, etc.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering

Neural Networks as Models of the Mind
CSE 87 A00
Section ID: 545823
Cottrell, Garrison (gcottrell@ucsd.edu)
Location: EBU3B B270
Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 28; Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26.

This course will introduce students to neural network models of how the mind works. We will discuss models of reading, memory, face recognition, accessing work meanings and learning. We will use existing computer programs that allow us to actually run the models and experience how they work. On the last day, we will take a tour of my lab and have a demonstration of facial expression recognition, using the class as subjects.

Critical Gender Studies

What's Gender and Sexuality Got To Do With It?
CGS 87 A00
Section ID: 545822
Lampland, Martha (mlampland@ucsd.edu)
Location: Tioga Hall 1102
Mondays, 1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 26; Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; Nov. 7, 14.

Gender and sexuality studies are new fields, yet they have changed substantially over the last decade. Here at UCSD, state of the art research is being conducted by many faculty. Professors from several disciplines will present their work. This seminar will meet in Muir College - Tioga Hall on the 11th floor.

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Optoelectronics and Modern Communication Systems
ECE 87 A00
Section ID: 545824
Yu, Paul (pyu@ucsd.edu)
Location: EBU1 ECE4307
Wednesdays, 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 28; Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26; Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30.

This course discusses the basic principles of optoelectronic devices with the underlying properties of electronics and photonics for communication infrastructures, which include faxes, telephone networks and data communication systems. One final test at the end.

Department of Ethnic Studies

Los Angeles' Ethnic and Racial Past
ETHN 87 A00
Section ID: 545825
Molina, Natalia (nmolina@weber.ucsd.edu)
Location: SSB 103
Thursdays, 12:30 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 6, 13, 20, 27; Nov. 3, 10.

Palm trees, the Hollywood sign, the beach- this is what most think of when they think of Los Angeles. But Los Angeles also has a deep ethnic and racial history. Come learn about Pachuco Boogie, Chavez Ravine (the neighborhood that Dodger Stadium now sits on), and East Los Angeles' Jewish roots. The class will mainly use historical texts to recreate this fascinating past.

Department of History

Che Guevara: Myth, Icon, Message
HITO 87 C00
Section ID: 546653
Widener, Daniel (dwidener@ucsd.edu)
Location: HSS 3086
Wednesdays, 6:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 28; Oct. 12, 26; Nov. 8, 15.

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.

Excavating History: The Middle East in the New York Times
HITO 87 B00
Section ID: 545828
Kayali, Hasan (hkayali@ucsd.edu)
Location: HSS 5086
Wednesdays, 10:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 19, 26; Nov. 2, 9, 16.

Coverage of the Middle East in the New York Times will be taken as point of departure to understand contemporary Middle Eastern history with emphasis on the appreciation of diversity in the region.

On the Nature and Origins of Economic Wealth - Cancelled
HITO 87 A00
Section ID: 545827
Bernstein, Michael A. (mbernstein@ucsd.edu)

A reading and discussion of some of the foundational attempts among economic thinkers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to account for the generation and accumulation of wealth in modern societies. Some attention will also be given to transformations of the ideas of these early economists in the hands of twentieth century investigators.

Department of Linguistics

Language and Consciousness
LIGN 87 A00
Section ID: 545348
Kluender, Robert (rkluender@ucsd.edu)
Location: McGill 3133
Thursdays, 3:30 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 29; Oct. 6, 13, 20, 27; Nov. 3, 10, 17.

An investigation of how language is conceived of, perceived, and used in myth, ritual, religion, and altered states of consciousness across cultures (ancient India, China, Greece, and the Judeo-Christian world), and how these views and usages permeate our modern perspective.

Department of Literature

French Film
LTWL 87 A00
Section ID:
Woodhull, Winifred (wwoodhull@ucsd.edu)
Location: LIT 3355
Mondays, 3:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Jan. 9, 23, 30; Feb. 6, 13.

Recent films made in France and other parts of the French-speaking world (Mali, Belgium, Quebec), considered in terms of both the social issues they evoke and formal elements such as narrative structure, setting, lighting, camera work, editing, and sound.

Japanese Film
LTWL 87 B00
Section ID: 545830
Woodhull, Winifred (wwoodhull@ucsd.edu)
Location: LIT 3437
Mondays, 4:00 p.m. to 5:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 26; Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24.

Japanese gangster and horror films. We will examine narrative, settings, lighting, cinematography, editing and sound.

Sex and Love in the Middle Ages
LTWL 87 A00
Section ID: 545829
Lampert-Weissig, Lisa (llampert@ucsd.edu)
Location: LIT 3355
Wednesdays, 1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 28; Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26; Nov. 2, 9, 16.

This course is intended to provide a brief introduction to questions of love and sexuality in medieval texts. We'll explore topics including "courtly love," marriage, same-sex love, and the connection between sexuality and spirituality by reading short selections from Andreas Capellanus' The Art of Courtly Love, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and some surprising selections from medieval legal records and medical treatises.

Department of Music

Beginning Ukulele
MUS 87 C00
Section ID: 545833
Marzullo, Keith (marzullo@cs.ucsd.edu)
Location: TBA
Thursdays, 3:00 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 28; Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26; Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30.

Learn to play the ukulele. Cover how to tune a ukulele, various chords and strums, and several frankly corny songs. Prior experience not needed but should not be afraid of singing. Will also listen to ukulele CDs. Loaner instruments provided.

Improvising Music in a Complex Age
MUS 87 A00
Section ID: 545831
Borgo, David (dborgo@ucsd.edu)
Location: Mandeville B-125
Thursdays, 2:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 13, 20, 27.

Investigates the practice of learning, developing, and performing improvised music in light of current thinking about creativity in the contemporary sciences. Highlighted with examples of improvised music drawn from several stylistic and cultural domains.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
MUS 87 D00
Section ID: 545834
Schick, Steven (sschick@ucsd.edu)
Location: Mandeville 127
Thursdays, 5:00 p.m. to 6:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 27, 29; Oct. 4, 6.

A critical look at the Beatles' most experimental recording. We'll be listening carefully to the music and examine its impact.

Technology and the Future of Music - Cancelled
MUS 87 E00
Section ID: 554879
Steiger, Rand (rand@ucsd.edu)

Since the invention of audio recording and broadcasting, technology has had a profound effect on the way music is created and disseminated. More recently, information and communications technology have had a similarly revolutionary impact, and portend even greater changes in the future. The seminar will consider these changes, and speculate on what is to come.

The Condition of Music
MUS 87 B00
Section ID: 545832
Curtis, Charles (crcurtis@ucsd.edu)
Location: HSS 1346
Tuesdays, 5:00 p.m. to 6:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 4, 6, 11, 13.

Is music "the universal language?" Do "all of the arts constantly aspire to the condition of music?" Is there a truly abstract, unconditional music that transcends culture? How do these issues figure in our personal experience of music? Discussion and listening.

Department of Philosophy

How to Think about the Political
PHIL 87 B00
Section ID: 545836
Hardimon, Michael (mhardimon@ucsd.edu)
Location: HSS 7077
Mondays, 10:30 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 26; Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; Nov. 7, 14.

We will read History and Illusion in Politics (2001) by Raymond Geuss. The book is a critical examination of some of the most widely held and important preconceptions about contemporary politics held in advanced Western societies. Geuss' thesis is that "there is a fundamental incoherence in the way we think about politics, in the most basic tacit assumptions made even by those who disagree most radically on most of the issues that (rightly) concern those in the world of practical everyday politics."

Philosophy Through Science Fiction
PHIL 87 A00
Section ID: 545835
Callender, Craig (ccallender@ucsd.edu)
Location: HSS 7077
Tuesdays, 12:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25.

The course will address various philosophical puzzles raised by science fiction. Topics will include the nature of time, time travel, personal identity and free will, among others. The reading for the course will consist of material from both science fiction and philosophy.

Department of Physics

Supernovae, Black Holes, Quasars: Frontiers of Astronomy at UCSD
PHYS 87 B00
Section ID: 545838
Smith, Harding (hsmith@ucsd.edu)
Location: SERF 329
Tuesdays, 10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25; Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22.

This seminar will examine the frontier research in astronomy currently being carried out at UCSD: stellar and supermassive black holes, active galaxies and quasars, gamma-ray bursts - perhaps the most violent explosions in the Universe.

The Coolest Toys on Campus: Physics and Fun with Lecture Demonstration Equipment
PHYS 87 A00
Section ID: 545837
Jones, Barbara (b2jones@ucsd.edu)
Location: WLH 2123
Mondays, 3:00 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; Nov. 7, 14, 21, 28.

Students will explore the use of Physics lecture demonstration equipment. Existing demos will be examined and new demos created. Students will analyze what the demos are supposed to teach and try them in class to test their effectiveness.

Department of Political Science

International Diplomacy
POLI 87 A00
Section ID: 545839
Roeder, Philip (proeder@ucsd.edu)
Location: SSB 102
Mondays, 2:00 p.m. to 3:20 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; Nov. 7.

A simulation of diplomacy in the United Nations Security Council to solve an international crisis.

Department of Psychology

Be an Instant Expert: Finding Out Stuff in Psychology
PSYC 87 A00
Section ID: 545840
Anstis, Stuart (sanstis@ucsd.edu)
Location: Mandler 1539
Mondays, 3:00 p.m. to 5:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; Nov. 7, 14, 21, 28.

Finding out stuff. Journal research papers, review articles, textbooks, encyclopedia, magazines & newspapers. Searching Library catalogs (Melvyl/Roger); Database (PsycLit, PubMed); Search engines (Google, Ask Jeeves, dogpile.com). Planning and giving a talk: Making PowerPoint slides. We'll practice giving a very short talk.

Make Your Own Movie
PSYC 87 B00
Section ID: 545841
Anstis, Stuart (sanstis@ucsd.edu)
Location: Mandler 1539
Tuesdays, 3:00 p.m. to 5:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25; Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29.

How does the brain construct representations of the world from a disconnected sequence of visual images in a movie? To study this, we will make our own short movies that employ a variety of cinematic techniques. Beginner level. Equipment provided.

Music and Emotion
PSYC 87 C00
Section ID: 545842
Konecni, Vladimir (vkonecni@ucsd.edu)
Location: Mandler 1507
Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 28; Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26; Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30.

This seminar will explore the psychological effects that music (from Baroque to rock & rap) has on listeners. For example, does music produce emotional states that are qualitatively different from those that occur in social interactions?

Department of Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Importance of Natural History: A Sense of Place
SIO 87 A00
Section ID: 545843
Dayton, Paul (pdayton@ucsd.edu)
Location: Vaughn Hall 328
Thursdays, 4:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 22, 29; Oct. 6, 20, 27; Nov. 3, 10, 17; Dec. 1.

This course will rely on both lectures and individual readings to expose students to the value of natural history to both their own relationship with nature as well as their own culture. We will use excerpts from classic books, published papers by authors such as Leopold, Orr, Nabhan, Lopez, Nelson, and other well known nature writers. The readers will be augmented with brief field trips to campus natural sites.

Department of Theatre & Dance

Theatre and Dance in Performance
TDGE 87 A00
Section ID: 545849
Jones, Walt (wajones@ucsd.edu)
Location: GH 157
Fridays, 12:00 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 30; Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28; Nov. 4, 18; Dec. 2.

In this seminar, students will be issued complimentary tickets to attend each of the quarter's live productions produced by the Department of Theatre and Dance. Seminar discussions will analyze the productions and performances, design concepts, as well as frequently comparing the productions with other professional stagings of the same play(s).

Department of Visual Arts

Codes of Seduction
VIS 87 A00
Section ID: 545846
Crandall, Jordan (jcrandall@ucsd.edu)
Location: Mandeville 212
Tuesdays, 6:00 p.m. to 8:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Oct. 4, 11, 18.

Moving across contemporary film, advertising, performance, and online media, this seminar explores the qualities of looking, moving, and gesturing that code seduction. It looks at the ways that such qualities are embodied in specific figures and icons both real and imaginary, and the role that images play in desire's solicitation.

Silver and Turquoise in the Southwest: a Synthesis of Art and Cultures
VIS 87 C00
Section ID: 545848
Newsome, Elizabeth (enewsome@ucsd.edu)
Location: Mandeville 212
Tuesdays, 4:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 27; Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25; Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29.

Today's market for Native American jewelry crafted from silver and turquoise is large and international, ranging from tourists to collectors, museums, art dealers, and high fashion. Part of the appeal of jewelry in this medium to these diverse consumers is its identification with the antiquity of Southwest Indian cultures and the Hispanic heritage of the Southwest. The story of how Spanish metalsmithing was assimilated by smiths from the Navajo, Zuni, and Hopi tribes and combined with the ancient Southwest art of gemcutting in turquoise, seashell, and other precious stones forms a revealing part of the region's history. It concerns the changing landscape of interactions among the region's Native American peoples and the settlers, missionaries, traders, and conquerors who arrived first from Spain, then Mexico, and the United States, impacting every aspect of Indian life. The class will explore both this heritage and the practices of Native American smiths and jewelers who, today, function in a global economic market, while at the same time using their medium to explore their own aesthetic and cultural roots.

The Century of the Self
VIS 87 B00
Section ID: 545847
Gorin, Jean-Pierre (jp.gorin@gmail.com)
Location: Mandeville 103
Mondays, 6:00 p.m. to 8:50 p.m.
Seminar will meet Sept. 26; Oct. 3, 10.

This seminar will offer students the possibility to view and discuss one of the most original documentaries offered by a television network. Produced by the BBC and yet unreleased in the United States, Adam Curtis' acclaimed series examines the rise of the all-consuming self against the backdrop of the Freud dynasty.