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Center for Chicago Programs > Chicago-related Courses
Lake Forest College has made a strong commitment to enhance the first year experience for its students. A decade after the formation of its First Year Studies program of small seminars, the College now wishes to expand the goal of this initiative to create a geographically-extended classroom, capitalizing on its proximity to Chicago. Through the creation of partnerships with a variety of cultural, educational, financial, research, and scientific institutions in the city and its metropolitan environs, we expect to engage students in an active learning process that will integrate the theoretical with the practical, expose them to dynamic cultural and civic experiences, and encourage them to become responsible citizens of the global community. These connections with Chicago institutions will infuse the curriculum with new possibilities for experiential learning and have a broad impact on the College beyond the first year experience. In addition, they will provide a model for other liberal arts colleges near a large and culturally rich metropolis. Support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will enable us to realize this goal. These courses were developed and underwritten by a generous Mellon Foundation grant, and each year this list continues to expand. Here is a sampling of the classes offered:
2007
Chicago in the Global Economy: A Cross-Cultural Perspective (Les Dlabay/Business)
Exploring Adolescence: The Role of Chicago School Experiences (Rachel Ragland/Education)
Place and Social Memory in Chicago (Holly Swyers/Sociology and Anthropology)
Chicago's Melting Pot: Race, Class and Ethnicity in 20th Century City (Catherine Weidner/History)
2006
Envisioning Chicago: Photographing and Writing the Chicago Landscape (Jim Barilla/English)
Exploring Cultural Stereotypes in Context: From Chicago to Paris (Cynthia Hahn/Foreign Languages)
The Funding of Public Education in Chicago (Robert Lemke/Economics)
Reading Performance in Chicago (Richard Pettengill/English, Theater)
Public Sculpture in Urban and Suburban Chicago (Eli Robb/Art)
Abraham Lincoln and Chicago (Steve Rosswurm/History)
2005
Writing Chicago (Robert Archambeau/English)
Chicago's Latino Communities (Lois Barr/Foreign Languages)
Medical Mysteries: neuroscience in Chicago (Shubhik DebBurman/Biology)
General Chemistry Laboratory: Chicago's Water (Lori Del Negro/Chemistry)
Collage and Culture in Chicago (Tom Denlinger/Art)
Chicago as History (Michael Ebner/History)
History and Science of Sailing (Joseph Hummel/Mathematics & Computer Science)
War and the Challenge of Pacificism (Louis Lombardi/Philosophy)
2004
The Tame and the Wild (Janet McCracken/Philosophy)
Civilization and Barbarism (Rui Zhu/Philosophy)
Independent Media in Chicago (David Park/Communication)
Producing the Text at Chicago's Victory Gardens Theater (Richard Pettengill/English, Theater)
Religions of Asia in Chicago (Catherine Benton/Religion)
General Chemistry Laboratory and Medicine (Elizabeth W. Fischer '72 & Laura Kateley/Chemistry)
2003
Music in Chicago (Kirk-Evan Billet/Music)
Richard Wright & the Chicago Renaissance (Judith Dozier/English)
Cultivating Ancient Worlds (Richard Fisher/Foreign Languages)
Natural History of Chicago (Caleb Gordon/Biology)
America and the War on Terrorism (James Marquardt/Politics)
Performing Gender (Tracy McCabe/English)
Chicago's Labor History (Steve Rosswurm/History)
Sociology and Chicago (Ahmad Sadri/ Sociology and Anthropology)
Musical Acoustics (Scott Schappe/Physics)
Literature, Art and Rebellious Consumerism (Davis Schneiderman/English)
Roots Music in American Society (Rand Smith/Politics)