Academics

FIYS 136 Social Life of Food
David Boden, Assistant Professor of Sociology & Anthropology

Everybody eats. Food may be understood as a very particular aspect of how a culture defines itself; cultures also make use of the eating habits of “others” as a means to define and control them. Most of us get our only experience of other cultures when we eat in “ethnic” restaurants. Chicago is an ideal location for our course. We will make use of this resource by visiting several ethnic markets, culinary classes, restaurants, and similar cuisine-related sites. Part of the enjoyment in eating other cuisines is the exploration of the unfamiliar - not every culture eats the same thing. On the other hand, some things appear to be universal - Coca-Cola is the most widely recognized trademark in the world… often used as a symbol of American culture.  In this course we will investigate several themes about food. First, we will investigate what different cultures will and will not eat. Food is often intimately associated with a culture’s self-definition. For example, dietary restrictions may be understood as a means of establishing an exclusionary social dynamic.

We will also investigate the contexts in which food is grown, hunted, harvested, prepared and consumed. All of these activities are laden with ritual and symbolic meaning. As an example from our own culture, champagne and cake is associated with celebrations; champagne is accompanied with a toast of good will and cakes require a ritualized first slice. Our class will compare and investigate the meanings that are constructed around food and its consumption. A third topic will be the distribution of food. How does food arrive at the table? The search for exotic foods and culinary pleasures has driven much of world history. The English expansion of the 18th and 19th centuries was closely tied to trade in sugar, rum and tea. Finally, what are the results of consumption? America is the most obese country in the world. What does this say about our cultural patterns of eating? Does the danger reside in our patterns of consumption or the food consumed?

As a writing-intensive course, the student will be expected to prepare several research papers demonstrating original thought. Another key aspect of the course will be the keeping of daily food journals. These journals will serve as raw data for an analysis of the student’s social interaction with food.

FIYS 138:  Classical Philosophical Questions

Chad McCracken, Lecturer in Philosophy

We are constantly told that knowledge is important. Knowledge is power, we are told—it’s “half the battle.” It’s always better, supposedly, to have knowledge than to lack it: knowing things somehow makes us better off. But how? And why? What is knowledge, anyway? Does knowledge tell us something about the nature of reality itself, or does it tell us something about how our ideas fit together, or does it just tell us what some widespread social consensus will count as true or justified? How can we be sure when we know something? Is knowledge even possible? Or is it possible in some areas of inquiry—in physics, say, or mathematics—but not in others—morality, say, or religion? Knowledge supposedly helps us do things. In particular, knowledge supposedly helps us make decisions, all sorts of decisions, including moral ones. When faced with tough decisions, we often ask for advice from someone or something that appears to know more—to have more relevant information or more relevant experience—than we do. Why do we do this? In what ways does knowledge help us make decisions? If we had perfect knowledge, would difficult decisions somehow become simple? Or would perfect knowledge render some hard decisions easy while leaving others difficult? Exactly what sort of aid does knowledge provide? Assuming knowledge exists, what can it do for us, and what can’t it do?

This course aims to introduce you to philosophy in a number of ways. First, we will examine a number of important texts from different periods—including texts by Plato, Sophocles, Epictetus, Sextus Empiricus, Descartes, Fichte, Kierkegaard, Moore, Sartre, Nagel, and Nozick—written in different styles and with differing notions about the purpose and nature of philosophy. This will give you a taste of philosophy’s history, and it will also show you a little something about how different philosophers envision—and go to work on—philosophical problems. Second, these texts consider in their various ways a complex of perennially important philosophical topics: the intersection of epistemology—questions about the nature of knowledge—with issues surrounding decision making, particularly ethical decision making. These issues in turn give rise to questions about the nature of reality and about the relationship between universal norms and particular attachments. Third, as you engage with these philosophers and these philosophical questions, you will have to explore your own ideas about what philosophy is, why (or if) it is important, and how it should be done.

FIYS 147:  Government and Markets

Kent Grote, Instructor in Economics

Why is the government involved in some aspects of our lives more than others? Depending on the approach taken, this question can be answered in many different ways and with a broad range of justifications to back up any point of view. Different economists also would provide different responses to this question, especially as it relates to business and markets. However, they would also base their arguments on fundamental economic theories. The primary goal of this course is to develop an understanding of economic theories so that they can be applied to a variety of issues and economic markets, particularly where markets fail to provide for desired outcomes.

The focus of the course will be on those markets and issues where governments typically have become important participants, both in the United States and abroad. Important examples are in education, the environment, health care, big business, social security, poverty, and unemployment. Although the course will be approached from an economic perspective, the topics relate well to other fields of study as well, especially as we will be studying government policies and the politics behind them, as well as the effects of those policies on individuals and the larger society. Since the course will develop and utilize economic models as primary tools for evaluating these issues, students taking this course will not be required to take Economics 110 (Principles of Economics) if they eventually decide to major in either Economics or Business.

FIYS 148:  Psychology Without Borders: Applications of Psychology

Matthew Kelley, Assistant Professor of Psychology

Applied psychologists use scientific methods and knowledge of psychology to solve practical problems of individuals, communities, and organizations. This course will examine the intersection of psychology and a variety of disciplines, including: politics, medicine, business, economics, forensics, marketing, advertising, education, sports, engineering, and public safety. In particular, the course will explore how basic research on fundamental cognitive processes—such as perception, attention, learning, memory, reasoning, problem-solving, and decision making—can enhance our abilities to understand, predict, and change human behavior in a variety of contexts.

FIYS 150:  Making of Mexican Chicago

Steve Rosswurm, Professor of History

You can’t run

And try to hide away

Here it comes

Here comes another day

Where you are

Never really far away

Good morning Aztlán

So runs the chorus of Los Lobos’ “Good Morning Aztlán.” This wonderfully evocative song exudes the painful sense of loss at the heart of the Mexican and Mexican-American experience in the United States and the optimism, joy, resilience, and solidarity embedded in Aztlán.

This course, in the final analysis, focuses on the Mexicans and Mexican-Americans and the worlds they have created – the self-activity that nourishes and sustains Aztlán – but it does so in the wide context that they deserve. That is the only way to understand and appreciate the tremendous growth of foreign-born and native-born Mexicans in Chicago and its suburbs in the past 30 years. (During the 1990s, for example, the former was up by 115%.) Not only will Mexican social and economic changes – especially those produced by NAFTA – be examined, but also the concurrent developments in the Chicago area that made it a destination for so many. All of this, moreover, will be put within the context of Chicago’s history as an immigrant and working-class city.

In the process of doing all this, students will work on reading analytically and writing clearly and precisely. Students also will learn to produce essays that are coherent, well-organized, and persuasive. Class assignments will include oral histories done with Mexican and Mexican- American immigrants.

FIYS 154:  Understanding Language

Jean-Luc Garneau, Professor of French

Language is often taken for granted. We use it as the only means of communication available to us. We never ask ourselves: "What is language?" Language which was looked at by the Ancient Greeks as "Myth" started to be studied scientifically in the nineteenth century. Linguistics made great progress as a science during the twentieth century. All the theories put forth by linguists De Saussure, Hjelmslev, Chomsky, Lamb and Pike showed that language is one of the most important and characteristic forms of human behavior.

Readings chosen from a body of selected articles and books, the fruit of modern linguistic research, will bring you to a better understanding of language. A good understanding of language as a system to express your own experience and knowledge will prove useful to you in your other courses. Every discipline requires the use of language. The better your competence in understanding the workings of language, the better your performance will be in the language. This understanding will also make you a more creative writer.

FIYS 171:  American Public Education: Examination of the Promise of Education for All

Dawn Abt-Perkins, Director of Writing Programs, Professor of Education

America has prided itself on its public education system. Dating back to the founding fathers, the federal government has viewed the maintenance of a successful democracy as dependent on a successful public education system. It is widely accepted that the stability and prosperity of our economic system is also dependent on public education. Yet, how equitable and successful is our public educational system? Do all children in America have access to the same educational opportunities? This course will critically examine factors-- such as school funding formulas, housing patterns, curriculum structures, and racial and ethnic composition of school communities-- that shape the type and quality of educational experiences in today's public schools. Students will explore the consequences and results of new approaches to educational reform under the No Child Left Behind Act and engage in discussions to explore their own solutions to problems of equity in schooling.

We will critically read both academic (book chapters, research articles) and public discussions

(newspaper articles, blogs, YouTube video commentary such as http://www.edin08.com/voicefored) about educational equity and reform. During the course, you will engage in field research to compare and contrast two local school communities—The City of Lake Forest and The City of Waukegan public schools—to analyze and critique how each is approaching school reform.

FIYS 172:  Women, Power & Representation in the Renaissance

Ann Roberts, James D. Vail Professor of Art

Women in the Renaissance were relegated by convention and religious authority to a subordinate position to men. Yet some women overcame these strictures and made profound contributions to their culture. Sometimes these were women who formed intellectual communities that were closed to men, and sometimes they were individuals who acted in spheres that were closed to most women. For example, Elizabeth I, who governed England in the age of Shakespeare, was one of several powerful women political leaders in the Renaissance; the same period saw women develop reputations as literary figures and as religious leaders. Yet whether they were queens or nuns, married or widowed, all women had to operate within a culture that regarded them as inferior on some level, and expressed that notion in various forms of communication.

This course will explore some of the ways that women in the Renaissance overcame the obstacles placed before them to create works of art and to manipulate the culture of their time. Among the topics the class will consider are the role of images in constructing Renaissance notions of women; the manipulation of traditional images of power by women rulers to support their claims to sovereignty; the genres of writing most available to women in the Renaissance, women’s access to art making and patronage activities in the secular world and in the convent; and strategies by which women influenced the style and messages of works of art. We will also consider the relationship between representations of women in the Renaissance and in our own time in films and novels.

The class will use original and secondary sources to develop critical reading skills, and will emphasize in-class discussion of both texts and images. We will work to improve your skills in research, critical analysis and writing, while examining representations of women in many different media, including modern plays and films.

FIYS 187:  World War II: The European Experience

Carol Gayle, Associate Professor of History

World War II is part of American folklore, but we usually look at it from our own point of view, focusing on D-Day and the Normandy invasion. We often forget that this war arose out of European conditions, was fought in large measure in Europe, visited great destruction on that continent, exacted a heavy toll in destruction and human casualties, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, and was inextricably connected with and the crucible for the Holocaust.

Using historical works, literature, and film this course will study World War II in the context of European history. We will begin by exploring the origins of the war in Europe, emphasizing the impact of World War I, the instability of the peace settlement, as well as the rise of Nazism in Germany. Then we will turn to the prelude to the war, including Hitler’s establishment of control in Central and Eastern Europe with the cooperation of the Western Powers (the Munich Agreement of 1938) and the Soviet Union (the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939).

The second part of the seminar will trace the course of the war itself and to examine its impact on European society and culture. We will start with Germany’s attack on Poland in 1939 (the beginning of World War II for Europeans) in the first demonstration of Blitzkrieg warfare, and will continue with the campaigns in Western Europe, including the fall of France, the Battle of Britain, and the extension of the war to North Africa. We will pay particular attention to the German-Russian war, which began in June 1941 and became a titanic struggle of great brutality and great cost, symbolized by the Battle of Stalingrad. We will also try to grapple with the horrors of the genocidal Final Solution and its interconnections with the war.

Finally, we will follow the joining of the Eastern and the Western Fronts in a vise that squeezed Germany into defeat. But as the end of the war approached, conflicts emerged among the victorious allied powers about how to reorganize Europe after victory, leading to a “Cold War” that began to develop soon after the end of the “hot war.”

FIYS 188:  Intercultural Dialogue

Robert Flot, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Intercultural Relations

A multicultural environment is one that includes individuals from a variety of cultural backgrounds and experiences. However, a multicultural environment may be limiting if it does not include opportunities for meaningful interactions between members of the different cultural groups. When meaningful, personal interactions occur among and between students from different cultural groups, an intercultural environment results. This course provides an intercultural experience in which students will have many deep, rich dialogues. A very high level of in-class participation is required from each student in this course. Through the dialogues students will learn about their own cultural identities, and about the cultural identities of the other students in the course.

Throughout the semester the students will:

1. explore their own and the other students’ cultural experiences in various social environmental, and institutional contexts;
2. read, examine, and discuss narratives and historical, psychological, and sociological materials that address the experiences of various cultural groups;
3. participate in exercises that will be debriefed in class and in learning journals;
4. learn about pertinent, cultural issues facing students on campus and in society;
5. learn about the process of social justice; and,
6. visit and experience various ethnic neighborhoods in Chicago.

The goal is to create an experience in which students engage in open and constructive dialogue, learning, and exploration concerning issues of intercultural relations, conflict, and community.

FIYS 194:  Playwrights & Performers: Considering Voice

D. Ohlandt, Director of Theater Programs

What do a trial lawyer, an actor, a speechwriter, and a college student who does well in various classes have in common? They each know the right voice to use to convince different audiences at different times. In this class, you’ll consider and practice the skills you need to develop your own voice as a member of an intellectual community– skills like confidence in public speaking, choosing language appropriate for different audiences and disciplines, structuring an analytic argument, physical and vocal range, using different kinds of evidence (textual, historical, and experiential) to support and illustrate claims, developing concentration and using imagination, and drafting and revising.

As you consider your own voice in writing and speaking, you’ll also explore how the written voice of a playwright becomes the physical voice of a performer. Most theater classes study plays separately from performance techniques. But throughout theater history, actors and directors have developed performance techniques in response to the styles of new plays, and playwrights have developed new literary styles for the techniques of specific performers. In this course we’ll combine a study of dramatic literature with some basic training in some recent acting techniques. You’ll spend part of each unit in a “literature seminar” and the other part in a “studio session,” working to complete a written assignment and a performance assignment. For each unit, we’ll focus on a playwright and a performer who worked together and influenced each other’s professional style and artistic voice. Your studies will be supplemented with field trips to see professional theater productions in Chicago.

FIYS 195:  Segregated Chicago: Race and Politics in the Windy City

Carrie Nordlund, Assistant Professor of Politics

This course is an introduction to the role of race, ethnicity, and politics in Chicago, commonly referred to as “the Windy City.” Our study begins with Mayor Richard J. Daley and the policies enacted by his administration in the 1950s, policies that restricted African-Americans’ access to jobs, housing, medical care, and other city services.

We begin by reading Boss by Mike Royko and we will hold one of our first classes in Chicago which will include a discussion of the themes presented in Royko’s insightful account of Mayor Daley. The city of Chicago will play a prominent role during the course of our studies. You will explore Chicago through frequent trips to the city – from walking the many distinct neighborhoods to riding the “el” in order to understand the politics of public transportation. These and other experiences will allow you to gain a deeper understanding of the racial politics that built this city.

Additionally, we will examine the recent trends of emerging racial and ethnic communities represented in the city: Asian, Mexican, Latino, Hispanic, and Muslim Arab populations. These racial communities face little to no representation in City Hall. Issues of representation, political power, and racial segregation will provide the themes for this class. What processes and policies continue to segregate Chicago along racial and socio-economic lines?

This course is designed for a student who is curious about Chicago and the politics of race. A main focus for students will be development of writing and critical thinking skills. By the end of the semester students will be able to see their upward progress as a writer and Lake Forest College student.

FIYS 196:  American Playwrights: Chicago View

Benjamin Goluboff, Associate Professor of English

American Playwrights is an introduction, through drama, to the study of literature. As we read together a variety of plays by American writers, students will be asked to develop skills as critical thinkers and writers.

At the heart of the course will be a series of at least five mandatory field trips to theater productions in Chicago, trips through which students will be exposed to the diversity of the Chicago theater scene, from the mainstream to the fringe. The plays will likely include works by Eugene O¹Neill, David Mamet, August Wilson, Clifford Odets, and Arthur Miller. Themes to be discussed will certainly include American identity and community, and versions of American history as it is redacted through the playwright’s imagination.

FIYS 197:  Foundations of Economic Thinking

Robert Lemke, Associate Professor of Economics

Since the world is not endowed with an unlimited supply of goods, natural resources or time, almost all choices involve tradeoffs. One more hour worked, for example, is one less hour spent with family or friends. Educating one more doctor means having one less college graduate who could become an elementary school teacher. And so on. Economics is the study of human decisions when facing such tradeoffs. Engaging in clear economic thinking enables one to think seriously about problems and to hopefully provide good solutions. This is why studying economics is so valuable regardless of one’s career. CEOs, factory workers, politicians, lawyers, voters, parents, students, indeed everyone is affected by economics.

Set in a classroom environment that elicits student participation and requires critical analysis, this class provides an introduction to economic thought using various supplements, including academic texts, media productions, and popular books. We will study the standard curriculum of a “Principles” class, but we will focus more on the fundamental foundations of economic thought. In addition to covering the traditional topics of supply & demand, household theory, competition, fiscal policy, and monetary policy, particular attention will be given to globalization, financial markets, and information economics.

This class is targeted to all students, not just economics majors. It is designed particularly for students who are unsure of their major and who want to learn about economics while developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students taking this course will not be required to take Economics 110 (Principles of Economics) if they eventually decide to major in either Economics or Business. The interested student should read the course syllabus at http://campus.lakeforest.edu/~lemke/fiys197/. Please direct email inquires about the course to me at lemke@lakeforest.edu. You can learn more about my teaching and research interests at http://campus.lakeforest.edu/~lemke/.

Note: This course will cover a large curriculum in addition to being a writing-intensive First-Year Studies course. Students will be expected to attend weekly problem sessions and make presentations outside of normally scheduled class time.

FIYS 198:  How Chicago Got Its Stars

Virginia Stewart, Visiting Professor of History

Have you ever seen the flag of the City of Chicago? It has four stars, each commemorating a landmark event – the Fort Dearborn Massacre (1815), the Chicago Fire (1871), the World’s Columbian Exposition (1893), and the Century of Progress Exposition (1933-34). Starting with these events, this course will investigate Chicago history and popular culture in four significant eras. Students will read history and fiction, visit museums and sites, and analyze media representations of the development of a four-star city, 1803-1933.

To review a list of all previous and current First-Year Studies course offerings, click here.