Fiat Lux Freshman Seminars
Spring
Quarter 2006
Art History 19, Seminar 1
St. Frida/Santa
Frida: The Art and Life of Frida Kahlo
Charlene Black
This seminar examines the art and life of Frida Kahlo (1907-1957), the
iconoclastic self-portraitist, radical political activist, feminist icon, and
suffering artist. Famous for her disquieting self-portraits, Kahlo is today the
most well-known artist of
Charlene Villaseñor Black combines her commitment to teaching with a
desire to challenge students intellectually in courses on early modern
Classics 19, Seminar 1
The
Emperor and the Slave
David Blank
How should I live? How can I
control my life in a world, which often seems to be against me? Two men of very
different backgrounds, the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the Roman slave
Epictetus, shared the same Stoic philosophy, and their answers to these
questions have been the subject of much interest recently. Their books are
reported to be on the bedside tables of magnates and politicians. Their
philosophy
of Stoicism has also been revived as a respectable option for the modern
philosopher. This seminar will examine the Stoicism of Marcus and Epictetus to
understand its principles and to see how satisfactory it would be as a way to
govern one's life today. Topics of particular interest will be: knowing what is
up to us and what
is not; the place of the individual and of moral responsibility in a world
ruled by fate; moral virtue
as the sole good; ethical writing and spiritual exercise.
Professor David Blank has taught at UCLA since 1980. His work focuses on
ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy, papyrology and the study of language in
Classical Antiquity.
Comparative Literature 19, Seminar 1
The Short Works
of Franz Kafka--or How the Modern World Works
Kathleen Komar
The seminar will examine the short works of one of the world's most
famous and puzzling authors, Franz Kafka. Kafka has been labeled everything
from existentialist to realist, from a mystic to a comic. Implications that
Kafka's unique perspective has for our own times. For each class, students
write three questions based on readings to help shape discussion. Reading of
several of Kafka's short fictions, including The Country Doctor, The
Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, An Old Manuscript, An Empirial Messenger,
Report to An Academy, and The Hunger Artist.
Kathleen L. Komar earned her BA from the
Comparative Literature 19, Seminar 2
Poets and Desire
Ross Shideler
Representations of desire in
poetry take many forms and the object of desire ranges from standard love poems
to the “ideal” that haunts Mallarmé or Yeats and Wallace Stevens. We will read
poems by 19th and 20th-century European and American poets such as: Baudelaire,
Valéry, Södergran, Ekelöf, Tranströmer, Cavafy, Eliot, H.D., and Rilke as well
as other more contemporary poets ranging from Rukeyser to Gluck and Fulton.
While, there will be an emphasis on close reading of poetry, we may read essays
that will illuminate the problem of “desire.”
Ross Shideler is a professor
of Comparative Literature who works on 19th-20th-century Swedish, French,
English and American literature. He has
published many articles, translations of plays by the Swedish author Per Olov
Enquist and of Swedish poets as well as poems of his own. His books include: Voices Under the Ground: Themes and Images
in the Early Poetry of Gunnar Ekelöf, Per
Olov Enquist: A Critical Study; and Questioning
the Father: From Darwin to Zola, Ibsen, Strindberg, and Hardy as well as
having written and edited with Kathleen Komar, Lyrical Symbols and Narrative Transformation.
Comparative Literature 19, Seminar 3
Women Warriors:
Amazons and Others from
Ancient
Katherine C. King
Using art as well as literature to look at society of Amazons as imagined
by ancient Greek cultures. Comparison examination of women warrior figures from
some other cultures, mainly through literature. Analysis of women warriors in
modern American culture through literature, film, and television.
Katherine Callen King is a professor of Comparative Literature and
Classics. She also teaches in the Women's Studies program and the Honors
Collegium. She received a Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992.
English 19, Seminar 1
Word Up: The Oral Tradition in African
American Poetry
For decades,
the oral tradition was the primary mode of literary expression for blacks in
the
Richard
Yarborough is an Associate Professor of English and a Faculty Research
Associate in the Center for African American Studies. Associate general editor
of the Heath Anthology of American
Literature, he is also the director of Northeastern University Press's Library of Black Literature reprint
series. He received UCLA's Distinguished Teaching Award in 1987, and from 1997
through 2001 he served as Director of the Center for African American Studies.
English 19, Seminar 2
Supernatural as Psychological Case Study:
Tales of Le Fanu
Frederick Burwick
Five short
stories that Sheridan Le Fanu published as In a Glass Darkly (1872) are
presented as case studies from records of Dr. Hesselius, specialist in mental
pathology. In discussing these five tales, attention is given to developments
in aberrational psychology during generations prior to Sigmund Freud, to
presumed relationship between occult phenomena and mental derangement, and to
ways in which supernatural tales mirrored psychological case study.
Frederick Burwick is an
Emeritus Professor in the Department of English. He is the author of The Haunted Eye, Illusion and the Drama, Madness and Romantic
Imagination. Professor Burwick is
currently at work on a study of cognitive psychology and the literary accounts
of apparitions and hallucinatory experience.
English 19, Seminar 3
Was Huck Gay?
Christopher Looby
Huckleberry Finn has long been recognized as one of most charismatic
figures in American literature, and his charm has seemed to many readers to be
due largely to his outsider status—the fact that he lives outside moral rules
and norms of his society. In 1993, a scholar named Shelley Fisher Fishkin published
a book called Was Huck Black?, which
proposed that Mark Twain based the character of Huck in part on a young black
boy he had known in his youth, whose verbal wit became part of Huck's appeal.
Scholar and critic Leslie Fiedler, in a famous essay entitled "Come Back
to the Raft Ag'in, Huck Honey!" (1948), argued that Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn as well as other classic American novels created "national
myth of masculine love," myth of "innocent homosexuality," and
myth of interracial male homoeroticism. This course asks the question, only
half facetiously, "Was Huck gay?"
Christopher Looby is a Professor in
the Department of English. His research and teaching is
principally in American literature of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
as well as in gay and lesbian studies. He has a particular interest in the
historical emergence of gay and lesbian identity, and the role that imaginative
literature has played in that process. He taught at the
English 19, Seminar 4
The Queer
Frontier
Blake Allmendinger
In this course we will study films, short stories, and plays that address
the difficulties of living as a gay man or lesbian in the rural American West.
Blake Allmendinger is a full professor in the English Department who
specializes in the literature of the American West. His books include The Cowboy, Ten Most Wanted, Over the Edge,
and Imagining the African American West.
English 19, Seminar 5
Medieval Trial
by Combat: Law, Chivalry,
Theology, and
Spectacle
Eric Jager
In this seminar we will read one short historical book about a notorious
case of trial by combat in medieval
Professor Jager taught at
English 19, Seminar 6
National Poetry
Month--and Beyond!
Reed
In 1996, the
Reed Wilson teaches in the English Department and directs the
English 19, Seminar 7
The Postcolonial City
Yogita Goyal
This course examines the postcolonial city in the context of increasing
globalization and political conflict. Looking at literary and cinematic
representations of cities like
Yogita Goyal is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English. Her
research and teaching focus on African-American, postcolonial, and black
diaspora literature.
Ethnomusicology 19,
Seminar 1
Magical Sounds
from Roof of World: Music of
Helen Rees
Familiar from SUV commercials and soundtracks to films such as Kundun and
Seven Years in
Helen Rees is a specialist in the music of
Ethnomusicology 19,
Seminar 2
After the Storm:
Celebrating
Musical Heritage
Cheryl Keyes
New Orleans,
also called the Crescent City, is popularly known for its
diverse cultural blend, Mardi Gras parades, jazz funerals, just to name a few.
Unfortunately, a disastrous flood induced by Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005
disrupted the cultural flow of the
Professor Cheryl Keyes, hails from
Film
and Television 19, Seminar 1
Introduction to
Non-Fiction Film
Marina Goldovskaya
This course will introduce the students to the rapidly-developing
contemporary documentary cinema with special focus on social issues. Do films
matter? Can they make a difference? And if they can, in what way? These
questions are essential for screenings and discussions. Five films recently
created in the
Marina Goldovskaya is an award-winning documentary filmmaker
internationally renown for risk-taking films of artistic achievement and
historical significance (Solovky Power, Shattered Mirror, The Prince Is Back,
L.A. Diary with Peter Sellars, etc.). Born in
Film
and Television 19, Seminar 2
Historical
Memory: The Archaeology of
Moving Image
Archives
Steven Ricci
This course will provide an overview of the rare collections of major
moving image archives throughout the world. We will examine how to gain access
to the rarest of films and television programs; what archives do with their
collections, and how films and TV programs are either preserved or restored.
Steven Ricci maintains a joint appointment as Assistant Professor in the
Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media and the Department of
Information Studies. In 2002 he was named the founding Director of UCLA's new
graduate program in Moving Image Archive Studies. As Head of Research and Study
at the UCLA Film and Television Archive for fifteen years, he was responsible
for developing programs that widen access to the Archive's collections and
oversaw its educational publications, workshops, seminars and film
retrospectives. Professor Ricci was a member of the Executive Board of the
International Federation of Film Archives for ten years and became its
Secretary General in 2001.
Film
and Television 19, Seminar 3
Writing Exercises for Fit
Screenwriter
Harold Ackerman
In this seminar
we will study writing workouts at "screenwriters gym" designed to
stretch and develop writing and screenwriting skills.
Dr. Ackerman is Screenwriting and co area head
French 19,
Seminar 1
How Tasty Was My
Little Frenchman
Jean-Claude Carron
Title tie is borrowed from the Cannes Festival Award-Winning 1971 film by
Brazilian author Nelson Pereira dos
Jean-Claude Carron is Professor in the Department of French and
Francophone Studies. He has published books on French Renaissance poetry and on
François Rabelais, as well as articles on history of ideas, philosophy and
literature, rhetoric, poetry, dialogues, theater, Montaigne, Mallarmé, etc. He
is currently working on the history of gastronomy. The Fiat Lux seminar is
related to his interest in 16th-century philosophy and the birth of skepticism
in
Italian 19,
Seminar 1
Literary
Perspectives of the Romantic Era
Franco Betti
Against the background of European culture of the 19th century, this
seminar will focus on the origin and development of Italian Romanticism and its
bearing on the intellectual climate of the 20th century. The discussion will
center on theme of alienation of the individual from society. The authors to be
read will be Foscolo, Manzoni, Leopardi, and Verga (and time permitting,
Pirandello).
Franco Betti is a Professor in the Italian Department. A native of
Music History
19, Seminar 1
Spanish
Traditional Dances
Elisabeth Le Guin
Jotas, tirana, seguidillas, fandangos, and boleros…a survey of
traditional dance types of
Elisabeth Le Guin is Associate Professor of Musicology, and has been at
UCLA since 1997. She came to academia after an international career as a
free-lance baroque cellist, a career she continues as her teaching schedule
permits. As a scholar she is becoming increasingly interested in the history
and culture of
Anthropology 19, Seminar 1
Endangered Languages and You
This seminar treats the topic
of language endangerment by identifying a worldwide problem and examining the
possible responses which might partially rectify the situation. By some estimates, less than 10% of the world's
languages will survive beyond the present century. Global economic forces and other political
economic factors are clearly responsible for a pattern of language shift which
threatens most of the world's indigenous and sub-national languages which are
not identified with particular nation-states or which lack international
currency. But what is the human cost of
such language death both to the speakers of these languages and to us as
thoughtful world citizens? In this
seminar we will discuss what the consequences of language death are and what
can be done to provide alternatives for those communities who seek to preserve
their distinctive linguistic resources.
By examining case studies of language death and language renewal we obtain
a ground level view of the processes which lead to language death and those
that are involved with language revitalization.
This seminar will examine several different responses to the need for
revitalization including the use of so-called master-apprentice programs and
the application of media technology.
Professor Paul Kroskrity has
conducted long-term field work in two Native American communities--the Western
Mono of
Anthropology 19, Seminar 2
Why People
Believe Weird Things
Daniel Fessler
Despite the fact that more is now understood about the natural and social
worlds than ever before in the history of humanity, recent years have seen a dramatic
increase in the number of people who subscribe to beliefs that have no
scientific support, beliefs that are often structured to be antithetical to
scientific investigation. From testimonials regarding alien abductions, to
creationist accounts of life on Earth, to claims that the Holocaust never
occurred, modern society is rife with notions that fly in the face of mountains
of evidence. Why do people subscribe to such ideas? How do they structure their
understanding of facts in order to preserve their beliefs? This seminar will address
these and related questions, with an eye toward both explaining the prevalence
of anti-science in an age of science and developing the intellectual skepticism
that is the foundation for scientific inquiry.
Anthropology 19, Seminar 3
Animal
Experience: What Is It Like to Be Nonhuman?
Daniel Fessler
When people pause to reflect on thoughts, feelings, or perspectives of
animals, they typically anthropomorphize creatures, presuming that animals'
experiences are akin to their own. Importantly, although we take our experience
of the world largely at face value and assume that other people have similar
experiences, cultural anthropology has taught us that human experience is
filtered through, and shaped by, lens of one's own culture. Following the same
reasoning, we can ask to what extent our view of animals' experience is an
anthropocentric one that inaccurately maps human attributes onto animal minds.
We will be reading an autistic scholar's speculations on how animals think,
feel, and experience the world around them.
Daniel Fessler is an Associate Professor of Biological Anthropology at
UCLA. Fessler is the Director of the
Asian 19, Seminar 1
How
Jennifer Jung-Kim
Contemporary North-South relations are particularly complex because while
political tensions run high, there are numerous cultural and economic exchanges
between the two countries. Films also depict the contradictions of the
political situation and the overarching spirit of reconciliation between the
two
Jennifer Jung-Kim has a Ph.D. in Korean cultural history from UCLA. Her
dissertation examined gendered identities in the print culture of colonial
Asian 19, Seminar 2
The Korean Wave
(Hallyu) in
Namhee Lee
The Korean Wave, or hallyu, refers to the popularity and consumption of
Korean popular cultural products in East Asia, which has generated explosive
debates in academia and public cultural sphere both in and out of
Namhee Lee is an Assistant Professor of Modern Korean History in the Department
of Asian Languages & Cultures. She has completed her book manuscript on the
South Korean democratization movement and is currently working on a new
research project on public production of historical knowledge in
Community Health 19, Seminar 1
So Cosmo Says You are Fat? Well, I Ain't Down
with That: Nutrition & Body Image
Pamela Viele,
Karen Minero and Jill DeJager
This course
will examine the personal, social, and environmental factors that influence
college students' eating behaviors and body image through the lens of social
learning theory and PRECEDE model. Students learn to apply these theories in
developing an individualized plan to eat well, be active, and feel good about
their bodies. Students will also learn practical skills with application to
stress management, positive body image, and nutrition as they participate in
critical evaluation of popular diets, healthy body weights, sports nutrition,
fitness, supplements, muscle builders, media body ideals, and self-destructive
thoughts. Presentation of subject matter in academically rigorous manner, while
simultaneously promoting positive developmental outcomes.
Pamela Viele,
Ph.D., MPH, holds dual appointments at UCLA as the Director of Health Education
in the
Karen Minero,
Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and the Assistant Director of the
Jill DeJager,
MPH, RD, is a Registered Dietitian with a background in exercise physiology and
public health. In addition to her current role as UCLA's Nutrition Education
Coordinator, she is an Adjunct Professor of nutrition at
Economics 19, Seminar 1
Napster, AIDS and Intellectual Property
David K. Levine
Controversy surrounds the
downloading of music over the internet, and the aggressive response of the RIAA
to protect their copyrights. Included in this is the lawsuit against Napster,
and more recently the bringing of lawsuits against individual music lovers.
Also controversial is the patent protection afforded AIDS drugs, resulting in
such high prices that they are unavailable in
to examine from an economic perspective to what extent modern intellectual
property law does in fact promote “the Progress of Science and useful Arts.” To
colonial conquest and the slave trade; the Africans' fight against ecological
degradation; their battle for economic, social and political justice; and the
war against AIDS.
David K. Levine is the Armen
Alchian Professor
of Economic Theory at UCLA. He is co-director
of CASSEL, co-editor of
Econometrica, co-editor
of NAJ Economics, a fellow of the Econometric Society, member of the American
Economic Association Honors and Awards Committee and member of the Sloan
Research Fellowship Program Committee. Professor Levine's current research
interests include the study of intellectual property and endogenous growth in
dynamic general equilibrium models, the endogenous formation of preferences,
institutions and social norms, learning
in games, and the application of game theory to experimental economics.
Economics 19,
Seminar
2
Winner's Curse in Common Value Auctions
Vasiliki Skreta
Exploration of
the well-known phenomenon of "winner’s curse" when people bid in
certain kinds of auctions. Winners curse occurs when a person who won at an
auction wishes he had not won. Since many other interesting phenomena have the
same basic structure as common value auctions, insights learned about auctions
in the laboratory have significance for other areas where unhappy winners are
important, such as in political contests and voting behavior, jury decisions,
and companies racing to discover and patent an invention.
Vasiliki Skreta is an Assistant Professor, University of California, Los
Angeles, PH.D., University of Pittsburgh, December 2001, MA, University of
Pittsburgh, 1999, BA, Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece,
1995; Essays in Mechanism and Market Design; Microeconomics Theory, Mechanism
Design, Auction Theory and Applications to Telecommunications and
Privatization, Microeconomic Theory, Game Theory, Contract Theory, Industrial
Organization Theory; Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota (2004)
Adjunct Consultant Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Visiting Scholar, GKSM,
Northwestern Univ. (2001)
Economics 19,
Seminar
3
Recession,
Depression and Coordination Failure
Christian Hellwig
This course examines the problem of coordination failure by getting
students to play coordination games in the laboratory. Coordination failures in
the macro economy have long been seen as a prime cause of recessions and even
depression. Laboratory experiments now provide a valuable tool with which to
study the problem of expectational convergence that has long been suspected by
economists as underlying the ups and downs of the business cycle.
Christian Hellwig received his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics
and joined the Department of Economics at UCLA in 2002.
Economics 19,
Seminar
4
Bargaining,
Haggling and Fairness across Cultures
Naomi Lamoreaux
This course gets students to explore the nature of trust and fairness in
bargaining situations via the simple ‘ultimatum’ bargaining game. This game is
useful for exploring how self-interested individuals are in bargaining
situations (and many others). It has been conducted in many countries (rich and
poor) over the last decade with the discovery that most cultures appear to have
strong norms of fairness (the only exception are certain very primitive
cultures). That is, rigorous self-interest, even in an obviously commercial
setting like haggling, is rare.
Professor Lamoreaux holds a joint professorship with the departments of
History and Economics at UCLA, where she has been professor since 1994.
Education 19,
Seminar 1
Elementary
School Education Practicum:
Teaching in
Public Schools
Jeffrey Wood
In this seminar we will learn basic teaching techniques for working with
elementary school students. Students will get direct practical experience
applying these techniques by volunteering as teaching assistant for 1-1/2 hours
per week in a local public elementary school. Class discussions focus on
students' experiences as volunteers in classroom, educational approaches to
working with small groups of school-aged children, and general issues
pertaining to professions in the field of education. Students must get a TB
test from UCLA Arthur Ashe center a week before OR during the first week of
class. Students must reserve a 1-1/2 hour block one weekday morning per week
from 8-9:30 or 9-10:30 a.m. for a teaching practicum. Students will need to
factor in travel time to and from the school site in Westwood (1 mile from
UCLA) when planning their course schedules. Do not schedule class immediately
after volunteer tutoring times.
Jeffrey Wood is an assistant professor in the
Geography 19,
Seminar
1
Space Imaging of
Earth's Environment
Laurence Smith
Exciting new satellite technologies are now being used to study Amazon
deforestation, hurricanes, climate change, natural disasters, melting of polar
ice caps, and other dynamic phenomena. Digital images obtained by satellites
represent one of fastest growing applications in environmental science. This
seminar is an introduction to an exciting field of the space technology and its
applications for the study of Earth. Following an introductory lecture and
slide show at UCLA, we will visit NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Laurence Smith joined the faculty of UCLA's Department of Geography in
1996, upon completion of the Ph.D. in Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at
Geography 19, Seminar 2
Does Soccer
(Football) Explain the World?
John A. Agnew
The idea of globalization is often poorly explained and difficult to
grasp. Use of a seemingly global phenomenon, soccer, to investigate extent and
limits of globalization as involving either cultural homogenization or
increased awareness of cultural differences in the face of growing global
interconnectedness.
John Agnew is a Professor of Geography. He is English but has lived in
the
Geography 19, Seminar 3
Natural
Disaster, Place Destruction, and
Cultural Trauma
J.
Nicholas Entrikin
Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in December 2004, Hurricane Katrina
in late August 2005, and 7.6 earthquake in
J. Nicholas Entrikin is a Professor of Geography. He is the former Chair
of the UCLA Department of Geography and current Chair of the Global Studies IDP
in the International Institute. He has published articles and monographs on the
role of place and place identity on modern societies. He has been a Guggenheim
Fellow, and a Visiting Director of Research for the Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in
History 19, Seminar 2
The European
Union - New Superpower?
Ivan Berend
This seminar will analyze the causes of the emergence of the European
integration after World War II; its progress from customs union via a single
market and common currency towards joint military forces. The present crisis of
overstretching and the failure of the constitution.
Ivan Berend is a distinguished Professor of History at UCLA since 1990
and Director of the Center for European and Eurasian Studies from 1993-2005. He is president of the International
Committee of Historical Sciences 1995-2000. He is also a member of the British
and five other
History 19, Seminar 3
The Romanovs:
Stephen Frank
Examination of Russian Empire's 300-year-old dynasty, focusing in
particular on the reigns of Emperors and Empresses from Peter I (the great) to
Nicholas II and collapse of the monarchy in 1917. One ruler is discussed at
each class session, with student presentations initiating discussions.
Stephen Frank is an Associate Professor of History. He received his M.A.,
Ph.D.,
B.A., State
History 19, Seminar 4
Janice Reiff
This seminar will look at how
Jan Reiff specializes in urban and social history, particularly the
history of the past century. This Fiat Lux grows out of a previous Fiat Lux
that looked at film and cities around the world and anticipates future teaching
and research interests in
Honors Collegium 19, Seminar 1
Ronni Sanlo and Suzanne L.
Seplow
The course explores the ways in which American culture is affected by
sexual orientation and gender identity issues. Topics include overview of
historical perspective, legal and political issues specifically relating to
education, sexual identity development, impact of bullying and harassment in
schools and colleges, relationship between sexual orientation discrimination
and all other forms of discrimination, how to be an ally, and impact of sexual
orientation issues on all people regardless of their sexual orientation.
Ronni Sanlo is the director
of the
Suzanne L. Seplow, Ed.D., is
a graduate of the GSEIS Educational Leadership program at UCLA. Her focus is on
maintaining living/learning communities that foster positive impacts on student
learning. She specializes in learning
communities, environmental influences and student development theory.
Honors Collegium 19, Seminar 2
How I Learned to
Stop Just Googling... and
Find the Really
Good Stuff!
Esther Grassian
Google: 42,900,000 results. This is what you get when you search HUMAN
AGING in popular Web search tool. Search on "HUMAN AGING" brings
results down to 221,000. Even with just hundreds of results, important
questions remain: Are these items accurate, complete, authoritative, and up to
date? What is their purpose and point of view? Who is the intended audience?
General web search tools find sites in "visible web." Hiding in
"invisible web" are important databases like PsycINFO
(licensed/subscription) , MLA Bibliography (licensed/subscription), and PubMed
(free), listing scholarly research materials which may support or refute what
is found through general Web search tools. Research secrets, tips, and tricks
to identify, locate, evaluate, and use quality research materials effectively
and responsibly. Supports GE cluster research papers.
Esther Grassian, MLS (UCLA, 1969), teaches Information Literacy &
Research Skills (EC 123) in the UCLA Writing Programs, as well as a graduate
course, Information Literacy Instruction: Theory and Technique (IS 448) in the
UCLA Department of Information Studies. She is also the Information Literacy
Outreach Coordinator and a reference/instruction librarian in the UCLA College
Library, where she has held various positions since 1969. Her publications
include a co-authored book, Information
Literacy Instruction:
Theory and Practice (2001), an article entitled Do They Really Do That? Librarians Teaching Outside the Classroom,
and a forthcoming co-authored book, Learning
to Lead and Manage for Information Literacy Instruction
Honors Collegium 19, Seminar 4
Black Student
Experience at UCLA
La'Tonya Rease-Miles
What are the concerns facing black students at UCLA? This course will be
a weekly, spirited discussion about social, academic, and political issues
facing black students since Proposition 209. Features invited guest speakers
from ORL, campus administration, and alumni.
Dr. La'Tonya Rease Miles received her Ph.D. in English from UCLA, where
she specialized in cultural studies and multi-ethnic literature. Her research
interests include post Civil Rights culture; the representations of black
masculinity in visual culture; and how sport and sporting institutions shape
race and gender identity. As the Director of the UCLA McNair Research Scholars
Program and AAP Mentoring Programs, she serves as an advocate for undergraduate
research. She is the first person in her family to attend a four-year
university and feels strongly connected to students with similar backgrounds.
Currently she is a Faculty In Residence for Rieber Hall.
Human
Complex Systems 19, Seminar 2
Cultural
Complexity: Espionage, Cryptology, and Psychological Operations
Nicholas Gessler
What we might more benignly call
"Intelligence, Secure Communications and Propaganda" are the senses,
thoughts, and actions of state, complex macrocosm of individuals who seek to
decipher their adversaries' will while concealing their own and imposing their
own will on target populations. So secret is this work that only now are we
beginning to see how these operations were carried out in World War II, and how
their complexity led to origins of computing. Classified dealings among nations
today will probably only become known several decades from now, when those in
power today have retired or died, when information (or disinformation) is no
longer strategic, and when details have become irrelevant to invasive
technologies of the future. We will explore the “intel,” “codes,” and “psyops”
of the “dark world” from a variety of sources. We will examine actual
cryptographic machines and related artifacts; observation and decryption of
some enciphered messages; reading reports, declassified, and captured
government documents; and study private accounts in print and on the web. We will
focus on the 20th and 21st centuries and discuss the
implications of these activities for today’s social scientists and informed
citizens.
With a
background in applied sciences and anthropology, Gessler began his theoretical
research with two decades of fieldwork in archaeology, ethno history and
culture change on the
Culture."
Management 19,
Seminar
2
Emerging Technologies
Bennet Lientz
This seminar addresses the business and managerial aspects of emerging
technologies. Examples today are 64-bit computing and RFID (Radio Frequency
Identification). Examination of topics such as development of new technology,
how a market for technology is created, barriers to entry of new technology,
development of supporting technologies, and process of implementing new
technologies. Requirements include a paper on a specific technology.
Bennet P. Lientz is the editor for the E-Business series, Academic Press.
Prior to joining UCLA in 1974, he was associate professor of engineering at the