Fiat Lux Freshman Seminars
Winter
Quarter 2006
Applied Linguistics/TESL 19, Seminar 1
Language Tests: Gatekeepers or Door Openers?
Lyle Bachman
Language tests
have become pervasive part of our education system and society, used for a wide
variety of purposes such as identifying English language learners in schools,
making admissions decisions to universities, placing students into language
programs, screening potential immigrants, and selecting employees. But how
useful are language tests for making these high-stakes decisions? By what
standards can we evaluate the usefulness of these tests, and the fairness of
decisions that are made? What are the consequences, both beneficial and
harmful, of using language tests for these purposes? We will be reading and
discussing selected articles that address these questions.
Lyle Bachman is
Professor and Chair of the Department of Applied Linguistics and TESL. His
current professional interests include the nature of the interactions between
test takers and assessment tasks, validity theory, language issues in
large-scale educational assessments, the technologies of test design and
development, and the interfaces between language testing research and other
areas of applied linguistics research. His publications include Fundamental Considerations in Language
Testing, Language Testing in Practice (with Adrian S. Palmer), and Interfaces between Second Language
Acquisition and Language Testing Research (co-edited with Andrew D. Cohen), and Statistical Analyses for Language
Assessment. He has also published numerous articles in the area of language
testing and evaluation. He is currently co-editor of the Cambridge Language
Assessment Series. He has received the MLA’s Mildenberger Award for Outstanding
Research Publication.
Ancient Near
East 19, Seminar 1
Mummies: Death
and Afterlife in Ancient
Willemina Wendrich
The
Willemina Wendrich is an Associate Professor of Egyptian Archaeology at
the Department for Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. She directs the UCLA
excavations in the Fayum Oasis in
Architecture & Urban Design 19, Seminar 1
Time for Ancient
Diane Favro
Modern cities
are directed by time. From store hours to synchronization of stoplights, modern
urban environments are shaped by diverse temporal structures. How did people
experience cities before time became a commodity shared by everyone with a wristwatch?
In ancient world, hours and calendar were flexible. The Romans linked time and
space in literature, philosophy, and environmental design. Notably Vitruvius
included a book on timekeeping devices in his architectural tract, and the Romans
celebrated birthdays of important buildings and the city itself. This class
will examine temporal issues in relation to
Diane Favro is
a professor in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design. Her research
focuses on Roman architecture and urbanism, methods and pedagogy of
architectural history, and women in the profession. Professor Favro's
monograph, The Urban Image of Augustan
Rome (Cambridge University Press 1996), analyses the symbiotic relationship
between physical interventions and conceptual shifts in the imaging of a
capital city. Other publications explore Roman municipal legislation,
administration, imagery. She was co-editor of Streets: Critical Perspectives on Public Space (UC Press 1994), for
which she also wrote a chapter on the urban impact of Roman triumphal parades.
In 1995 she received The Parthena Award for her efforts to promote women and
their contributions to the built environment. Currently Professor Favro is
Director of the
English 19, Seminar 1
Thoreau's Walden: Alone and Together
Thomas Wortham
No better
advice has ever been offered than this challenge by Henry D. Thoreau:
"Every man has to learn the points of compass again as often as he awakes,
whether from sleep or any abstraction. Not till we are lost, in other words not
till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where
we are and the infinite extent of our relations." Let's get lost reading
Walden together.
Tom Wortham is
Chair and Professor of English; his area of study is nineteenth-century
American literature and culture. More important, he first read Thoreau when he
was thirteen, and hasn't recovered since. "I learned this, at least, by my
experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams,
and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a
success unexpected in common hours."
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.
Ethnomusicology 19, Seminar 1
Music Theory through Recorder
Would you like
to learn music theory while learning to play an instrument? This class is for
students who would like to study rudiments of music theory by playing recorder.
Each class includes practice pieces and exercises related to music notation,
keys, melody, rhythm, rounds, and harmony. Students will also have the opportunity
to write and perform short compositions. By taking practical approach to music
theory, students will develop a foundation for reading, playing, and writing
music. Students need not have any prior experience. Recorders will be available
for purchase at nominal cost on first day of class.
Film
and Television 19, Seminar 1
Introduction to Film Making: So You Want to
Make Movies?
Barbara Boyle
Three screenplays are read
without disclosing the title of screenplay or resulting movie. Analysis and
discussion of visual style, cast, director, music, and other essential elements
used to convey tone and message of movie made from script. Films actually made
from screenplays are then shown so that relationship between literary
(screenplay) and visual (movie and all its components) is understood. This
course will also introduce a glossary of basic film industry terms. Three
feature length motion pictures will be viewed.
Barbara Boyle is a Professor and Chair
in the Department of Film, Television & Digital Media.
Film and Television Producer.
Boyle's credits include Phenomenon, Instinct, Bottle Rocket, Eight Men Out,
Mrs. Munck, and The Hi-Line. Her company, Sovereign Pictures, Inc., financed
and distributed internationally 25 films including, My Left Foot, Cinema
Paradiso, Reversal Of Fortune, Impromptu, Hamlet and The Commitments.
Sovereign's films were nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won 4. While
president of Valhalla Motion Pictures, the company produced 22 episodes of
Adventure, Inc., the documentary, True Whispers, and feature films, Clockstoppers
and Hulk. In 2003. She serves on the
Board of Project: Involve and is a past president of IFP/West and Women In
Film. Boyle has received, among others, a Vision Award from IFP, the WIF
Crystal Award and the Alumni of the Year from
French 19, Seminar 1
Jealousy in French Literature
Patrick Coleman
Jealousy, like other complex
emotions, is more than feeling. It is a way of perceiving and processing
information about the world. This course will explore the relationship between
feeling, knowledge, and interpretation as it is dramatized in three modern
French stories of jealousy. The aim of the course is to show how literature can
help us understand how emotions work in our lives.
Patrick Coleman is Professor of
French and Francophone Studies. He is the author of three books and many
articles in the fields of eighteenth-century and contemporary francophone
studies. His Fiat Lux proposal reflects the research for his current project, a
book on anger and gratitude in French Enlightenment writing.
German 19, Seminar 1
Is A Non-Violent World Possible?
Robert Kirsner
Can there ever
be an alternative to violence and war? Mahatma Gandhi thought so and waged
non-violent campaign against British which resulted in
Robert S. Kirsner is a Professor of Dutch and Afrikaans in UCLA's Department
of Germanic Languages, where he teaches these two languages, the literatures
written in them (from Holland, Belgium, the Caribbean, and South Africa), and
also a course on Linguistic Theory and Grammatical Description. His research
focuses on functional, discourse-based, and cognitive approaches in
linguistics, emphasizing the use of empirical quantitative data in analyzing
grammatical structures. He is most interested in the interaction of grammar and
intonation.
He likes to
read science fiction and he is also interested in Eastern religions and
philosophy.
Honors Collegium 19, Seminar 1
Stage and Screen: Works by UCLA Students
This seminar
will focus on works created by students in the Departments of World Arts and
Cultures; Film, Television, and Digital Media; and Theater. Student
choreographers and directors discuss their artistic processes, media, and
purposes, and show clips of their performances and films. We will also view and
discuss photos taken during rehearsals and production. Class members make
journal entries responding to each session and to readings suggested by
presenters. Class meets every other week for two hours, beginning first week.
Iranian 19,
Seminar 1
Consciousness
and Intuition: A Study of Persian Philosophical Texts
Hossein Ziai
This seminar will focus on a 12th century philosophical text (available
in a bilingual Persian-English edition), and each week one of the ten sections
of the text will be read and examined in detail. Special attention will be
placed on the Aristotelian principles expressed in the text. A major question
addressed in the seminar will be: "How are the Aristotelian principles
refined in their Persian expression."
Hossein Ziai is a Professor of Iranian and Islamic Studies & Director
of Iranian Studies. Professor Ziai holds a BS from
Ph.D. from
Jewish Studies 19, Seminar 1 (Seminar
Canceled)
Jewish Settlers on American Frontier
This course explores writings
about and by a population that might seem like contradiction in terms: Jewish
farmers, cowboys, ranchers, and small-town settlers in American West between
1850-1930. We will first read short memoirs and fictional narratives about
western Jewish settlement (on Jewish homesteaders and cowboys in
Music 19, Seminar 1
Music by Rufus Wainwright
Roger Bourland
In class discussion and analysis
of selected songs by singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright. Elements include
phrase structure, formal structure, harmonic analysis, melodic analysis, and
issues of style and influence.
for
chorus and wind ensemble, was premiered by five groups around the country in
December 2002. A recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2005.
Music
History 19, Seminar 1
VOCES
BALAENAE: Whale Songs and Human Audiences
Mitchell Morris
In 1969, cetacean biologist Roger
Payne published information about complex vocalizations of Humpback Whales,
referring to them as “songs.” One year later, he released first commercial
recording of whale songs. These songs became important cultural artifacts in
burgeoning "save the whales" movement, and were largely received as
instances of music in nature. This seminar will consider whale songs in terms
of their sound and the circumstances of their production among whales, and
consider what human beings have made of them. We will discuss questions about the
definition of music and culture, and thought about how human beings relate to
other animals who live in complex societies and possess elaborate systems of
communication.
Mitchell Morris is an Associate
Professor in the Department of Musicology.
Growing up in the rural South, he was frequently curious about the
potential "musicality" of animals. In the past five years, he has been
pursuing this question more formally, with a special interest in how human
beings make sense of whale songs.
Scandinavian 19, Seminar 1
Urban Legend and Popular Film: Politics of Fright
Timothy Tangherlini
Ghosts,
UFOs, psychopaths, evil corporations, Satanists, serial killers, wild
conspiracy theories, unlikely ways to be killed, and even more unusual ways to
sur
Professor
Timothy Tangherlini is a folklorist whose work includes studies of storytelling
among paramedics, the political uses of storytelling in 19th century
African Languages 19, Seminar 1
Cultural Studies along
Katrina
Thompson
Culture(s) of
Swahili coast approaches this broad topic from a variety of disciplinary
vantage points. Swahili coast is large region that includes parts of four
countries and encompasses a wide variety of linguistic and ethnic groups, including
but not limited to the Swahili. Intensive study of Swahili coast, and the role
of Swahili beyond the coast, affords opportunity to develop a deep knowledge of
single region that is both diverse and, arguably, unified by the Swahili
language. No single approach can do this region justice, and thus vibrant
scholarship has arisen within this area. By reading some of the best of this
scholarship, and developing their own analyses of cultures they discuss,
students will learn to combine tools from multiple disciplines.
Katrina
Thompson earned both her M.A. and Ph.D. from the Department of African
Languages & Literature, UW-Madison. A specialist in Swahili language and
culture, she regularly teaches the language at all levels. A former Fulbrighter
to
Anthropology 19, Seminar 1
History of American Indians in
Russell Thornton
An examination
of the state of
Russell
Thornton is Professor of Anthropology. He is the author or editor of seven
books and over 100 scholarly papers, focused on North American Indians. Born
and raised in
Chicana & Chicano Studies 19, Seminar 1
Now What? After
In this seminar
will study public debates about the effort to rebuild at ground zero in
Economics 19, Seminar 1
Winner's Curse in Common Value Auctions
Hugo Hopenhayn
Exploration of the
well-known phenomenon of "winners 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.
Professor Hugo
Hopenhayn received his Ph.D. from the
Economics 19, Seminar 3
Reliability,
Trust and Contracts
William Zame
This seminar will analyze the issues of trust and reliability in
contracting environments, such as employer-employee relationships, or
partnerships.
In many cases, economic activity builds not on written contracts
enforceable in a court of law, but informal agreements and relationships
between the interacting parties. In these cases, there are usually some
individual incentives to cheat, but payoffs are greater if mutual trust can be
sustained. Uncertainty about other individuals' incentives and actions also
complicate decision-making in these settings. The course will use laboratory
experiments, and in particular the "trust game" to analyze
decision-making and outcomes in environments where trust and reliability are
important in determining financial payoffs and the social surplus.
William Zame (Ph.D., Mathematics, Tulane University 1970) is
Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Economics and of Mathematics at
the
Before coming to UCLA he held appointments in the Mathematics Departments
of
Education 19,
Seminar 1
Student Activism from the Sixties to the Present
This course
explores student activism at colleges and universities in the
Professor
Geography 19, Seminar 1
American Rivers: History of Environmental Change
The objective
of this course is to offer students with a basic understanding of rivers and
how human agency has changed them in the
History 19, Seminar 1
Honor and Shame in the Clash
of Civilizations and Religions
Scott
S. Bartchy
Honor
and shame are core cultural values for the vast majority of human beings,
including most Muslims. Ignoring this fact has led to serious (and avoidable) misunderstandings
of world events and mistakes in US foreign policies, which have been based most often on western
individualistic values of achievement and guilt. Reflection on values with
which students were raised as well as achievement of deeper understanding of
ways in which honor/shame values continue to influence self-perception, gender
roles, and group practices of more than five billion people.
Professor Scott
Bartchy specializes in the comparison of the great religious traditions, their
histories, and their effects on culture and human behavior. He teaches courses
in the history of religion and directs UCLA's Center for the Study of Religion
and the undergraduate major in the Study of Religion. In his research he uses
insights from cultural anthropology to understand the religions of the
History 19, Seminar 2
Genocide and Moral History of Humanity
Although
violence seems to have been quite pervasive in most periods of history, the
20th century was, many scholars agree, exceptionally violent. Moreover, much of
this violence, from massacre of Armenians in World War I to conflict between
Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda (1994) was genocidal, if we understand genocide as
willful extinction, in whole or in substantial part, of a people on account of
their race, ethnicity, religion, linguistic affiliation, or ideological disposition.
Just why did genocide become so marked feature of 20th-century life, and what
problems does it pose for moral history of humanity? What relationship does
genocide bear to idea of nation-state and to notions of moral purity and
cultural fetishism? We shall consider several case studies, including Armenian
genocide, holocaust of the Jewish people and other marginalized groups in
History 19, Seminar 3
Crisis in
Edward Alpers
This seminar
examines the continuing crisis in Darfur and seeks to place it in the deeper
historical context of the ethnic and regional politics of the
Professor Alpers has been
teaching at UCLA since 1968 and is constantly astonished by the diversity of
experiences of our undergraduates. He
enjoys the less formal contact with students and the opportunity to explore
issues that link more directly to students' lives than is normally the case in
many undergraduate teaching. The crisis in Darfur is especially significant for
Africa scholars like himself who has witnessed the way in which the world at
large ignored the clear case of genocide in Rwanda a decade ago and raises a
host of moral issues at both the state and personal level that he want students
to consider. Before coming to UCLA in 1968 he taught at the
History 19, Seminar 4
History in Museums
Stephen Aron
Using Museum of
the American West and
Professor
Stephen Aron holds a joint appointment as professor of history at UCLA and an
executive director of the
History 19, Seminar 5
Scopes Trial: Evolution Controversies in
Theodore Porter
The Scopes
"Monkey Trial" was a key moment in the American struggle over the
teaching of evolution, and more generally in the enduringly uneasy relationship
between science and religion. Current debates, including some newsworthy
trials, about creationist textbooks and the status of “intelligent design” in
biology demonstrate the continuing relevance of this event. The original trial,
held in the small town of
Professor
Theodore Porter teaches history and history of science at UCLA. He is
interested in the uses of numbers and calculation in science, the relations of
natural to social science, and in the ways that science provides, and fails to
provide, a model of public reason. He has written three books, or perhaps five,
depending on how you count.
History 19, Seminar 6
Abraham Lincoln's Historical Legacy
Joan Waugh
The life of
Abraham Lincoln continues to spark intense interest and controversy. A large
part of that interest springs from the dramatic nature of the Civil War
(1861-1865), during which as President of the Union and Commander-in-Chief of the
largest assembled army in history,
Associate
Professor Joan Waugh of the UCLA History Department researches and writes about
Civil War era
History 19, Seminar 7
Plato's Republic: Property, Equality, and Knowledge
Teofilo Ruiz
This class will
engage in a close reading and discussion of Plato's Republic, first utopian
work written. Emphasis will be on the issues of property, equality, gender
differences, and knowledge as presented in text.
Teofilo Ruiz is a Professor in the Department of History. He is a
medievalist by training and the author of 8 books and numerous articles.
Professor Ruiz has been teaching at UCLA for five years. His field of research
is late medieval and early modern
Honors Collegium 19, Seminar 2
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 an 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 3
Perceptions of Americans Abroad: Discussions
with Visiting Fulbright Scholars
In post 9/11
world, there is greater need than ever for Americans to know more about the
rest of world and to understand how we are perceived abroad. This course will
provide an opportunity to see ourselves as others see us by hearing visiting
Fulbright scholars from around world speak about their countries and
perceptions of America there and have chance to ask them questions. Scholars
speak informally for 10-15 minutes. The
remainder of the class time will be hour is devoted to class discussion.
Ann Zwicker
Kerr, a native of southern
Honors
Collegium 19, Seminar 4
Tolerance:
Research, Theory and the
Experience
of Living in
Kathy O'Byrne and Suzanne Seplow
This seminar is required for
students interested in participating in an Alternative Spring Break program on
tolerance, in partnership with LAUSD and the
Kathy O'Byrne is the Director of
the Center for Community Learning. A psychologist by training, she teaches
several research courses for the Honors Collegium.
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.
Human
Complex Systems 19, Seminar 1
Cultural
Complexity: Espionage, Cryptology, and Psychological Operations
Nicholas Gessler