Admission Counselor and recent Pitzer grad Adam Lev Rosenzweig '09 wrote a letter to the editor published in the Chronicle of Higher Education. I first met Adam way back in the Fall of 2006 when we both took "Victorian America". He would often say smart things on the intellectual level of the letter below, and in response I would smile dreamily at him.
...anyway, the point of his letter (I think) is to defend interdisciplinarity, at least in social sciences and at colleges like Pitzer. To separate the disciplines would relegate the histories of women, sexual minorities, and ethnic minorities to second-class status. All of those threads should be valued in college courses.
"The Virtues of Interdisciplinarity"
To the Editor:
The tone of alarmism surrounding the wholesale reorganization of academia is unnecessary. Jerry A. Jacobs's thought-provoking article ("Interdisciplinary Hype," The Chronicle Review, November 27) counts most of its supporters in the field of the sciences, and practically all at the professional research level. I would at least make the case for interdisciplinarity at the undergraduate level.
Graduate schools will train their students in the applied methods of their fields. Indeed, I agree with Professor Jacobs's assessment that the creation of "centers" and "institutes" most likely embodies the most practical solution to the interdisciplinary debate at the professional research level. There is evidence that during students' introduction to higher education, however, it is helpful to cast a broader net. Take the example of medical schools, which are famously admitting more and more students with undergraduate backgrounds in the liberal arts and humanities—fields that Professor Jacobs has shown to exhibit significantly higher rates of cross-disciplinary citation.
Regarding American studies, Professor Jacobs inappropriately assumes that the goal of American studies has been to identify a "unified theory of American culture." That idiom, echoing the storied "unified theory" in physics, reflects the science-centered perspective of the current disciplinary conversation. In American historiography, the "unified theory" equivalent is known as "consensus history," and has been intellectually out of fashion since the middle of the 20th century. It is clear that American studies gives space and voice to groups in American society that have been marginalized by traditional American historians. Relegating those scholars and their subjects to "area studies" (the return to monodisciplinary scholarship) only supports the feeling that, while their stories are valid, they are somehow not "American." Therefore, indeed, good American-studies scholars would balk at the advancement of a unified theory.
I can only hope that undergraduate liberal-arts institutions like the one I am privileged to work for continue to lead the way in valuing the intellectual diversity of our interdisciplinary faculty who, after all, are training the students who so eagerly seek positions at the feet of you established university professors.
Adam Rosenzweig
Admission Counselor
Pitzer College
Claremont, Calif.
The Political Studies field group has found its replacement for retiring Professor and department chair Tom Ilgen: Dr. Geoffrey Lucas Herrera.
Although this rather dour staff picture contrasts with Tom's perennially jovial countenance, Dr. Herrera's academic interests look like they will fill the gap perfectly: By the end of the year he will have taught two semesters of "International Politics" at Swarthmore, his alma mater.
His wife Sally Steffen, also a Swarthmore grad, is a Senior Officer in the Legal Affairs and Associate General Counsel department of The Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia.
If you log on to Sakai, you're now enrolled in your Spring semester classes. Click on each course tab and then the roster link on the right sidebar to see your future classmates (and avoid enrolling in 3 classes with that awkward past hookup).
According to the Daily Bulletin, Pitzer economics Professor Jim Lehman is the co-chairman of a Claremont Rotary Club project called "Bikes for Kids". This holiday season, the program delivered 35 bicycles to Claremont kids. I took a couple microeconomics courses from Jim a few semesters ago, but I didn't know how involved in the community he is:
This very successful project is one of dozens undertaken by the Rotary Club of Claremont. It sends students overseas - presently the club sponsors both a high school student on a Rotary Youth Exchange Program and recent college graduates on Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships. It welcomes students from overseas - there is a Claremont High School Youth Exchange Student from Argentina, and it has hosted a steady succession of international students at the Claremont Graduate University.
"We have taught emergency preparedness at the local junior high school for more than 30 years," Lehman, a professor of economics at Pitzer College, said. Keep reading Jim Lehman is a Stellar Human Being
Here's this semester's installment of the best and worse course names for Spring 2010. Some sound scary, some sound ridiculous, one sounds like a class devoted to Sunday in the Park with George, and another sounds like it teaches you how to survive any situation Dwight Shrute-style. Enjoy:
Top 5 Worst Course Names:
"AFROTC Leadership Laboratory" AS 111 HM Hampton, D.
"City of Angels, City of Quartz" POLI 35 PO Foster, L.
"Love, Life and Suffering" RLST 154 PO Runions, E.
"Life Bliss Meditation" PE 73 JP Dorrance, A.
"Harmony of Sound and Light" MS 127 HM Mayeri, R.
Top 6 Best Course Names:
"Life, Death, Survival of Death" RLST 144 Davis, S.
"Radicals, Revolutionaries, and Terrorists" SOC 121 PO Beck, C.
"Bread and Circuses in Ancient Rome" HIST 54 CMC Bjornlie, M.
"Booms, Busts, Other Econ Behaviors" ECON 179 HMC Sullivan, L.
I want to share with you the Pitzer Watson selection committee (Paul Faulstich, Carina Johnson, Kate Rogers and Emma Stephens) has chosen Pitzer College seniors Caitlin Lacey, Mary Munoz, and Ben Peloquin as the College's three nominees for the 2010-2011 Watson Fellowship.
Caitlin, from San Anselmo, California, is a double major in Environmental Studies and International and Intercultural Studies. She spent her spring 2009 semester studying in the Pitzer in Botswana program. She proposes to travel to Belize, Ecuador, Vietnam, Ghana, Switzerland and Belgium for her project, "From Bean to Bar: The Ecology and Communities of Sustainable Cacao."
Mary, from Los Angeles, California, is a double major in Political Studies and History with three study abroad experiences at Pitzer: in fall 2008 she studied in the Pitzer in China program, in the summer of 2008 she studied in Pitzer’s Summer Health in Costa Rica program, and in spring 2009 she studied in the ISEP (Exchange) in Mexico. She proposes to travel to Malaysia, Japan, Argentina and Portugal for her project, "Let's Go Racing: Exploring Car Culture around the World."
Ben, from Mill Valley, California, is a Psychology major who spent his spring 2009 semester studying in the Pitzer in Nepal program. He proposes to travel to Brazil, Russia, India, and China for his project, "The World on a String: Culture and Capitalism in B.R.I.C."
Please join me in congratulating our three nominees, who will be invited to submit their application materials to the Fellowship Program Office and will be interviewed by a representative of the Watson Fellowship Program at a date to be announced. Awards are announced in mid-March, 2010. For more information about the Watson Fellowship, visit the program's website, http://www.watsonfellowship.org.
Please also join me in thanking Carina Johnson for serving as Pitzer's Watson Liaison. I very much appreciate the time and careful consideration Carina, Paul, Kate and Emma have given to our Watson applicants this year.
89 students showed up to the first meeting of "POST194A: International Studies Colloquium", the machine largely responsible for Pitzer's recent success winning Fulbright scholarships to foreign countries. The key to the class' effectiveness seems to be two-fold: the guidance team led by Professor Nigel Boyle and the peer-review workshops that fine- tune the proposals. As a student in the class, I've been really impressed with the quality and imagination displayed by dozens of my fellow seniors. With in-house applications due TOMORROW and final applications due October 19, give your Fulbrighting friends a little slack during this hectic time.
It started with a bang- literally a bang, as Treasurer Chris Wohlers hit a gong to indicate that our 'moment of silence' suggested by Chair Brian Orser had ended. (Seriously, scared the fuck out of me. Jesus.)
Those expecting the Vanguard to do something commie, crazy, hippie, or otherwise radical, would be disappointed. The meeting wasn't horrible, nor was it fantastic: the Exec Board made some typical mistakes, did some things quite well, and made some new errors. But overall, the meeting proceeded as Senate meetings usually do: it was boring, inefficient, and overlong.
Topics discussed:
The effects of the new Bernard Cafeon the campus, students, faculty, and staff of the College. Jim Marchant put all concerns to rest and made me thank my lucky stars that some of our administrators really are good and competent people.
Funding the Reggae Festival, which inadvertently missed the big pro forma budget sessions last year and consequently has no money. Nothing was decided but the discussion will continue next week. General support for the event was apparent.
Retroactively funding Dean Pospisil's community art project. In some later post I'll elaborate on why I was against this funding, as part of a greater question of what we should spend our money on and what our standards should be.
Forming an ad hoc committee that would attempt to improve the relationship between the College and the city of Claremont, a main goal of which would be to better negotiate permits, or forgo permits, that unfairly restrict Pitzer parties and events.
Good stuff:
The atmosphere, aside from the gonging, was indeed fairly relaxed and collaborative.
The discussion remained respectful at all times, from all sides.
The recommendations of the budgetary subcommittee showed that the members took their job seriously, and were innovative in making their proposals.
The Exec Board began the meeting informally, then officially started it, which is a good way to ease into parliamentary procedure without having to formalize introductions and mission statements.
Secretary Buddy Bennett offered some admirable goals of improving voter turnout and the quality of election management.
Not-good stuff:
Robert's Rules were botched. A lot. Oy.
The agenda was sent out only about an hour before the meeting started.
None of the budget/agenda items were printed or projected so everyone could see them.
The recommendations from the budgetary committee were not distributed ahead of time.
The announcement for club treasurer training sessions was distributed less than 24 hours before the first session.
No distinction was made between Senators and student-citizens (like me).
There seemed to be no introduction or welcome geared toward first-year students, who were consequently confused about their roles, positions, voting abilities, and basically how this all works.
The overarching criticism I had of this meeting has to do with the management of the meeting itself. It seems that the Exec Board views management and following procedure as harmful to discussion, collaboration, and innovation.
I disagree.
I think the best discussions happen when everyone knows the rules and discussion topics ahead of time, has a chance to do their homework, can prepare their arguments, can prepare questions, understands how Senate functions, understands what Senate does, understands their own power and role, and is able to see the same materials at the same time. Without these fundamentals, there will be no good discussions.
For an Exec Board that wants increased transparency in the College endowment, it's hypocritical and sloppy that Treasurer Chris Wohlers was unable or unwilling to supply the remaining Senate budget. For an Exec Board that wants better communication channels, it's crazy that they wouldn't make new senators' positions clear, or update the student government website, or send out an email explaining what they're about.
This is all very frustrating to me, and, I suspect, to students with their own agendas, who want their lives to be made easier/better or to be left alone.
I hope the Vanguard starts living up to its name, because at the moment it seems they are playing catch-up.
...
Readers, please also note that I am still trying to negotiate the intersection between 'journalist', 'student', and 'senator'. I do want these posts to be objective, but I'm also a student in this college who is affected by what Senate does, and I'm also a former senator with a fair bit of knowledge and experience. So if I veer too far in any direction, or go completely off course, LET ME KNOW.
Setting the stage for my ongoing look at how First-Year Seminars are organized and conducted, I'm uploading the course descriptions for each seminar. I wish I could enroll in some of the more interesting-sounding courses!
Survival, Resilience and Resurgence: Indian Nations of Southern California - Erich Steinman.
This course will examine the struggles and efforts of American Indian nations and communities near Pitzer College. In particular, the course will examine processes of colonialism, racial construction, and community renewal. The course will involve service learning with members of one American Indian Nation, and an examination of efforts to develop collaborations between academic institutions and tribal communities. Course will involve some field research outside of regular class times.
Am I out of the loop? I've been trying to find this year's pdf for a while and just came across it today.
First impressions:
It certainly looks a lot better than in past years. They've changed over to a cleaner-looking sans-serif font throughout and gotten rid of cheesy looking graphics that used to plague pretty much all Pitzer literature.
It doesn't have a linked table of contents, which is an easy feature to include and would have been pretty helpful since course info doesn't start until 50 pages into the document.
The pdf-reader pages don't match up with the internal pages by 1, which is a little annoying.
We're calling African Studies "Africana Studies" now? Is that new? If anybody knows the significance of the difference let me know by email or in the comments.
I find it irksome that our "Post-Modernism" course is English 189, while "Modernism" is English 191, but maybe that's just me.
Top 7 Worst Course Names:
"All Power to the People!" History 25 CH - Exclamation points in course titles are a little fruity. The course itself looks pretty interesting, though.
A survey of twentieth-century movements for change, with a focus on those created by and for communities of color. Examines issues of race, gender and class in the U.S. society while investigating modern debates surrounding equity, equality and social justice. Spring, T. Summers Sandoval (Pomona)
"France in the ‘Hood’: Nationhood, Immigration and the Politics of Identity in Fin-de-Siecle France." French 110 - When professors try to include rando African American English references in their course titles/descriptions, it just makes the course look lamer.
Prerequisite: French 44 or equivalent. Offered every other year. N. Rachlin (Scripps).
"The Mathematical Mystery Tour." Mathematics 10 - Icky title, plus the most bizarre course description I've ever read.
I saw a high wall and as I had a premonition of an enigma, something that might be hidden behind the wall, I climbed over it with some difficulty. However, on the other side I landed in a wilderness and had to cut my way through with a great effort until-by a circuitous route-I came to the open gate, the open gate of mathematics. From there well-trodden paths lead in every direction. (M.C. Escher). Many beautiful and exciting topics in mathematics are accessible to students having only a minimal background in mathematics. Study knots in 3-dimensional manifolds, learn that some infinities are bigger than others, discover surreal numbers and write home about it on 1-sided postcards. Topics will vary from year to year and the course may be repeated for credit. Little mathematical experience required.
"Sound Theory, Sound Practice." Media Studies 74 - I hate puns in course titles.
An intermediate-level course focusing on sound theory and relationship between sound and image. This topic will be examined through reading assignments, screenings and listening sessions, in-class presentations, writing and sound recording assignments. In this class, students will engage with the history of audio reproduction, the concepts of French theorist Michel Chion, the psychoanalytic theories on the female body and voice, the notion of the soundscape and the relationship between ethnography, colonialism, and audio technology. Prerequisite: MS 49, MS50, MS 51 or equivalent. Spring, M-Y. Ma.
"Experimental Child Psychology." Psychology 110 - The course description explains otherwise, but the class name makes me think they kidnap kids from nearby Sycamore Elementary School and perform crazy psychological experiments on them.
This is a laboratory course in child development. The topics to be studied range from cognitive development to socioemotional development. The goal of the course is to expose students to seminal works in child development and to teach students about the unique research designs, methodologies and ethical concerns related to child development research. Students will have hands-on experience using different research techniques and in designing and conducting independent research projects. Prerequisites: Psyc 10; Psyc 91. [not offered 2009-10]
"Small Wonders: The Latin American Short Story." Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures 155.
This course will examine major literary and cultural trends demonstrated in Latin American short fiction. We focus on writings from the 19th and 20th centuries and follow the construction of nations in the post independence era and the issues of national identities in present day Latin America. We study Realist and Regionalist trends, the role of experimentation and innovation in Fantastic and Existentialist texts and the roles of the past in recent short stories from a continent looking towards the future. Prerequisite: Spanish 100 or above. Staff (offered every other year).
"Monkey Business: Controversies in Human Evolution." Philosophy 130 - Nobody under the age of 80 even uses the phrase "monkey business". My guess is that Professor Moore, who I've heard is really difficult, uses the softy title to lure students who are fishing for an easy class, and then crushes them with a ton of reading. Very crafty.
Ever since Darwin first posited a plausible mechanism for evolution, scientists and non-scientists alike have used his ideas to support their own concepts about the nature of human nature. In class, we will examine the history, concepts and philosophy behind Darwin’s ideas, exploring in the process the fields of sociobiology, cognitive psychology, and primatology, among others. We will also consider the relationship between development and evolution as we attempt to build an understanding of Darwin’s mechanism that is free of the confused notions that have become attached to it over the years. Prerequisites: A college-level course in at least one of the following three areas: psychology, philosophy, or biology, or permission of the instructor. Spring, D. Moore/B. Keeley.
Top 5 Best Course Names
"The Epic Tradition." Classics 10. - I imagine a lot of bros in the classroom saying "Dude, that is EPIC" a lot.
A survey of oral and written epic in Greek and Roman literature. The role of the hero; oral vs. written traditions; the roles of myth, traditional narrative and ritual; and the Classical epic as a basis for later literature. Comparative materials (e.g., Beowulf and Song of Roland). Readings from Homer, Vergil, Apollonius of Rhodes, Ovid and others. Lecture and discussion. [not offered 2009-10]
"El deseo de la palabra: Poetry or Death." Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures 146 - I really want to take this class, and I don't speak Spanish.
Explores Latin American (U.S. Chicano/Latino) poetry from modernismo through the present, including canonical as well as extra- or post-canonical poets. Special attention to presentation of gendered subjectivity and sexuality. S. Chávez-Silverman (Pomona).
"Vampires in Literature and Film." English and World Literature 113. - This class has been around since long before Twilight and True Blood, but I bet Bhattycharya lets you watch a few videos in class anyway. Btw if you haven't seen "Buffy vs Edward (Twilight Remixed)" yet, take a minute and do it now.
Vampires have proven to be an enduring cross-cultural icon, a repository of our anxieties, fears, and hidden desires. The particular tradition we follow begins with late 18th-Century social and political upheavals in Britain and the Continent. We trail the vampire through the 19th century to the present. What can the vampire teach us about our selves and our others? Spring, S. Bhattycharya.
"Critical Environmental News." Environmental Studies 150. Included by virtue of being "most improved": this course used to be a seminar called "I Read the News Today, Oh Boy."
A seminar examination of how environmental issues are portrayed in the news media. Specific issues will be determined by the current news, but general concerns include representation of the environment, habitat destruction, consumerism, development, environmental justice, politics and the environment, local and global topics, media bias, and environmental perception. Fall, P. Faulstich.
"Warriors, Wives and Wenches." Religious Studies 170 - Triple points for triple alliteration.
An analysis of women’s stories, experiences and institutions as portrayed in ancient sacred, historical, classical and novelistic literature. Identification and comparison of prescriptive, descriptive and imaginative discourses in the portrayal of women’s activities will enable a reconstruction of fluid categories of women’s lives in antiquity and their concomitant experiences. Analysis facilitates a reconstruction of spheres of female activity. Staff (Scripps).
Blogger's Note: The original post published on July 31, 2009 included History/Anthropology 11 "The World Since 1492" taught by Dan Segal and Carina Johnson with the following blurb: "A class about the "World" should include more than passing mentions of countries in Asia and Africa." Yesterday it was brought to my attention that the course does in fact cover Africa and Asia since 1492 as shown by the course syllabus here. I apologize to Professors Segal and Johnson for my sloppy mistake. -- Amy Jasper, October 23, 2009.
First-year seminars have been on my mind since my own first-year seminar in Fall 2006.
Even then, it was apparent that the quality of your class was determined entirely by the quality of your professor. I remember a lot of my friends had "In Progress" written in their academic records at the end of the semester because one particularly incompetent professor hadn't finished grading yet. Then again, a lot of my friends had a great time, got to know each other really well, and actually learned how to write papers.
[**First-year little known fact: If you want to, you CAN change your seminar after the school year has started. People treat these seminars like they're set in stone, but really they're just like any other class. If you hate your fro-sem, you can walk up to the registrar and change into a different class as long as there's space in it! Don't let yourself waste a quarter of your first semester!**]
What does this have to do with this blog?
First-year seminars are a huge part of the first-year academic and social experience. But how they are conducted, the requirements for each class, what is taught, and what students can actually produce at the end of the semester, appear to be totally unregulated and unmonitored. This problem has been kicking around for years without resolution. This year, I intend to compare all of the seminars against each other (through syllabi and student opinion) and see which classes actually teach writing and which students are getting screwed.
In a few weeks, I'll be asking you first-years to send me your syllabi and what you think of the writing instruction you're getting.
All first-year seminars are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:45pm to 4:00pm.
Email FYSeminars@pitzer.edu to enroll in your seminar before Welcome Week.
"We have taught emergency preparedness at the local junior high school for more than 30 years," Lehman, a professor of economics at Pitzer College, said. 
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