Complex Problems & Enduring Questions Courses fall 2017
The Core The centerpiece of Jesuit education has always been a common curriculum that emphasizes the study of defining works in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. The Boston College Core is designed to provide a broad understanding of the forces that have shaped world history and culture, challenging students to think across the disciplines, to make good decisions, and to communicate effectively in an increasingly complex world. To fulfill Core requirements, each student must complete: 1 course in Arts:
Art, Art History, Film, Music,
Theatre 1 course in Cultural Diversity 2 courses in History 1 course in Literature:
Complex Problems Courses Classics, English, German Studies, Romance Languages and Literatures, Slavic & Eastern Languages and Literatures
two Core requirements. Complex Problems courses consist of three 50-minute lectures and a weekly meeting during the evening for reflection
Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Physics
2 courses in Philosophy 2 courses in Social Science:
professors from different disciplines, satisfies
one 75-minute lab session each week, along with
1 course in Mathematics 2 courses in Natural Science:
Each of these six-credit courses, team-taught by
Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology
and integration.
Enduring Questions Courses These linked pairs of courses are taught by professors from different disciplines, who collaborate in choosing common readings and
2 courses in Theology 1 course in Writing Courses that satisfy Core requirements, by department:
www.bc.edu/core/courses.html
questions for consideration. The same group of 19 students takes each class, which meets for 150 minutes per week. Four evening reflection sections will be scheduled over the course of the semester. Taken together, the courses are worth six credits and fulfill two Core requirements.
Fall 2017
as a member of the class of 2021, you are invited to enroll in one of Boston College’s innovative, team-taught Core courses. Open only to first-year students, there are two types of interdisciplinary offerings: Complex Problems, which probe compelling contemporary issues such as climate change and race- and gender-based violence; and Enduring Questions, which explore subjects crucial to the human experience including health and illness, migration and culture, and the relationship between humans and nature. Complex Problems and Enduring Questions courses extend inquiry beyond the classroom to labs, reflection sessions, conversations with outside speakers, and off-campus field visits, creating an intensive shared learning experience for both teachers and students. They exemplify Boston College’s innovative approach to Core education by establishing a foundation for students’ intellectual development and preparing them to become engaged, effective world citizens. You will have the opportunity to enroll in this fall’s Complex Problems and Enduring Questions courses when you register during your summer orientation session. Both are worth six credits and fulfill two of the University’s Core Curriculum requirements. In November you will be eligible to register for Spring 2018 Core Renewal courses, which are also listed in this brochure. To view faculty members describing their courses and for more information, visit www.bc.edu/pilotcore
Fall 2017 | complex problems cour ses
Complex Problems | SOCY150101 + EESC150101
Global Implications of Climate Change Brian Gareau, Sociology, and Tara Pisani Gareau, Earth and Environmental Sciences 1 Social Science + 1 Natural Science
MWF 1–1:50 (lecture) + Tues. 6–7:50 reflection + 1 lab section Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. Decisive and swift action to mitigate carbon emissions is needed to prevent catastrophic events and unhealthy environments for future generations. The causes, effects, and costs of climate change are not equally distributed, which raises questions about responsibility and justice. This course will encourage critical engagement with, and personal reflection on, these important issues. It covers the science of climate change, the use of different energy sources and their impact on carbon emissions, and the different roles of governments, businesses, religious communities, and individuals in enacting (and preventing) ambitious solutions to climate change. To register for this course: (1) Register for both SOCY150101 and EESC150101 (2) Register for any one section of SOCY1502 or EESC1502 Complex Problems | HIST150301 + SOCY150301
Understanding Race, Gender, and Violence Marilynn Johnson, History, and Shawn McGuffey, Sociology 1 History II + 1 Social Science MWF 1–1:50 (lecture) + Thurs. 6–7:50 reflection + 1 lab section This course explores pressing problems of modern race- and gender-based violence across the globe, applying historical and sociological perspectives to the examination of domestic violence, youth gangs, police violence, sexual assault, and genocide.
We will explore the roots of such violence, the ways in which it has been expressed, the meanings attached to it, and its implications for society— particularly for racial/ethnic minorities, women, and LGBT people. In the lab for the course, students will collaborate with anti-violence projects and organizations in the Boston area. To register for this course: (1) Register for both HIST150301 and SOCY150301 (2) Register for any one section of HIST1504 or SOCY1504 Complex Problems | HIST151101 + BIOL150301
Science and Technology in American Society Andrew Jewett, History, and Christopher Kenaley, Biology 1 History II + 1 Natural Science MWF 2–2:50 (lecture) + Tues. 6–7:50 reflection + 1 lab section What roles do science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) play in advanced, knowledge-dependent societies? This course examines our institutional and cultural relationships to innovation—our hopes and fears about STEM, views of science and religion and concepts of democracy, the emergence of DIY and geek culture, and more. It also explores ethical questions that have arisen in response to STEM, including debates over biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, climate change, and mass extinction. The course gives students the basic technical background they need to address these questions, and an opportunity to imagine a technological application of their own with which to address complex problems of the twenty-first century. To register for this course: (1) Register for both HIST151101 and BIOL150301 (2) Register for any one section of HIST1512 or BIOL1502
“ It made me realize that college is more than just studying something to get a job. It really opened my mind and made me explore things that I didn’t even know I wanted to explore. Honestly, I can’t imagine my freshman year without meeting those professors and the awesome students in my class. They opened my mind to new perspectives.” —Diana Dinkel ’19 Lynch School of Education
Fall 2017 | enduring questions courses
Enduring Questions | ENGL170301 + PHIL170301
Humans, Nature, and Creativity Min Song, English
Inquiring about Humans and Nature Holly VandeWall, Philosophy 1 Literature + 1 Philosophy I MWF 11–11:50 + TTh 1:30–2:45 Tues. 6–7:50 reserved for reflection sessions (4 times during the semester) What does it mean to be human? How do we define nature? What kind of responsibilities do humans have to nature? Both courses will look back to Western antiquity, when these questions were first proposed, then provide a survey of important responses to them. Students will make connections to how these themes continue to vex a present that is struggling with complex environmental problems. To register for these courses: Register for both ENGL170301 and PHIL170301 Students will automatically be enrolled in PHIL1704 in the spring to complete their Philosophy Core requirement. Enduring Questions | MUSA170101 + THEO170101
Aesthetic Exercises: Engagement, Empathy, Ethics Daniel Callahan, Music
Spiritual Exercises: Engagement, Empathy, Ethics Brian Robinette, Theology 1 Arts + 1 Theology I TTh 12–1:15 + TTh 1:30–2:45 Tues. 6–7:50 reserved for reflection sessions (4 times during the semester) One objective of these linked courses is to help students realize that their own personal experiences can be the departing point for—and even the subject of—scholarly inquiry; that theology, the arts, and philosophy are not mere disciplines to be learned but practices that are indispensable to being alive
and serving the common good. Another aim is for students to realize that deeply meaningful experiences—whether of the true, the beautiful, and the good or of the divine in the world and in one’s self—often don’t just happen. Instead, such experiences are usually the result of being situated in the right place and time with the right preparation and mindset; in other words, they are usually the result of a certain type of exercise. To register for these courses: Register for both MUSA170101 and THEO170101 Students will automatically be enrolled in THEO1700 in the spring to complete their Theology Core requirement. Enduring Questions | SOCY170201 + ENGL170201
The Body in Sickness and Health Jane Ashley, Nursing
Reading the Body Laura Tanner, English 1 Social Science + 1 Literature MW 3–4:15 + TTh 3–4:15 Tues. 6–7:50 reserved for reflection sessions (4 times during the semester) Taken together, these courses grapple with questions about normal human development, health and sickness, and caregiving; our responsibilities to one another in the face of aging, illness, poverty, and disability; and the relationship between the body and the mind. Prof. Ashley will offer a nurse’s view, paying particular attention to the perspectives of patients and caregivers. Prof. Tanner will examine these issues through the lens of American literature, asking how the human body shapes identity in a variety of contexts such as illness, obesity, trauma, and aging. To register for these courses: Register for both SOCY170201 and ENGL170201
enduring questions courses | Fall 2017
Enduring Questions | EESC170201 + ARTH170101
Living on the Water: Coasts, Development, and Sea Level Change from Venice to Boston Gail Kineke, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Living on the Water: Venetian Art, Architecture, and the Environment Stephanie Leone, Art History 1 Natural Science + 1 Arts TTh 9–10:15 + TTh 3–4:15 Tues. 6–7:50 reserved for reflection sessions (4 times during the semester) These paired courses pose two questions: how does the environment affect humans, and how do humans influence the environment? Venice and Boston offer exemplary case studies of the relationship of humans and the environment in the development of coastal cities. They encourage us to think critically about human and natural history from the rich perspectives of geology and art history, probing the codependence of humans and the environment. Students study the natural processes that define coastlines; their impact on Venice’s history, politics, commerce, art, and
“ The professors created an interactive experience. It made the material seem more relevant and exciting. You approach topics holistically from different perspectives. This is the way students need to prepare for the real world.” — Kate Mignosa ’19 Connell School of Nursing
architecture; the effect of development on the coastline; and the threat of rising sea levels on the futures of Venice and Boston. To register for these courses: Register for both EESC170201 and ARTH170101 Enduring Questions | PHIL170501 + MATH170101
Being Human: The Philosophical Problem of Nature and Mathematical Knowledge Colin Connors, Philosophy
Understanding Mathematics: Its Philosophical Origins, Evolution, and Humanity Ellen Goldstein, Mathematics 1 Philosophy I + 1 Mathematics MWF 12–12:50 + MWF 1–1:50 Thurs. 6–7:50 reserved for reflection sessions (4 times during the semester) How do you explore the world around you? What tools do you use to expand and describe your knowledge of what is real and what is truth? Mathematicians and philosophers have provided humanity with a foundation for inquiry, organization of thought, and universal language. By studying
Fall 2017 | enduring questions courses
the parallel development of philosophy and mathematics, we will attempt to understand the shifting relationship between humans and nature. These courses will begin with the Greeks’ use of numbers to understand nature and connect to the divine. They will progress to modern uses of mathematics to predict natural events and quantify human observation. To register for these courses: Register for both PHIL170501 and MATH170101 Students will automatically be enrolled in PHIL1706 in the spring to complete their Philosophy Core requirement. Enduring Questions | BIOL170301 + THTR170201
Your Brain on Theatre: On Stage and Off Daniel Kirschner, Biology
This Is Your Brain on Theatre: Neuroscience and the Actor
Enduring Questions | CLAS170101 + SLAV116401
Death in Ancient Greece: Achilles to Alexander the Great Hanne Eisenfeld, Classical Studies
Death in Russian Literature: Heroes, Cowards, Humans
Patricia Riggin, Theatre
Thomas Epstein, Slavic and Eastern Languages and Literatures
1 Natural Science + 1 Arts
1 History I + 1 Literature
MWF 10–10:50 + MWF 11–11:50
MW 2–3:15 + TTh 4:30–5:45
Thurs 6–7:50 reserved for reflection sessions (4 times during the semester)
Thurs 6–7:50 reserved for reflection sessions (4 times during the semester)
How does one engender empathy? What is memory and how is it transformed? Which is the true self: what we think or what we do? Studies of the brain and peripheral nervous system provide an understanding of memory, empathy, and personal identity. They also offer insight into the dynamic relationship between performer and spectator. These courses will examine normal and abnormal brain function, explore how audiences respond to an actor’s training, and train students in the craft of acting. The readings, discussions, and theatrical experiences will enable the student “to walk in the shoes” of “the other.”
What does death mean to the living? How do different cultures, eras, and people understand death? How is death represented in ways that are meaningful in the present and that retain meaning in future generations? How do we participate in this process? Our paired courses will seek answers to these universal questions in two very different cultures, ancient Greece and modern Russia. Through the lens of two disciplines, history and literature, we will examine how engagements with death, from the battlefield to street corner, religious ritual to poetic imagination, resonated in their own time and how they might resonate differently with us today.
To register for these courses: Register for both BIOL170301 and THTR170201
To register for these courses: Register for both CLAS170101 and SLAV116401
“ It’s something I’ve never experienced
enduring questions courses | Fall 2017
before. Other courses deal with information—learning one thing and then applying it to a test or a lab. But with these courses, it’s using what you learn and applying it to life.”
Enduring Questions | ENGL171201 + ENGL171301
Roots & Routes: Writing Identity, Migration, and Culture Lynne Anderson, English
— Bruk Adane ’20 Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences
Roots & Routes: Reading Identity, Migration, and Culture Elizabeth Graver, English 1 Literature + 1 Writing TTh 12–1:15 + TTh 10:30–11:45
Enduring Questions | POLI104801 + HIST170601
How Democracies Die: A Political Postmortem Matthew Berry, Political Science
How Democracies Die: A Historical Postmortem Jesse Tumblin, History 1 Social Science + 1 History II TTh 4:30–5:45 + MWF 10–10:50 Tues. 6–7:50 reserved for reflection sessions (4 times during the semester) These courses investigate one of the most enduring questions of history and politics: why do republican democracies—governed by the people—sometimes morph into empires that impose top-down rule on different peoples? How and why do systems of government designed to enthrone popular sovereignty and protect individual freedom often end up tyrannizing people, insatiably expanding their power, and devolving into imperial regimes? These courses will draw on prominent examples of tensions between republics and empires from classical Greece and Rome to modern Britain and France. Could the collapse of democracy into empire happen in the United States? Has it? To register for these courses: Register for both POLI104801 and HIST170601
These paired literature and writing courses use the contemporary experiences of migration to ask enduring questions about the formation of self and community, the effects of the past on the present, and the immigrant as creator and interpreter. What are the gifts and costs of making a home across cultures? Of navigating another language? What is your own family’s migration story, whether recent or more removed? What does it mean to migrate in a globalized, wired, and often fractious world? How does migration shape questions of identity, belonging, aspiration, loss, and the fashioning of nation, home, and self? Thurs. 6–7:50 reserved for reflection sessions (4 times during the semester) To register for these courses: These courses welcome students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Advanced English-language learners and OTE students are especially encouraged to register. Interested students should contact <core@bc.edu> for permission to enroll.
Fall 2017 | quick guide: core renewal cour ses listed by core requirement arts
natural science
“ Living on the Water” (ARTH1701) paired with Natural Science (EESC1702)
“ Global Implications of Climate Change” (EESC1501) paired with Social Science (SOCY1501)
“ Aesthetic Exercises” (MUSA1701) paired with Theology I (THEO1701)
“ Living on the Water” (EESC1702) paired with Arts (ARTH1701)
“ This Is Your Brain on Theatre” (THTR1702) paired with Natural Science (BIOL1703)
“ Science and Technology in American Society” (BIOL1503) paired with History II (HIST1511)
history i
“ Your Brain on Theatre” (BIOL1703) paired with Arts (THTR1702)
“ Death in Ancient Greece” (CLAS1701) paired with Literature (SLAV1164)
history ii “ Understanding Race, Gender, and Violence” (HIST1503) paired with Social Science (SOCY1503) “ Science and Technology in American Society” (HIST1511) paired with Natural Science (BIOL1503)
philosophy i “ Inquiring about Humans and Nature” (PHIL1703) paired with Literature (ENGL1703) “ Being Human” (PHIL1705) paired with Mathematics (MATH1701)
social science
“ How Democracies Die: A Historical Postmortem” (HIST1706) paired with Social Science (POLI1048)
“ Global Implications of Climate Change” (SOCY1501) paired with Natural Science (EESC1501)
literature
“ Understanding Race, Gender, and Violence” (SOCY1503) paired with History II (HIST1503)
“ Humans, Nature, and Creativity” (ENGL1703) paired with Philosophy I (PHIL1703) “ Reading the Body” (ENGL1702) paired with Social Science (SOCY1702) “ Roots & Routes: Reading Identity, Migration, and Culture” (ENGL1712) paired with Writing (ENGL1713)
“ The Body in Sickness and Health” (SOCY1702) paired with Literature (ENGL1702) “ How Democracies Die: A Political Postmortem” (POLI1048) paired with History II (HIST1706)
theology i
“ Death in Russian Literature” (SLAV1164) paired with History I (CLAS1701)
“ Spiritual Exercises” (THEO1701) paired with Arts (MUSA1701)
mathematics
writing
“ Understanding Mathematics” (MATH1701) paired with Philosophy I (PHIL1705)
“ Roots & Routes: Writing Identity, Migration, and Culture” (ENGL1713) paired with Literature (ENGL1712)
coming spring 2018 You will be able to register for Spring 2018 Complex Problems and Enduring Questions courses in November. You will receive more information about these courses at that time.
“ I saw the students in my class five days a week and getting to know them so well created an environment where I was more comfortable expressing my ideas. Going through the same experiences and having the same assignments creates a bond. Hearing new ideas allows me to figure out my own arguments. It changes my perspective and helps me think critically.” — Daewoo Jeong ’20 Carroll School of Management
complex problems Planet in Peril: The History and Future of Human Impacts on the Planet (History II + Social Science) The History and Politics of Terrorism (History II + Social Science) Beyond Price: Markets, Cultures, Values (Social Science + Literature)
enduring questions Human Disease: Plagues, Pathogens, and Chronic Disorders (Natural Science) Human Disease: Health, the Economy, Society (Social Science) Religious Diversity in a Muslim World (History I) Religion in a Secular World: Separating Church, Mosque, and State (Social Science) The Politics of Human Rights (Social Science) Human Rights and Social Welfare (History II) Reading Man, God, and the Whale in Melville’s Moby-Dick (Literature) The Worlds of Moby-Dick: What Historical Forces Shape a Book’s “Greatness”? (History II) Revolutionary Media: How Books Changed History (History I) Revolutionary Media: How Reading Changes Us (Literature) Living in the Material World (Natural Science) Living in the Material World (Literature) Metamorphosis: Evolution and the Genetics of Change (Natural Science) Metamorphosis: Story-Telling as an Attempt to Manage Change (Literature) Reading In/Justice: Literature as Activism (Literature) Writing In/Justice: The Power of Response (Writing) Creating the Modern State: Power, Politics, and Propaganda from the Renaissance to the 21st Century (Social Science) Creating the Modern Identity: Power, Politics, and Propaganda from the Renaissance to the 21st Century (Literature)
www.bc.edu/pilotcore
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