As a graduate of the Colgate teacher education program,
...I am a critical thinker with a broad understanding of the liberal arts.
Colgate University is strongly rooted in the liberal arts tradition, and as such undergraduates must fulfill requirements in the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum and classes distributed throughout the three University divisions: Social Sciences, Natural Sciences and Humanities. Through this broad range of courses, I have found that I can think mathematically, artistically, linguistically, scientifically, historically, and socially.
In May 2008 I graduated with distinction in the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum, which required an additional Core class. I have particularly enjoyed Colgate's Core Curriculum, though, as it encourages interdisciplinary work. While working with a physics professor I have been challenged to consider the implication of sports on education; under the guidance of a Philosophy and Religion professor I studied classical and Biblical texts from a scholarly viewpoint, considering the role of women throughout the course.
Relevant Coursework in the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum:
CORE 100 Sport and the Scientific Perspective
In today's world of sports, how is knowledge obtained? On what principles are strategy determined, personnel decisions made and honors awarded? Until somewhat recently, "knowledge" in sports consisted mostly of the wisdom of players and of coaches acquired through the years. While some of this wisdom is well founded, for years much of it was not able to be checked in a scientific, empirical way. The advent of computers and the availability of large databases of sports statistics changed all of that, however, and now many of conventional sports' "truths" can be checked empirically. Questions of strategy and team decisions can now be addressed in a scientific fashion, causing a major impact in sports, particularly in baseball. Behind this revolution lies the scientific method of inquiry, including the notion of falsifiability and the relationship between theory and observation. This course explores these ideas using examples in sports to illustrate the more general concepts of scientific inquiry and the scientific method. Students explore the impact of empirical knowledge on the games themselves, and how it has caused changes in strategies and team decisions. Finally, the students ask their own sports questions and answer them in a scientific, empirical fashion.Click here to read my paper on Professional Sports Markets and the Success of Organizations.
CORE 151 Western Traditions
In this course students learn about the beginnings of Western thought and its resonance throughout the ages. They confront the complexity of Western culture and the impossibility of either embracing it or rejecting it reductively. Works studied in the course give students grounding in eras crucially formative of Western traditions and provide them an enhanced appreciation of both the continuity and the diversity of these traditions. The materials of the course allow students to engage two questions that are central to understanding the past: How does the past continue to speak to us today? To what extent are the ideas and values of the past significantly different from our own?Click here to read my paper on Homer which includes an original epic poem.
CORE 152 The Challenge of Modernity
The 19th century marked a crucial turning point in the West. Revolutions in technology and thought transformed Western culture; in some sense they created modern language and the modern world. This course explores the distinctive features of modernity, asking students to put their own experience as inheritors of modernity in perspective by juxtaposing works from a core period of modernity with works of contemporary reaction and response. In this course, students gain a clear sense of the problem and promise of modernity for contemporary life.Click here to read my paper on Virginia Woolf and the female perspective.
CORE 165 China
The study of a cultures, which is considered to be distinct from the Western tradition as this is conventionally defined, is intended to achieve three interrelated goals: first, an appreciation of the individual culture for its own sake, in ways that expand the student's awareness and understanding of the world's cultural diversity; second, the development of a comparative frame of reference through which students can develop a different perspective on issues of enduring or widespread significance, on their own lives and identities, and on the society in which they live; and third, an understanding of how the particular culture being studied is related — historically, politically, and economically as well as culturally — to other cultural areas, including the West, in a world that is increasingly integrated. In addition, broad questions concerning culture, history, and social identity, as well as contemporary global issues, may be raised in these courses and related to the particular culture being studied. The emphasis on particular topics varies from course to course.Each course is multidisciplinary in approach and materials and is taught by a faculty member with a special interest in and knowledge of the culture concerned. These courses contribute to the student’s skills, critical acumen, and breadth of understanding, including an appreciation and a measure of skepticism regarding a variety of beliefs, values, and conventions, including their own.
Click here to read about the influence of the Long March on CCP leadership.
CORE 329 Passion, Promotion and Public Awareness: Thinking about Arts in the 21st Century
This course considers some of the challenges facing the arts and cultural institutions in the contemporary world. A series of case studies are used to raise questions about the range of issues that confront practitioners and presenters in the arts as they operate in an increasingly technological, commercial, and global society. The course seeks both to inform students about the broad category of creative activity that comprises (and complicates) current definitions of the arts, and to cultivate a critical perspective on the issues they face. It also examines the extent to which aesthetic ideals and expressive goals are often mediated by the practical reality of things such as the need to accommodate, develop and sustain audiences; to demonstrate economic viability and social value; and to navigate the moral and ethical questions raised by the presumption that cultural property can be "owned."Relevant Coursework throughout the Social Sciences, Natural Sciences and Humanities:
EDUC 201 The American School
An introductory analysis of American education. Readings from varied texts provide exposure to historical and philosophical foundations of schooling, contemporary problems, and the possible future of American education.POSC 210 Congress
This course analyzes the legislative process with a special emphasis on the relationship between Congress and the presidency. This course examines the historical development and structural attributes of Congress that determine its role in the executive-legislative relationship. Since the decision-making process varies enormously by issue area, the course focuses on several distinct policy areas. Course materials include classics of congressional scholarship as well as results from some of the latest research in the field.MATH 113 Multivariable Calculus
The calculus of functions of two or three variables. Among the topics considered are surfaces in three-dimensional space, partial derivatives, maxima and minima, and multiple integrals.ASTR 102 Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe
An introductory course dealing with the motions and physical characteristics of the sun, stars, and galaxies, including such modern topics as solar effects upon the Earth, stellar explosions, and theories of the origin of the universe. Observing sessions supplement lectures.CHIN 123: Intensive Chinese
This course is designed to cover the basic material of Elementary Chinese (121, 122) at an accelerated pace. Emphasis is on the structure of Modern Standard Chinese and acquisition of about 300 Chinese characters. The material is adapted for students who have had some previous exposure, either to Modern Standard Chinese or to any of the Chinese dialects.ENGL 332 London Theater
A study of the drama, both classic and modern, as it is represented in current London productions.Course descriptions are from the Colgate Catalogue, which is available online.