Join a Reader's College and meet new friends over great readings. Taught by faculty and staff, Reader's College courses typically involve reading books, joining in discussions and some writing. Students who satisfy the leader's requirements receive ½ course credit.
To sign up for one of the reading groups below simply contact the leader.
Instructor: Professor Charles Temple
This Readers' College is intended as a preparatory experience for students who will be participating in the Central Europe Program in June 2010.
Guiding questions for the course will be: Who are the peoples who live in Hungary and Romania, and where did they come from? What stories do they tell about themselves? How did they get along within their own groups, with others who inhabit their own space, and with outsiders? When and how did Hungary and Romania become nations? What did the concept of national boundaries mean, and how did the movements of those boundaries create the present set of aspirations and relationships?
In 11 weekly sessions we will read and discuss readings such as Lendvai and Major, The Hungarians: 1000 Years of Victory in Defeat, Klepper, Romania: An Illustrated History, andYoors, The Historic Present: Life Among the Gypsies. We will experiment with Romanian and Hungarian cooking, and learn useful phrases in the Hungarian and Romanian languages.
Meeting Time: TBA
Meeting Place: TBA
Contact: Professor Charles Temple at temple@hws.edu.
Instructor: Dean Chip Capraro
Readings focus on golf course architects Alister Mackenzie, Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones, and Pete Dye and the larger context of golf course history and principles of design. There will be two field trips, one to a Donald Ross course and another to a Robert Trent Jones Course in the Upstate New York region. Readings include: Tom Doak, The Anatomy of a Golf Course: The Art of Golf Architecture;Alister Mackenzie, The Spirit of St. Andrews; Donald Ross, Golf has never Failed Me; Pete Dye, Bury me in a Pot Bunker; David Owen: The Making of the Masters; Jarlath Hamrock, Finger Lakes Golf Guide: History, Design, and Designers.
Meeting Time: TBA
Meeting Place: TBA
Register on PeopleSoft
Contact:: Dean Chip Capraro at 781-3300, or Capraro@hws.edu
Instructor: Susan K. Hess
Restricted to students in the Honors and MAT programs (permission of the instructor required)
This spring, new and continuing members of Honors/MAT Readers' College can explore the hidden side of individual scholarly work: perfecting written professional discourse, articulating ideas for both a disciplinary and interdisciplinary audience, and managing a document of singular complexity and length. Preparation for the Honors Oral exam and Senior Symposium will also be a focus. Readings begin with Reichard and Obenzinger's "Interior Monologue with a Panic Attack," and continue using instructor- and participant-selected shorts.
Meeting Place: CTL Lounge, 2nd floor of the Library
Meeting Time: Thursdays beginning 1/28, 7:00-8:30 pm
Contact: Susan K. Hess at shess@hws.edu
Instructors: Professor Christine de Denus (Chemistry) and Dean Lisa Kaenzig
In this Readers College, we will read recent research on eminent women scientists that will inform our discussion of the role of women scientists in our society. Themes from the research, readings and active discussion will include resilience, success and work-life balance. These themes will be discussed through the lens of the lives of successful women scientists. Guest speakers will include women in science professions who will discuss their own career paths, current work-family balance and goal-setting. Class size limited to twelve students.
Meeting Time: Wednesdays, 5:00 - 6:30pm
Meeting Place: Smith 212
Contact: Dean Kaenzig at Kaenzig@hws.edu or Professor de Denus at dedenus@hws.edu
Instructors: Nathan Burtch, GIS Specialist, Finger Lakes Institute, and Rob Beutner, Instructional Technologist, Instructional and Research Technology
What does it mean to be Spatially Literate?
With the world feeling smaller, it becomes more important to be able to visualize and interpret data geographically. Spatial data streams to us daily from the GPS units in our cars to the maps displayed on news channels and websites. In this course we will explore some contemporary issues associated with geography, the intended and unintended ideas that maps communicate, and the concept of spatial literacy. We will discuss different topics such as elements of maps and map uses and misuses, mental mapping, visualizing patterns, and how geography affects current world issues. In addition we will look at elements of "neo-geography" - GPS and map mashups as well as web 2.0. The main text will be How to Lie with Maps by Mark Monmonier, with selected supplemental readings.
Meeting Time: Thursday, 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Meeting Place: Finger Lakes Institute, First Floor Classroom
Contact: Rob Beutner at beutner@hws.edu or ext. 3894 or Nathan Burtch at Burtch@hws.edu or ext.
4386.
Instructors: Professors James Spates and Jack Harris, Department of Anthropology and Sociology
We will explore the social world of Vietnam, its varied and complex history, culture and social relations. Through our study of their institutions, arts, and artifacts, we will find ourselves immersed in the life world of Vietnam, and are likely to achieve a fuller appreciation of the modes and meanings of what it means to be Vietnamese, and what it means to be American.
We will examine the many forces of social relations that impinge on Vietnamese life. These include geography and geographic location, social institutions such as kinship, village, religion, economy, education, and arts, tribal and ethnic history and the continued influence of ethnic groups, and the diversity of its urban and rural regions. In addition, we examine Vietnam's legacy of conflict and colonialism, including the American/Vietnam war and its human social, political and environmental effects on the nation.
Finally, we will explore how the Vietnamese are negotiating and seeking to reconcile and resolve the contradictions of socialist and capitalist theory and practice, as they seek to improve the lives of their people, and position themselves as a significant Southeast Asian political and economic force.
Meeting Time: TBA
Meeting Place: TBA
Contact: Professor James Spates at spates@hws.edu or Professor Jack Harris at harris@hws.edu.
Instructors: Jack Harris, Professor of Sociology and Lynn Shollen, Leadership Development Coordinator
The HWS Leads Reader's College is the gateway into the HWS Leads Leadership Development Certificate Program. The program is based on the assumption that leaders are not born but are developed, and focuses on behaviors, not competencies. Current and aspiring leaders will study, read, and discuss various components and practices of effective leadership. Learning what it means to lead with an inclusive, ethical, and values-based approach is foundational to this program. Examples of topics covered include building trust; identifying and modeling your values; ethics; identity, power, and privilege; collaboration; engaging others; establishing a shared vision; followership; presenting yourself; accountability; and, organizational culture. Invited speakers, workshops, and experiential activities add depth and breadth to the content. Course readings are chapters and articles drawn primarily from the leadership, sociology, education, social justice and diversity, and business literature. Additional support will come from the Hobart and William Smith team that assist with Centennial Center for Leadership programming. Please see www.hws.edu/academics/leadership or email leadership@hws.edu for more information on the Leadership Certificate Program requirements and application process.
Instructor consent required.
Meeting Time: RCOL 102-07: Monday 3-4:30; RCOL 102-12 Monday 7:30-9O. First meeting the week of January 25.
Contact: Lynn Shollen at shollen@hws.edu or x4552
Instructors: Susan Pliner, Director, Centennial Center for Leadership, Khuram Hussain, Assistant Professor of Education, and Cerri Banks, Dean of William Smith
This Reader's College will examine contemporary and historical social movements in major U.S. cities. It will include an introduction to theories and histories of Social Movements and an exploration of the role of leadership in advancing social change in Education, Politics and Law, and Contemporary Social Issues. The range of topics will include: The Harlem Children's Zone Project, Environmental Justice and Urban Neighborhoods, and policies like "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".
Instructor consent required.
Meeting Time: This course will be held on Mondays from 3:00 - 4:25 pm.
Contact: Susan Pliner at pliner@hws.edu or 781-3554
Instructor: Jon Iuzzini, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Public Policy Studies Program affiliate
What does it mean to be a transformative leader of people and groups whose differences can often overwhelm what they have in common? Intergroup leadership is a new model that emphasizes how we can motivate people of different backgrounds to work together toward common goals. We will discuss the steps to facilitating real collaboration between groups that have the potential to be in conflict by analyzing cases that range from multi-ethnic countries to religious communities to elected legislatures to multi-unit corporations. Our readings will include the new book, Crossing the Divide: Intergroup Leadership in a World of Difference.
Instructor consent required.
Meeting Time: This course will be held on Wednesdays from 4:35 - 6:00 pm.
Contact: Jon Iuzzini at iuzzini@hws.edu
Instructors: E.W. Quimbaya-Winship, PEHR Coordinator and Ruth Shields, Assistant Director of Center for Teaching and Learning
We communicate from the moment we wake up and say, 'Good morning', to the moment we last say, 'Good night'. Communication fills our day and the ability to speak and present with confidence is an essential leadership skill. The CCL Reader's College in Public Speaking will introduce students to the basics of public speaking and presentation skills. Using Cicero's Canon as a foundation, this course will provide students with a practical opportunity to become better presenters and public speakers. Topics covered will include (but are not limited to): critiquing a speech, analyzing your audience, exploring a topic, arranging a speech, the use of the language and the performance of speech through the voice and body.
Instructor consent required.
Course Structure and Meeting Time: The class will consist of students divided into two groups - Group 'A' and Group 'B'. Group 'A' and group 'B' will meet together on Monday, from 12:20pm to 1:15pm (Period 5); with Group 'A' meeting again on Wednesday (same time), and Group 'B' will meet again on Friday (same time).
Contact: Ruth Shields at shields@hws.edu or 781-3959
Instructors: Beth Kinne, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and James Landi, Sustainability Coordinator.
This Reader's College will examine the role that different types of leadership play in shifting culture, practices and policy to address environmental issues. It will include an introduction to a variety of leaders, ranging from 'extreme' grass roots leaders to 'non-partisan' leaders in the world of science.
Instructor consent required.
Meeting Time: This course will be held on Mondays from 3:00 - 4:25 pm.
Contact: Beth Kinne at kinne@hws.edu or 781-3913
Past Readers College courses include:
Feminist Poetry
Tolkien's Middle-earth
The Art of Ukrainian Easter Eggs
Golf Course Architecture: History and Theory
Don Quijote
2006 Mid Term Elections
Conflict Resolution and Community
