Here is a sample of some of the courses
currently proposed for SPARC's inaugural year.
Check back for updated information for the
summer of 2009!
Psychology of Language
This course is about the learning,
processing, and production of language.
We'll cover how words and grammar are
learned; how the sounds that make up
language are processed by the brain, and
how a speaker chooses words and creates
sentences. The course will include topics
like sign
languages, language disorders, and whether animals can learn language. We'll also discuss a major debate in the contemporary study of language. Often called the “rules vs. regularities” debate, it is the argument regarding whether people learn language by figuring out a set of rules that tell how to process incoming language and produce language in response, or by detecting the statistical regularities inherent in daily speech. We'll use the book The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker, and have additional articles and chapters from other sources.
languages, language disorders, and whether animals can learn language. We'll also discuss a major debate in the contemporary study of language. Often called the “rules vs. regularities” debate, it is the argument regarding whether people learn language by figuring out a set of rules that tell how to process incoming language and produce language in response, or by detecting the statistical regularities inherent in daily speech. We'll use the book The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker, and have additional articles and chapters from other sources.
Globalization and Empire
Utilizing excerpts from Negri &
Hardt’s book Empire, as well as other
pieces about the effects of
globalization, this course will
investigate the following things:
What precisely is globalization?
What kind of a world condition are we
moving towards? What are the
various stakeholder groups that are
affected by globalization and what are
those effects? How are seemingly
disconnected events actually tied in
together? What actions can or
should be taken to control the process of
globalization?
LeGuin's Writings
This course will explore some of renowned
science fiction author Ursula LeGuin’s
works. There will be a special
emphasis on her Hainish works including
The Left Hand of Darkness, The
Dispossessed, The Telling, and Tales of
Exile and Illusion. The books will
be discussed in the context of the time
frame they were written in, and what
social commentary is embedded in
them. Additionally they will be
examined from an anthropological
perspective. What characteristics are
necessary to be described to understand a
culture?
Creative Writing: Short Fiction
In this course we will take an idea for a
story and develop it in several
directions. The story will be
outlined, the main characters
defined. Then the story will be
written from the perspective of several
different characters, showing how
different angles highlight different
aspects. There will be a lot of
peer review and feedback. At the
end of the course the stories will be
compiled into a final book.
Programming a Text Based RPG
This course is an introduction to
programming computers. Students will
create a text based RPG which they can
play through the computer's terminal.
They will learn how to do input-output,
loops, and other command statements in
Java.
Philosophy of Science Fiction
This course will examine the
philosophical underpinnings of major
Science Fiction stories. Topics will
include Time Travel, Personal Identity,
Skepticism, and Theory of Knowledge.
Students will read short stories by such
authors as Phillip K. Dick, Issac Asimov,
and Robert Heinlein. Students will also
screen movies and episodes of Doctor Who,
and discuss their philosophical
implications.
course listings subject to change