Fall 2016 Course Descriptions for
English Composition (FYW 1000C)
Scientific Inquiry (SCI 1000C)
To the student:
Many of the faculty who teach English Composition and Scientific
Inquiry have created a unique theme for their particular course.
Browse through these different themes to see which specific courses
interest you.
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Fall 2016
Course Themes for FYW 1000C: English Composition
Sophie Bell
Tuesday/Friday
Monday/Thursday
12:15-13:40
13:50-15:15
74026
74039
“Writing, Race, Language, and Activism”
In this course, students will form a community of inquiry to deepen our understandings of the role race and
language play in our identities and experiences. Through writing, students will interrogate race and language in our
own lives, and examine institutional forms of racism and language discrimination in areas such as education,
housing, criminal justice, health care, employment, immigration, citizenship, and the beauty industry. The semester
will culminate in presentations of students’ digital research on questions of systemic racism. Through producing
these texts, students will develop a shared, transformative understanding of the role of race and language in all of
our lives.
We will discuss code-switching, vernacular language, racial micro- and macroaggressions, colorblindness,
and institutional racism as they apply to the experiences of students in the class. We will create Spoken Word
performances with poet mentors from Urban Word NYC; conduct interviews and other forms of qualitative research
such as focus groups, Photovoice projects, and surveys; attend campus and community lectures and workshops
through the Racial Justice Learning Community; and use the university's library databases to join academic and
activist conversations on the topics students choose to explore. We will look at activist writing that engages
innovatively with race and language to offer a vision of a more just society, from the literature and art of the Black
Arts Movement and the Young Lords in the 1960s and 1970s, to the “Students’ Right to their Own Language”
statement of 1972, to the activist scholarship of Critical Race Theorists beginning in the 1980s, and
#BlackLivesMatter in 2014 and beyond. This course assumes that writing and race are both difficult and important
topics, and that by facing them together we will have a valuable learning experience, generating original,
transformative ideas and writing.
Sarah Coluccio
Tuesday/Friday
73995
9:05-10:30
“In Life, Keep Writing” – Exploring our Connection to Words
The aim of this course is to introduce you to writing as you have perhaps never considered it before. We
will be working on a combination of projects in which you explore topics of your choice as well as what writing in
general mean to you. Throughout the course of the semester, I want everyone to feel free to use their own varied
Englishes and dialects – rather than asking you to conform to so-called “Standard English,” we’ll be exploring each
assignment through the lens of language itself – how do the ways we speak at home and outside school (aka in our
everyday lives) affect our writing, and how can we bring them into the classroom?
There will be some discussions on traditional mechanics and form during the semester, and we will also
utilize free-writing and revision exercises in class on a regular basis. Many of the assignments you will complete in
this course will require you to reevaluate your thoughts on the type of writing you expect to see in the classroom as
opposed to the type of writing you see outside of it. Some of the projects in this class will draw extensively on your
own personal lives.
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Collin Craig
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
9:05-10:30
12:15-13:40
13:50-15:15
73996
74029
74038
“Writing Diversity, Reading Culture”
The late great Maya Angelou once stated that “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating
that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we
may even become friends”. While her words indicate that our attitudes, cultures and values can define our
differences she also suggests that we all embody a shared sense of humanity that we might come to understand
through our interactions and acknowledgments of others around us. In the 21st century we have experienced an ever
-increasing diverse population, the re-election of America’s first Black President, polarizing religion wars, and a
more encompassing civil rights agenda that includes women’s and LGBTQ communities. So what if we asked
ourselves “what does it mean to be diverse?” What are our investments in our diversity? What are our feelings and
logical reasonings about diversity? More broadly, what does diversity mean for 21st century American culture?
What role does contemporary social movements like Occupy Wall Street, #Blacklivesmatter and other protest
movements play as we consider the meaning of diversity and difference? What is the role of the university in
defining our discussions about diversity? Through critical reading, writing and thinking we will explore these
questions in depth while engaging how diversity and difference shapes our attitudes about the economy, racial and
ethnic difference, sexuality, politics, protest movements, popular culture, and higher education.
This writing course will ask you to consider the overall purposes of argumentation. We will explore how
writers use different mediums, purposes, and contexts to articulate arguments while developing our own strategies
for communication. Through our interactions and analysis of rhetorical (communicative) practices, this course will
prepare you to argue, analyze and reflect using a variety of written, oral and visual strategies for different purposes
and audiences.
Assignments will include: rhetorical analysis, position papers, research reports, multimodal projects,
reflections and a final portfolio.
Katelynn DeLuca
Monday/Thursday
On-line
10:40-12:05
74017
73919
“Exploring Our World”
This first year writing course aims to explore a variety of ideas and values through various writing and
reading assignments. Throughout the semester, we will take a sociological approach to literature and writing;
gender, class, race and historical and cultural context will be used as springboards for our discussions and writing.
How are these things represented in the world around us? How do these shape our understanding of the world? How
have dominant hierarchies impacted our understanding of the world?
This course is about interrogating the status quo via honest questioning and examination. We will explore
our own assumptions and ideas about the identity constructions listed above and see how they are challenged,
reflected, or complicated by our readings and experiences. This course invites you to ponder your own roles,
identities, and the extent to which you are shaped by your own cultural experiences.
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Donna Downing
Tuesday/Friday
12:15-13:40
74022
FYW 1000C is an intensive writing course required of St. John’s University undergraduates. The work of
the course involves an investigation into various means of composing texts, such as the relationships between
brainstorming, reading, research, revising, and editing. Students will work in a workshop setting, sharing their
writing and responding to the work of their classmates. The course offers students an introduction to writing studies,
an opportunity to experiment with their own developing styles, a chance to explore a range of compositional and
rhetorical strategies, and the opportunity to research ideas and topics of relevance to their own lives and chosen
disciplines. The course seeks to show that writing is a process of thinking and a powerful medium for the
intellectual, social, and professional growth of both students and teachers.
Regina Duthely
Wednesday
17:00-19:50
74076
Public spaces have always provided a space for people to engage in activist work and protest. From
abolitionist papers and women’s clubs seeking the right to vote to current hip-hop artists and twitter activists, we
have seen the ways public movements can start revolutions. The power of the online world to evoke change has
become more apparent in recent years. In our course you will become digital activists. You will act as “digital
griots” to throw your voice into conversations taking place around social justice issues. In his book Digital Griots
Adam Banks argues for a reimagining of the DJ as a new school griot. The griot in African tradition is the storyteller
for the village. The griot is the keeper of the stories and history for his people. In keeping with this tradition the DJ
has effectively used technology to tell the stories of the people. The DJ also transforms the way the stories are told.
The DJ spends hours sampling and looping records, playing records over other records, mixing the sounds until they
became something completely new. A method included in this remixing was scratching. “The scratch is an
interruption. It breaks the linearity of the text, the progressive circularity of the song…What was noise, what was
seen as the sign of a broken record or stylus, an unwelcome interruption in the continual march of text, groove,
history, became a purposeful interruption, became pleasurable, became a way to insert other voices in a text, to
redirect one’s attention” (Banks 1). You will insert your voices through your online writing. We will look at various
protest discourses to explore the ways people engage in activist work in public discourse spaces. Through this lens
we will engage in public writing and speak into meaningful social justice issues.
Harry Ewan
Tuesday/Friday
13:50-15:15
74035
“Language and Power”
Language is the means through which we intersect with our world. Our focus this semester will be
language and its usage—an important topic, considering the fact that the ways in which we individually use speech
and writing undeniably shape our identities as well as the ways in which our identities are perceived by others, and
thus confer power.
In context of this course, you will not only write everyday but also closely examine your own writing,
language use, and writing habits through autoethnography. You will examine and constructively comment on your
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peers’ writing. Additionally, you will examine socio-linguistic discourse relating to how different registers of the
English language are used and thought of, as well as the English language’s history and global cultural impact in
business, politics, and the arts. You will also examine the issues surrounding dominant and lesser languages and
linguists’ efforts to record and preserve dying languages. You will do all of the above in order to recognize the
versatility and mutability of language, and to develop greater ease with using language and rhetoric across the
curriculum and in a variety of academic genres, culminating in a final research project which consists of a formal
proposal, a research/argument paper, and an annotated bibliography.
David Farley
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
12:15-13:40
13:50-15:15
74024
74045
Travel and the Passport
This intensive writing course will explore the boundary between the public and private, a boundary that is
both a particular place and an abstract idea. We will examine how this boundary is
described/inscribed/reinforced/resisted by writing. In particular our discussion of this boundary will center on the
passport as a document that organizes information about us into a neat little booklet. Through a series of papers that
emerge from the different categories present in the passport – categories such as name, language, gender, nation, and
the like – we will attempt to “reclaim” this document from the government bureaucracy of which it is a part and
recast it in a form that can better represent who we are and how we engage the world, ultimately allowing us a
greater freedom to travel where we will. In addition to this series of paper, students will complete weekly writing
assignments, both in class and out, and complete a final “Creative Passport,” where you will collect, reflect, and,
most importantly, reclaim the writing you did over the course of the semester.
Roseanne Gatto
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
10:40-12:05
13:50-15:15
15:25-16:50
74015
70609
74056
Hon 1030C
“(re)thinking memoir, (re)imagining the book”
This section of FYW 1000C revolves around a semester-long book project written about what you are
burning to tell the world. Your book will reflect your personal history, and include stories you have grown up with
and stories you wish to pass on. Think of the stories you hope are told years from now. I would also like for you to
think about how these histories have shaped who you are as well as whom you hope to be. In doing this work you
will be drawing on a variety of sources to deepen and contextualize your narrative. You will be asked to move
beyond the surface of your story and think critically about the social implications of writing a text of this nature. The
book you write will not die in this class, or my office, or on your hard drive. At the end of the semester you will
submit a hand-made book and then determine where you will send a copy. Think about whom would best benefit
from reading this book. Where can this book do the most good?
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Stephanie Gray
Tuesday
Thursday
17:00-19:50
17:00-19:50
74066
74072
“Writing the Self Through the City and Place, Keepin’ It Real”
We live in one of the most diverse and remarkable metropolises in the world – yet this large city is
comprised of countless neighborhoods, places, and people – millions of people, including YOU, all with a story (and
maybe a mystery or secret) behind each and every one. In this class you will navigate your own story and sense of
self through reading and writing about our city (and other places) and the many stories behind them, in order to
create your own. We will write several types of pieces where we explore notions of self through place, NYC, and
our own relationships to our city or place. We will write our own narratives, portraits, and analysis of different
places and works we will read – mostly nonfiction, but ending with a special series of fiction short stories based on
the author’s real life.
We will explore all of these different elements of place and the personal for inspiring the writing of our
essays, journals, research piece, and reflection with our end of semester portfolio. With so many interesting aspects
to our class theme, there WILL be something for everyone to pursue – something YOU are interested in and excited
by. While we will be working with this theme and focused assignments, within them you will always be able to
choose YOUR specific topic/subtopic, so make it fun for YOU!
We will learn that writing is a continual learning process rather than just a finished product to be evaluated
and graded, end of story. Think of the analogy of a writer’s practice to that of an athlete and musician – do they do a
perfect long jump or symphony on the first try? It’s about practice, practice and not always what we think is
perfection. Besides supporting your continuing development of written sophistication and innovative/real life
research (not the typical research you might always think of) this class will introduce you to different and exciting
writing strategies through essays and a creative research work, and will culminate with a portfolio, with a personal
reflection. We’ll write journals in which you will express your personal take/interpretation on the reading as well as
what you think the writer is trying to express. Writers we will read and become inspired by include nonfiction works
of: Touré, Colum McCann, “The Long Winded Lady”/Maeve Brennan, E.B. White, Sandra Cisneros, Jane Jacobs,
Edmund Berrigan, Sloane Crosley, Nora Ephron, and others, as well as to be announced, yet to be published
readings we’ll find on blogs and news sites that fit in with the explorations in our class (a little surprise can’t hurt!)
Barbara Harrington
Monday/Thursday
15:25-16:50
74063
FYW 1000C is an intensive writing course required of St. John’s University undergraduates. The work of
the course involves an investigation into various means of composing texts, such as the relationships between
brainstorming, reading, research, revising, and editing. Students will work in a workshop setting, sharing their
writing and responding to the work of their classmates. The course offers students an introduction to writing studies,
an opportunity to experiment with their own developing styles, a chance to explore a range of compositional and
rhetorical strategies, and the opportunity to research ideas and topics of relevance to their own lives and chosen
disciplines. The course seeks to show that writing is a process of thinking and a powerful medium for the
intellectual, social, and professional growth of both students and teachers.
6
Angela Hooks
Tuesday/Friday
9:05-10:30
74006
FYW 1000C is an intensive writing course required of St. John’s University undergraduates. The work of
the course involves an investigation into various means of composing texts, such as the relationships between
brainstorming, reading, research, revising, and editing. Students will work in a workshop setting, sharing their
writing and responding to the work of their classmates. The course offers students an introduction to writing studies,
an opportunity to experiment with their own developing styles, a chance to explore a range of compositional and
rhetorical strategies, and the opportunity to research ideas and topics of relevance to their own lives and chosen
disciplines. The course seeks to show that writing is a process of thinking and a powerful medium for the
intellectual, social, and professional growth of both students and teachers.
Abriana Jetté
Thursday*
Thursday*
10:40-12:05
12:15-13:40
71301
74034
Hon 1030C
*These classes are hybrid; the second day of class is held on-line.
“In
Love & War: Discovering the Self through Rhetoric”
This course surveys composition as a personal, political, social, and intuitive process through various modes
of writing. Writing stems from thinking, and we think best when we are stimulated by the ideas of those around us.
Because of this, we'll be reading from a variety of cultures and decades, from Ancient Greece to modern day
America. After we have a stronger understanding of our own ideals, ethics, and morals of the world we have created
around us, we’ll start to employ different methods of writing that reflect such values including poetry, nonfiction,
translation, and fiction.
Srigowri Kumar
Monday/Thursday
15:25-16:50
74049
Othering and Belonging
The purpose of this class is to provide a rigorous introduction to the thinking, analysis, drafting,
collaboration and revision involved in writing effectively. Students will approach every writing task as a practice
exercise that chips away at a larger argumentative essay to be submitted at the end of the semester. In order to
ensure sustained thinking in a common direction, we will use this class to have a conversation on what john a.
powell calls “the circle of human concern.” What is this circle? Who sets its boundaries? What circumstances
determine who “belongs” in this circle and who gets relegated to the space of the “other”? In attempting to answer
these questions, we will sensitize ourselves to the power language wields in the creation, sustenance and destruction
of categories such as “self/other.”
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Laura Lisabeth
Monday/Thursday
9:05-10:30
73920
FYW 1000C is an intensive writing course required of St. John’s University undergraduates. The work of
the course involves an investigation into various means of composing texts, such as the relationships between
brainstorming, reading, research, revising, and editing. Students will work in a workshop setting, sharing their
writing and responding to the work of their classmates. The course offers students an introduction to writing studies,
an opportunity to experiment with their own developing styles, a chance to explore a range of compositional and
rhetorical strategies, and the opportunity to research ideas and topics of relevance to their own lives and chosen
disciplines. The course seeks to show that writing is a process of thinking and a powerful medium for the
intellectual, social, and professional growth of both students and teachers.
Sharon Marshall
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
12:15-13:40
13:50-15:15
15:25-16:50
74028
74041
74059
Writing to Making Things Right--- Bias, Privilege, Race and Struggles for Freedom and Justice
“Education at its best is a process of liberation from prejudice.” Daisaku Ikeda
We write and compose for many reasons and with different purposes in mind—to communicate, record,
express, ponder, analyze, argue, make art, persuade and more. And compositions or texts come in many forms or
genres—letters, essays, poems, webpages, articles, speeches, tweets, stories, txt msgs, videos, and sound recordings.
Writing and other media productions are also powerful tools for the truth telling that can initiate social change. In
this class you will compose in different genres and explore many purposes of writing as we read, view and analyze
the work of writers, filmmakers, activists and others who challenge prejudice and bias, shed light on our nation’s
history and construction of race, and who stand up for social justice and encourage us to do the same. Major
assignments include an oral history audio essay and a multimodal research project on a topic that you choose.
(Multimodal means using different means of expression at the same time and being conscious of how each one
interacts with the others to create messages or experiences. Modes can be thought of as channels or conveyers of
meaning, such as written words, photographs, drawings, video, sound, spoken language, gestures, music, color, font
styles, etc.) You will also keep a reading and writing journal, respond to the work of other students, and create a
final portfolio.
Manny Martinez
Monday/Thursday
Monday/Thursday
15:25-16:50
17:00-18:25
74057
74074
“Race, Culture and Identity”
We will be exploring the ways in which race and culture influence our sense of identity, and how those
identities can be challenged when the lines between races and culture begin to disappear.
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Vickie Masseus
Monday/Thursday
15:25-16:50
74055
FYW 1000C is an intensive writing course required of St. John’s University undergraduates. The work of
the course involves an investigation into various means of composing texts, such as the relationships between
brainstorming, reading, research, revising, and editing. Students will work in a workshop setting, sharing their
writing and responding to the work of their classmates. The course offers students an introduction to writing studies,
an opportunity to experiment with their own developing styles, a chance to explore a range of compositional and
rhetorical strategies, and the opportunity to research ideas and topics of relevance to their own lives and chosen
disciplines. The course seeks to show that writing is a process of thinking and a powerful medium for the
intellectual, social, and professional growth of both students and teachers.
M. Amanda Moulder
Monday/Thursday
Monday/Thursday
10:40-12:05
12:15-13:40
74018
74025
“Personal Stories/Public Engagement”
This course begins with two ideas. The first comes from Thomas King, a Cherokee writer and scholar, who
tells us that “the truth about stories is that that’s all we are. . . . Stories are wondrous things. And they are dangerous.
. . . So you have to be careful with the stories you tell. And you have to watch out for the stories that you are told”
(2-10). The second idea comes from political theorist Iris Marion Young, who argues that personal storytelling has
political significance:
Narrative can serve to explain to outsiders what practices, places, or symbols mean to the people who hold
them. Values, unlike norms, often cannot be justified through argument. But neither are they arbitrary. . . . Through
narrative the outsiders may come to understand why the insiders value what they value. (131-132).
King and Young explain a key connection between personal stories and public engagement. As Young
explains, when someone tells us “their story” we, as audience members, have the opportunity to identify how that
speaker or writer formed his or her opinions or assumptions, to identify and perhaps see across our differences, and
in the best case scenario, we have the chance to find common ground with that person. And, as King reminds us, it is
our responsibility to be mindful of the ethics of storytelling and to make sure that our stories do justice to their
subjects. There’s value in understanding others’ experiences: when we know more about others’ stories, we become
stronger, more empathetic communicators because we have a deeper understanding of our many different potential
listeners, readers, and viewers.
During this class, you will analyze and practice writing in multiple genres to explore your personal
encounters with critical public issues and to create texts that are sensitive to different audiences. To help you explore
these issues, we will read and discuss texts written by academics, experts, and public intellectuals such as H. Samy
Alim, Geneva Smitherman, Amy Tan, Gloria Anzaldùa, Carmen Kynard, Suresh Canagarajah, Stanley Fish, Donald
Lazere, Jay Smooth, and Chimamanda Adichie. You will share your writing with your classmates and become
attentive, active audience members for one another. Also, you will analyze your own stories to locate an important
community topic that inspires you to take part in larger public conversations and join forces with one another to
conduct primary and secondary research in teams. In your research groups, you will experiment with new media and
digital forms of communication to reach real-world audiences. This part of the course combines instruction in digital
composing with community research to reinforce for students that writing doesn’t just make assertions, it calls
others to action. You will produce original knowledge through primary and secondary research to understand as well
as intervene in public discourse. All of the composing skills you will practice--analyzing and creating genres with
attention to rhetorical appeals, design, uses of sound/image/video, context, and citation—will serve your community
research agendas. The entire semester will be guided by the idea that when we investigate and write about what we
already love to think about, we are better writers and sharper critical thinkers.
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Sean Murray
Monday*
Monday*
Distance Learning
10:40-12:05
12:15-13:40
on-line
73921
71303
73918
Hon 1030C
*These classes are hybrid; the second day of class is held on-line.
“Writing for Social Justice”
Cheap fast food, energy-saving light bulbs, stereotypes in reality television, our privacy on social
networking sites…What do these seemingly disparate topics have to do with each other? They all connect to the
theme of social justice. As our world continues to grow in size and complexity, we must grapple with pressing
questions about how to build the most ethical society possible. Individually and collectively, we must ask, ‘What’s
the fairest, most responsible way forward?’ when working through the countless dilemmas facing our communities.
Because social justice is a concept that applies to numerous issues, you will have opportunities to investigate topics
that speak to you, whether they be related to education, the environment, the economy, health care, peace and war,
gender, race, or social class (to name just a few). As we move through various writing projects, we will ask
questions related to audience and genre: What do readers expect from a piece like this? What conventions should I
take seriously? Which rules can I break? Class sessions will often function as writing workshops where we propose
our initial ideas, share drafts, elicit feedback, and reflect critically on that feedback. At the semester’s end, we will
put together portfolios that illustrate our journeys as writers and critical thinkers.
Derek Owens
Monday
17:00-19:50
74065
In this writing course you'll research and write about topics that matter to you personally. This might
include your life, the lives of others, where you live, interests you might have, arguments you want to pursue,
cultures and subcultures you belong to or are interested in, and more. The course will be divided into three phases,
and for each phase you'll define your writing project. You'll be put in a small group that will read and respond to
your work as you respond to theirs. You'll have the opportunity to write in a variety of styles and genres, as well as
create work in multimedia and multigenre forms. At the end of the semester you'll submit a final portfolio which,
among other things, will include early and finished drafts, responses to and from other students, and an end-ofsemester self-reflection.
Michael Reich
Monday/Thursday
Monday/Thursday
10:40-12:05
15:25-16:50
74016
74054
FYW 1000C is an intensive writing course required of St. John’s University undergraduates. The work of
the course involves an investigation into various means of composing texts, such as the relationships between
brainstorming, reading, research, revising, and editing. Students will work in a workshop setting, sharing their
writing and responding to the work of their classmates. The course offers students an introduction to writing studies,
an opportunity to experiment with their own developing styles, a chance to explore a range of compositional and
rhetorical strategies, and the opportunity to research ideas and topics of relevance to their own lives and chosen
disciplines. The course seeks to show that writing is a process of thinking and a powerful medium for the
intellectual, social, and professional growth of both students and teachers.
10
Tara Roeder
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
12:15-13:40
13:50-15:15
15:25-16:50
74030
74037
71769
Hon 1030C
“Traversing Genre”
Welcome to FYW 1000C! This course will give you the opportunity to explore writing through multiple
lenses and approaches. For the next few months, we will become a community of writers, thinking about our craft
and looking at how a variety of texts—especially your own and those of the other writers in class—work.
The texts you create this semester will come out of your passion, your experiences, and your beliefs, and
they will grow as you critically re-envision them. I will not give you a list of topics to write about; this course will
allow you the opportunity to create your own content, exploring concepts like self, family, memory, place, culture,
and politics through the use of forms such as memoir, essay, documentary, manifesto, poetry, graphic text, literary
analysis, and letter. Students in the past have done amazing work designing their own projects, creating graphic
novels that incorporated historical research, spoken word poetry that was later performed at open-mics, hand-crafted
books containing fairy tales and family histories, non-linear memoirs, documentaries, pieces of investigative
journalism, and a variety of essays that explored everything from straight-edge culture to graffiti to how to buy a car
that fits your budget. Now you will have the opportunity to craft your own vision as a writer while exploring the
conversations surrounding various genres.
As you compose your texts, both your work and you as a writer will grow in significant ways. We’ll look
at writing both as an act of self-construction and a way of connecting to a larger world, and we’ll engage in a
process of dialogue with each other, one that includes drafting, sharing, responding, listening, and revising. We'll
move through various genres, exploring their possibilities and pushing their boundaries, as we attempt to make
meaning out of issues we care deeply about.
Vittoria Rubino
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
15:25-16:50
17:00-18:25
74061
74069
“Narratives”
The theme for our course is language and literacy. Language and literacy make up a big part of our identity.
We all come to this course with a variety of reading, writing, and composing experiences or strategies. Writing
about one’s life is a powerful human need—we will use our time to compose a number of narratives concerning our
own lives and the lives of others with a specific focus on language and literacy. This section of composition is
designed to help you gain confidence in your analytical and creative processes. Throughout the semester, you will
learn how to evaluate and critique your own writing and the writing of others. We will have group discussions and
writing workshops, creating a space to share and enhance our writing. Writing is always a public and social
interaction, meaning we will not only be working together on reading and writing projects, but also learning how to
foster a writing community.
Alexandra Sears
Monday/Thursday
Monday/Thursday
10:40-12:05
15:25-16:50
74020
74053
FYW 1000C is an intensive writing course required of St. John’s University undergraduates. The work of
the course involves an investigation into various means of composing texts, such as the relationships between
11
brainstorming, reading, research, revising, and editing. Students will work in a workshop setting, sharing their
writing and responding to the work of their classmates. The course offers students an introduction to writing studies,
an opportunity to experiment with their own developing styles, a chance to explore a range of compositional and
rhetorical strategies, and the opportunity to research ideas and topics of relevance to their own lives and chosen
disciplines. The course seeks to show that writing is a process of thinking and a powerful medium for the
intellectual, social, and professional growth of both students and teachers.
Anna Sicari
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
13:50-15:15
15:25-16:50
74043
74051
Ridding Ourselves of Doubt: Writing, Experimenting with Genre, and Putting Our Voices Out There
Welcome to FYW 1000C! This class is designed to make us write—and then write again; we will be
exploring the process of writing, and how we talk about ourselves and the world around us through language.
Everyone has something that interests them and therefore, everyone has something that they can write (and write
well) about. Our readings will include memoirs, short stories, essays, poems, manifestos, journalistic pieces, blogs-& then some—in order to inspire us and see ourselves as writers and to put our voices in conversation with the
world. What kind of writer are you and what do you want to write about? These are the kind of questions we will be
reflecting on throughout the semester and figuring out both individually and as a class.
Peggy Suzuki
Monday/Thursday
15:25-16:50
74058
FYW 1000C is an intensive writing course required of St. John’s University undergraduates. The work of
the course involves an investigation into various means of composing texts, such as the relationships between
brainstorming, reading, research, revising, and editing. Students will work in a workshop setting, sharing their
writing and responding to the work of their classmates. The course offers students an introduction to writing studies,
an opportunity to experiment with their own developing styles, a chance to explore a range of compositional and
rhetorical strategies, and the opportunity to research ideas and topics of relevance to their own lives and chosen
disciplines. The course seeks to show that writing is a process of thinking and a powerful medium for the
intellectual, social, and professional growth of both students and teachers.
Additional Sections
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
12:15-13:40
13:50-15:15
74027
74047
12
Fall 2016
Course Themes for SCI 1000C: Scientific Inquiry
Rami Alsaber
Monday/Thursday
Monday/Thursday
9:05-10:30
10:40-12:05
70578
70635
Honors
“Concepts in Biology”
The aim of this course is to familiarize students with an essential understanding of the scientific method
utilizing general concepts in the biological and information sciences. The content of this course will initially expose
students to a number of relevant biological concepts such as evolution, classical genetics, and molecular biology and
continue to address issues relevant to information sciences and biology including biotechnology, Next Generation
Sequencing and analytics.
Talia Ara
Wednesday
10:40-13:30
70634
“Atomic Theory”
The overall goal of thinking critically about science (and by extension to other fields as well) is a multistage, multi-faceted process. The course will allow students to recognize the nature of a problem, question its
elements, actively investigate those elements, reason through the results of that inquiry to possible answers,
accept and refine the results of that reasoning, and finally, act on that acceptance.
Robin Appel
Tuesday/Friday
9:05-10:30
70903
“Climate Change”
In this course you will learn about the process of science and about climate change. We will learn through
reading, class assignments, lectures and experiments.
Olga Binyaminov
Monday/Thursday
7:30-8:55
73416
“Atomic Theory”
The overall goal of thinking critically about science (and by extension to other fields as well) is a multistage, multi-faceted process. The course will allow students to recognize the nature of a problem, question its
elements, actively investigate those elements, reason through the results of that inquiry to possible answers,
accept and refine the results of that reasoning, and finally, act on that acceptance.
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Dmitry Brogun
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
13:50-15:15
15:25-16:50
17:00-18:25
70700
73121
71470
“Life and Science”
In this class we will discuss the role of science; the physical structure, properties and principles that apply
to all living things and the integration of science into daily events.
Jennifer Chabra
Wednesday
13:50-16:40
71876
“Atomic Theory”
The overall goal of thinking critically about science (and by extension to other fields as well) is a multistage, multi-faceted process. The course will allow students to recognize the nature of a problem, question its
elements, actively investigate those elements, reason through the results of that inquiry to possible answers,
accept and refine the results of that reasoning, and finally, act on that acceptance.
Merle Colchamiro
Tuesday/Friday
10:40-12:05
72061
“Genetics”
Although the principle concepts of genetics have been known for only 100 years, genetic selection has been
conducted for many centuries on domesticated animals (i.e. dogs) and food crops (i.e. corn). While recent advances
in genetic research have provided a greater ability to diagnose and treat various human abnormalities, they have also
produced many ethical and political considerations, which are still hotly debated and remain unresolved.
Grace DeLise-Vangi
Monday
19:10-22:00
70829
“Forensic Science”
Students will practice the skills of scientific inquiry, scientific literacy, and scientific numeracy through the
analysis of crime case studies and laboratory experiences. Using the topic of forensic science, this course will apply
the principles of scientific knowledge and the skills to analyze various case studies involving crime scene
investigation & crime reconstruction. Students will be asked to make careful observations, precise measurements,
use the scientific method, deductive reasoning and critical thinking skills to analyze case studies. Topics covered
include the history of forensic science, rules of evidence, collection and processing of evidence, trace evidence, hair
and fiber, blood spatter patterns, DNA fingerprinting as well as document and handwriting analysis. The course uses
lecture, discussion and laboratory exercises to enhance the student’s understanding of the scientific method in
various situations and to show how crime scene investigation and forensic science really use the scientific method.
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Cynthia Edwards
Monday/Thursday
Monday/Thursday
10:40-12:05
12:15-13:40
70874
70594
“Concepts in Chemistry”
The fundamental approach of this course is to facilitate students’ understanding of basic chemical concepts
in order to inspire Habits of Mind to think deeply and make consumer decisions, to read about and understand
chemically related issues in the media, and to appreciate the significance of chemistry in their daily lives
Maura Flannery
Monday/Thursday
10:40-12:05
72103
“Concepts in Biology”
Scientific Inquiry is a one-semester core course designed for students who are not planning to pursue a
career in science. The aim is to make you better informed about science, but more importantly, to give you a better
sense of what it is to do science, what scientific research is all about, why it is so challenging to do, and why it can
be fascinating. In addition, when you leave this course, you should have a better grasp of some of science topics
reported in the media and a better critical sense of the strengths and weaknesses of such reports.
Jonathan Fowler
Tuesday/Friday
9:05-10:30
70510
“Kineseology”
The science of movement: Kinesiology teaches how our body moves and functions in athletic form. The
class will focus on sports nutrition, muscle structure and function, as well as cardiovascular structure and how these
relate to athletic performance. A very relevant class for student-athletes, sports management majors and anyone
interested in health.
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Tuesday/Friday
On-line
12:15-13:40
72996
70507
Honors
“Practical Botany”
Plants are indispensable parts of our lives. This course examines how humans use plants for chemicals,
medicine, fuel, and food. An emphasis on nutrition, sustainability and drugs from caffeine to marijuana shows the
relevancy of science in our daily lives.
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15
Tuesday/Friday
10:40-12:05
70509
“Nutrition”
Food, Nutrition and Behavior will guide students through the relevant research in food choice, control of
food intake and associated pathologies. Introductory anatomy and physiology will be presented in the context of
taste and digestion, but main focus of the course will be on the many determinants of eating behavior including:
intrapersonal (physiological and psychological), interpersonal (parental, social, cultural), environmental, and
political. Specific regard will be given to the applicability of science to combating modern epidemics of chronic
disease and the role of the individual, families, institutions and government.
Matthew Graziose
Tuesday/Friday
15:25-16:50
70421
“Nutrition”
In this section we will explore common questions from the field of nutrition science including: what drives
us to chose certain foods? What is the relationship between food and health outcomes? What kinds of evidence are
necessary for health and nutrition policy at the local, state and federal levels? We will focus on the methodologies
that can be used to answer these questions and the controversies that arise from uncertainty.
David Jacome
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
9:05-10:30
12:15-13:40
70508
72501
“How Things Work”
This course will develop an understanding of the physics of everyday objects. The relevant physics
concepts will be introduced through demonstrations and simulation experiences. Students will learn conceptual
physics topics and develop a complete picture of the Scientific Method.
*********************************************************************************************
Tuesday/Friday
13:50-15:15
70624
"Newtonian Mechanics”
This course provides a comprehensive, non-calculus introduction to physics. Vectors, Forces, Newtonian
mechanics of translational and rotational motion. This course is intended for life science and health science majors.
Kristy Lamb
Monday/Thursday
17:00-18:25
73547
“Outbreaks”
In Outbreaks, we will learn about the human body, pathogens, and what happens when they interact. We
will cover basic immunology and infectious disease, and will also discuss how people interact with illness and treat
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illness as individuals and collectively as a society. To do so, we will examine many different past epidemics, as well
as discussing current epidemics and approaches to dealing with them.
James LaSalle
Monday/Thursday
12:15-13:40
72369
“Origins and Conflicts”
This course navigates through 3.8 billion years of Earth's history. The many theories of how life originated
on the planet as well as, the origin of evolutionary scientific thought will be explored. The conflicting arguments
surrounding creation and evolution, the origin of the first cell, the impact on diversity by micro and macroevolution,
the extinction of the dinosaurs, and the dawn of humanity are just a few of the topics that will be discussed.
Brook Lauro
Tuesday/Friday
On-line
12:15-13:40
71314
74375
“Biodiversity”
A wonderful and spectacular aspect of life on earth is biodiversity: from genes, to species, to ecosystems.
There are millions of species alive today and it has taken billions of years for them to evolve to their current level of
complexity. Through the lens of scientific inquiry this course examines the evolutionary path of biological diversity
from how cells developed some 3.8 billion years ago, through historic mass extinctions, to present day diversity.
Students learn about the evolution of fascinating organisms, past to present, for example, from dinosaurs to birds. A
focus of the course is the current day losses of biodiversity due to the activities of man including: habitat loss, the
introduction of invasive species and global warming. Throughout the semester we discuss conservation and
environmental ethics including why species have value.
Paula Kay Lazrus
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
12:15-13:40
13:50-15:15
71947
72081
“Physical Geography”
In this section you will be exploring our planet, how it functions and all the different systems of growth and
change that affect it (including human agency). This class is also part of an Environmental Learning Community.
Kevin Moses
Tuesday/Friday
Tuesday/Friday
15:25-16:50
17:00-18:25
72859
73122
“The Diseased State”
The course will provide an introduction to the hallmarks of cancer, focusing on immortality and lack of
growth controls of abnormal cells, capabilities acquired during the multistep development of cancerous tumors. The
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long history of tobacco (cigarette smoking) and lung cancer will be used to discuss Scientific Inquiry and its
relationship to public health; we will cover the US tobacco litigation and the pursuit of a causation story implicating
cigarette smoke. We will also examine the various stakeholders, both human and corporate citizens in such stories.
Tricia Palma-Julme
Wednesday
17:00-19:50
73549
“Practice and Theory”
This course will introduce students to the steps of the scientific method, research methodology, and ethical
dilemmas encountered in various areas of science. Students will have the opportunity to critically review well
known scientific experiments done throughout history, and analyze the crucial ethical issues associated with these
studies. Finally, this course explores some of the most controversial issues in science, including stem cell research,
cloning, and genetic engineering.
Elizabeth Rooney
On-line
70678
“Evolution”
In this course students will learn the process of evolution from man's first steps to additional physiological
changes that led us to our 20th century selves.
Victor Santos
Tuesday
17:00-19:50
73563
“Microbiology”
This course introduces students to the fundamental processes of science through the exploration of specific
topics in both classical and molecular Microbiology. The Scientific method will be carefully studied through
historical perspectives in Microbiology. Through careful analysis of the experimental process that led to
groundbreaking discoveries in Microbiology, you will learn how the Scientific method is used to derive sound
logical conclusions that are biased free.
Pengfei Song
On-line
71315
“Living With Microbes”
What are the 3 pounds of bacteria doing in your body? Will you get sick if you swallow your phlegm?
Why is anthrax favored by bioterrorists? Can you use bacteria and urine to make electricity? If you are interested in
finding answers to these questions, this is your course. We will discuss various bacteria and viruses, and how we
can utilize them to develop new technologies and better human health. Approaches include in-classroom
experiments, group activities, field trips and movies.
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Shola Thompson
Wednesday
13:50-16:40
73548
“Scientific Methods”
This course aims to provide students with the foundation of critical thinking around a student-identified
area of interest. Students will engage in the process of conducting a formal inquiry to decipher an area that is of
concern or a question that is of importance to them. The inquiry tools & methodology acquired within this course
will play a critical role in academic, professional and social endeavors during the course and in the future.
Helené Zizner
Monday/Thursday
15:25-16:50
70452
“Concepts in Biology”
The class introduces non-scientists to the principles of the scientific method and its applicability to
everyday life. The main focus will be the interaction of humans with the microbial world over time and the
consequences of related discoveries to medicine, institutions, and behavior. Specific regard will be given to the
applicability of science to understanding and combating epidemics of disease
Additional sections
Monday/Thursday
Monday/Thursday
12:15-13:40
15:25-16:50
70744
70475
19