Short Talk and Film Schedule for Fall 2006: Advanced Composition in the Natural Sciences and Technology

Tues/Thurs, Aug 29th/31st

• The class watches Ralph Leighton's The Last Journey of a Genius.

Tues/Thurs, Sept 12th/14th

• Short Talk 1: RFeynman, boy and young man: The Qualities that Make up the Good Scientist (SYJ, Parts 1 & 2, WDYC, Chapter 1): Andrew Ramos/Tone Johansson/Duane Young
  
  
• Short talk 2: RFeynman's criticisms of counterproductive uses and abuses of authority, particularly at Los Alamos (i.e., his stories about counterproductive uses of secrecy), but you may include stories exemplifying this theme from elsewhere in the book thus far (so from SYJ, Parts 2 & 3, especially "Los Alamos from Below" and "Safecracker Meets Safecracker"): Matthew Bange/Jeremy Lucier/Colin Horner
  
  
• Short Talk 3: RFeynman's ideas on what is real scientific learning: what ought to go on in a classroom, be in a book &c (e.g.,"O Americano Outre Vez" and "Judging Books by Their Covers" in SYJ and relevant Letters in WDYC)SYJ, Parts 1 & 2, WDYC, Chapter 1): Ben McWhorter/Joseph Turner/Jessica Robinson
  
  

Tues/Thurs, Sept 19th/21st

• Short Talk 4: RFeynman's Adventures in Areas Outside Physics: Biology, Psychology, Art, Music and Anthropology ("A Map of the Cat", Always Trying to Escape", "But Is It Art?"; "O Americano Outra Vez!," "Bringing Culture to the Physicists", "Found Out in Paris", "Altered States" in SYJ, and "It's as Simple as One, Two, Three " and relevant "Letters" in WDYC: Emmanuel Udechine/Kristine Sedillo/Susan Sinkovic
  
  
• Short Talk 5: Mr Feynman Goes to Washington: Why some NASA officials are driven to delude themselves and mislead the public ("Mr Feynman Goes to Washington" and "Appendix F" in WDYC, pp. 113-227): Masha Ostovarina/Rakesh Penumalli/Amir Mehrmanesh
  
  
• Short Talk 6: A World of Pseudo- and Corrupt Science and the Value of Science (Feynman's "Cargo Cult Learning" and "The Value of Science," SYJ, pp. 338-46, WDYC, pp. 239-48): Simon Sizing/Chelston Char/James Souza
  
  

Tues/Thurs, Sept 26th/28th

• Short Talk 7: Solutions to the Problem and young John Harrison goes to London (Chs 5-8 of Sobel's Longitude): Christopher Van Dolson/Hung Ngo/Nawal Aznidi
  
  
• Short Talk 8: The Instruments and the Ordeal (Chs 9-11 of Sobel's Longitude): Tim Monoghan/Joseph Sarfo-awuah/Curtis Swanson
  
  
• Short Talk 9: The politics and aftermath (Chs 12-15 of Sobel's Longitude): Quy Do/Gregory Han/Joe Johnson
  
  
• The class watches Peter Jones and David R. Axelrod's Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude.
  
  

  Thurs, Oct 5th

  • Short Talk 6: A World of Pseudo- and Corrupt Science and the Value of Science (Feynman's "Cargo Cult Learning" and "The Value of Science," SYJ, pp. 338-46, WDYC, pp. 239-48): ___________/Chelston Char/__________________
    
    

  Thurs/Tues, Oct 19th/24th

  • Short Talk 10: Early history of modern humans: from Olson, Mapping Human History, "The African Diaspora" and "Encounters with the Other" (Chs 3-4, pp. 54-89): Chantal Bodkin-Clarke/Christopher Wright/JJ Santiago
    
    
  • Short Talk 11: Development of Agriculture and Modern Humans spread across the globe: from Olson, Mapping Human History, "Agriculture, Civilization and the Emergence of Ethnicity" and "The Great Migration" (Chs 5 & 7, pp. 90-105, 124-36): Kristin Peavely/Sanjog Chhetri/Na-Young Shin
    
    
  • Short Talk 12: The importance of climate and geography and puzzling questions: from Olson, Mapping Human History, Who are the Europeans" and "The Settlement of the Americas" (Chs 9 & 11, pp. 158- 74, 194-207): Andrew Jenkins/_________________________
    
    
  • The class watches Christopher Hale's In Search of the First Language
    
    

  Thurs/Tues, Oct 26th/31st

  • Short Talk 12: The importance of climate and geography and puzzling questions: from Olson, Mapping Human History, Who are the Europeans" and "The Settlement of the Americas" (Chs 9 & 11, pp. 158- 74, 194-207): ________________/Jill Lasus/_________________________
    
    
  • Short Talk 13: The Complicated Politics of Tracing Our Real Histories: "Sprung from a Common Source," "The Burden of Knowledge," "The End of Race" (Chs 8, 12, 13, pp. 158-74, 207-238): Hameed Khan/Sam Pena/Elizet Escalera
    
    
  • The class begins the film, The Constant Gardener and we see as much as we can.
    
    

  Thurs/Tues, Nov 2nd/Nov 7th

  • Short Talk 14: The Story from Woodrow's point of view and what the police officers discover: how it all looks from an outsider's point of view and an unreliable narrator's (LeCarre, The Constant Gardener, Chs 1-6): Shannon Liedquist/Tim Hoang/Ludo Hintos
    
    
  • Short Talk 15: Justin Quayle, his perspective, and how Tessa Quayle emerges from her emails (LeCarre Constant Gardener, Chs 7-15): Ben Douglas/Martin Carlson/Sabeel Chohan
    
    
  • Short Talk 16: The quest: compare the landscapes in the books and minor characters (LeCarre, Constant Gardener) from across the whole book: Christine L St Denis/James Myers/Sarah Ivory
    
    
  • If we've not finished the film, The Constant Gardener, we'll finish it this week.
    
    

  Thurs/Tues, Nov 9th/14th

  • Short Talk 17: Refinding his soul or madness and the pessimistic ending (LeCarre, CG, Chs 21-Epilogue): _____________________/Rakesh Penumalli/Christine Kauffman
    
    
  • Short Talk 17a: Medicine: Money and the Technology, Atul Gawande's "Piecework: Medicine's Money Problem", The New Yorker, April 4, 2005 Atul Gawande's "The Score: How childbirth went industrial", The New Yorker, October 9, 2006, 59-67: : ____________________/Sean Cronin/____________________
    
    

  Thurs/Tues, Nov 16th/21st

  Short Talk 18: The doctor and patient's responsibilty (Ofri, Singular Intimacies, Chs Prologue through Chapter 4, plus "Common Ground," online): Faisal Mir/Eli Mintzer/Katy Nguyen
  
  
  • Short Talk 19: A Comparison of Jeffrey Caine's Shooting Script of The Constant Gardener and John LeCarre's book, The Constant Gardener: Lucas Bernet/Sam Kim/Jessica Robinson
    
    
  • The class watches the first 2/3s of the film, Wit.
    
    

  Tues/Thurs, Nov 28th/30th

  • The class finishes watching the film, Wit.
    
    
  • Short Talk 20: When Technical Knowledge doesn't help: from Ofri's Singular Intimacies, Chs 5-9, pp. 70-129 ("July 1st" through "Time of Death"): Andrew Barnes/Jessica Elliot/Christine Kauffman
    
    
  • Short talk 21: Drug Companies, Health, and American Culture (Marcia Angell, "The Body Hunters" and "Your Dangerous Drugstore", both online: Namasa Kamara/Ricki Williams/Teasha Dallas
    
    

  Tues/Thurs, Dec 5th/7th

  • Short Talk 22: When Doctors Make Mistakes, Chs 10, 13-14, 15, p 138160, 188-236 ("Immunity, "M&M," "Intense Care," "Merced"): Aly Elgeddawi/Boris Teterin/Kseniya Ledbetter
    
    
  • Short Talk 23: The Neglect of Vivian Bearing (from the both film and Edson's stage play): Chantal Bodkin-Clarke/Sara Hasemi/Veera Andrade
    
    

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