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

Tues/Thurs, Jan 24th/26th

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

Tues/Thurs, Feb 7th/9th

• Tues, 2/7: Short Talk 1: RFeynman, boy and young man: The Qualities that Make up the Good Scientist (SYJ, Parts 1 & 2, WDYC, Chapter 1): _______________________/Jenny Jen/____________________
  
  
• Tues, 2/7: Short talk 2: RFeynman's criticisms of abuses by people 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"): Nicole Clardy/Renzo Villanueva/_____________________
  
  
• Thurs, 2/9: 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): Thomas Handley/Rob Permison/Erica Kendrick
  
  
• Thurs, 2/9: 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): John Arthur/Shane Williams/Chadia Habib
  
  

Tues/Thurs, Feb 14th/16th

Tues, 2/14: Short Talk 5: There are no clear categories of race: from Olson, Mapping Human History: "The End of Evolution" and "Individuals and Groups" (pp. 11-53): Emily McKnight/Mark Sanders/Melody Khorram


• Thurs, 2/16: Short Talk 6: Early history of modern humans: from Olson, Mapping Human History, "The African Diaspora" and "Encounters with the Other" (Chs 3-4, pp. 54-89): Bill Wahler/Jill Lepp/________________________
  
  

Tues/Thurs, Feb 21st/23rd

• Tues, 2/21: Short Talk 7: 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): Saffa Hassan/Rajani Ranga/Adrien Sullivan
  
  
• Tues, 2/21: Short Talk 8: 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): ______________________/_______________________/Brian Callam
  
  
• Thurs, 2/23: The class watches Peter Jones and David R. Axelrod's Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude.

Tues/Thurs, Feb 28th/Mar 2nd

• Tues, 2/28: Short Talk 9: 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" (pp. 90-105, 124-36): Jessica MacNaughton/Brittany Stimson/Margaret Quigley
  
  
• Tues, 2/28: Short Talk 10: The importance of climate and geography and puzzling questions: from Olson, Mapping Human History, Who are the Europeans" and "The Settlement of the Americas" (pp. 158-74, 194-207): ______________________/___________________/Cassandra West
  
  

Tues/Thurs, Mar 7th/9th

• Thurs, 3/9: Short talk 11: Early sleuthing and McCandless's view of his quest insofar as we can see it: from Krakauer, Into the Wild (Chs 1-7, pp. 1-69): Daniel Gerber/Amon Tarakemeh/Margaret Quigley
  
  

Tues/Thurs, Mar 21st/23rd

• Tues, 3/21: Short Talk 12: The romance or adventure of Alaska, what it means and Kraukaer's own journey and idenfication with McCandless from Krakauer, Into the Wild (Chs 8-15, pp. 70-156): Megan Handzo/Nathan Tincher/________________________
  
  
• Tues, 3/21: Short Talk 13: Krakauer's interpretation of men who walk into the wild and live the way McCandless did and your own (you can agree, disagree, or qualify Krakauer's views by your own): from Krakauer, Into the Wild (Chs 16-Epilogue, pp. 157-end): Aayush Dave/Kevin Dove/Rodyna Zidan
  
  

  Thurs, 3/23: The class watches Christopher Hale's In Search of the FirstLanguage

Tues/Tues, Mar 28th/30th

• Tues, 3/28: Short Talk 14: The Unity and History of Languages: On the film, In Search of a First Language and from Olson, "Sprung from a Common Source" (pp. 137-54): Marriam Hameed/Jorge Mendez-Sarabia/Jason Dunham
  
  
• Tues, 3/28: Short talk 15: Another portrait of a scientist as a young boy and teenager: from Primo Levi, The Periodic Table, Argon through Iron (pp. 3-50): Amma Sarpong/Allie Graham/________________________
  
  
• Thurs, 3/30: Class cancelled. I suggest everyone take this opportunity to view the 2005 Scion/UK film, The Constant Gardener on their own.

Thurs/Tues, Apr 4th/6th

• Tues, 4/4: Short talk 16: Another portrait of the scientist as a young man: from Primo Levi, The Periodic Table, Potassium and Nickel and Phosphorus (pp. 50-78, 107-126): Dana Carstens/Stephane Nguyen/Mandy Tadayan
  
  
• Thurs, 4/6: Short talk 17: Surviving WW2 in a Concentration Camp as a scientist: from Primo Levi, The Periodic Table, Gold and Chromium (pp. 127-60): Carmen Casciano/John Bille/Kelly Cobb
  
  
• Thurs, 4/6: The class watches as much of Mike Nichols and Emma Thompson's film, Wit as time allows.

Tues/Tues, Apr 11th/13th

• Tues, 4/11: The class finishes watching Wit.
  
  
• Thurs, 4/13: Short talk 18: Setting up in business as a chemist: from Primo Levi, The Periodic Table, Sulfer through Uranium (pp. 160-199): Sam Hamzehpoor/Ty Brown/Chadia Habib
  
  
• Thurs, 4/13: Short Talk 19: Re-Encountering a Mass Murderer and Coda (Carbon): from Primo Levi, The Periodic Table, Silver through Carbon (pp. 200-33): Sadaf Ulomi/Aymel Mohammad/________________________
  
  

Thurs/Tues, Apr 18th/20th

• Tues, 4/18: Short Talk 20: Drugs and politics as presented in the film and LeCarre's novel, The Constant Gardener: Annmarie MacDonald/David Bruce-Reisel/Varta Ariaban
  
  
• Tues, 4/18: Short Talk 21: Compare Levi's, McCandless, Krakauer and Justin Quayle's characters: from Primo Levi, Periodic Table, Lead and Mercury (pp. 79-108) and Into the Wild and The Constant Gardener in general: Nicole Clardy/_______________________/Lauren Nguyen (?)
  
  
• Thurs, 4/20: Short talk 22: The Neglect of Vivian Bearing: from the film and screenplay, Wit: Anna Miller/Brook Raines/Melody Khorran
  
  

Tues/Thurs, Apr 25th/27th

• Tues, 4/25: Short Talk 23: What is the Doctor's responsibility towards thepatient and patient's towards the doctor?: from Ofri's Singular Intimacies (Prologues and Chs 1, 2, 4, 8, "Drawing Blood," "AA Battery," "Change of Heart," "In Charge," pp. 1-32, 53-70, 113-129, and "Common Ground" (online) Lamees Aschawkani/Vanna Bui/Dana Mirch
  
  
• Tues, 4/25: Short Talk 24: When Knowledge doesn't help: from Ofri's Singular Intimacies (Chs 5- 7, 10, "July 1st," "The Professor of Denial," "The Burden of Knowledge," "Immunity," pp. 70-112, 138-60) Judy Torres/Krupa Patel/Lauren Nguyen
  
  
• Thurs, 4/27: Short Talk 25: How is Tessa Quayle presented in the film v the book, and how do others treat her in the novel: from The Constant Gardner (the whole novel): Amber Walker/Yen Chen/Fran Dickenson
  
  

Tues/Thurs, May 2nd/4th

• Tues, 5/2: Short talk 26: Can physicians be useful, and if so, what do they need to do?: from Ofri's Singular Intimacies (Chs 13, 14, and 15, ""M&M," "Intensive Care," "Merced," pp. 188-236): Liliana Ramos/Jim Bougle/_______________
  
  
• Tues, 5/2: Short talk 27: Disconnects in US Medicine: ________________/Ty Brown/__________________