2008 Freshman Seminars, Research and Enrichment Courses, and Workshops

In addition to the courses listed below, we are offering in conjunction with the Wellness Program, workshops on such topics as Time Management, Taking Good Lecture Notes, Understanding your Reading Assignments, Objective Exam Strategies, Essay Exam Strategies, Honors College and Undergraduate Research Opportunities, Choosing a Major, How to Graduate on Time, Involvement and Leadership at UCSB, Career Testing, Successful Relationships, Drug and Alcohol Awareness, Eating Well, Filmmaking Workshop. We also have a Drop-In Center in the residence hall, staffed by academic advisors and student life counselors.

FSSP Common Course — Interdisciplinary (INT) 95
All students participating in FSSP will enroll in this one unit course — INT 95. The Modern Research University. The course is only available to FSSP students and taught by the FSSP Director, Dr. Ralph Gallucci. Through weekly guest lecturers, this course introduces students to the creative processes behind research-based knowledge and to other academic and student life services available on campus. As part of the course, students will meet faculty and learn about opportunities to become involved in undergraduate research during their time at UCSB.

Freshman Seminar Courses
UCSB has created an exciting new educational opportunity for members of the freshman class — Freshman Seminars. These small group seminars, with a maximum of twenty students, will be taught by faculty who have volunteered their time and effort because they want to meet and teach students who are early in their UCSB careers. Facilitating student-faculty contact is one of the major goals of the Freshman Seminar. Students have the opportunity to take up to three Freshman Seminars during FSSP:

• INT 94GZ. Mummies, Myths and Magic: Surviving Death in Ancient Egypt (1 unit) / Dr. Stuart Smith, Anthropology
  The ancient Egyptians spent a great deal of time and effort preparing for the Afterlife, making mummies and providing them with the equipment that would allow them to live forever. Mummies have been a source of fascination for centuries —witness most recently the success of Universal’s remake of “The Mummy.” So what makes a mummy? What was the most important funerary equipment for a successful afterlife? Just how much did immortality cost an average or above average ancient Egyptian? Drawing upon his own work for the recent Mummy movies and archaeology at Luxor’s Theban Necropolis and in Sudanese Nubia, Prof. Smith will explore some modern myths and the fascinating insights we can gain from mummies and their equipment.

• INT 94IM. Research Methods and Opportunities in the Social Sciences (1 unit) / Dr. John Park, Asian American Studies
  Leading professors in the social sciences are doing some exciting work at UCSB, and this course provides a glimpse into what they have been up to. Whether their research has been about banking policy, political behavior, mass communication and popular culture, or race, class, and gender inequality, their work has had a major impact on our understanding of complex social processes and problems. This course will focus on how your professors develop research projects, the methods they have used to gather new information, and then the theories they have proposed to explain their findings. Through this discussion, students will get a better sense of the multiple career opportunities available to students interested in the social sciences, including careers in law, business, public policy, and other related professions. We end with a discussion of the many opportunities available to undergraduates to engage in research, either on their own projects, or as a research assistant to a faculty member.

• INT 94RB. Doing History in Public (1 unit) / Dr. Randy Bergstrom, History
  History is at work all around you, investigating past injustice and advising current policy, building and preserving communities, remembering achievements and atrocities at sites, museums and memorials, as well as in our everyday activities. This course introduces you to the study of this history in public, or Public History, a field that got its university start right here at UCSB just 30 years ago. We will look at public history in practice right now, through the stories of: a university’s investigation of slavery in its history; the work around the globe of a coalition of historic museums of sites of conscience; a recent battle over how to commemorate the anniversary of the Second World War; a study of the American public’s involvement and views of history; and Santa Barbarans’ current action to preserve and remember its history first hand, in a road trip to tour and talk with the historians who are directing it.

• INT 94RG. Introduction to Engineering and its Applications (1 unit) / Dr. Hua Lee, Electrical and Computer Engineering
  This seminar sequence provides an overview of electrical, mechanical, and computer engineering in a concise and comprehensive manner. The full-spectrum topics include communications, signal processing, VLSI, control systems, robotics, and computer-aided design in hardware, software, system integration, as well as industrial applications. The seminars will also give you an excellent perspective of the curriculum, the advancement in the industry, as well as research directions in graduate study. In addition to presentations by faculty, the course includes a tour of engineering research facilities.
  
• INT 94HL. Hydrology in the Field: How is it Done? (1 unit) / Dr. Hugo Loaiciga, Geography
  This is a field-oriented class in which students will learn by taking hydrologic measurements in the field, analyzing data in the laboratory, and preparing reports with conclusions of findings made. There are three field excursions: (1) to measure local stream geometry, (2) to measure flow and water-quality parameters in a local bedrock well, and (3) to overview the history of Santa Barbara water supply system since Chumash times. Students will work in the field in groups of 5 to 6 students when needed. There will be lectures that complement the field work showing the application of a variety of hydrologic measurement methods.

Introduction to Undergraduate Research

• Ecology, Evolution, & Marine Biology (EEMB) 4FS. Introduction to Research in the Life Sciences (1 unit) / Dr. Page Miller, Biology
  In this course, we will explore UCSB research projects in biology, ecology, biochemistry, and biophysics. We will learn about a range of research questions being addressed by leading researchers, who are collecting new data as they attempt to solve these problems. Topics may include cell-cell interaction, conditions for life, disease and parasitism, threats to local fisheries, and environmental issues. Meet undergraduate students like yourself, who are presently either volunteering, or employed part-time by the research groups.
  
• Interdisciplinary 1 – Introduction to Library Research /Jane Faulkner, MLS (Davidson Library)
  This course is designed to assist entering students in learning to use essential facilities and resources of the UCSB Davidson Library. This is a one unit, pass/no pass course designed to teach the nature of research and the role of the library in the research process. Students will learn to: select a research topic and write an effective research statement; create and refine search strategies using the online catalog, article indexes, and other electronic resources; distinguish between popular and scholarly works; think critically about information and its sources; and document sources in an appropriate citation style.

• Classics 99/99H. Archaeology and Legend of Troy (1-3 units) / Ralph Gallucci, Classics and FSSP Director
  Perhaps the most famous story in Greek mythology is the tale of Troy. Generations of students (and movie-makers) have read the story of how Troy was destroyed by Greek forces led by Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, and of the exploits of the various heroes in Homer’s Iliad. In this class we will examine the archaeological record of Troy which was first excavated in the 1870’s by Heinrich Schliemann. We will also read research articles, looking at the relationship of Troy and the Trojan War to history. Some of the questions that scholars have discussed include: Was there a Trojan War? If Homer is composing four to five hundred years after the fact (800-700 BC), how accurate can his story be? What is the relationship of the world he describes in the Iliad to that of the time period he is describing, late 13th century Greece (late Bronze Age). For example, are the military practices and weapons Homer mentions accurate reflections of those of the late Bronze Age? Were the gods of Homer’s Iliad in existence in the late Bronze Age? Was the late Bronze Age an age of kings as described by Homer? To answer such questions, we look at comparative oral traditions and epic poetry (i.e., how accurately can historical information be passed down orally over several centuries), the archaeological and historical relationship of late Bronze Age Greece to that of Dark Age Greece (1100-750 BC) and the material record mentioned by Homer, and comparative late Bronze Age near eastern literature and history. We will also hear from students who are engaged in undergraduate research projects.

College of Letters and Science Honors Program Opportunities
Students in the Honors Program can begin meeting their 6-unit honors requirement this summer by enrolling in these courses.

• Classics 99H. Archaeology and the Legend of Troy (description in left column) is worth up to 3 units of honors credit.
• Classics 40H (discussion section) taken in conjunction with Greek Mythology (description below) is worth 5 units of honors credit.

Enrichment Courses
Enrichment courses give you an opportunity to explore a variety of disciplines. They provide units toward graduation and supplement your curriculum with opportunities to develop research skills, consider long-range career goals, or learn about important personal issues.

• Interdisciplinary 64 - Career Development and Decision Making Theory and Practice (2 units) / Ignacio Gallardo (Career Services)
  This course provides an overview of career development and practical applications from college across the lifespan. Through lectures, readings, discussions, and projects, the class assists students in developing an effective life plan while exploring majors at college and career choices.
  
• Classics 40 - Greek Mythology (4 units) / Dr. Ralph Gallucci, Classics and FSSP Director
  This course examines the world of Greek mythology: the origin of the gods, the universe, and humans as well as the stories of the major Greek heroes, such as Cadmus, Perseus, Heracles, Theseus, Achilles, Odysseus, and Penelope. Readings include the near eastern Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days, and the Homeric Hymns. Special attention will be given to the religious, archaeological, social, historical, and cultural background of these works. Moreover, the class examines theories of myth interpretation and the influence of Greek myth in popular culture today. (This course satisfies Area G and the European Traditions requirements.)