Spring 2005 Seminars

SP.240 Composing One’s Life: Exploration of Self through Photography, Art, and Writing

Graham Ramsay (ramsay@mit.edu)

Dr. Holly Sweet (hbsweet@mit.edu)

Meeting time:  Tuesday 2-4 p.m.

In this interdisciplinary seminar we will explore a variety of methods for self exploration and expression, including writing, photography, and art. Through lecture, discussion and related exercises and assignments, students will learn to utilize a variety of media to create a cohesive narrative of self (a "life album"). Assignments will focus on the interplay of written and visual elements, with special focus on photography. Representations of self will include personal history, who we think we are, how we experience the world, and the way in which we choose to represent ourselves to others. No prior experience with photography or artwork is required.  Students will work toward completion of a hand made book or journal that will include pre-existing or original artwork, photography, and writing. Students will be invited to submit final projects for an exhibition open to members of the MIT community.

Graham Ramsay is a professional photographer and musician. In his commercial photographic life, he focuses on portraiture for high end publications. He is a regularly commissioned composer in the Boston area and a lecture in photography for the MIT Student Art Association.

Dr. Sweet is the Associate Director of the Experimental Study Group and a lecturer at MIT. She is also a licensed psychologist with a private practice in Brookline MA. She and Graham are currently working on a textbook for this seminar. In her spare time, she plays tennis, skis, bikes, and sings in a community world music choir.

SP.241 History of Rhythm and Blues

Dr. Lee Perlman (lperlman@mit.edu)

Meeting time:  Fridays 3-5 p.m.

In this seminar we will study the evolution of rhythm and blues music from the ragtime blues of W.C. Handy through the "race music" of the 30's-50's, culminating in "soul music" in the 60's. We will come to understand the music primarily through playing it in our own rhythm and blues band. In addition, we will listen to an array of blues, gospel, R&B influenced rock and roll, and rhythm and blues, watch a documentary on the subject, and read about the history of this music. We especially need singers, guitarists, keyboard players, and horn players. Note:  by permission of instructor (to ensure a reasonable balance of instruments)
Dr. Perlman is a graduate of MIT and  teaches political philosophy at the Experimental Study Group and has created a number of new seminars on a diverse variety of topics over the past five years, including meditation, Greek mathematics, gender roles, and the philosophy of love. He is interested in encouraging students to learn through doing, and believes this seminar is an exciting way of understanding rhythm and blues.

SP.244 Identity and Personality

Anna Holt ’05 (aholt@mit.edu)

Staff supervisor: Dr. Holly Sweet (hbsweet@mit.edu)

First meeting time:  Monday 7-9 p.m.

This seminar will be a mixture of interactive activities and Socratic-seminar style discussion. We will look at the psychological development of human identity and personality and apply these theories to popular culture. Among the topics to be covered: How valid are personality tests? What defines group identity? How has the Internet changed our perceptions of ourselves? Well be applying these theories to answer such questions as: Does character creation (a la creative writing) alter your self-identity? Does your score on the Meyers-Briggs test really determine who you will date or what career you will choose? Class discussion will be supplemented by activities such as taking a variety of common personality tests (including the Meyer-Briggs), watching popular movies about identity, and taking and analyzing personality quizzes found in popular magazines.

Anna Holt is a senior in Brain and Cognitive Sciences/Political Science. She has attended numerous leadership/self-discovery workshops and is interested in exploring whether the tests and exercises used are scientifically valid. She is also involved in ongoing research on the affect of personality and cognitive styles on student academics.

SP.249 Alternative Education

Dr. Patti Christie (patti@mit.edu)

Prof. Kenneth Hawes (khawes@wellesley.edu)

First meeting time:  Tuesday 7-9 p.m. (please note: classes will be held at MIT for the first half of the term and at Wellesley College the second half of the term)

This joint Wellesley-MIT seminar will explore innovative and alternative approaches to education. There will be a focus on: undergraduate programs such as those at Hampshire and Evergreen Colleges; studio labs; distance learning; and programs for adult learners. It will be team-taught by Wellesley and MIT faculty, with guest speakers from these and other institutions. Half of the students will come from Wellesley and half from MIT, and meetings will occur on both campuses.

Dr. Christie has taught Chemistry and Biology at ESG and at MIT for the past five years and has initiated a seminar on Kitchen Chemistry that is residence-based. She is interested in how people learn best and views this seminar as an opportunity for students to explore their own learning styles.

Professor Hawes is a graduate of MIT (class of 68) and teaches education at Wellesley College. He has worked with MIT students as part of the MIT/Wellesley teacher education program for the past twenty years, and has taught philosophy of education at MIT for four years in the 1990s. He hopes this seminar will allow students to explore the meaning of education, both in their own lives and in the lives of others.

SP.250 Understanding Mathematical Problem Solving

Dr. Jeremy Orloff (jorloff@mit.edu)

Dr. John Lewis (jlewis@math.mit.edu)

Meeting time:  Wednesday 3-5 p.m.

In this seminar we will explore mathematical problem solving. Each week we'll look at several math problems -some easy, some more challenging - to try and understand how to go about solving problems i.e. what techniques we can apply to a problem and how our knowledge and beliefs affect our problem solving. For our amusement and edification we will invite expert problem solvers who will take use through their thought processes as they work on a previously unseen problem. One of our main guides will be the work of A. Schoenfeld.  Much of the reading will come from his work.

Dr. Orloff has taught for a number of years and has done research in harmonic analysis and number theory. He has also spent ten years in industry doing research on computerized speech recognition. He is currently teaching math in Concourse and ESG.

Dr. Lewis has taught math for the past thirty years and has done research in harmonic analysis and number theory. He has been teaching mathematics at MIT in Concourse and ESG for the past six years.

SP.252 Systems and Decision Making: Run the World for a Term

James Rising ’02 (jrising@alum.mit.edu)

First meeting time: Wednesday 7-9 p.m.

Live a year in the life of the President of the United States, or the owner of a small retail store, a producer of a medical device, or an editor for a national newspaper. You will individually choose your role in society and over the term learn about that position and its interactions with the world by making day-to-day decisions of your position. Along with the decisions of your peers, you will craft the world to which you react, addressing both practical concerns and challenges spawning from system dynamics, philosophy, ethics, organization, and management.

James Rising has taught at the Experimental Study Group since 1999, organizing seminars and study groups on a wide range of topics. He currently teaches at Olin College.

SP.253 AIDS and Poverty in Africa

Raja Bobbili ’08 (tinku@mit.edu)

Claudia Gold ‘06 (claudiag@mit.edu)

Staff supervisor: Dr. Lee Perlman (lperlman@mit.edu)
First meeting time: Monday 7-9 p.m.

This is a discussion-based interactive seminar which will focus on two major issues that affect sub-Sahara Africa: HIV/AIDS and poverty. AIDS and poverty, seemingly different concepts, are more inter-related to each other in Africa than in any other continent. The seminar will focus on their relationship in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zaire, and South Africa and look at how others have explored solutions to these extensive and devastating problems. Students will focus on a country of their choosing in Africa and make a class presentation on the subject. Specialized guest speakers will be called. Students will also study HIV/AIDS law reform policies. Pre-registration for this seminar is encouraged.

Raja Bobbili is an undergraduate at MIT, majoring in Course 6 and 14. Raja is from Zambia and has a good deal of experience in HIV/AIDS and other poverty related issues in Africa. He is an assistant researcher in the Law Development Association of Zambia.

Claudia Gold is a junior at MIT majoring in Course 17 and minoring in Course 24 (philosophy). She is involved in campus activism and has been a philosophy TA at ESG for the past two years.

SP.254 Religion and Experience

Claudia Gold ’06 (claudiag@mit.edu)

Jonathan Mansfield ’06 (jonm@mit.edu)

Seminar Supervisor: Rev. Johanna Kiefner (jkiefner@mit.edu), MIT Lutheran Chaplain
First meeting time:  Thursday 7-9 p.m.

We will spend one week on each of twelve religions, reading ancient texts, attending a service, and discussing our experiences. Students will choose one religion to study in greater depth. Students will be required to keep a weekly journal. We plan to study Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Paganism, and other religions.

Claudia Gold is a junior at MIT majoring in Course 17 and minoring in Course 24 (philosophy). She was raised reform Jewish but does not practice religion currently. She is involved in campus activism and has been a philosophy TA at ESG for the past two years.

Jonathan Mansfield is a junior at MIT majoring in Course 9 and minoring in psychology and linguistics. He is a leader in some of the Jewish groups at MIT, including the Orthodox Minyan and Hillel. He is an active member of the Abrahamic Faiths seminar.

SP.272 Culture Tech

Heather Jones ’05 (gypsy@mit.edu)

Christina Laskowski ‘05 (cmlaskow@mit.edu)

Staff supervisor: Dr. Peter Dourmashkin (padour@mit.edu)
First meeting time:  Monday 7-9 p.m.

This seminar is derived from the former Integrated Studies Program at MIT and combines discussions of technology, anthropology, and history with hands-on projects that tie together theory and practice. We will be looking at the role of food in Japanese culture; the symbolism of textiles in South America; the changes wrought by development of early agriculture; how clocks changed European navigation; the effects of automobiles on American life, and more! Meanwhile, we will build clocks, code in cloth, dissect engines, learn Andean weaving, and prepare a traditional Japanese dinner. 

Heather Jones is a senior majoring in Course 17 and minoring in 21A. She is working on a thesis about the interpenetration of plural legal systems in daily life as it affects Jewish divorce. Her favorite foods are spinach and cheese and she doesn’t eat chocolate unless she knows it was produced without slave labor.

Christina Laskowski is a senior in Course 2 ("the most wonderful major on earth"). She is a proponent of hands-on education, a design-competition addict, a machine-shop lover, and a ballroom dance fanatic. When not signing up for yet another extracurricular project or trying to improve the quality of education at MIT, she is certain to be looking out for new and interesting ways of doing one of the above.

SP.287 Kitchen Chemistry

Dr. Patti Christie (patti@mit.edu)

Meeting time:  Wednesday 2-4 p.m. (Room 24-615)

This seminar is designed to be an experimental and hands-on approach to applied chemistry (as seen in cooking). Cooking may be the oldest and most widespread application of chemistry and recipes may be the oldest practical result of chemical research. We shall do some cooking experiments to illustrate some chemical principles, including extraction, denaturation, and phase changes.

Dr. Christie teaches chemistry and biology at ESG and in the regular curriculum. She has taught this subject in a variety of settings at MIT, including Simmons Hall, McCormick, East Campus, Bexley, and ESG.

SP.293 Lego Robotics

Colin Dillard ’05 (dillard@mit.edu)

Staff supervisor: Professor Alex Slocum (slocum@mit.edu)
First meeting time:  Thursday 7-9 p.m.

Lego Robotics uses Legos as a fun tool to explore robotics, mechanical systems, electronics, and programming, and is a great way to try out new ideas, play with Legos, and learn some basic engineering. This seminar is primarily a lab experience which provides students with resources to design, build, and program functional robots constructed from Legos and a few other parts such as motors and sensors. As a class we will explore other topics of interest to students such as digital logic, modern robotics, and artificial intelligence. No experience with Legos, robotics, or programming is needed.

Colin Dillard is a junior at MIT majoring in Course 2 who has both taken SP293 as a freshman and taught it as an upperclassman.

SP.298 The Art of Color

Dr. Peter Dourmashkin (padour@mit.edu)

First meeting time:  Friday 3-4:30 (Room 24-611)

This studio seminar will meet twice a week (one and a half hour class). The principles of visual design will be reviewed at the beginning of the semester. The seminar will then introduce, through studio projects, the basic principles regarding the use of color in the visual arts. Projects will include the Familiarization with Colors; Color and Value Balance; Color as Expression, Color as Impression, Searching for Tension: Color Squares, Color as Construction, Warm-Cold Colors, the Interaction of Color: As a final project, each student will be asked to work on one large color project that may include multi-media use of color. A goal of this seminar is to provide students with an opportunity to express their artistic and creative sensibilities.

Dr. Dourmashkin has studied painting with local painter Albert Alcalay for the past fifteen years. He also teaches physics at ESG, and has developed the new 8.01 and 8.02 TEAL courses in the regular curriculum at MIT.