From the Princeton Weekly Bulletin, December 8, 1997
For the sake of learning
Pilot program of noncredit sophomore workshops offers eclectic mix of choices
By Caroline Moseley
"An opportunity to learn just for the sake of learning" -- that's how Jocelyn Hittle '00 characterizes the Sophomore Workshops, a new program of short noncredit courses, held in the residential colleges and offered only to sophomores.
The workshop in which Hittle participated is "Science Under the Cinema-Scope," an examination of images of science and scientists in popular films, taught in Wilson College by Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Hope Hollocher.
The eight participants in that workshop watched The Fly (1958), starring Vincent Price, and the 1986 version of the same film, starring Jeff Goldblum. The earlier film concerns a scientist who becomes, says Hollocher, "half fly, half man." In the 1986 version, "He's fused on a genetic level -- he's a man-fly." The point of both movies, she says, "is the hidden danger of scientists trying to 'play God.' They're either punished or find that they're pursuing the unknowable."
Important and interesting
Hollocher, who studies population and evolutionary genetics, is interested in the social context of science, and particularly in film because, she observes, "Movies are a very powerful and popular art form. And for some people in our society, movies are the only introduction they ever have to science and scientists."
Workshop participant Daniel Powell, who hopes to create an independent major in bioethics, says the post-film discussions raised "many interesting points I never would have picked up on," making him aware of "stereotypical images I myself have." He believes that "The issues raised by these movies are both important and interesting."
Though the Sophomore Workshops are short (three or four sessions), many incorporate field trips.
"How to Read a Photograph," for example, will conclude with a visit to two galleries in Manhattan. "One has an exhibit of Russian constructivist photography," says leader Michael Jennings. "In the other we'll see an exhibit called 'City of Light,' which compares André Kertesz' photographs of Paris in the '20s and '30s with those of two young Americans working now." Jennings is master of Rockefeller College and a professor of Germanic languages and literatures. The 16 students in his workshop also read a history of photography, as they examined the works of 20th-century masters such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Walker Evans.
A Mathey College
workshop on "The Dance of Gender in Latino Art: Dominance and
Dexterity in Forever Tango" included a tango lesson at a local
dance studio and an expedition to Forever Tango in New York
City, led by college master David Carrasco, professor of religion.
The 11 participants also read essays on the social and symbolic
meaning of Latino dance and viewed several films.
"I thought I knew what tango was about before this workshop," says participant Luis Rodriguez, but now he realizes "I just knew its movements." Tango, he says, "is about gender relations; it's about machismo, about female prowess. Tango is an art form."
Pro bono, for life of the mind
The Sophomore Workshops were designed by the Committee on the Course of Study, says Hank Dobin, associate dean of the college and program administrator. Dobin and Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel presented the original proposal to the committee.
"We were looking for ways to enhance sophomore academic work," Dobin says. "Sophomore year is very important, as students are beginning to make decisions about majors. Yet, it's a time when they are likely to be in large classes, with perhaps less intimate contact with faculty than when they were freshmen." He notes that it was the students on the committee who suggested that "the window between fall break and Thanksgiving would work best" for a noncredit course.
The committee talked with the college masters, all of whom agreed enthusiastically to lead workshops; the masters also recommended various of their college fellows who might be interested.
Dobin describes the program as "pro bono, and entirely for the life of the mind. The faculty members receive no compensation, and the students receive no grades or credit." Nor is there any charge to participants: the program, including field trips, is supported by the Office of the Dean of the College.
"It's the best thing to happen to the residential colleges since the Freshman Seminars," declares Jennings. "The Sophomore Workshops bring another venue for intellectual activity into the colleges." While the residential colleges "provide social, cultural, athletic and even community service activities to our students," he says, "except for the Freshman Seminars, academic and intellectual life has too often been centered elsewhere."
Not huge numbers
Others among the 24 workshops offered this semester are "The Psychology of Alcohol Use and Abuse," taught by Associate Professor of Psychology Deborah Prentice; "(Mis-)Reading the Letters of the Apostle Paul," taught by Forbes College master John Gager, professor of religion; "All Plasmas Great and Small," by astrophysicist Samuel Cohen of the Plasma Physics Lab; "Deconstructing the Personal Computer," by Professor of Computer Science Douglas Clark; and "Islamic Culture Through Objects," by Thomas Leisten, assistant professor of art and archaeology.
"We weren't looking for huge numbers of students," says Dobin, "just hoping to offer students and faculty an opportunity to work together on subjects of common interest."
This first semester, many sophomores welcomed that opportunity. Jamie Link, a member of the workshop on science in film, observes that interacting with Hollocher "has afforded me insight into her work in particular and lab research at Princeton in general. I think we're fortunate to have faculty willing to communicate their personal interests and to encourage curiosity in students."
Sarah Gaines, who participated in Jennings' workshop on photographs, says simply, "Let's have more!"
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