The University Colloquium

Preparing Citizens for the 21st Century

UC 101 - University Colloquium (Spring, 2000): This is a required 3 credit hour liberal studies course for all freshmen at Northern Arizona University

Instructors:  Dr. Dowling Campbell

Dowling.Campbell@nau.edu

Phone: 523-6265       

Office: Liberal Arts (Building 18), Room 126

Dr. Florencia Riegelhaupt

Florence.Riegelhaupt@nau.edu

Phone: 523-8006  

Office: Babbitt Annex (Building 23), Room 206

Class times: Tuesdays and Thursdays:         

Dr. Campbell, 9:25-10:50 and 11:10-12:25

Dr. Riegelhaupt 11:10-12:25

Instructors and Room Numbers for Small Sessions:

Dr. Campbell’s 9:35-10:50 class: Building 18, Room 310

Dr. Campbell’s 11:10-12:25 class: Building 18, Room 341

Dr. Riegelhaupt’s 11:10-12:25 class: Building 19, Room 321

Room Number for Combined Groups (As outlined in the syllabus, Dr. Campbell

and Dr. Riegelhaupt’s 11:10-12:25 classes will be combined for large group activities.

These classes of approximately 50 students will meet in Building 19, Room 321

Course Prerequisite: Students must have freshman standing as of Fall 1999.

Course Description:

Many students enter the university curious about what it means to be a student, about what will expected of them, and unsure how to negotiate the demands and expectations of a university curriculum.  This course is designed to provide students with a seminar type class in which they work with full time faculty to arrive at clearer understandings of the university and of their roles as students.

This course will introduce students to the intellectual challenges that characterize the university community through common readings and experiences. It will also help them become more cognizant of their own strengths and of the areas in which they need more work, and to understand the role of a strong liberal education for all students regardless of their major. The aim of the course is to help students succeed by helping them to understand and identify the kinds of skills, abilities and competencies they will need to develop as students.  The colloquium will describe the challenges and standards inherent in our intellectual and academic work at the university level. In doing this, the course will help students develop a stake in their own educations, set their own goals, and to gain a clearer picture of how the university can help them reach those goals.

As the first required course of the NAU Liberal Studies Program, the University Colloquium will teach the following essential skills: effective writing, critical reading, and critical thinking. In addition, this course will cover the following Liberal Studies Theme(s): teaching teams will determine which theme(s) will be covered.

Course Objectives:

General Course Goals

1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of liberal education.
2. Students will describe the value of liberal education in relation to their intellectual and personal development.
3. Students will demonstrate an awareness of citizenship in the communities in which they learn, live, and work.

Objectives for Skills

Outcomes from the University Colloquium

Writing

• Students will demonstrate a familiarity with the writing process and campus resources.
• Students will be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses as writers.
• Students will express in writing how their experience in the colloquium will enable them to be active, responsible participants in this educational community and in the other communities in which they live and work.
• Students will display a strong awareness of audience and show evidence in their writing of careful, thoughtful revision.

Critical Thinking

• Students will identify and use inductive and deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion.
• Students will identify both valid and invalid connections between apparently disparate concepts.
• Students will use evidence to support conclusions.
• Students will identify premises/presuppositions for arguments.
• Students will engage in problem solving and selection of appropriate analytical tools.

Critical Reading

• Students will identify and interpret structure, setting, content and purpose when reading.

• Students will exhibit personal growth and attitude about reading.

Critical Listening

• Students will develop listening skills and incorporate perspectives different from their own.
• Students will listen actively and respectfully to both their instructor(s) and classmates

Themes

While citizenship, community, and the value of a liberal education are the overarching themes of UC 101, the interdisciplinary focus of this team will be on Diverse Approaches to experiencing the Grand Canyon. Students will select from the following thematic approaches to experiencing the canyon:

• Biology
• Cultural Perspectives
• History
• Visual Approaches
• Tourism

This interdisciplinary exploration section will be available on our website devoted to our UC 101 sections. In addition to selecting one of the five approaches mentioned above, a section will be devoted to Reflections.

One of the principal objective for this class is RESPECT for diversity within the learning community and within society at large. Specific outcomes include:

• Students will demonstrate respect for their peers and instructors
• Students will  respect diversity and nature’s delicate balance
• Students will respect languages and cultures different from their own
• Students will respect intellectual thought and knowledge, community knowledge and the diverse approaches to accessing knowledge
• Students will increase their understanding and appreciation of diversity as a basis for expanding their experiences personally and professionally
• Students will recognize the subjective nature of stereotypes and will be able to break down stereotypes, prejudices and negative attitudes about languages, dialects, registers, bilingualism, cultures, races and ethnic groups

In addition to Diversity, this team also will address Environment and Technology:

• Students will express views of nature from various perspectives.
• Students will understand and demonstrate the impact of science and technology  on society
• Students will recognize the interconnectedness and balance of nature.
• Students will understand how technology transforms the environment and how it can be utilized to begin to bring it back into balance.

Prelude (weeks 1-4)

The prelude stands as a general introduction to the notion of academic community and to citizenship by raising explicit issues regarding this larger theme and by delineating the standards and challenges students will need to work toward.  Concomitantly, the prelude will present students with a model of how academic communities function in relation to commonly addressed questions, ideas and problems.

Students in all sections of the University Colloquium will be assigned at least 5 of the readings in the course packet during the Prelude. In addition, all students will write an essay on The Bean Trees which was assigned for the Summer Reading Program.

Interdisciplinary Exploration (weeks 5-13)

Whereas the prelude is meant to provide a general introduction to the underlying theme of the colloquium and the liberal studies program as a whole, and to the standards that characterize the university community at NAU, the interdisciplinary exploration provides opportunities for instructors and students alike to focus more specifically on the ways in which various disciplines contribute to our understanding of a range of problems and topics. This course is designed to help students understand the importance of a liberal education, an education that enables them to, as William Cronon argues, make connections: More than anything else, being an educated person means being able to see connections that allow one to make sense of the world and act within it in creative ways.

Coda (weeks 14-15)

In the final weeks of this course, in the coda, students will take what they have learned so far and begin to relate this learning to their own goals, to their strengths, and to the areas in which they need more work. As part of the coda, all students will complete a self-reflective essay that will become part of their learning portfolio. We want students to leave the course with a clearer sense of how the university and its parts (liberal studies, the major, the minor, electives, co-curricular activities, etc.) can help them work successfully to achieve at their highest level. Put another way, we want students to leave the colloquium understanding what it means to be a student and with the notion that their time at NAU will make significant contributions to their development.

Textbook and required materials:

University Colloquium course packet is on line under instructors’ last names.

Readings for the Interdisciplinary Exploration (Grand Canyon) are on our website

Students will be required to purchase Lord of the Flies. It is available at Aradia Bookstore (across from Macy’s and next to Beaver St. Brewery

Course outline:

Weeks 1-4  Prelude

Weeks 5-13  Interdisciplinary Exploration

Weeks 14-15  Coda

Evaluation methods and deadlines:

The following common assignments will be evaluated in every section of the University Colloquium. These common assignments will be included in the Learning Porfolio:

• Initial essay on The Bean Trees
• Essay based on interdisciplinary content
• Final  essay on Strengths and Goals

Assessment of Outcomes:

All students in the University Colloquium will develop learning portfolios through which they will demonstrate their ability to meet the outcomes outlined in the Course Objectives part of this syllabus. In addition, students will turn in all written assignments done individually and in small group sections.

The Learning Portfolio

All students in the University Colloquium will begin to compile a learning portfolio that will stand as a record of their work and development in this course. This portfolio will form the basis for the learning portfolio which students will keep throughout their undergraduate careers at NAU. The portfolios completed as part of the University Colloquium will include:

• Initial essay on The Bean Tree
• Essay based on interdisciplinary content
• Final essay on Strengths and Goals

Assignments: As outlined in the syllabus to include out-of-class essays, reactions, and responses to topics and readings. Additional readings and assignments may be added at instructors discretion. (see schedule pages 6-9 for assignments)

Examinations: There will be  one (1) hour long examination.

Grading system:

Faculty will adopt the standard grading policy:

90% and above =A, 80% and above = B, 70% and above = C, 60% and above = D, below 60% = F

Grades will be computed according to the points represented below:

Course policies:

Makeup tests, quizzes, essays and other activities and assignments may be given at the discretion of the instructor. Points may be deducted for late work

Attendance

You are responsible for regularly attending this course and all courses for which you are registered.  University policy allows for two absences for a two day per week 3 hour course. Should an absence from class be unavoidable, you are responsible for reporting the reason to your instructor.  In addition, you are responsible for making up any work or information you missed.  Your instructors are under no obligation to make special arrangements for you if you are absent.  Make-up work will be allowed at the instructor's discretion for "pop" quizzes, response essays or other unannounced assignments you missed on the day(s) of your absence. As a result, absences beyond the two permitted can lower your final grade.

Statement on plagiarism and cheating: