Academic Departments and Programs 2024
Contact
Academic Programs and AdvisingWeyerhaeuser Hall, Room 215 651-696-6036
651-696-6075 (fax)
Department and Program Recommendations for First-Year Students
The information contained in this section is written specifically to address common concerns and interests of first-year students and to give general information about academic departments.
We encourage you to call or email the faculty members designated by each department with your specific questions about their course offerings, recommended sequences, or requirements for majors, minors or concentrations.
Questions?
For general questions, contact the Academic Programs and Advising Office at [email protected] or the Registrar’s Office at [email protected] or visit the Registrar’s webpage.
African Studies Interdepartmental Program
Macalester’s African Studies program gathers faculty from multiple departments (Anthropology, French, Geography, Geology, International Studies, Music, Political Science, Sociology, and more) to offer a range of courses and an interdisciplinary concentration focused on the diverse histories, cultures, and societies across the African continent and diaspora. Beyond this, the great majority of our concentrators study abroad in a program on the continent for a semester in their junior year.
Courses related to the concentration can be found on the concentration’s website. First-years should look to take courses at the 100 or 200 level. You may also direct questions to the African Studies program directors Lisa Mueller and Moustapha Diop.
Our website is https://www.macalester.edu/academics/africanstudies/
Contact:
Lisa Mueller
[email protected]
Moustapha Diop
[email protected]
American Studies
What is American Studies? At Macalester College, the American Studies program is so much more than a continuation of a high-school curriculum on U.S. civics, history, or literature. Our program first emerged out of student-organized demands for Ethnic Studies. Today, our courses focus on recognizing and analyzing systems of inequality and power, engaged learning, and public scholarship. We encourage a critical eye; we study problems from a variety of perspectives; and we work together to pose questions that connect back to communities and the people who comprise them. What explains racial differences and categories? How have borders been defined? What does it mean to be a good citizen? Who benefits from ideas of nation and empire? What makes crime a racialized topic?
At the start of the 21st century, the President of the American Studies Association, Michael Frisch, underscored the many forces that shape our interdisciplinary field. “…[M]ulticulturalism, ethnicity, race, class, and gender …[have] been recasting for several decades now the most basic outlines of American history and culture as a contested, interactive field of forces. It almost goes without saying, but not quite, that this has not simply altered our understanding of things “within” American culture and society, but has been leveraging our capacity to re-imagine the connections of the U.S. and its peoples to everything and everyone else in the world. . .”
In other words, contemporary American Studies pushes far beyond a traditional acceptance of U.S. exceptionalism and the American Dream. Moving freely across conventional texts, film and video, popular culture, theater, art, memes, and place, we seek to ground ourselves in the concerns of our day. Our research tools and methods are broad and varied, giving credence and value to the experience and knowledge of marginalized groups. Whether in the classroom, at internship sites across the Twin Cities, within clubs and organizations on campus, students who major or minor in American Studies develop the tools they need to debate and dialogue intelligently with others.
Department website: https://www.macalester.edu/academics/americanstudies/
Contact:
Karin Aguilar-San Juan, Chair
[email protected]
Anthropology
The Anthropology Department emphasizes the holistic study of the human condition. Anthropologists study human diversity across time and space in both its cultural and biological dimensions, and explore the different ways in which we are, and can be, human.
In the Fall of 2024 we will be offering one First Year Course.
Anth194-F1 Defense Against the Dark Arts
TR 9:40-11:10
Prof. Ron Barrett
This course uses the lens of cultural anthropology to examine witchcraft and magical traditions around the world. Major topics include psychosomatic healing, the social roles of shamans and possession mediums, recurring themes in witchcraft accusations, and the psychoanalysis of Harry Potter. Throughout these topics, we will wrestle with the distinctions between science, religion, and magic while gaining an appreciation of historically marginalized beliefs and practices. The course employs a combination of lecture and film as well as small group discussions and research presentations.
For further information, see the department website: https://www.macalester.edu/academics/anthropology/
Contact:
Arjun Guneratne, Chair
[email protected]
Art and Art History
The Art and Art History Department at Macalester College is a dynamic community of artists and scholars dedicated to exploring the multiple pasts and presents of artistic expression. Inhabiting the intersection of the liberal arts, the diverse cultural and artistic traditions of our Twin Cities metropolitan location, and the vibrant natural environments of the upper Midwest, we foster interdisciplinary exploration, critical thinking, and hands-on making. Through collaborative teaching and learning, we engage with visual culture to interpret and contribute to the evolution of our multicultural, global society. Guided by a belief in the transformative power of art, we aim to spark enthusiasm and inquiry while serving and connecting with students, staff, faculty, and the broader community.
Our department offers two majors: Studio Art or Art History. Studio Art courses are offered in Painting, Drawing, Design, Printmaking, Sculpture, Photography and Ceramics, while Art History courses focus on the historical, social and cultural aspects of global artistic production. First year students and non-majors are welcome to take entry-level courses in any Studio Art medium or Art History area. Contact individual faculty to inquire about upper-level courses with prerequisites.
The Art and Art History Department will offer two First Year Courses in Fall 2024-25:
- Art 130-F1 – Drawing 1: Sketchbook Immersion, taught by Studio Art Professor Megan Vossler
- Art 194-F1 – Decolonizing American Art, taught by Art History Professor Joanna Inglot
Additional information can be found on our department website: https://www.macalester.edu/art/
Contact:
Megan Vossler
Associate Professor and Chair of Art and Art History
[email protected]
Asian Languages and Cultures
The Asian Languages and Cultures Department is home to students studying Japanese and Chinese language, literature, film, linguistics, media, and intellectual history. Our curriculum views East Asia not merely as an object of study but as a perch from which to think about contemporary and historical issues from race and gender to ethics, aesthetics, education, and more. Through studying China and Japan, students encounter perspectives very different from those prevalent in the U.S. And after two years of language study, students travel to Asia for immersive study in places like Beijing, Hangzhou, Taipei, Tokyo, or Osaka. Living abroad and interacting with local people prompts self-reflection. Students come to understand both Western and Eastern perspectives, to see through their differences, and to think beyond simple “East” versus “West” binaries. After students return from abroad, advanced coursework at Macalester helps them further refine the perspectives they have developed and guides them toward embracing a truly transnational and trans-regional perspective.
For more information on the faculty and the structure of each major see the department website.
Contact:
Arthur Mitchell, Japanese
[email protected]
Xin Yang, Chinese
[email protected]
Asian Studies
Asia has always been at the crossroads of humanity: the heart of a global system of commerce that tied the Old World together, and which brought Arabs, Europeans, Africans, and Chinese to the ports of the Indian Ocean to trade. Asia gave the world everything from yoga to gunpowder, from cinnamon to the printing press, from the idea of diplomatic immunity to the practice of religious tolerance.
Home to more than half of the global population, Asia in the twenty-first century is reclaiming the place it held in world affairs before the rise of Europe in the eighteenth century. The Asian continent contains some of the world’s largest economies as well as its largest cities, and Asia’s industrial production leads the world. Its societies are a wellspring of creative energy—the world’s largest film industry, for instance, is in India, and Japanese manga has had an enormous influence on global pop culture. In everything from the global economy to climate change, Asia’s sheer size makes it a force to reckon with in the dynamics that will shape our common future. A background in Asian Studies is essential to navigating the global spaces of the 21st century.
The Asian Studies major at Macalester is an interdisciplinary program that weaves together the social sciences, the humanities and the fine arts to introduce you to this dynamic region of the world. It brings multiple perspectives to bear on the challenges of understanding this vast continent and the cultural, political, economic and historical forces that have shaped it. It is an ideal major for students planning a career in Asia in any field but is also highly recommended for students seeking a handle on the region that is among the most significant for our common future.
Our website is https://www.macalester.edu/asianstudies/about/
Contact Program Director:
Chuen Fung Wong
[email protected]
651-696-6520
Biology
There are three “core” introductory courses required for the major in Biology: Ecology & the Environment (BIOL 170), Biodiversity & Evolution (BIOL 180), and Genetics (BIOL 190). Each of these courses has an associated lab section that offers relevant hands-on experience. These courses may be taken in any order and have no prerequisites. Any one of them would be a perfect place to begin your Biology journey!
If you are considering majoring in Biology, the most important thing to do in your very first semester is to get started with chemistry. Most students interested in majoring in Biology should register for General Chemistry I (CHEM 111), which is only offered during the fall semester. This is especially important for students who are also considering the major in Neuroscience and/or a pre-health track.
If you have a strong high school chemistry background, you may consider two other possibilities:
1) you might instead enroll in CHEM 115, Accelerated General Chemistry, which compresses the usual two-semester introductory chemistry sequence into one semester; or
2) you could skip General Chemistry I (CHEM 111) and instead wait until the spring semester to enroll in General Chemistry II (CHEM 112), which is only offered during the spring semester.
You can place into CHEM 115 with a score of 4 or 5 on the Chemistry Advanced Placement test, a score of 5 or higher on either the higher or standard level Chemistry International Baccalaureate exam, or with a strong performance on the online chemistry placement test. Please contact Dr. Marc Rodwogin ([email protected]) for access to the placement test. Dr. Rodwogin can also answer questions about placing out of CHEM 111 and into CHEM 112 based on AP or IB scores.
For further information, see the department website www.macalester.edu/academics/biology
Contact:
Sarah Boyer , Chair
[email protected]
Chemistry
CHEM 111 (General Chemistry I) and CHEM 112 (General Chemistry II) together provide an in-depth introduction to modern chemical ideas. CHEM 115 (Accelerated General Chemistry) is a more advanced introductory course which covers key topics from both CHEM 111 and CHEM 112 in a single semester. CHEM 111 and 115 are offered only in the fall and CHEM 112 is offered only in the spring. We urge all entering students considering majors in chemistry or biology, or those seeking admission to medical school or another health profession graduate program, to take either CHEM 111 or CHEM 115 in their first semester. You have two CHEM 111 formats to choose from: In some sections, in-class time is used primarily for lecturing; practicing problem-solving is primarily outside of class. In other sections, in-class time is used primarily for practicing problem solving; students watch lecture videos outside of class. Please register for a CHEM 111 section that matches your preferred learning style.
General Chemistry RISE (Refresher in STEM Education ) is a virtual, two week-long summer workshop open to all students considering taking CHEM 111. The workshop will include both pre-recorded videos exploring content as well as live, virtual problem-solving sessions where you will be able to work on the math skills necessary to be successful in General Chemistry with your future classmates led by peer mentors. You can read more about the program here. To register for the program, please fill out this Google Form by July 26, 2024.
You can place into CHEM 115 with a score of 4 or 5 on the Chemistry Advanced Placement test, a score of 5 or higher on either the higher or standard level Chemistry International Baccalaureate exam, or with a strong performance on the online chemistry placement test. Please contact Dr. Marc Rodwogin ([email protected]) for access to the placement test. Please see the Chemistry Department web site (https://www.macalester.edu/academics/chemistry/) for more information.
Contact:
Katy Splan
Professor and Chair of Chemistry
[email protected]
The Classical Mediterranean and Middle East
We explore the languages, literatures, cultures, and archaeological remains of this region from Rome, across the Mediterranean basin, to the Middle East, Bactria and India and beyond. Here students learn Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, or Latin (all of which fulfill the Second Language Requirement), and together with faculty analyze and interpret ancient texts, societies, and material culture, as well as explore art and archaeology, myth, history, and the religions, political structures and ideas that arise from this part of the ancient world.
Courses that are particularly appropriate for first year students this fall are beginning languages: Elementary Arabic, Elementary Biblical Hebrew and Elementary Latin (Arabic – CLAS 113, Hebrew- CLAS 115 and Latin CLAS -111) Other introductory course for students interested in the field would be Historical Journey: From Greek Theater to the Restoration CLAS 294, and India and Rome CLAS 135.
For further information on majors and minors, study abroad programs, and what faculty and students are up to in the Classical Mediterranean and Middle East, please see our website: https://www.macalester.edu/academics/classics/. Specific questions can be addressed to the department chair, Professor Nanette Goldman, at [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you around the third floor of Old Main!
If you have studied Latin or Arabic previously, please consult the department website for how to place yourself into the right course: https://www.macalester.edu/academics/classics/majorsminors/wheretostart/.
Contact:
Nanette Goldman
[email protected]
Cognitive Science
Cognitive science is the study of how knowledge is acquired, stored, represented, and used by intelligent systems, both natural and artificial. The Cognitive Science concentration at Macalester exposes students to scientific studies of (the) mind and other intelligent systems from a variety of academic disciplines. The core of the concentration consists of rigorous coursework on the nature of such systems from the perspective of Philosophy, Psychology, Computer Science, Linguistics and Economics.
See https://www.macalester.edu/cognitivescience/ for more information.
Contact:
Brooke Lea
[email protected]
Community and Global Health
The Community and Global Health concentration brings together a variety of disciplines and perspectives to important issues in population health and applies these approaches to civic engagement projects, independent research, as well as in classroom settings. The concentration builds on the strong ties between the liberal arts and the core concepts of public health—a diverse, multidisciplinary field unified around the examination of health, illness, and healing in local and international communities.
For additional information, please consult our main website (www.macalester.edu/cgh), the senior projects page (2023 site, 2024 site) or the program’s director Ron Barrett ([email protected]).
Contact:
Ron Barrett
[email protected]
Critical Theory
Unless otherwise indicated, the 100-level critical theory courses offered in the fall semester are appropriate for first-year students. Those at the 200 level are typically accessible for first-years keenly interested in the subject matter. If in doubt, simply email the relevant instructor, finding their email on the Mac online directory.
A Critical Theory concentration consists of 24 credits selected from “Core” and “Elective” classes and one research paper (15-20 pages), typically written in the senior year, in one of these courses or as part of the student’s major capstone or honors thesis.
For more information and specific courses offered, please see the Critical Theory website: Critical Theory.
For questions regarding the CT Concentration, please contact the director of the Program for 2024-25, Professor Kiarina Kordela.
Contact:
Kiarina Kordela
[email protected]
Economics
Economics is the study of how people make decisions and how these decisions apply to real-world problems. Economics can help us understand income inequality within and across countries, the quality of the environment, unemployment, poverty, crime, health care, financial crises, technological change, inflation and many more issues. Our Principles of Economics course introduces the basic tools that economists use to explore these topics and will cover fundamental economic concepts like scarcity, supply and demand, costs and benefits, trade-offs, and incentives.
The course is split into three parts. In the first, students are introduced to the methodology of economics — that is, how to “think like an economist” — and begin to learn about markets. We investigate cases where markets work well to allocate goods and services and cases where “market failures,” such as the presence of externalities (e.g. the positive spillovers from education) or public goods (e.g. a stable global climate) necessitate government intervention.
The second part of the course investigates how consumers and firms make decisions, the effects of market structure (i.e. competitive markets versus monopoly) on market outcomes and well-being, and the markets for factors of production (labor, natural resources, capital, etc.) which help us understand the causes of income and wealth inequality.
The final part focuses on the financial system and macroeconomics—the study of economy-wide “aggregates” such as Gross Domestic Product, the Consumer Price Index and the unemployment rate. One important goal here is to examine why there are disparities in material living standards across nations. Another is to learn about the causes and effects of economic recessions and the role that fiscal and monetary policy play to mitigate them.
For more information about the Economics Department, please see the department website www.macalester.edu/academics/economics
Contact:
Liang Ding, Chair
651-696-6822
[email protected]
Educational Studies
Educational Studies is an interdisciplinary field centered on social inquiry, imagination, and advocacy. The major includes participation in thematically related courses (32 credits), community and civic engagement experiences, and completion of an advanced integrative project. Students may select from one of two emphases – Teaching & Learning or Education & Society.
The Teaching & Learning emphasis is designed to support students interested in designing dynamic educational environments in both formal and non-formal learning contexts. Students may begin their teacher education at Macalester and then complete their preparation through a variety of different programs immediately after graduation. The Education & Society emphasis provides opportunities for interdisciplinary exploration of pressing social and educational issues on local, national, and international levels. Both emphases prepare students to engage in educational transformation through policy and practice.
Students majoring in Educational Studies are also required to complete a supporting major relevant to either their interests in teaching or their selected integrative theme. A 20-credit minor provides opportunities for students to explore their interests in Educational Studies without committing to completion of a second major.
Educational Studies is excited to offer a First Year Course in the fall of 2024 called “Worldmaking: Thought, Place, and Action in Education.” This course will be co-taught by Dr. Brian Lozenski in Educational Studies and Cait Bergeon from the Community Engagement Center. This class will engage in a holistic exploration of land based education, activist and labor organizing, and the arts within communities who center the cultural contexts of education.
See the department website for more information www.macalester.edu/academics/education.
Contact:
Brian Lozenski
651-696-6028
[email protected]
English
The English department is offering two great First Year Courses in Fall 2024. ENGL 150-F1, Introduction to Creative Writing, taught by Professor Peter Bognanni and ENGL125/F1 Craft Activism and Subversive Stitchers taught by Prof. Amy Elkins. Either would be excellent introductions to the department.
Other English courses appropriate for first-year students include any in the 100-level sequence; these courses have no prerequisites. 200-level English courses also have no prerequisites, although first-year students are advised to wait until the spring semester to register for them. All 100-level courses will provide an introduction to college-level study of literature or creative writing, with a heavy emphasis on the development of writing, critical thinking, and close reading skills, as well as deep reading in fascinating subject matter.
Please note that if you are interested in taking creative writing courses at Mac, ENGL 150 is the prerequisite to all the other courses.
For more information about the English Department, see the department website www.macalester.edu/academics/english
Contact:
May 15-May 31:
Peter Bognanni, Chair
[email protected]
June 1-August 26:
Matt Burgess
[email protected]
Environmental Studies
Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary department that offers students the opportunity to develop a holistic understanding of environmental problems and solutions. The program emphasizes interdisciplinary tools and perspectives from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The program encourages depth of disciplinary knowledge, breadth of cross-disciplinary perspectives, and integration through core courses and a required off-campus internship. Students may major or minor in environmental studies. For more information see the department website www.macalester.edu/academics/environmentalstudies.
The first year course offered by the ES department this year is “Psychology and/of Climate Change” (ENVI 273/F1).
Other appropriate introductory courses for those interested in environmental studies include: Principles of Sustainable Design (ENVI 194/F2), Dynamic Earth/Global Change (ENVI 160), Ecology and the Environment (ENVI 170), and Environmental Justice (ENVI 237).
Contact:
Chris Wells, Chair
[email protected]
Food, Agriculture and Society
The interdepartmental program in Food, Agriculture and Society offers a six-course, interdisciplinary concentration involving core and supporting courses as well as an internship. The program exposes students to the social and biophysical aspects of complex food and agricultural questions. It aims to produce graduates who: 1) understand the fundamentals of food and agricultural systems; 2) have broad interdisciplinary training on the theme; and 3) are able to connect their interdisciplinary training on food, agriculture and society to real world experiences and application.
Recommended courses offered in the fall that would be appropriate for incoming first year students include: FREN 194-F1 Food in French and Francophone Cultures: the Local and the Global; and GEOG/ENVI 232 Food, Agriculture and the Environment. Contact the Program Director with specific questions.
Contact:
Bill Moseley, Program Director
651-696-6126
[email protected]
French and Francophone Studies
The Department of French and Francophone Studies welcomes all students of French and offers the possibility of studying French at all levels in Fall 2024 (French 101, 102, 111, 203, 204, 305, or 306 and advanced courses). Students may enter the sequence at the appropriate level by demonstrating their proficiency in the language. If you have taken French in high school or elsewhere, your proficiency level is verified by the score attained on the Macalester language placement test. For advanced students, your level is verified by the score obtained on the French AP exam. If you are in an IB program, please consult the department chair or one of the professors listed below in Summer Contacts. For more specific placement information, including test scores, please refer to the guidelines on our website:
https://www.macalester.edu/french/languageplacement/
In Fall 2024, the department is offering one First-Year Course in English:
French 194: Food in French and Fancophone Cultures: the Local and the Global
Taught in English by Joelle Vitiello
France is famous for its food and cuisine. What makes it unique? How does French food translate French culture? what changes occurred throughout history? From medieval recipes to the first public restaurants, from the introduction of the first tomato dish to the new trends in branding water, chocolate, tea, vanilla or coffee, we will explore different topics related to food in France and the Francophone world, such as: the impact of travel and colonialism on French food and on food in French colonies as well as resulting global inequities; the significance of rituals and traditions associated with food. These questions will be addressed through a variety of films, media and texts. The course will provide a frame to engage creatively with issues of sustainability in Western and non-Western Francophone cultures and communities through the stud of representations, production, circulation, and consumption of food. From cheese stories to existnetialist cafes in Paris, from Haitian sugar to North African couscous and Bourbon Island vanilla, the course will explore our connection to food, locally and globally, including how the covid-19 pandemic affected food security. The course has a triple objective: 1) to familarize students with French and Francophone cultures; 2) to introduce students to different and innovative ways of considering sustainbility issues from different cultural perspectives; 3) to introduce students to college argumentative writing; 4) introduce students to Macalester College. The format of the course is a seminar, based on student discussions, research, and presentations. There will be ample opportunities to build community in the course, and we will engage with guest speakers and local sustainable communities. Please note that the final project of the course will be a collaborative one. The course satisfies the WA (Writing Argumentative) and Internationalsim.
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The FRENCH MAJOR consists of a minimum of nine courses beyond FREN 204 to include:
a) A major in French consists of a minimum of nine courses beyond FREN 204 to include: a) FREN 306 and one other 300-level bridge course (FREN 305, FREN 310, FREN 311, FREN 320, FREN 323, FREN 370, or an equivalent FREN 394);
b) six advanced courses (300- and 400- level), including one upper-level course on a period preceding the 20th century (FREN 371, FREN 380, FREN 445, FREN 446, FREN 451, FREN 452, or an equivalent relevant topics course); one course on a francophone region (FREN 322, FREN 330, FREN 336, FREN 340, FREN 341, FREN 344, FREN 345, FREN 350, FREN 403, or an equivalent relevant topics course); one French or Francophone culture course: (FREN 320, FREN 321, FREN 323, FREN 332, FREN 340, FREN 342, FREN 378, FREN 475, or an equivalent relevant topics course);
c) the senior capstone requirement;
d) an appropriate study abroad experience as approved by the department. The department will support an alternative immersive experience that will support their study of language and culture for French majors unable to study away.
The FRENCH MINOR consists of five courses beyond FREN 204 to include:
At least two courses at the 300 level and three additional French courses at the 300-400 levels. The department also strongly recommends that minors take FREN 306, as it is required for all 400-level topics courses.
For more information on the French academic program, French House, study abroad, and other student opportunities, please visit our website: https://www.macalester.edu/french/#/0
Contact:
May 15-31: Joëlle Vitiello: [email protected]
June 1-30: Moustapha El Hadji Diop : [email protected]
July 1-15: Juliette Rogers : [email protected]
July 15-31: Joëlle Vitiello : [email protected]
August 1-12: Claude Cassagne: [email protected]
August 12-24: Andrew Billing: [email protected]
Geography
Macalester’s nationally and internationally recognized Geography Department is unusually broad in scope for an undergraduate liberal arts college. The department leads students through an exploration of human-environment interactions, urban geography and planning, health geography, cartography, geospatial analysis and remote sensing, land change science, and socio-economic development in various regions of the world. Students may major or minor in geography, or minor in Geography with an emphasis in geospatial science.
Geography, Environment, and Society: Global Processes and World Regions (GEOG 113) or Geography, Environment, and Society: Engaging with the World Around Us (GEOG 115) are foundational courses, each of which introduces students to issues of human settlements, land use, and political order. Environmental Hazards (GEOG 258) and World Urbanization (GEOG 261) are being offered as First Year Courses in the fall and would likewise be excellent introductions to the department. Additionally, courses at the 200-level without prerequisites welcome incoming students, such as People, Agriculture and the Environment (GEOG 232), Urban Geography (GEOG 241), Regional Geography of the U.S. and Canada (GEOG 242), Health Geography (GEOG 256), Geography of World Urbanization (GEOG 261), and Geographies of Resilience: Climate, Livelihoods, and Adaptations (GEOG 294-01). Other upper division courses may be appropriate for students with the necessary background (such as AP Human Geography). Contact the department chair with specific questions or see the department website at https://www.macalester.edu/geography/.
Contact:
Dan Trudeau, Chair
651-696-6872
[email protected]
Geology
The introductory courses in geology are designed to accommodate students interested in learning more about the geosciences and environmental sciences. They provide an appreciation of the scientific principles and techniques used to investigate the Earth, and inform students about the composition, materials, major processes, and history of our planet. Our introductory courses count toward the major and minor, and fulfill general education requirements in the Science/Math category. Many of our introductory courses satisfy part of the quantitative thinking requirement at Macalester, and some also satisfy writing requirements. We are offering two sections of Dynamic Earth and Global Change (GEOL160) in Fall 2024. This course provides an excellent venue for exploring the department and the field!
See the department website for more information https://www.macalester.edu/geology/
Contact:
Alan Chapman, Chair
651-696-6462
[email protected]
German Studies
Three of the distinguishing characteristics of the Department of German Studies at Macalester are:
(a) that students can select their own interdisciplinary track combining German with a focus on “Language & Culture,” or “Art History” or “Critical Theory,” or “Environmental Humanities,” or “History,” or “Literature,” or “Media, Film, and Theater” or an individually designed focus;
(b) that our department offers a unique six-month immersion program in Berlin and Vienna, through which German majors achieve high-level proficiency in the language. To learn more, please visit our website.
(c) that German majors and minors can live in the German House practicing further their language proficiency in everyday situations, participating in communal meals and activities, as well as departmental events.
The Department of German Studies offers all levels of German language, as well as high-level courses in German literature, culture, and intellectual history, taught in German. We also offer interdisciplinary courses in English in topics that range from critical theory, philosophy, politics, and the environment to literature, cinema and the media. Although new courses are often introduced, recurrent titles include “Cinema Studies,” “A Kafkaesque Century,” “Migration, Then & Now,” “The Fairy Tale: From Grimms to Disney,” “Spinoza’s Eco-Society,” “Freedom and Its Discontents,” “Metaphysics in Secular Thought”—with partial focus on political theory—“Value”—with partial focus on aesthetic theory—and various courses on Marx.
In Fall 2024 we are offering the first-year course GERM/INTD 194-F1: “Forever Young: The Vampire Comes of Age,” which looks critically at the ways in which vampire narratives focus on and represent the transition from childhood to adulthood. The vampire topic provides an introduction to the liberal arts: close analysis reveals the changing undercurrents of pop culture and shows how critical thinking helps us understand the world around us. In this course, students will critically examine the metaphor of vampires and then engage in reflective practices to relate the material to their own lives and their transition to college.
Language Placement: Students with no background in German should register for German Studies 101; students who have had minimal German in high school or studied another foreign language may alternatively register for German Studies 110: Accelerated Elementary German. Students with any prior training in German or any extended exposure to the language must take the placement test. Advanced students (scoring above 550 on the placement test) should consult with Prof. Ross Shields <[email protected]>, about which course is best for them. Some possibilities are German Studies 308: German Cultural History I; and German Studies 309: German Cultural History II.
For more information, see the department website www.macalester.edu/academics/german
Contact:
Kiarina Kordela, Chair
[email protected]
Health Professions Advising
Advisors: Elizabeth Jansen (Chair, Health Professions Advising Committee, Biology and Neuroscience), Lin Aanonsen (Biology), Ron Barrett (Anthropology), Devavani Chatterjea (Biology), Kristi Curry Rogers (Biology), Mary Montgomery (Biology), Robin Shields-Cutler (Biology), Katy Splan (Chemistry), Jaine Strauss (Psychology)
Students interested in premedical studies should consult one of the premedical advisors very early in their first year for academic advice and join the Health Professions mailing list, and the student organization, Health Professions Student Coalition.
Premedical students at Macalester may major in any discipline and concurrently complete all premedical requirements. A science major is not a prerequisite for admission to medical school. Most medical schools require the following courses as prerequisites. At Macalester these courses are: CHEM 111 – General Chemistry I, CHEM 112 – General Chemistry II, CHEM 211 – Organic Chemistry I, CHEM 212 – Organic Chemistry II, two to six courses in Biology (we recommend at least BIOL190 – Genetics and BIOL200 – Cell Biology), two semesters of Physics, either PHYS126 – Introductory Physics I and PHYS127 – Introductory Physics II OR PHYS226 – Principles of Physics I and PHYS227 – Principles of Physics II, and two courses in English. At a number of medical schools, the “English” requirement can be satisfied by various writing or literature courses and need not be listed as an English course. BIOL351 – Biochemistry I is either a required course or is a strongly recommended prerequisite at a large number of medical schools. Most medical schools also require a course in the behavioral sciences; we recommend either PSYC100 – Introduction to Psychology or SOCI110 – Introduction to Sociology. Additional courses in the humanities and mathematics (we highly recommend taking a statistics course) may also be required for admission to some medical schools. These requirements vary so you should consult your premedical advisor before deciding about courses to take to satisfy the premedical requirements.
Premedical advisors work carefully with students throughout their preparation, both individually and in group sessions, to assist in program planning that will best meet the individual needs of students. Regular forums and seminars are presented on appropriate topics in research, ethics, application procedures and interview skills. There are a variety of summer opportunities that enable students to conduct research and explore health professions.
For more information, go to https://www.macalester.edu/hpa/.
Contact:
Elizabeth Jansen, PhD, Health Professions Advising
[email protected]
History
How does the past continue to influence the present? How can we distinguish between what really happened versus what is invented? To answer these questions, historians practice what we study: We re-construct events and cultures of the past using a broad range of written, visual, oral and material evidence. These approaches increase our understanding of how, and why, humans constantly reshape narratives about people and events, while at the same time trying to preserve their original essence. In this spirit of rooted reinvention, the Macalester College History Department has recently refashioned itself around two new currents in the profession: decolonization and indigeneity in global history. These themes emphasize zones of interaction rather than individual areas or discrete time periods; it highlights trans-regional and chronology-busting phenomena such as migration, conquest and trade. Students and professors of history at Macalester therefore have the shared opportunity to study multiple times, places and sources in addition to choosing one or two avenues of specialty to pursue in detail. This wider-ranging comparative approach allows us to address the contradictory and often clashing presence in the human record of conflict as well as consensus, trauma as well as triumph, difference as well as similarity, fact as well as fiction, and discontinuity as well as pattern.
For further information on the department and course offerings, please consult the department website at https://www.macalester.edu/academics/history/about/
Incoming students are welcome to enroll in 100- and 200-level classes.
Contact:
Holly Barcus
[email protected]
Katrina Phillips
[email protected]
Human Rights and Humanitarianism Interdepartmental Program
This concentration provides students an opportunity to engage in the interdisciplinary study of human rights and humanitarianism. The objectives of the concentration are to cultivate in students:
- a familiarity with major developments in the history of human rights and humanitarianism;
- an understanding of the institutional frameworks governing human rights and humanitarianism, including international law, international organizations, and civil society movements;
- an understanding of the theoretical and philosophical debates about the meanings of human rights and humanitarianism;
- a capacity to understand and evaluate practical debates over the methods, motivations, and consequences of human rights and humanitarian action, including but not limited to questions of policy-making, fieldwork, and media and artistic representation;
- a familiarity with a range of current and past global (including local, national, and international) human rights problems.
Given that students and faculty approach the study of human rights and humanitarianism from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, the program permits students to complete this concentration in conjunction with a wide array of majors.
A concentration in Human Rights and Humanitarianism consists of five courses selected from two lists: Framework Courses and Specialized Courses. Of these five courses, at least two courses must come from the list of Framework Courses and one from the list of Specialized Courses. The HRH concentration also includes an optional 2-credit Senior Colloquium.
Students in the HRH program are encouraged to pursue internships and take study away courses in the areas of human rights and humanitarianism. These may be counted toward the completion of the concentration with the approval of the program coordinator.
Contact:
James Dawes
[email protected]
651-696-6809
International Development
The International Development concentration examines long-run transitions in social, economic, political, and cultural institutions that have accompanied industrialization in modern states, particularly focusing on states in the Global South. The field seeks to understand how these historical and contemporary shifts affect people’s welfare and opportunities and how change has affected patterns of wealth and resource distribution within and between countries.
A concentration in International Development requires six courses. These six courses must come from at least three different departments and no more than three courses may come from any single department with no more than two courses coming from a department in which a student is majoring. In addition, a student completing a concentration, minor, or major in an area studies department or program may include no more than two courses from that area studies plan on an International Development concentration plan.
For more information see www.macalester.edu/academics/internationaldevelopment
Contact:
Lisa Mueller
Associate Professor in Political Science, Director of the Concentration in International Development
[email protected]
International Studies
International Studies is one of Macalester’s enduring and flagship majors, and is configurable – often in conjunction with other majors, minors, and concentrations – for a vast range of purposes and interests. It focuses on the interdisciplinary confrontation with globalization, across all regions and in many domains. We offer introductory courses (any of INTL 110-114) that explore key questions in today’s international life and introduce students to our department. Each version has its own focus, and students may choose any of them. There are no prerequisites: thus anyone interested in internationalism and global life at Macalester is warmly welcomed to enroll. Our 200-level courses (especially those on human rights and public health) are suitable for first-years with some prior familiarity with, and/or very keen interest in, their specific subject matters.
For more information about the International Studies Department see: https://www.macalester.edu/internationalstudies/
Contact:
Ahmed Samatar
[email protected]
Latin American Studies Program
Students with an interest in Latin American Studies (LAS) should follow these steps:
- Send a brief email to LAS Director Ernesto Capello ([email protected]) communicating your interest in Latin American Studies. This will allow you to be informed about opportunities to meet Latin American Studies students and attend LAS events.
- Register for a 100- or 200-level Latin American Studies course.
- Register for an appropriate Spanish or Portuguese course.
Visit Latin American Studies Program to learn more.
Contact:
Ernesto Capello
[email protected]
Legal Studies Program
The Legal Studies Program offers students a variety of curricular and co-curricular opportunities for students who have interests in law—whether as a career or an intellectual pursuit. In the curriculum, the Legal Studies concentration provides students a course of study that places law within the tradition of the liberal arts, encouraging students to develop a deeper, lasting engagement with Macalester’s mission and their future work. As an interdisciplinary concentration, students find sustained engagement of law-related issues from a variety of perspectives intellectually stimulating and rewarding. As a six-course concentration, it is not essential for students to begin a legal studies concentration during the first year; however, we often find that first year students really enjoy our courses and that they build on these course experiences throughout their time at Macalester.
Among the First-Year Courses, one contributes to the legal studies concentration:
PHIL 121-F1 Introduction to Ethics
Students interested in taking a Legal Studies-qualified course in their first semester could also seek to take one of the courses at the 100 or 200 level that qualify for the concentration. In Fall 2024, these courses include:
HIST 137-01 From Confederation to Confederacy: US History from Independence to Civil War
HIST/AMST 209-01 Civil Rights in the United States
HIST/AMST 225-01 Native History to 1871
HIST/WGSS 228-01 The Law, Economy, and Family in the Anglo-American Tradition
PHIL 121-01 Introduction to Ethics
PHIL 224-01 Philosophy of Law
POLI 206-01 US Constitutional Law and Thought
There are no required courses and no single path through the concentration, so you may want to begin in an area close to your background, interests, or even explore something new, and then build outward in later years.
For additional information about courses that are part of the Legal Studies concentration, please consult www.macalester.edu/academics/legalstudies .
If you have questions about any of the courses offered for Fall 2024 or the concentration, please contact one of the Co-Directors of Legal Studies.
Contact:
Patrick Schmidt, Professor of Political Science
651-696-6147
[email protected]
or
Erik Larson, Professor of Sociology
651-696-6309
[email protected]
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language, the medium in which we do almost everything.
Here are a few introductory courses suitable for first year students. These courses have no prerequisites.
Ling 100: An Introduction to Linguistics
The aim of this course is to make you aware of the complex organization and systematic nature of language, the primary means of human communication. In a sense, you will be studying yourself, since you are a prime example of a language user. Most of your knowledge of language, however, is unconscious, and the part of language that you can describe is largely the result of your earlier education, which may have given you confused, confusing, or misleading notions about language. This course is intended to clarify your ideas about language and bring you to a better understanding of its nature. By the end of the course you should be familiar with some of the terminology and techniques of linguistic analysis and be able to apply this knowledge to the description of different languages. There are no prerequisites, but this course is the prerequisite for almost every higher level course within the linguistics major.
Ling 104: Sounds of World’s Languages
In this course you will be trained to produce and recognize (almost) all the speech sounds which human languages make use of, and to develop a systematic way of analyzing and recording them. Since sounds are perceived as well as produced, you will also be introduced to the acoustic analysis of speech, learning how acoustic signals of frequency, amplitude, and duration are translated into visible, quantifiable images. You will learn the art of decoding these spectrograms into sounds and words and sentences. The linguistics laboratory contains several different programs for practicing and listening to sounds from many of the world’s languages. This course is recommended for students of foreign languages, drama, music and anyone who wants to become more aware of their (and other people’s) pronunciation.
Ling 194: Introduction to Computational Methods in Linguistics
This course will introduce practical skills for carrying out linguistic research with computational methods. Students will learn to utilize corpus software, regular expressions, Python, and large language models for language data processing and dataset creation. They’ll also explore computational methods for data interpretation. The course will cover various language data types, including text corpora, social media content, and speech data. While a basic understanding of linguistics and Python programming will be beneficial, it is not a prerequisite.
For more information, check out our webpage: https://www.macalester.edu/academics/linguistics/
Contact:
Christina Esposito, Chair
[email protected]
Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science
Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science (MSCS) has faculty expertise and course offerings in theoretical math, applied math, statistics, data science and computer science. Being in a single department allows us to take advantage of the interconnections between these disciplines, and to build synergies among them. The MSCS Department offers four different majors ー Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, and Computer Science ー and four minors ー Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, and Computer Science. Course descriptions, information about our majors and minors, advice on course selection and placement information can be found on our department website, www.macalester.edu/academics/mscs.
The most common starting place in mathematics is in our calculus sequence: Applied Multivariable Calculus (AMC) I, II, or III (Math 135, 137, and 237). Incoming students who have taken high school calculus are typically ready to start in AMC II or AMC III. See www.macalester.edu/mscs/wheredoistart/ for placement information. Another popular starting place in the mathematics curriculum is Discrete Mathematics (MATH 279).
The most common starting places in the statistics and data science curriculum are Introduction to Statistical Modeling (STAT 155) and Introduction to Data Science (STAT / COMP 112). STAT 155 is substantially different from AP statistics; thus even students with AP statistics experience take that course.
The most common starting place in the computer science curriculum is Core Concepts in Computer Science (COMP 123), though students with prior experience such as high school AP Computer Science may be able to start in Object-Oriented Programming and Abstraction (COMP 127) or in Data Structures (COMP 128); consult with CS faculty for the best placement.
In Fall 2024, incoming students have two MSCS first-year course options. COMP 194-F1, Explorations in Extended Reality, taught by Prof. Bret Jackson is suitable for a wide range of student experience levels. MATH 135-F1, taught by Prof. Lori Ziegelmeier, is a special version of the AMC I course, aimed at students with limited experience with calculus.
Contact:
Susan Fox, MSCS chair, and chair for Computer Science
[email protected]
Andrew Beveridge, chair for Mathematics
[email protected]
Alicia Johnson, chair for Statistics
[email protected]
Brianna Heggeseth, coordinator for Data Science
[email protected]
Media and Cultural Studies
The Media and Cultural Studies major analyzes the history, politics, and production of media texts, in alignment with the College’s commitment to internationalism, multiculturalism, and civic engagement, using theories and methods drawn from the humanities.
The department offers an innovative ten-course major that includes opportunities for students to combine analysis, history, criticism, and production. The major provides students with a working knowledge of historians and critics of new media, film, newspapers, radio, and television; helps students develop an ability to explicate a specific body of culture or type of media in depth; and provides students with opportunities to appreciate different kinds of media and to produce original work.
Students take at least eleven courses toward the major. Seven courses are required:
- The introductory course, Texts and Power: Foundations of Media and Cultural Studies (MCST 110), which covers the history of cultural analysis, broadly defined, from traditional to contemporary approaches, providing students with a foundation in major writings and acquainting students with issues of continuing debate in media studies. Completion of or enrollment in 110 is required for admission into the major program.
- MCST 128, Film Analysis and Visual Culture
- MCST 126, Local News Media Institutions, or INTL/MCST 202, Global Media Industries
- MCST 160: Culture, Power, Difference
- MCST 388: Advanced Research Topics
- MCST 621 – 624: Media Internships
- MCST 488, capstone Advanced Topic Seminar, in which students work on an independent project in line with the theme of the seminar and share their scholarship with a scholarly community, integrating what they have learned in the major. The capstone experience involves close analysis of cultural artifacts that examine at a higher level issues first raised in the introductory course. In exceptional cases, students with sufficient preparation may take the seminar prior to their senior year. Students may complete their honors projects in the capstone seminar.
In addition to these courses, students will complete four department-approved elective courses.
The media studies minor is for students interested in journalism or media studies or a combination. It requires five courses, including MCST 126, Local Media Institutions, or INTL/MCST 202, Global Media Industries. The minor concentrates on media studies and offers opportunities for critical research as well as for pre-professional experience in media production.
The Twin Cities is a vibrant and creative urban area, and students in the department have found opportunities for internships with arts and other nonprofit organizations and with media companies. Graduates have found employment in the media, in government, and in social and cultural institutions as well as opportunities for further study in doctoral programs and professional schools.
Students who enroll as majors or minors are invited to department events and notified of internships, conferences, and other off-campus opportunities. While enrolling as a major or minor requires a tentative course selection, students may change their selections before their last semester, provided they remain within major or minor requirements. More information is available at: Media and Cultural Studies.
Contact:
Morgan Adamson
[email protected]
Middle Eastern Studies and Islamic Civilization Interdepartmental Program
This concentration provides students with an opportunity to engage in the study of the Middle East and the broader Islamic world. Some of the objectives of the concentration include: A) Developing a basic familiarity with the cultures and religions, politics and history, geography and economy of the Middle East and Islamic world. B) Students will want to obtain some understanding of the major methodological approaches involved in the study of MESIC; MESIC students will gain a deep appreciation of the social, political, and cultural diversity and complexity of the Middle East and broader Islamic World. In this concentration students will find ways to engage in difficult dialogues and tackle some of the major issues of the day and region. Developing the capacity to engage thoughtfully and constructively in some of the more contentious issues affecting the region is a vital feature of MESIC at Macalester. Students are strongly encouraged to learn at least one of the languages spoken by people of the Middle East or Islamic world.
Given that students and faculty approach the study of Middle East and Islamic civilization from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, the program permits students to complete this concentration in conjunction with a wide array of majors. The program promotes breadth by requiring that students complete courses (in several departments) dealing with both the Middle East and the wider Islamic world; it promotes depth by requiring a capstone project focused on a relevant topic.
For more information, go to www.macalester.edu/academics/mesic
Music
All students may participate in the Music Department, which offers courses, ensembles, and lessons in a variety of musical traditions. There is one first-year course for Fall 2024, “Cover Songs” taught by Prof. Victoria Malawey. This course will be appropriate for any student interested in studying music at Macalester. Students considering the major or minor in music will need to take MUSI 113 Musicianship, preferably early on. A range of other courses, together with performance participation, also are required for the major and minor. Students are encouraged to explore (and possibly audition for, if required) any of our ensembles—African Music Ensemble, Asian Music Ensemble, Macalester Concert Choir, Macalester Chorale, Macalester Orchestra, Wind Symphony, Mac Jazz Band, Jazz and Popular Music Combos, Pipe Band, Early Music Ensemble, Chamber Music Ensembles—at the beginning of each semester. Private lessons are available for an extra fee to all Macalester students. Registration for lessons and ensembles takes place during the first week of classes through the department office.
See the department website for more information www.macalester.edu/academics/music
Contact:
Mackenzie Stern, Department Coordinator
[email protected]
Mark Mandarano, Professor of Music and Department Chair
[email protected]
Neuroscience
Macalester’s Neuroscience Program provides a rigorous introduction to the study of the nervous system that is, like the field itself, rooted in biology and psychology. Students interested in majoring in Neuroscience should plan to complete Chemistry 111 (General Chemistry I), Chemistry 112 (General Chemistry II), Biology 190 (Genetics), and Psychology 100 (Introduction to Psychology) during their first year. The Neuroscience program does not offer a first-year course, and students are encouraged to use their first-year course to explore their non-science interests.
See https://www.macalester.edu/neuroscience/ for more information.
Contact:
Darcy Burgund
[email protected]
Philosophy
This fall the Philosophy Department is pleased to offer two First Year Courses:
PHIL 100-F1: Introduction to Philosophy: Love and Friendship (Prof. Geoffrey Gorham)
Description: The Philosopher Aristotle said “without friends no one would choose to live, though they had all other goods”. (Nicomachean Ethics, 1055a 5-7). It is not clear exactly what Aristotle means by this, but the high value he gives to friendship and love is shared by many other ancient Greek and Chinese Philosophers, such as Plato, Epicurus, and Confucius. This class will begin with an overview of central themes in ancient and contemporary philosophy — epistemology, metaphysics and ethics — and then undertake a detailed investigation of friendship and love: Why are friendship and love valuable? How do we become friends, and when should we break off friendships? With whom can we be friends: family members? pets? on-line friends? AI? Is ‘romantic’ love real or merely a social construction? Should we love only one other, or many, or everyone? Could it be good for us to have no friends, or should we have as many friends as possible? What role, if any, does gender play in friendship and love? What, if anything, do we owe to our friends and lovers? We will consider texts by Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Sappho, Confucius, Montaigne, Kant, Emerson, de Beauvoir, Sartre, as well as several contemporary philosophical perspectives on friendship and love. We will also read works of literature, such as Shakespeare’s Sonnets, and love poems of Emily Dickinson, and view together several films, such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Your grade will be based on three short papers, two ‘take-home’ examinations, reading responses (‘convos’), and attendance/participation.
PHIL 121-F1: Ethics (Prof. Samuel Asarnow)
Description: What matters in life? Is pleasure the only thing that matters? If so, whose pleasure should I pursue—just my own, my family’s, or everyone’s? Does suffering matter, too? What about the suffering of non-human animals? Is it okay for me to make animals suffer in order for me to enjoy the pleasure of eating their flesh? Or how about the suffering of people who are really far away from me—say, on another continent? Is it okay for me to spend money on cool stuff for myself when instead I could donate it to help people who are suffering very badly far away? If things in life other than pleasure matter too, what are they? People who oppose torture think that it’s wrong to hurt one person really badly even in order to prevent a large number of people from being hurt. Are they right? Is it always wrong to treat someone as merely a means to an end? Is it in general wrong to do things to people without their consent? Why? When do people deserve to be praised or blamed for their actions? What kind of person should I be? Should I try to be happy? Or should I try to be virtuous? Is virtue its own reward? Or are we all inevitably faced with a choice between being virtuous and being happy? If we are faced with that choice, which one should we pick? In Ethics, we will talk about these questions, and others.
Non-FYC sections of both PHIL 100 and PHIL 121 are also available.
Other courses suitable for first year students include:
PHIL 111-01 and -02: Introduction to Symbolic Logic
Description: An introduction to formal methods for evaluating deductive arguments. Topics include formal fallacies, decision procedures, translation of arguments to argument forms, and natural deduction proofs in propositional and predicate logic.
PHIL 200-01 Ancient and Medieval Philosophies
Description: A study of major philosophers of ancient Greece, Rome and the medieval period, including the Pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, the Stoics, Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas.
PHIL 224-01 Philosophy of Law
Description: This course considers the question: what philosophical questions arise with respect to the law, and how should we answer them? In the first part of the course, we’ll consider philosophical questions related to making laws. For instance, is it permissible to create laws that are primarily aimed at preventing people from harming themselves, or should laws only be aimed at preventing people from harming others? In the second part of the course, we’ll consider philosophical questions related to breaking laws. For example, to what extent are civil disobedience – and uncivil disobedience – justified? Along the way, we’ll discuss myriad issues of serious contemporary relevance: the abolition of criminal punishment; the complexities of legal responses to sexual misconduct; and the complex relationship between morality and the law.
More information about these and other philosophy courses can be found at the Registrar’s website or the department website or by contacting the department chair, Prof. Samuel Asarnow, https://www.macalester.edu/academics/philosophy/
Hope to see you in a philosophy class at Macalester in the fall!
Contact:
Samuel Asarnow
[email protected]
Physical Education
The department of physical education provides students the opportunity to learn about sport and develop or improve skills in a variety of activity classes. Students may earn a maximum of four credits toward graduation for participating in four different physical education activity classes. Each class is one credit and all activity classes are graded S/N based on meeting the determined participation criteria for that course. Consult the Fall Schedule for current options.
Contact:
Steve Murray
[email protected]
Physics & Astronomy
The Department of Physics and Astronomy will offer two first-year courses (FYC) in 2024.
Prof. Tonnis ter Veldhuis ([email protected]) will teach PHYS 194-F1 (FYC) “Rocket Science”. Rocket Science is a rocketry themed calculus-based introductory physics course for first-year students only. The course covers standard material such as Newton’s laws, conservation of energy, linear momentum, and angular momentum, oscillations and orbital dynamics, but with a strong focus on applying these basic physics principles to rocket propulsion and flight dynamics. Instead of a conventional lab, the course includes a hands-on, semester-long project where students design, simulate, build, and fly their own high-power rockets. Apart from the rocket building project, evaluation will take the form of regular problem sets, exams, short papers, and a research paper. Rocket Science can be substituted for the course PHYS226, Principles of Physics I
General Education Requirements:
Writing WA, Quantitative Q3
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Prof. James Doyle ([email protected]) will teach PHYS 194-F2, cross listed as ENVI 194-F2 (FYC), “Principles of Sustainable Design”. This course provides a survey of the science and engineering needed for the transition to a sustainable, renewable, and carbon-free energy economy, with a focus on the built environment. The first part of the course will examine the science and status of wind, solar, storage and other renewable technologies for electricity generation. The second part of the course will focus on approaches to urban and sustainable building design. Topics include electrification of transportation and heating, distributed energy and energy storage, microgrids, efficiency and demand side management, water and waste management, food resources, geothermal heating and cooling, passive heating and cooling building design, lighting, and embodied energy. We will explore questions such as: Does the technology exist to attain these goals at a reasonable cost? What are the current obstacles for wide-scale implementation? What is the feasibility and implications of a nearly complete electrification of our energy economy? What are the economic, social, and environmental trade-offs? Can we accomplish the transition on a time scale to avoid the worst effects of climate change?
General Education Requirements (tentative):
Writing WA, Quantitative Q1
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Details about the physics major and required courses can be found at https://www.macalester.edu/academics/physics/majorsminors/.
Contact:
James Doyle
[email protected]
Political Science
Political Science is offering two First Year Courses.
POLI 194: Human Rights, Human Wrongs (Wendy Weber)
This course will begin with an introduction to human rights as a global framework for understanding and addressing key issues and challenges in the world today. After this introduction, we will explore a number of these issues and challenges, potentially including climate change, displacement, inequality, authoritarianism and genocide. For each ‘human wrong,’ we will explore the nature of the challenge as well as the possibilities and limitations of the human rights framework (as well as related frameworks on refugees and on war and armed conflict) in crafting a response. Class sessions will be discussion-based and assignments will include a mix of writing assignments and in-class activities (simulations, etc.).
POLI 203: Politics and Inequality: The American Welfare State (Lesley Lavery)
The readings and assignments in this course are designed to help students understand how social policies and programs contribute to Americans’ lived experiences. We will examine various theoretical justifications for the policies that constitute the American welfare state, then confront and dissect major strands of the American social safety net to better understand how political institutions and policy mechanisms contribute to both diversity and inequality in individuals’ social, economic and political outcomes (based in race, class, gender, dis/ability, region, political jurisdiction, etc.). Class sessions will be discussion-based and assignments will include a mix of writing and creative work.
The department also reserves places for entering students in our introductory courses, including Foundations of U.S. Politics (do NOT register if you’ve taken AP US Government), Foundations of Comparative Politics, Foundations of International Politics, and Foundations of Political Theory. New students are welcome to enroll in any of the more focused courses that we offer at the 200-level. For more information, visit: https://www.macalester.edu/academics/politicalscience/ or contact the department chair, Lisa Mueller.
Contact:
Lisa Mueller
[email protected]
Psychology
First year students are welcome to enroll in PSYC 100 – Introduction to Psychology. This course provides an excellent overview of the field of psychological science — the study of behavior and mental processes. It surveys the major subdisciplines of the field, including such topics as the brain and neuroscience, behavioral genetics, cognitive and social development, perception, learning, memory, decision-making, language, consciousness, emotions, motivation, psychological disorders, social identity, interpersonal interactions and group and cultural processes. Students also participate in a weekly hands-on laboratory experience.
Advanced placement: If you scored a 4 or a 5 on the AP exam in Psychology, received a 5, 6, or 7 on the IB higher level Psychology exam, or submitted qualifying GCE A-level grades, you may get credit for PSYC 100 and are welcome to take any intermediate-level class in the psychology department (courses number 202-294). If you ultimately decide to major in psychology, you will get placement credit for introductory psych but you will still take 11 courses for the major.
For more information, go to www.macalester.edu/academics/psychology
Contact:
Jaine Strauss
651-696-6114
[email protected]
Religious Studies
Religious Studies is a broadly interdisciplinary investigation that takes its place among the humanities and social sciences. The department works with students who wish to focus on the academic study of religion, as well as those who seek courses in religion to help them frame and interrogate issues provoked in other academic areas. As a key part of human culture and history, Religious Studies encourages critical thinking about cultural, moral, and ethical processes unfolding in the world. Majors bring this perspective with them when they enter fields as diverse as journalism, law, medicine, education, professional life in the parish ministry/rabbinate, and community activism.
Introductory courses are broad in scope, even as they seek to be selective enough to allow an in-depth encounter with source documents situated within their historical, literary, and social contexts. Methods of instruction include not only lectures and small group discussion, but also opportunities for independent study and research, one-on-one engagement with faculty, and site-specific projects in the Twin Cities and beyond.
For more information, go to www.macalester.edu/academics/religiousstudies
Contact:
Erik Davis, Chair
651-696-6152
[email protected]
Russian Studies
Russia and the former republics of the Soviet Union comprise the vast geographic space called Eurasia. The former Soviet Union is composed of Russia, the Central Asian republics, the Caucasus nations and Siberia, and the Baltic states. If a student of international affairs were to journey into that space to explore its unknown cultures and geographies, and could do so knowing only one language, that language would be Russian. Current events tell us that becoming familiar with that region is imperative; but in the longer term, its cultural and historical riches alert us to the benefits of exploring the post-Soviet world. Macalester students and faculty have keen interest in regions like East Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe – and countries such as China, North Korea, Iran, and Afghanistan. Only the former Soviet Union borders all of those regions and countries, and Russian is spoken throughout that space. Russia itself is both European and Asian, and has more Muslim citizens than Jordan, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Territories combined. The speaker of Russian can travel from St. Petersburg to Beijing, confident that they will be understood.
Russian scholars in literature, history, anthropology, politics, cultural and postcolonial studies are fully engaged in globally important comparative studies of race, ethnicity, class, gender, world culture, and more. Studying Russian is an integral part of Macalester’s internationalism, and is the first step toward connecting with the 200+ million Russian speakers around the world.
Our courses explore Russia’s language, literature, history, visual arts, and film; we offer comparative courses on such topics as revolution and the theory and practice of translation. Most of our courses are taught in English, and students at all levels of preparation are welcome.
In Fall 2024, we will be offering Elementary Russian I, ideal for first-year students who are interested in starting the language (Intermediate and Advanced Russian will be an option as well) and courses taught in English that have no prerequisites and are open to first-year students, including “Revolutionary Russia and the Soviet Union,” “Environment and Empire,” “Us vs. Them: The Cold War and Its Culture,” and “The Post-Soviet Sphere.”
For detailed information about the Russian Studies faculty, course offerings, the structure of the major and minor, study abroad, and opportunities to get involved with the Russian-speaking community in the Twin Cities, see the department website at https://www.macalester.edu/russian
Contact:
Julia Chadaga
[email protected]
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Sociology
A piece of advice to first year students: Discover sociology at Macalester early. Many students who take their first course in the department during their junior or senior year regret not having the earlier exposure. Why? Because studying sociology:
- Provides new insights about your life and the world around you;
- Builds a range of important skills, related to the variety of evidence we use (from richly detailed accounts based on observing people as they go about their daily lives to analysis that reveals broad patterns that might otherwise remain invisible);
- Fosters creativity by providing a variety of perspectives on the topics that we study; and
- Involves learning about interesting and relevant topics, including how inequalities emerge and affect people’s lives; how practices of social life affect interaction and ideas; how distinct ways of arranging activities matter; and how organizations operate.
The department has reserved and open seats for incoming students in the following courses, none of which require prior experience, for Fall 2024:
Soci 258-F1 Immigrant Voices in Times of Fear
Soci 110-01 Introduction to Sociology
Soci 194-01 Schooling and Society
Soci 194-02 Palestine
Soci 335-01 Families and Social Change
For further information, we invite you to visit our webpage: https://www.macalester.edu/academics/sociology/index.html
Contact:
Erik Larson, Chair
[email protected]
651-696-6309
Spanish and Portuguese
The Department of Spanish & Portuguese welcomes students into dynamic language courses in elementary and intermediate Spanish and Portuguese, as well as advanced courses in literature, cultural studies and linguistics, all taught in Spanish or Portuguese. All of our courses emphasize active language acquisition and application within meaningful, contemporary contexts. We believe that language is the pathway to true understanding of culture.
We will be offering a course in fall 2024 that may be of special interest to first-year students. Professor Alicia Muñoz will teach a special edition of Spanish 306 as a first-year course (FYC) titled Spanish for Heritage Speakers: Latin American and Latinx Cultures. The class is designed for heritage speakers of Spanish: those who grew up speaking Spanish at home, with extended families and in their communities. Leaning on all of their previous experience with the language, the course seeks to enrich and complement the students’ linguistic repertoire by further developing their communicative abilities in Spanish, both verbal and written, especially in an academic context. Class content will focus on Latin America and the U.S. Latinx population. Through discussion and analysis of literary works, films, critical articles, and personal experiences, we will engage topics such as Spanglish, mestizaje, anti-blackness and Latinidad, and the Census. The class is taught in Spanish, counts toward the Spanish major and minor requirements, and is a prerequisite for many upper-level courses in the department. The course also satisfies the WA general education requirement (Argumentative Writing).
In addition, for those students learning Spanish as a second language, our Spanish 305 course: Advanced Oral and Written Expression, may be a good fit (appropriate level can be determined by taking our online placement exam). Its main objective is to improve oral and written communication in Spanish while strengthening grammatical skills and deepening knowledge of Hispanic cultures. Conversations and written essays are based on cultural and literary themes presented in class readings, including literary works and supporting videos and films. This course also satisfies the WA general education requirement (Argumentative Writing) and counts toward the Spanish major or minor.
If you have questions about satisfying the foreign language requirement through Spanish or Portuguese, or about majoring or minoring in Spanish or minoring in Portuguese, please contact Cynthia Kauffeld, Chair ([email protected]), or visit our website: www.macalester.edu/spanish
Contact:
Cynthia Kauffeld, Chair
[email protected]
Theater and Dance
Welcome to the Theater and Dance Department!
Our department offers small academic and studio courses in which students are closely mentored by expert faculty. Our curriculum includes advanced classes for those interested in pursuing a career in the performing arts. We also encourage students without previous experience to try a beginning course in acting, dance, design, or playwriting. Always make sure to contact the instructor if you do not meet prerequisites for a given course; oftentimes, first-year students have past experience that will ease them into such learning opportunities.
With the exception of dance technique courses, THDA classes count for your Fine Arts requirements. Many fulfill USID, Internationalism, various Writing and Q requirements.
In the fall 2025, the Theater and Dance Department will offer two sections of the First Year Course (FYC) THDA105, Seeing Performance in the Twin Cities.
Theater and Dance Audition Information
Auditions for theater productions and dance concerts are open to all Macalester students. First-year students are regularly cast in theater productions and dance concert pieces. Additional information about the audition process and the productions will be on our website, and available here.
This fall, THDA Faculty and celebrated director and performer Bob Rosen will direct a devised piece in collaboration with an ensemble of student performers. If you’re interested in the process of developing and creating a piece of performance from the ground up in the room, then this is the piece for you. It will be performed November 22-24 and December 6-8.
Auditions for the Fall Theater Production: A Collaborative Creation will be on Friday, September 6th 6-8pm and Saturday, September 7th 2:30-5:30pm in Mainstage T121 with callbacks on Sunday, September 8th from 11:30am-1:30pm in Mainstage T121, Janet Wallace Fine Art Center. Time slots are available here.
The Fall 2025 Dance Concert performances will take place November 7 – 10 and will be choreographed by a group of skilled student choreographers who have successfully completed Dance Composition or Contemporary Ensemble Choreography courses. Everyone is encouraged to audition, even if you are brand new to dance! Choreographers will be seeking dancers with a range of experiences and movement styles.
Auditions for the Fall Dance Concert will be held on Sunday, September 8th 12:00 – 2:00 in Fox Studio T120, Janet Wallace Fine Art Center. No advance sign ups are required, and you don’t need to prepare anything to audition – just bring yourself and clothing you can move in.
Arts @ Mac: An Open House & Lunch Social
When you arrive on campus, keep an eye out for information on Arts @ Mac Welcome Week, sponsored by the departments of Music, Art and Art History, and Theater and Dance. Meet faculty, returning students and guest artists, and get information on auditions, backstage work opportunities, the curriculum and courses, and special events.For more information visit our website: https://www.macalester.edu/theater-and-dance
Contact:
Cláudia Tatinge Nascimento – Chair
[email protected]
Urban Studies Interdepartmental Program
The Urban Studies concentration is designed for students who major in a variety of disciplines and are interested in urbanization and wish to gain an interdisciplinary perspective on city life. Economics 294-01, Educational Studies 260, Geography 241, 261, or 262, History 284, Political Science 204, or Sociology 22094-02 provide an appropriate introduction to the urban studies program for first-year students. Please see the website for further information: https://www.macalester.edu/academics/urbanstudies/
Contact:
Laura Smith
651-696-6505 | [email protected]
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) as an academic program grows out of a history of real-life struggles by gendered, sexualized, racialized, classed, and other minorities for social and political justice. Prof. Myrl Beam and Prof. Sonita Sarker are the core department faculty who cover issues relating to trans identities and transnational contexts respectively; they both analyze culture, media, and political activism in the context of neoliberal capitalism and globalization. Based on a historical understanding of injustices and ongoing struggles, WGSS classes prepare students to better understand and see how systems of oppression as well as liberation are interlocked and connected. Students in WGSS develop practical and theoretical skills for understanding and engaging the social, cultural, economic, and political contexts shaping our world, in order to prepare to participate in post-Macalester professional lives.
If you are interested in taking a WGSS course in your first semester, we recommend WGSS100 (“Transnational Perspectives on Gender, Race, Class and Sexuality,” which will provide a great foundation for later courses in the major, and ultimately, the WGSS capstone. This culminating experience links theory and practice, and is based on your experience with campus and off-campus communities, or a topic that you really want to pursue in academics as well as in your post-Macalester career. Please see the WGSS website for course descriptions and more exciting information about our major and minor, honors and internships, and much more! (www.macalester.edu/wgss).
Contact:
Myrl Beam, Chair
[email protected]