2024 First-Year Courses
Contact
Academic Programs and AdvisingWeyerhaeuser Hall, Room 215 651-696-6036
651-696-6075 (fax)
A seminar for first-year students
In your first semester, you must take a First-Year Course. There are many options for you to choose from, on a wide-variety of topics, representing diverse disciplinary perspectives. Some students choose this course based on the topic; others because they want to explore a department in which they might major or minor. Either approach is fine. Because this is only one course out of four, and it only lasts one semester, there are plenty of opportunities throughout the first year to explore majors or interest areas beyond the First-Year Course.
Most courses utilize student preceptors to provide additional academic support and peer mentoring. Many courses are also Residential.
What is a Residential First Year Course?
Residential FYCs mean that students in that class will live on the same floor of a residence hall or in the same building. Faculty and preceptors may do programming in the residence hall. Approximately 60% of FYCs are residential.
Why might someone choose a Residential FYC?
- Community is strengthened through both course and housing connections
- Increased engagement on campus
- Easy for forming study groups and working on group projects
Locations of Residential FYCs:
Residential FYCs are located in Doty, Turck and Dupre residence halls. Gender inclusive housing is the default housing arrangement in most of Doty, and all of Turck and Dupre. Single gender spaces for first years are in the following spaces:
Female Spaces: Doty 5 & Doty 4
Male Spaces: Doty 3.
If we have any overflow, students requesting to live in single gender housing will be placed in Bigelow Hall, our other single gender hall.
For more information, visit the Residential Life website or the bathroom inventory. Depending on your need or desire for single-gender or gender-inclusive housing, note where each FYC is placed when ranking your preferences. If your housing preferences don’t align with your FYC placement, you may not be living with the other students in your FYC.
It will be important to factor in ALL your housing needs (accommodations, single gender housing needs, preferences, etc.) when thinking about your FYC selection. If you’re looking for single rooms within a FYC, there are limited singles available. If there is a need for a single room, within a particular space, please contact Disability Services prior to June 21, the due date for accommodations.
Please note, you will be paired with other folks either in your FYC class or with other residents in FYCs located in the same building. We will not be taking roommate requests.
Abbreviations Key
- WA = Argumentative Writing, WC = Writing as Craft, WP = Writing as Practice
First-Year Course Offerings for Fall 2024
Course Descriptions
AMST 130-F1: What’s After White Empire (and is it already here)? (R)
Karin Aguilar-San Juan, American Studies Department
From the Philippine-American War (1898-1910), thru the January 6, 2021 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, white supremacy and U.S. imperialism have marched hand-in-hand, buttressed by cultures of violence and literal guns and tanks. Yet cracks in the walls of racism and empire have also always existed, with hopeful gestures of solidarity and activist movements pushing forward with new possibilities and imagined futures. In this discussion-based course, we will look for the common threads that link David Fagen (Black U.S. army soldier who defected and joined the Philippine nationalists in 1899) to the Vietnam antiwar movement (1955-1975) to Grace Lee Boggs (Chinese American philosopher activist based in Detroit, 1915-2015) along with many other individuals and events. Among the significant questions we will consider are: How can we change the separatist mindset of “zero-sum” and move toward solidarity on a world scale? What lessons can be drawn from the global COVID pandemic and militarized conflicts from Gaza to the South China Sea? What steps do we take to replace a culture of violence with a culture of peace? What does hope look like? Two required texts: The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee and The People’s History of American Empire (a graphic adaptation) by Howard Zinn/Mike Konopaki/Paul Buhle.
Class meets TR 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Writing designation: WA
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Dupre Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity.
ANTH 194-F1: Defense Against the Dark Arts (R)
Ron Barrett, Anthropology Department
Taught by a medical anthropologist with a research interest in ritual healing traditions, this course uses the lens of cultural anthropology to examine magic, witchcraft, and alternative religions around the world. Major themes include: the relationships between science, religion, and magic; psychosomatic healing; shamanism and altered states of consciousness; spirit possession and exorcism; witch hunts both past and present; and the science and ethics of debunking psychic claims. Students will work in small teams to conduct research on a topic of mutual interest and develop their own question for an independent paper. This course fulfills the introductory requirement for the anthropology major, though our approach is very interdisciplinary. Students with all manner of interests in the sciences, humanities, and social sciences are most welcome.
Class meets TR 9:40 am – 11:10 am
Writing designation: WA
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Dupre Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity.
ART 130-F1: Drawing I: Sketchbook Immersion
Megan Vossler, Art and Art History Department
Learn about fundamental drawing materials and techniques while immersing yourself in the vibrant urban and natural environments of the Twin Cities! We will focus on portable materials and drawing on location through numerous field trips to architectural sites, natural environments, and public spaces. We’ll work with graphite, charcoal, ink, and color, using sketchbooks as both sites for drawing practice and a way to record your impressions of your first semester at Macalester. Larger scale assignments that build off of our explorations will bring the Twin Cities and environs back into the classroom. This course counts for the Drawing 1 requirement for the Studio Art major and minor.
Class meets TR 1:20 pm – 4:30 pm
Writing designation: None
ART 194-F1: Decolonizing American Art
Joanna Inglot, Art and Art History Department
This course offers an inclusive introduction to American visual culture from early history to the contemporary era, with special focus on the 20th and 21st centuries. The course comes at a moment when art historians and museum professionals seek to identify and disavow colonial legacies and reevaluate how we understand the history of American art. Drawing on decolonial theories and critical race studies, this course will disrupt the deeply entrenched mainstream narrative of American art that valorizes arts produced by white Euro-Americans. Instead, it will focus the voices and visions of Indigenous artists and minorities who directly engage in struggles for social and political justice, be it racial, gender, social, environmental, restorative, or the like. The course is designed for students with no background in art history. Next to typical academic work, the course will involve hands-on projects in the Twin Cities museums focusing on decolonizing efforts. Throughout the course students will engage in deliberative dialogue discussions that connect social justice issue(s) with the art history curriculum. This course will be cross-listed with American Studies and will fulfill Fine Arts Distribution requirement and the U.S Identities and Differences Gen Ed requirement, as well as satisfy the argumentative writing (WA) requirement.
Class meets TR 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Writing Designation: WA anticipated
COMP 194-F1: Explorations in Extended Reality (R)
Bret Jackson, Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Department
Have you ever played a game using the Nintendo Wii remote, Xbox Kinect, or Sony Move? Have you used augmented reality mobile apps like Pokemon Go or ones that identify stars and planets that you point the device towards? What about tilting a mobile device to change from portrait to landscape mode? All of these examples represent 3D user interfaces that allow a user to interact with computers in 3D space using physical gestures or tracked controllers. This course introduces how to interact in extended reality (XR) using virtual and augmented reality displays and 3D user interfaces. We will focus on creative applications like 3D sketching, including design metaphors, tracking technology, interfaces for selecting and manipulating 3D objects, traveling and wayfinding to get from one real or virtual place to another, and system control and symbolic input such as menus and text. Along the way, you will study the design and implementation of algorithms and programs and how to represent information with a computer.
This course serves students who might envision focusing on computer science in college and students who wish to have solid computing skills to support work in another field. Only basic high school math (through algebra and trigonometry) is required as a prerequisite. Nonetheless, even if you have extensive experience with computer science or programming (including advanced placement or similar) you may find new and challenging material in this course because of its emphasis on applications, user interaction, and extended reality.
Comp 194 counts towards the Natural Science and Mathematics distribution requirement. Students enrolling in this course are required to simultaneously enroll in an argumentative writing (WA) or writing as craft (WC) course towards fulfillment of the college writing requirement.
Class meets MWF 10:50 am – 11:50 am
Writing designation: None
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Doty Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity.
ECON 119-F1: Principles of Economics
Gabriel Lade, Economics Department
Throughout human history, people have engaged in production and trade to satisfy their needs. This course introduces students to the basic economic concepts and theories needed to understand this amazing story.
The course consists of two broad sections. In the first section, we will study individual consumer and firm decision-making. In this section, we will learn how to “think like an economist.” We explore the essential elements of economic decision-making and how markets facilitate the gains from trade. We investigate cases where economists believe markets work well to allocate goods and services and those where “market failures” provide a rationale for government intervention. We also study how different market structures (i.e., competitive markets versus monopoly) influence human welfare. This will make up our coverage of microeconomics.
The second part of the course focuses on macroeconomics—the study of economy-wide “aggregates” (Gross Domestic Product, the Consumer Price Index, and the unemployment rate) and how they interact. One objective is to examine the forces driving economic growth over time, so we can understand why some nations are prosperous while others are poor. Another is to learn about business cycles and the role that fiscal and monetary policy play in moderating recessions. Along the way, we will learn about banks, interest rates, stock prices, exchange rates, and other important features of the financial system.
Class meets TR 1:20 pm – 2:50 pm
Writing designation: WP
ECON 119-F2: Principles of Economics (R)
Elizabeth Engle, Economics Department
How does a market economy determine who gets scarce resources? What should policymakers do about income inequality or pollution? How does monetary policy influence inflation and unemployment? This course introduces the core concepts and theories economists use to study these questions and others, including topics like taxes, monopolies, poverty, financial markets, international trade, and recessions. We will build our understanding through lectures, group work, and some simple data exercises. We approach the course in three parts.
In the first part of the course, we will study how the choices of individual decision-makers like companies and consumers form the foundations of the market economy, introducing the model of supply and demand and exploring the cases where markets function well to allocate goods and services.
In the second part of the course, we will examine cases where markets do not function as well, considering the consequences of situations like externalities (e.g. pollution) or limited competition (e.g.monopoly) and potential policy correctives.
In the third part of the course, we will move from our study of individual decision-makers to broader economic conditions, exploring inflation, unemployment, and business cycles.
Class meets MWF 10:50 am – 11:50 am
Writing designation: None
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Turck Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity floor.
EDUC 194-F1: Worldmaking: Thought, Place, and Action in Education
Brian Lozenski and Cait Bergeon, Educational Studies Department
Where does education exist? Where doesn’t education exist? We can find it on picket lines, in our family’s kitchen, in hair salons, on public transportation, in the woods… Is school the primary place where we learn about the world around us? Have you ever wanted to re-imagine what learning can look like? Can you imagine a more equitable, compassionate, and active educational experience? 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. We’ll be learning alongside community arts organizations, urban farms, cultural centers, spiritual institutions, and even on the bus! This class will center the voices and histories of marginalized communities in the Twin Cities, including Indigenous communities, communities of color, queer, and activist spaces. The goal of this course is to expand our conceptions and borders of education beyond the formal classroom, and to grapple with the symbiotic relationship between education and worldmaking.
Class meets TR 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Writing designation: None
ENGL 125-F1: Craft, Activism, and Subversive Stitchers
Amy Elkins, English Department
The 2020 pandemic was marked by a global turn to the handmade, from learning the art of baking and DIY political yard signs to crocheting, embroidery, woodworking, painting, collage, and more. But this phenomenon has roots that go beyond our contemporary moment, and writers have frequently tapped into the resources of craft in their novels, short fiction, poetry, and life‐writing. In this first‐year course, we will study the ways subversive stitching and other activist craft practices have shaped the work of resistance in contemporary literature and theory. We will take a global and experimental approach to these questions, studying Southern and Indigenous quilting practices, the poetics of silk worms, legacies of Irish handiwork and global migration, and poetry inspired by Japanese kintsugi (in which broken pots are mended with gold), Botswana’s “careless seamstress,” and the legacies of race and art in Jamaican hybrid identity. Students will study these texts through writing and hands‐on research, experimenting with various craft forms along the way. No art or craft experience required; all curious makers and scholars are welcome!
Class meets MWF 2:20 pm – 3:20 pm
Writing designation: WA
ENGL 150-F1: Introduction to Creative Writing (R)
Peter Bognanni, English Department
In this first year course we will dive right into the study of creative writing by reading and writing poetry, flash fiction, short stories, and personal essays. We will study how published authors craft their pieces, how they convey sensation and emotion, and how they artfully tell a story. Along the way, you’ll try your hand at each literary form we study. This is the basic template you can expect on a day-to-day basis. But, beyond this relatively simple pattern, what I hope will happen this term is that you’ll lose yourself to the daring act of creating literature. I hope you’ll use your growing knowledge of writing technique and literary history to say something fearless and artful about the world around you. And I hope you will see that what you write matters. Great creative writing aspires to more than just a pleasant diversion from life. At its best, it directly engages with life and even tries to change it. We look to stories, poems, and essays to give us an experience in language that we’ve never had before, to deepen our knowledge of the world, and to allow us into the hearts and minds of others. I hope this semester will be a window into that experience for you.
Class meets MWF 9:40 am – 10:40 am
Writing designation: WC
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Dupre Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity
ENVI 273-F1: Psychology and/of Climate Change (R)
Christie Manning, Environmental Studies Department
Climate change is no longer a distant, hypothetical threat. Yet, though more than half of Americans are “concerned” or “alarmed” about global warming, few are taking significant personal action in response, and only a small minority are involved in civic or collective action to address the issue.
This course will take a broad psychological perspective on the questions, “Why are we not doing enough to address global climate change?” and “What will catalyze the social movement necessary to address the issue?” The class will explore psychological theories and studies that help explain why people respond to the climate crisis in the ways they do, and what psychological research tells us about how to shift that response.
Class meets TR 9:40 am – 11:10 am
Writing designation: WA
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Turck Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity.
FREN 194-F1: Food in French and Francophone Cultures: the Local and the Global
Joëlle Vitiello, French and Francophone Studies Department
Taught in English.
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 study of representations, production, circulation, and consumption of food. From cheese stories to existentialist cafés 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 familiarize students with French and Francophone cultures; 2) to introduce students to different and innovative ways of considering sustainability issues from different cultural perspectives; 3) to introduce students to college argumentative writing; 4) to 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 carries WA (Writing Argumentative) and Internationalism designations.
Class meets TR 1:20 pm – 2:50 pm
Writing designation: WA
GEOG 258-F1/ENVI 258-F1: Geography of Environmental Hazards (R)
Eric Carter, Geography Department
The study of environmental hazards stands at a key point of intersection between the natural and social sciences. Geography, with its focus on human-environment interactions, provides key analytical tools for understanding the complex causes and uneven impacts of hazards around the world. We will explore the geophysical nature and social dimensions of disasters caused by floods, droughts, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires. For each of these hazard types, we apply theoretical concepts from major hazards research paradigms, including quantifying the human and economic impacts of disaster; assessing, managing, and mitigating risk; and reducing the impacts of disaster, not only through engineering works but also by reducing social vulnerability and enhancing adaptive capacity. Looking into the future, we will discuss how global-scale processes, such as climate change and globalization, might affect the frequency, intensity, and geographical distribution of environmental hazards in the decades to come.
Class meets MWF 10:50 am – 11:50 am
Writing designation: WA
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Doty Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity.
GEOG 261-F1: World Urbanization (R)
I-Chun Catherine Chang, Geography Department
We now live in a world where the majority of the population already lives in cities. And yet every year, hundreds of millions of people continue to move into cities to pursue a better future. The contemporary social, economic, and political changes are intrinsically linked to divergent urban processes across the world. This paramount shift poses important theoretical and empirical questions to our age. This course uses the critical perspective of “global urbanism” to both contextualize and connect different urban experiences across places. We will introduce various urban settings and demonstrate how complex relations between urbanization, globalization, and economic development produce spatial unevenness and social inequality. We will study the dominant paradigm of world and global cities, which prioritizes development trajectories of cities in the global North, and discuss contesting views focusing on “ordinary cities” from the global South. Drawing on case studies in the developed and less-developed world, we will also learn how to apply the relational comparative urbanism approach as well as regionally based theoretical perspectives to comprehend the diverse urban landscapes around the globe. It will be a WA and internationalism course.
Class meets MWF 10:50 am – 11:50 am
Writing designation: WA
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Turck Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity.
GEOL 160-F1/ENVI 160-F1 and GEOL 160-L1/ENVI 160-L1: Dynamic Earth and Global Change (R)
Emily First and Jeff Thole, Geology Department
Shifting plates, shiny gemstones, hot lava, sheets of ice, other planets! This course will delve into fascinating geoscience topics, introducing you to the physical materials and structure of the Earth and other planets, as well as the processes responsible for the creation, change, and destruction of parts of the Earth system. We will discuss some aspects of the history of scientific thought, look at maps, think about modern geological and environmental problems (+ solutions!), and admire beautiful rocks. Required for geology majors. Field trip(s). Three hours lecture and three hours lab per week.
Class meets MWF 9:40 am – 10:40 am. Lab meets R 8:00 am – 11:10 am.
Writing designation: WA
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Turck Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity
GERM 194-F1/INTD 194-F1: Forever Young: The Vampire Comes of Age
Britt Abel/Laurie Adamson, German Studies Department
“Forever Young: The Vampire Comes of Age” looks critically at the ways in which vampire narratives focus on and represent the transition from childhood to adulthood, a common theme in many of these stories. 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. Vampires have existed throughout human history as empty metaphors that we fill with whatever scares or disgusts or delights us, and in this case, we will use the material not only as a prompt to build critical thinking and writing skills but also as a vehicle to understand the students’ transition to college life. 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.
In this discussion-based course we’ll analyze a number of novels, films, and tales. We’ll learn about information literacy by searching for secondary literature related to our texts in the library databases, and we’ll write a lot about vampires. We’ll gather outside of class time and enjoy some snacks with our film screenings. And along the way, we’ll talk about college life and academics at Mac.
Content Warning: please note that the course material includes violence, gory content, and sexual assault.
This is a non-residential first-year course that is designed for non-majors and requires no prior knowledge of vampirism or German. It fulfills the WA (argumentative writing) general education requirement
Class meets MWF 2:20 pm – 3:20 pm
Writing designation: WA anticipated
HIST 113-F1: Time Travelers: Tourism in Global History (R)
Jessica Pearson, History Department
This course explores the history of modern tourism from a global perspective. We will “visit” a variety of locations, traveling from the United States and its Pacific empire to Antigua, the Soviet Union, Indonesia, and Germany. We’ll behold the ruins of Machu Picchu, take in the city sights of wartime Paris, and critique colonial resort culture in St. Honoré–Agatha Christie’s invented Caribbean Island. As we explore these vacation destinations we will consider how desegregation and global economic transformation facilitated the democratization of tourism in the twentieth century. We will interrogate the ways that leisure travel propagated Communist and Nazi ideals and we will uncover the complex intersections between tourism, war, and peace. We will also contemplate the critical role that both empire- building and decolonization have played in determining the landscape of modern travel. Finally, as we tour the globe we will evaluate how a wide range of transportation modes – cars, trains, ships, and jets – shaped the evolution of modern leisure travel.
Through the course of our historical globe-trotting, we will practice key reading, research, and communication skills that will help you succeed at Macalester and we will work together to build a supportive scholarly community. Class time will be used to discuss our shared readings, learn about the writing and research process, and solve “history mysteries” together. With the support of your instructors and classmates, you will complete a “choose-your-own adventure” research/writing project on a topic of your choice. This class emphasizes the importance of discovery, risk-taking, and community-building in the learning process. It counts towards the Argumentative Writing (WA) and Humanities General Education requirements at Mac and can fulfill the Internationalism or USID requirement (but not both). If you choose to pursue a History major, this course meets the global and/or comparative requirement and can count towards the following fields: “Race and Indigeneity,” or “Colonization and Empire,” or “Global/Comparative.”
Class meets TR 1:20 pm – 2:50 pm
Writing Designation: WA
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Dupre Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity
HIST 194-F1: Exploring Gichigami: Indigenous Histories of Lake Superior
Katrina Phillips, History Department
The French called it “le lac superieur,” or “the uppermost lake.” Later visitors, overwhelmed by its size and strength, called it an “inland sea.” For Ojibwe people, though, it was and always has been Gichigami. It’s the place where the food grows on water (wild rice, or what Ojibwe people call manoomin). It’s the place prophesied to be their homelands. This class centers Indigenous histories of Lake Superior, from the fur trade and fisheries to treaty rights and tribal national parks, looking especially at the lake’s cultural, economic, and environmental role in Indigenous pasts, presents, and futures. This class takes place on Indigenous lands, and we acknowledge and recognize the original peoples of this place and their ongoing relationship to this area.
Class meets TR 1:20 pm – 2:50 pm
Writing designation: WA
INTL 110-F1: Introduction to International Studies: Globalization – Homogeneity and Heterogeneity
Ahmed Samatar, International Studies Department
This First Year seminar explores major global phenomena. We live in a stirring world time with many old and new forces at work, and in arresting combinations. Two that stand out seem to be pushing human societies in opposite directions. On the one hand, there is centripetal logic to the growth of empowering developments such as scientific discoveries, technology, economic productivity, trade, travel, search for pluralistic and democratic order, cultural hybridity, and the spread of ecological consciousness. On the other hand, there are other coexisting trends towards centrifugence and entropy. These include: acute alienation of the individual, a resurgence of ethnic and racial chauvinism, religious intolerance, deepening immiseration and marginalization of hundreds of millions of people, the collapse of polities, livelihoods and ecological systems, and war. This conundrum is the central concern of the seminar.
*** The course will be marked by heavy reading, intensive writing, and public presentations by students.
Class meets TR 1:20 pm – 2:50 pm
Writing designation: WA
JAPA 282-F1/ASIA 282-F1/LING 282-F1: Language and Identity in Japanese, Asian American and Other Communities (R)
Satoko Suzuki, Asian Languages and Cultures Department
This course aims to investigate the complex relationship between language and identity. Language plays a significant role in conveying one’s identity along with other semiotic means such as clothing. By exploring scholarship that considers language as it relates to identity, students will discover how speakers/writers use their agency in expressing their identity and how identity emerges as a social and cultural phenomenon. They will learn about multiple interrelated factors that affect how speakers/writers view and use language such as race, ethnicity, and multilingualism in Japanese, Asian American, and other communities, and conduct research using authentic linguistic data. No knowledge of Japanese is required. The course fulfills the Asian Studies, Japanese, and Linguistics major and minor requirements as well as the General Education WA and Internationalism and Social Science distributional requirements.
Class meets TR 9:40 am – 11:10 am
Writing designation: WA
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Turck Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity
MATH 135-F1: Applied Multivariable Calculus I: The Calculus of Sustainability (R)
Lori Ziegelmeier, Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Department
What percentage of the US could be covered by solar panels to produce all of the electricity needs of the US? Under optimal conditions, how much power can a wind turbine of a certain radius produce? What are the inputs a South Florida fruit grower can use to optimize the amount of fruit produced? How can the population of wolves in Northern Minnesota be modeled? We adopt a mathematical framework to better understand sustainability questions such as these. At the core of this course is an applied mathematical viewpoint. As a student applied mathematician, you will come to view mathematics not as a system of formulas to be memorized and manipulated, but as a flexible and powerful toolbox of ideas that can help solve real problems in diverse disciplinary fields including environmental science, biology, economics, geoscience, physics, chemistry, medicine, and more.
The mathematical topics covered include differential and integral calculus of multiple variables, dimensional analysis, Fermi estimation, and introductory differential equations. For all of these topics, we place a strong emphasis on developing scientific computing and mathematical modeling skills. The course will be conducted as an active learning, problem-solving environment.
This course serves students who might envision focusing on mathematics, statistics, data science, or computer science in college and students who wish to have solid quantitative skills to support work in another field. Only basic high school math (through algebra and trigonometry) is required as a prerequisite. Nonetheless, even if you have past experience with calculus (including advanced placement or similar) you may find new and challenging material in this course because of its emphasis on applications, modeling, computation, and multivariate models. For further information on calculus placement at Macalester, see:
http://www.macalester.edu/academics/mscs/wheredoistart/entrycourses/
Math 135 counts toward the Natural Science and Mathematics distribution requirement. Additionally, as it carries a “Q1” designation, Math 135 partially satisfies the Quantitative Thinking general education requirement. Students enrolling in this course are required to simultaneously enroll in an argumentative writing (WA) or writing as craft (WC) course towards fulfillment of the college writing requirement.
Class meets MWF 2:20 pm – 3:20 pm
Writing designation: None
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Doty Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity
MCST 194-F1: AI Literacy and Building Resilience to Misinformation
Michael Griffin/Mozhdeh Khodarahmi/Tamatha Perlman, Media and Cultural Studies Department
The course is designed as a gateway to building greater confidence as an informed and responsible digital citizen, ready to face the academic, professional, and civic challenges of the 21st century. You’ll explore a range of factors driving information dissemination and media representation, learn to discern credible sources in a sea of digital content, and understand the ethical implications of digital footprints. The course includes interactive, hands-on activities drawn from real-world case studies including the 2024 U.S. presidential election, collaborative projects in digital media production, and critical discussions of information and media practices.
Class meets MWF 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Writing designation: WA
MUSI 254-F1: Cover Songs (R)
Victoria Malawey, Music Department
In this course, we will examine cover versions of previously recorded songs, with a focus on how the intersection of gender, sexuality, race, class, and genre through changing socio-historical and cultural contexts shapes different meanings listeners ascribe to the songs. We will explore how artists covering other people’s songs can emulate, pay homage to, comment upon, subvert meanings of, and create parodies of previously recorded works. Related to this typology, we will investigate and interrogate meanings around the concept of authenticity and its role in music criticism. Students will learn basic musical analysis skills to aid the understanding of musical processes at play in various cover song recordings. This course is designed to help students develop reading comprehension, argumentative writing, and critical thinking skills
Class meets MWF 10:50 am – 11:50 am
Writing designation: WA
Living arrangements: Single-gender spaces, Doty Hall. Single Gender spaces have binary bathrooms options. If you require a gender inclusive community, we will place you in a space that is close to FYC floor placement.
PHIL 100-F1: Introduction to Philosophy: Love and Friendship
Geoffrey Gorham, Philosophy Department
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? How should we think philosophically about polyamory and asexuality? What role, if any, does gender play in four conceptions of 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, bell hooks, 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.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Class meets MWF 9:40 am – 10:40 am
Writing designation: WA
PHIL 121-F1: Introduction to Ethics
Samuel Asarnow, Philosophy Department
What matters in life? Is happiness the only thing that matters? If so, whose happiness 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 when instead I could donate it to help people who are suffering very badly far away? If things in life other than happiness 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 this discussion- and writing-based course, we will consider these questions, and others.
Class meets MWF 2:20 pm – 3:20 pm
Writing designation: WA
PHYS 194-F1: Rocket Science (R)
Tonnis ter Veldhuis, Physics and Astronomy Department
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 PHYS 226, Principles of Physics I.
Class meets MWF 1:10 pm – 2:10 pm.
Writing designation: WA
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Turck Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity.
PHYS 194-F2/ENVI 194-F2: Principles of Sustainable Design (R)
James Doyle, Physics and Astronomy Department
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?
No pre- or co-requisites.
Class meets MWF 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm.
Writing designation: None
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Turck Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity.
POLI 194-F1: Human Rights, Human Wrongs (R)
Wendy Weber, Political Science Department
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.).
Class meets MWF 10:50 am – 11:50 am
Writing designation: WA anticipated
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Turck Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity.
POLI 203-F1/AMST 203-F1: Politics and Inequality: The American Welfare State
Lesley Lavery, Political Science Department
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.).
MWF 10:50 am – 11:50 am
Writing designation: WA
RELI 111-F1/ASIA 113-F1: Introduction to Buddhism (R)
Erik Davis, Religious Studies Department
Buddhism is increasingly well-known in the USA, but what is it, and how does Buddhism encourage people to organize and think about their lives? Organized on the basis of the Eightfold Noble Path, with a focus of ’morals, the Buddhist psychology of mind, and meditation,’ this course offers an introduction to the personalities, teachings, and institutions of Buddhism. Beginning in India at the time of the Buddha, this course focuses on Theravada Buddhism, asking students to think historically, philosophically, and anthropologically. Many Friday sessions will be dedicated to an exploration of the variety of Buddhist meditative techniques.
Class meets MWF 10:50 am – 11:50 am
Writing designation: WP
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Dupre Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity.
RELI 194-F1: Virginity from Mary to Millennials
Susanna Drake, Religious Studies Department
In this course you will explore the diverse understandings of Christian sexual renunciation from the first century, C.E. to today. From the veneration of the Virgin Mary in early and medieval Christianity to the more recent celebration of virgins and born-again virgins in U.S. pop culture, many Christians have understood the practice of virginity as a mark of spiritual progress or perfection. You will examine the rise of Christian sexual renunciation in the first through fourth centuries, C.E., the veneration of virgin saints in the Middle Ages, the shifting attitudes toward virginity in the Reformation era, the recent development of Christian chastity movements in the U.S. (True Love Waits, Silver Ring Thing), and the proliferation of Christian chastity advice literature. In written assignments and class discussions, you will explore how Christian practices of renunciation draw upon and contribute to cultural understandings of gender, sexuality, race, and the body.
In three short reflection papers and one final project, you will use your own writing as an occasion to come to terms with the cultures of virginity and how they relate to the history of Christianity. In-class writing workshops will provide you an opportunity to discuss your and your peers’ writing and hone skills in argumentation, organization, style, and revision.
Class meets TR 9:40 am – 11:10 am
Writing designation: WA
SOCI 258-F1/LATI 258-F1: Immigrant Voices in Times of Fear (R)
Erika Busse-Cárdenas, Sociology Department
In 2019, according to the International Organization for Migration, the United States had the largest foreign-born population in the world. During this same year, immigrants represented 15% of the United States population; 53% of the foreign-born migrants came from Latin America. Immigrant Voices in Times of Fear will examine recent U.S. immigration from a sociological viewpoint. That means we will consider migration as part of a global phenomenon, as the outcome of historical processes, and as a part of lived experiences. The course will include consideration of how immigration relates to social institutions such as the family, the nation-state, and work. We will also learn about different immigration policies—including those before and after the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Services Act (commonly known as the Hart-Celler Act), which eliminated the quota system to prioritize family reunification, employment, and refugee status. While we will become familiar with immigration policies, we will pay attention to the experiences of young (unaccompanied) migrants from Latin America and how they navigate the (deportation) immigration system in the U.S. We will explore questions such as: What motivates people to migrate? How does migration reconfigure social relations, such as parental and community relations? How do immigrants adapt to the new country? How are immigrants received by the larger society? This discussion-based course includes guest speakers and a community engagement project with a local organization.
This course satisfies general education requirements for Internationalism and US Identities and Differences.
Class meets TR 8:00 am – 9:30 am
Writing designation: WA
Living arrangements: Gender Inclusive Housing, Dupre Hall. Gender Inclusive means that all students will have access to use the same bathroom. Students can room with anyone, regardless of gender identity.
SPAN 306-F1: Spanish for Heritage Speakers: Latin American and Latinx Cultures
Alicia Muñoz, Spanish and Portuguese Department
This course 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, the Census classification of the Latinx community, immigration stories, human rights violations in Latin America, and family and cultural beliefs. This course is the equivalent to SPAN 305 for those interested in the Spanish major or minor. (Students cannot earn credit for both 305 and 306). Prerequisite: SPAN 204 or its equivalent (i.e. placement test score); heritage speaker of Spanish.
Class meets MWF 10:50 am – 11:50 am
Writing designation: WA
THDA 105-F1: Seeing Performance in the Twin Cities
Cláudia Tatinge Nascimento, Theater and Dance Department
In a process of studied spectatorship, students in this first-year course will attend live performances in the Twin Cities and view films of performances by local artists. They will acquire the vocabularies of the field to critically articulate their individual reactions to dance and theater performances, and consider their design elements. With the support of seminal readings in dance, design, and theater criticism, students will write reviews and essays that give special consideration to issues of representation, socio-historical context, and artistic expression.
Class meets TR 1:20 pm – 2:50 pm
Writing designation: WA
THDA 105-F2: Seeing Performance in the Twin Cities
Mina Kinukawa, Theater and Dance Department
In a process of studied spectatorship, students in this first-year course will attend live performances in the Twin Cities and view films of performances by local artists. They will acquire the vocabularies of the field to critically articulate their individual reactions to dance and theater performances, and consider their design elements. With the support of seminal readings in dance, design, and theater criticism, students will write reviews and essays that give special consideration to issues of representation, socio-historical context, and artistic expression.
Class meets TR 1:20 pm – 2:50 pm
Writing designation: WA