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Spring 2005
FYS 101B First Year Seminar (AH) Science Verses 3 credits
Religion: The Battle of Evolution
Grade Method: REG
GFR/GER:Meets A/H. GDR:Meets H. There is
no more classic argument than that over
the superiority of science versus
religion. Theis debate has sparked
controversy for centuries on many issues,
but has been most prominent in the
discussion of evolution. Did Darwin empty
the churches of Europe? Does the theory of
evolution point to a world without
purpose? Is evolution an atheists'
religion? With both sides deeply
entrenched in their perspectives, little
dialogue has actually taken place. This
interdisciplinary course is such a
dialogue. With readings spanning history,
biology, sociology, and theology, we
explaore the origins of modern science,
the ideological split between the Church
and science, the rise of evolutionalry
theory, and the Creationist response. We
will trace the debate from the 15th
Century to the present day. The goal of
the course is not to resolve the debate on
Evolution, but to understand the origin,
construction, and impact on both
perspectives. Much class time will be
occupied by student presentations, panel
debates, and class discussions, requiring
everybody's active participation. For our
complete course description, please visit
our website
at:www.umbc.edu/provost/FYS/Fall2004Course
COURSE WILL MEET IN ECS 333.
[8032] 0101 TuTh.......2:30pm- 3:45pm (TBA) FREELAND, S
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FYS 102 First Year Seminar (SS) Seeing Truth and 3 credits
Justice: Human Rights Today
(PermReq) Grade Method: REG
GFR/GER:Meets SS. GDR:Meets S. Defining,
defending and spreading human rights has
become an important social, political and
cultural project around the world.
Although governments are charged with
deepening this project, it is often
governments that violate rights.
Unfortunately, recent years have seen too
many cases of governments systematically
violating the rights of groups and
individuals. In this class we will read
about how people determine who is
responsible for committing these crimes,
establish how justice can be achieved and
recommend how these actions can be
prevented in the future. We will discuss
what human rights mean, where they come
from and how they are defended, and learn
what kind of work human rights activists
and scholars engage in. Finally we will
consider the state of human rights here in
the United States and discuss what
responsibilities we as citizens have to
safeguard and promote human rights in our
own communities. Students will be asked to
do two kinds of research: investigation of
a particular case of human rights
violations and the mechanisms used to
resolve those cases, and evaluation of the
kinds of information available through the
internet about human rights and human
rights organizations. In the spirit of
promoting knowledge of human rights, the
class will consider appropriate and
effective ways of disseminating its
research.
[2969] 0101 TuTh.......2:30pm- 3:45pm (ITE 237) STOLLE-MCALLIS
FYS 102A First Year Seminar (SS) Sexuality, Health 3 credits
and Human Rights
(PermReq) Grade Method: REG
GFR/GER:Meets SS. GDR:Meets S. Who has
the right to access scientific information
about individuals' sexuality and sexual
health? What privacy rights do people have
in their sexual relationships? Who
controls when and if one has children? In
the last decade, scholars and advocacy
organizations have been asking such
questions that link sexuality, health and
human rights. Increasingly, these linkages
are made by human rights advocates, those
marginalized by their gender and/or
sexuality, feminists and professionals in
the health and family planning fields. In
this seminar, we will consider a number of
sexuality, health and human rights
questions: What are sexual rights? What is
meant by sexual health? How important are
sexual rights? What characteristics of a
society promote or hinder sexual rights?
What responsibilities are tied to sexual
rights? Do views on sexual rights conflict
with the general welfare of society? To
what extent do Americans have sexual
rights? What laws restrict sexual rights?
Students will become sensitized to views
on sexual rights and the
reasons/justifications for various
perspectives. In this process they will
learn how to critique social science
research, evaluate strengths and
weaknesses of this research, and identify
common errors of scientific and everyday
reasoning.
[2970] 0101 TuTh.......1:00pm- 2:15pm (PUP 204) LOTTES, I
FYS 102B First Year Seminar (SS) What Should 3 credits
Government Do?
Grade Method: REG
GFR/GER:Meets SS. GDR:Meets S. In
thinking about how our society works, have
you ever asked yourself questions like:
What should be "left to the market" rather
than handled by the government? Should
government be able to take money from one
person and give it to another? Do we have
"rights" to services, like health care or
educations, which the public is obliged to
provide? Can there be justified
government-imposed limits to privacy or
freedom of speech? When should the
government be able to tell us what to do,
and when should we be able to do whatever
we want? Why should we obey the law? When
judges decide cases, are they just playing
politics? Cable news channels, network
talk shows, op-ed pages, and other media
outlest are full of opinions from pundits
and politicians. Too often, their
assertions are either blatant responses to
political clout or gut reactions that
public policies are "just unfair." Our
purpose is to go beyond politics and
self-interest, to apply principles from
economics and moral philosophy on policy
questions. Our goal is not to provide
answers, but to understand what facts and
values go into forming our judgements
about "what should government do." Most of
our time will be spent reading,
discussing, evaluating and writing about
how these perspectives provide sometimes
compatible, sometimes conflicting
perspectives. Students will be expected to
think critically about what government
does and does not do, and to share their
insights with the class.
[2971] 0101 MW.........3:30pm- 4:45pm (PHYS201) BRENNAN, T