Time Schedule:
David Steven Goldstein
BIS 300
Bothell Campus
Introduction to advanced work in interdisciplinary studies centered on broadly based questions and problems. Stresses the skills necessary to engage in upper-division research and learning in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Program.
Class description
SPRING 2008 (Prof. David S. Goldstein): In this course, students will hone their academic skills while considering how knowledge is created in an academic environment. What is disciplinary knowledge? What is interdisciplinary knowledge? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? How does one do interdisciplinary inquiry? Through intensive reading of challenging texts, spirited and thoughtful discussion of complex and exciting intellectual concepts, and careful, extensive writing, students will develop an interdisciplinary foundation of ideas and skills for success as Interdisciplinary Studies majors, and more importantly, as lifelong learners. Click on the Course Gateway link below for more information.
Student learning goals
Understand and appreciate the interdisciplinary production of knowledge and the ways in which it underwrites different aspects of the IAS Program
Become better critical thinkers and writers, capable of posing, answering, and reposing a variety of complex questions
Become better researchers, able to use the resources at UWB and elsewhere in order to identify existing and complementary scholarly work while producing original knowledge through data gathering and interpretation
Become better speakers, able to communicate clearly and engagingly about complicated topics, arguments, and issues
Become better collaborators as learners, researchers, and teachers
General method of instruction
Students will be responsible for much of their own learning. We will read a fair amount and we will extensively discuss the material. Students will get a lot of guidance with their writing from the instructor, from on-campus resources, and from each other.
Recommended preparation
This course serves as a "program core" course, which means it is designed to provide you with fundamental skills you will need as you undertake upper-division undergraduate work here. Most students transferring from community colleges, and some who are transferring from four-year colleges and universities, find the expectations for their work--in terms of quantity and quality--to be much higher here. Like any worthwhile endeavor, a degree in interdisciplinary studies here is challenging, especially if you have other important commitments like work and family. This course, which is moderate in reading and heavy in writing, is typically one of the most challenging that students take in pursuit of their interdisciplinary studies degree, but you should view it as an investment that will pay off when you take other courses here. Be ready to work very hard and to commit an average of ten to fifteen hours per week (some weeks fewer, some weeks more) to this course. Students taking this course should comfortable with electronic communication or be willing to learn. We will use electronic forms of communication quite extensively. It is critical that you be willing to use the Internet (both e-mail and the World Wide Web) as learning tools. Toward that end, please be sure your UW e-mail account is turned on, and that you either read e-mail sent to that account OR have that e-mail forwarded to an account that you do read. I recommend doing that immediately so you do not miss any announcements. For instructions, see http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Communication.html.
Class assignments and grading
The assignments will include a moderate amount of reading and a lot of informal and formal writing.
Students will write and revise an essay and a research proposal, will submit other short pieces of writing, and will complete a learning portfolio. Contributions to class discussions will be an important component of the course and will be evaluated accordingly.
