Time Schedule:
Elizabeth Rutledge
HUM 200
Seattle Campus
Topics and issues of current interest in the humanities and the study of the arts. Features numerous guest lecturers from the U.W. faculty together with distinguished visiting teachers, scholars, and artists.
Class description
Taught by a molecular biologist and an historian of science and technology, this class encourages students to consider the commonality in human understanding and observation through a study of "emergence." Specifically, the class will study "emergence" as a quality of living beings and a component of creative thinking. Students will learn about the role of perception in art and the life sciences by concentrating on their provocative points of intersection. For instance, students will be encouraged to explore how recent artists have used biological materials and how biology is now beginning to rely on pattern recognition in data analysis. They will also be encouraged to evaluate their work in relation to the long tradition of scholarship in the humanities dedicated to describing ecstatic, sublime, and limit experiences. Finally, students will be required to present their own research in the form of a final project.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Lectures and discussion sections meet twice weekly.
Recommended preparation
This class has an optional 3-credit laboratory/studio class (HUM 200) limited to 20 students by instructor permission (add code). The laboratory will consist of state of the art scientific research practices, including tissue culture of human bone cells, DNA isolation, polymerase chain reaction, genotyping, and an independent research project. Prior science knowledge is not necessary. Please contact one of the professors for an add code.
Class assignments and grading
