Suggestions for future classes
Courses 2001-2002
Ethics
An introduction to moral reasoning through the study of ethical theories and their application to practical problems such as abortion, world hunger, animal rights, and the environment. Primary among the goals of the course is training students to develop and defend their own moral positions. Course readings will come from traditional and contemporary sources.
Class will be conducted via e-mail, online discussions, chat rooms and Web site studies.
Stephen Mathis
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Women's Studies
Women's Studies is an interdisciplinary course of study that places women and their experiences at its center. Women's Studies aims to introduce students to the broad range of topics that comprise Women's Studies and to foster critical thinking about the diverse issues and perspectives raised by Women's Studies scholarship. Course objectives include introducing students to feminism and theories of oppression and privilege, raising awareness of and appreciation for the diversity of identities among women, exploring institutions that have shaped women's lives historically and today, and celebrating the efforts of women and men to confront oppression and create a gender-just society. Our central focus for the semester will be the lives and experiences of women in the United States, but whenever possible we will examine connections between women in the U.S. and women internationally.
Brenda Wyss
Assistant Professor of Economics
Myth and Folklore
How did the Ancient Greeks and Romans use myths to describe the universe and their own place in it? Myth and Folklore traces the development of the mythology and mythography of the Greeks and Romans, focusing on the development and adaptation of traditional myths in the Greek and Roman worlds, and the potential to create mythic tales in the modern world. Readings include major literary works from classical antiquity, including Homer's Odyssey and Ovid's Metamorphoses, and help students examine the creation of the cosmos, the definition of mortal and immortal, the structure and function of the divine pantheon, and the paradigms of the mortal hero and heroine. The class will especially consider the central importance of how traditional tales get re-worked at later times, and how political, social and historical contexts determine the articulations and meanings of myths.
Nancy Evans
Assistant Professor of Classics
Short courses
J.R.R. Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien was not only one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, but he was also one of the greatest scholars of medieval literature, ever. Tolkien's knowledge of poems such as Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight helped him create The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the Silmarillion. This seminar will examine how Tolkien transformed these sources and used them to open up an entire new world. The class will investigate Tolkien's themes of heroism, temptation, duty, sacrifice, and the eternal struggle between good and evil, themes which--despite their being outside the Modernist main-stream--are today more relevant than ever.
Online discussions are scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 18 and Wednesday, January 16. For last-minute or late registration, go to http://onlyon.wheatoncollege.net/ or call 800-896-3145 and ask for Debbie Fontes. (Note: This class was advertised via e-mail. If you didn't receive the advance notice, please contact us with your e-mail address so that we may better communicate with you.)
If you are already enrolled in this class, please go to the course Blackboard site.
Michael Drout
Assistant Professor of English
And the Winner is...
For 73 years, the Academy Awards ceremony has celebrated motion pictures and helped define what it takes to make the "best pictures" and the "best actors". A media spectacle like few others, the Oscars teach us about the star system, fandom, and the role Hollywood film plays in our broader culture. On Sunday, March 24, 2002, the 74th annual Academy Awards ceremony makes its long-awaited return to Hollywood Boulevard as Oscar movies into its new home in the Kodak Theater. Join us online for two one-hour live discussions -- one prior to the ceremony on Thursday, March 21 and one s after it on Tuesday, March 26 -- to learn about and discuss this year's nominees as well as the history of this enduring cultural event. In addition to these online discussions, the seminar will offer a Web site with supplementary materials and resources designed to provide some context and background on Hollywood film and the Academy Awards.
Josh Stenger
Assistant Professor of Film Studies and Literature
John Adams
Read and discuss David McCullough's biography, John Adams, then come to Wheaton to hear the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian address the graduating Class of 2002 and lead a panel discussion on American history (Saturday, May 19). On Thursday, May 9, an online discussion of Adams and the social and political culture of late 18th-century America will serve as centerpiece for this Web event. The course will also include a reader's guide to the biography of John Adams, VIP seating to hear McCullough speak at Wheaton and access to an online discussion bulletin boards about the subject.
Kathryn Tomasek
Assistant Professor of History
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