Instructor: Joanne Stewart
Office: Peale 205
Phone: 395-7634
E-Mail: stewart@hope.edu
Instructor’s Web Page: http://www.hope.edu/academic/chemistry/faculty/stewart/
Course Web Page: http://www.hope.edu/discussion/f00/natsci/

Welcome to Hope College. I am looking forward to getting to know you and to working with you as your academic advisor. The purpose of this syllabus is to explain what a First Year Seminar (FYS) is and to tell you more about this course. I hope that together we can create a close-knit community where you feel safe to ask questions, express opinions, and take risks!

I am a professor in the department of chemistry at Hope and have been here for twelve years. I grew up near Flint, Michigan and did my graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley. I love teaching chemistry and I love doing research with undergraduate students. I especially enjoy teaching the introductory chemistry course, so I am enthusiastic about teaching this course with new students. The best way to get a hold of me is by email and the second best way is to call and leave voice mail. I can usually be found somewhere on the 2nd floor of Peale, though not necessarily in my office, and I encourage you to seek me out.

Since 1998, the First Year Seminar (FYS) has been a required course for every incoming Hope student. FYS is not a ‘study skills’ course or simply an introduction to college life. Instead, FYS is intended to be an introduction to college level thought conducted through a topic that is timely, informative, and interesting. It will also provide you with an opportunity to ask questions about Hope College for which there may be no other appropriate venue. Hopefully you will also form some lasting relationships and have some fun along the way. I will not have all the answers, nor should I have all the answers. We will think and learn together.

The main difference between a seminar course and a more traditional class is that as a member of the seminar, you will be actively involved in both your learning and the learning of all the other participants. Through group discussion and other activities, we will challenge and stimulate one another with our insights, ideas, and opinions. You will grow from interacting with those whose views may be different from your own.

The impact of science and technology on our view of the world is incredible. It is difficult to get through a day without hearing about the Internet, designer genes, global environmental changes, and more. While most of us will not become scientists, we cannot escape the impact that science and technology have on our lives. So who is doing this science?

What does a scientist look like? Does the image of a man in a white lab coat with thick glasses and unkempt hair surrounded by bubbling test tubes come to mind? While this may just be a Hollywood stereotype, is there something about science itself that makes this image persist in our society? In this class we will examine the roles that gender, race, and ethnicity play in determining who does science. Is there any truth to the mad scientist image, either historically or today? More importantly, how do the makers of science determine what scientific questions are asked and how they are answered? We will challenge the image of science as a collection of cold, hard, facts and examine the roles that gender, race, and ethnicity play in shaping science.

Meeting. The class meets every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00-2:50 p.m. in Peale 220. Attendance is required. There will be a few class events outside of the normal class days and times.

Required Materials. Uneasy Careers and Intimate Lives: Women in Science, 1789-1979. Pnina G. Abir-Am and Dorinda Outram, editors. Rutgers University Press, 1987 (ISBN 0813512565). There will be many, many classroom handouts (all in different colors), so you must have a three-ring binder. You must also bring lined-paper to class every day for in-class writing assignments.

Your grade will be determined in a variety of ways. We will have many short writing assignments. For example, I will often ask you "What do you think?" or "What questions do you have?" Here is the tentative grading scheme:

Short writing assignments 10 x 10 pts = 100 pts
Discus posts 4 x 10 = 40 pts
Library assignment on statistics and summary 1 x 20 pts = 20 pts
Poster and poster presentation 1 x 100 pts = 100 pts
Leading discussion and discussion summary 1 x 100 pts = 100 pts
TOTAL = 360 pts

Approximate letter grades for the course are 90-100% for A's, 80-90% for B's, and 70-80% for C's.

I will provide feedback and scores on written assignments throughout the semester. However, it is useful to have a more general idea of what the grades in a first year seminar mean.

A -- designates exceptional quality in written and oral work; there is little room for improvement; both effort and execution are first-rate.

B -- work which is above average. You can assume that if you contribute to this class regularly, turn in thoughtful and clean work on time, and demonstrate a respectful attitude to others, you will receive at least a "B" grade a the end of the semester.

C -- designates that you are fulfilling the minimal requirements for this course; your effort and the execution of your assignments is of average quality; you could be pushing yourself more!

D -- your work is below average; you are missing class regularly; your are not living up to my basic expectation for a first year college student.

Your attendance in class is required. While I will not explicitly take attendance, you will have to turn something in nearly every day, so effectively I am taking attendance.

One of the purposes of this course is to introduce you to some of the College’s resources, especially the library. To this end, we will spend a class period early in the semester developing our library research skills. Our class has also been assigned our own, personal Library Consultant, Mark Christel. Mark will direct our library-based class and will also be available for additional guidance throughout the semester. Mark can be found in the first floor reference area or you can contact him by email at christelm@hope.edue or by phone at 395-7124.

In addition to our in-class discussions and writing, we will have some "asynchronous" discussions using a web-based discussion board called Discus (developed by a chemist and a chemistry student at Hope!). Our class web site is http://www.hope.edu/discussion/f00/natsci/, then go to Whose Science? You can get to the site by going to the Hope home page, clicking on the pull-down menu called --campus links-- and going to discussion board. Then click on Natural Sciences and scroll down to Whose Science? Click on Whose Science? to get to our site. I will also use the web site to post class announcements. I encourage you to set your personal profile to automatically email postings to you. I will talk more about Discus in class.

Academic Integrity (Cheating Policy) In FYS, our learning will be both an individual and a cooperative undertaking, and we will find that asking for and giving help freely and appropriately will enhance our learning. Our work represents not just what we have learned about a subject, but how we have learned and organized it. As members of the Hope College community, we all are expected to be honest about our work. It is therefore unethical and a violation of our academic integrity to copy from the work of others or to submit the work of others as our own. All sources need to be acknowledged. A full discussion of Hope’s Code for Academic Integrity can be found in the 2000-2001 Hope College Official Catalog. The New St. Martin’s Handbook offers good suggestions on avoiding plagiarism. The best strategy is to avoid situations where academic dishonesty might seem attractive. Rather, talk to your instructor about assignments, plan ahead so that there is enough time to complete work, and use the Academic Support Center and the Writing Center as needed.

I want to stress that I am not pursuing a political or personal agenda here. Your ideas and opinions matter to me and the right answer is not the one which you suspect that I agree with. Some answer or ideas can be better than others but this is because they are supported by evidence from the readings, because they have been critically researched, or sufficiently thought out. It is important for us to learn to evaluate opinions and ideas, and it is vital that we do this in a productive and generous manner which encourages growth. I want to create an atmosphere where we can listen to and learn from one another.

Last year’s FYS students were asked "What advice do you have for students taking this course next year? Some of the answers include:

Talk a lot in class.

Voice your opinion and get to know the people in your class.

Don’t stress out about it.

Take an interest in what you’re learning -- give it a chance and put some effort in. If you do, you could grow a lot.

Stay positive about it. If you enter with a closed frame of mind, you'll miss a lot and class will seem pointless.

Get involved in discussions -- it makes it more interesting.

Have fun and be prepared to work.

Relax and have a good learning experience.