FYP-FYS

Marie Curie often slept with a small jar of radium near her pillow. The continuous, yet very toxic, glow soothed her. Alan Turing began codebreaking as a teenager at boarding school. While many scientists claim that their work stands alone and bears no connection to their private lives, we cannot help but wonder about their personal journeys. What made them so great? What made their ideas so influential? And, what did they do when they were not "doing science"? In this seminar, we will read several recent graphic biographies of scientists and view films based on these books.

In the complex 21st century international system the drive for economic development has implications for war and peace. Powerful nations and weaker ones all with complex domestic constituencies are in intense competition with each other, while people all over the world still rely on travel/migration along with supply chains connecting friendly and antagonistic nations. Actors from firms to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to social movements matter as they reorient us towards this period of weaker commitment to globalization.

Trespassing through the side lots and backyards of childhood, we may have encountered gardens—well-tended rows of vegetables, or long-abandoned flowers that still might bloom among the weeds, or a seemingly wild landscape that nevertheless hinted at some effort of arrangement. In this course, we’ll explore themes of environmental aesthetics, conservation, and the management of nature. We’ll read Michael Pollan’s "Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education," excerpts from Rachel Carson’s "Silent Spring," and poetry.

“We study history so that we can know the past, engage the present, and impact the future.” Fall semester 2023 opened with racist graffiti sprayed on the sidewalk outside of Whitman Hall. Rumor has it that white faculty still say the “n-word” in their classes. Being a person of color (POC) at a predominantly white institution (PWI) is challenging. It also represents a challenge for actively anti-racist people, regardless of their ethnicity.

Why are K-12 schools moving to restorative practices rather than traditional forms of school discipline? What does it look? What do students, teachers and administrators think of it? What is needed to make it work? And finally, is it effective? Let's take a look at restorative circles and find out how several schools in the North Country are implementing them to address issues from belonging to acceptance to addressing the devastating harm of racial incidents.

Imagine an international zone so fluid that natural species migrate more easily than humans.  It  exists and sits about 50 miles from our campus.  The Frontenac Arch-Thousand Islands terrestrial passage along the St. Lawrence River is where small and large animals, reptiles, and fish annually migrate.

This course explores human-animal connections and their spiritual and ethical implications.

Defining Madness through society and its depiction in art and film. Students will learn about how the definition of madness has changed throughout the years and how this has changed the treatment of people. The students will also practice their own self-care while researching current media trends in mental health and its personal effects on the students. Multiple cultures will be discussed.  This course fulfills the FYS and SS general education requirements.

What happens to the body and mind at the limits of human endurance? How do humans acclimate physiologically to extreme environments, such as Mt. Everest, Antarctica, the Sahara Desert, the ocean depths, and space? This course investigates how geographic exploration has transformed modern medicine and our understanding of how the human body is capable of surviving extreme duress. You will learn core principles of cardiovascular, respiratory, water balance, and stress physiology by studying human performance under adverse conditions.

This course introduces culture and society in twentieth century Korea (1900 to the present). The course will overview major historical topics in modern Korean society—colonization, Korean War, economic and social developments, to the most recent phenomena of Korean Wave. By reading, watching, and discussing various materials, this course provides students opportunities to trace salient cultural features of the Korean societies in the north and south.